GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



THE QUESTION OF THE DAY. 



J. A. MACKENZIE. 



What is the best gun, for the money? 

 The man of limited means, who cannot af- 

 ford to put more than $30 or $40 in a gun 

 cannot go amiss if he buy one of the leading 

 American guns, such as the Hollenbeck, 

 Ithaca, Baker, etc. If anything goes wrong 

 with one of these it is easy to right it, and 

 their cheap grades will wear and shoot as 

 well as their high priced. It is no lon- 

 ger necessary to go abroad and pay $300 

 in order to get a good reliable gun. Here 

 in America are firms that turn out weapons 

 that for strength, beauty and shooting 

 qualities are the equals of imported guns 

 at twice the price. The Ithaca, for close 

 hard shooting, is the equal of foreign guns 

 of 4 and 5 times the price; and in many 

 cases it surpasses them. Where can you 

 get, for 4 times the money, such simple, 

 durable guns as the Syracuse Arms Com- 

 pany turns out? 



Beware of the cheap shams manufactured 

 in England and Belgium, for the American 

 market. They are a disgrace to any dealer 

 who handles them. Well do I remember 

 my experience with them. My first shot 

 gun was one of these, for which I paid $25. 

 It shot fairly well but the locks were so soft 

 and so poorly put together that they 

 played out after every 200 or 300 shots, and 

 the notches had to be filed deeper. Screws 

 were constantly stripping and getting lost, 

 causing no end of trouble. I was glad to 

 get $10 for it; and now I place full con- 

 fidence in my little Hollenbeck, made by 

 the Syracuse Arms Company. 



I believe this Company makes the most 

 thoroughly up to date gun on the Ameri- 

 can market to-day. Here are my reasons 

 for thinking so. It has fewer parts than 

 any other, and simplicity is strength. The 

 simple cross bolt, working on a vertical 

 axis, is self tightening; takes up wear and 

 passes clear through the extension rib into 

 the other side of the frame, making a fas- 

 tening that for- strength and durability is 

 unsurpassed in any gun. By self tighten- 

 ing I mean, as you will see by the cut, that 

 it draws the barrels to the standing breech. 



This system of locking is becoming more 

 popular every year. Shooters are begin- 

 ning to feel the need of a more lasting and 

 secure method of fastening the barrels to 

 the standing breech, than the underbolt, 

 even when combined with the doll's head 

 extension rib, in order to withstand the 

 tremendous strain of nitro powders, and 

 not shoot loose. Many old reliable guns, 

 that had been shot thousands of times with 

 black powder and had remained tight, were 



turned into rattle traps by the new smoke- 

 less powders, not to speak of several dan- 

 gerous accidents. This was owing to the 

 greater strain, at each discharge, which 

 sprung the barrels from the standing 

 breech. To overcome this difficulty gun- 

 smiths have adopted two remedies, namely, 

 leaving more metal at the angle of the 

 frame, and making use of a top connection. 

 Early in the 6o's Westly Richards brought 

 out his doll's head extension rib, with slid- 

 ing bolt engaging in a slot on its rear face. 

 This was followed by Greener's cross bolt, 

 which has come into so general use. This 

 was a great improvement and his guns have 

 a world wide reputation for durability or 

 the power to withstand heavy charges. 

 There is one serious drawback to this bolt, 

 however. It does not draw the barrels to 

 the breech and, if worn by the constant 

 friction, would not hold them there. With- 

 out that self tightening power that takes up 

 wear no lasting durability can be had. 

 Greener guns are, however, made of such 

 excellent material, and are so nicely fitted 

 together, that they have been fired thou-* 

 sands of times without any perceptible 

 wear. The doll's head extension rib exerts 

 a holding force, especially if its anterior 

 surface is an arc of a circle, of which the 

 hinge pin is the centre. This is true so long 

 as it fits the slot in the frame, and is held in 

 position by a good underbolt; but the 

 slightest wear on its bearing surface will 

 allow the barrels to part from the breech 

 and this renders it useless. Underbolts al- 

 ways weaken the frame by cutting away 

 the metal at the angle where the greatest 

 strength is needed. Besides a great holding 

 down force is not necessary, as has been 

 proven time and again by discharging the 

 gun when held in the hand, with the bolt 

 withdrawn. Even if this force were needed 

 the top connection has still far the best of 

 the argument, for it acts nearly twice as far 

 from the point of leverage. Consequent- 

 ly, by the laws of forces, it will have twice 

 the power. 



The adoption of smokeless powders has 

 also brought about improvements in the 

 appearance and balance of guns. It is well 

 known that nitros exert a much greater 

 bursting strain on the gun barrels than 

 black powders; and various experiments 

 have shown that this train comes mainly at 

 the head of the cartridge chamber, where 

 there is a sudden diminution in the thick- 

 ness of the metal. If this part of the barrel 

 is made sufficiently strong the remainder 

 may be quite thin. In cylinder bored guns 

 the muzzles may be left as thin as ordinary 

 writing paper; but with full choked barrels 

 more metal must be left at the cone of the 

 choke to prevent its being shot out. Thus 



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