MUZZLE-LOADERS AND BREECH-LOADERS. 57" 



tridge cannot be discharged unless touched off witli 

 a lucifer match or a lighted cigar — a performance 

 that probably few persons out of a lunatic asylum 

 would attempt. And as for recapping a cartridge 

 that once missed fire, it cannot be done, as the cap 

 is inside. What species of cartridges the Dead Shot 

 must have used, the writer of this cannot imagine. 

 In case of a miss-fire the cartridge has to be unloaded, 

 and may then be recapped and reloaded like any 

 other. 



The writer experimented extensively in reloading 

 cartridges, using sorqe a dozen times, and has ex- 

 perienced the annoyance of sticking cases and sepa- 

 rating capsules, and tested it thorouglJy; and he 

 must say that if a cartridge is loaded over three 

 times with heavy loads it is apt to stick, especially 

 if it is loaded shortly after being discharged, and 

 while it is still soft from the heat. The cases should 

 be left for several hours before they are reloaded, 

 until they are dry and hard, and, if there is time, 

 should be reloaded in the mould — a block bored 

 out to the exact size, in which they fit accurately, 

 and in which they cannot spread. 



They rarely stick, however, before the third dis- 

 charge, and then may be pulled out by force — in 

 pieces, if necessary, and thrown away. If, however, 

 they cannot be forced in, and are torn apart before 

 they are discharged, which never happens except 

 after repeated use, the charge is wasted ; the powder 

 should be at once poured out, the wads pushed 

 aside by the extractor to let the shot escape by the 

 3* 



