RIFLES AND AMMUNITION 193 



but the fault has lain with me, not with the rifle. 

 The cartridges (Kynoch's) can be supplied either 

 with cordite or axite powder. Personally, I 

 prefer the last. Axite is practically unaffected 

 by tropical temperature, does not corrode the 

 barrels as cordite does, and is just as powerful. 

 The rifle is more easily cleaned than when 

 cordite is used, and there is not the same neces- 

 sity for wiping out the barrels immediately 

 after use. The cartridges are obtainable from 

 the Army and Navy Stores, Calcutta, or from 

 any of the gun-makers in the large Presidency 

 towns of India, or from Rangoon. Provided 

 that one is careful to purchase only cartridges 

 newly arrived from England, there is no fear 

 of their proving unsatisfactory, either as regards 

 missfires or deficiency in penetration. The writer 

 has used cartridges which have been opened for 

 two years, and has never had a missfire or 

 found them lacking either in penetration or 

 accuracy. 



f They are supplied with four kinds of bullet, 

 viz. solid nickel, soft-nose, soft-nose split, and 

 capped. The two last are unnecessary, and are 

 only fit for use on small deer. They lack pene- 

 tration, and give a big surface wound. The soft 

 nose has just the tip of the bullet exposed from 

 the nickel casing, rather less than one-eighth 

 of an inch. This is a most useful cartridge 

 on bison and tsaing when standing broad- 



