AT A RIFLEMAN'S FIRESIDE, 



W. H. NELSON. 



I have always been an enthusiast regard- 

 ing the rifle, and have always been glad 

 to meet kindred souls; but it has been re- 

 served to me till now to have one of the 

 most enjoyable experiences of my life. 



C. W. Rowland, of Boulder, Colorado, is 

 a devotee of the trigger to whom I point 

 any brother who may come to the moun- 

 tains for health or pleasure, as one who 

 knows more about a rifle than any other 

 man I ever met, and who not only can tell 



its history related, its scores exhibited, and 

 witness its owner's love and tenderness as 

 I have done. 



To get just what he wanted, Mr. Row- 

 land first bought a 6^ Ballard, of which 

 he preserved only the action, which thus 

 cost him $35. Into that he had inserted a 

 .32 — 40 barrel, bored and rifled on a mod- 

 ern system. It is rifled with a gain twist 

 and outfitted as a muzzle loader, with 

 false muzzle. He has several different 



A TREASURED REMINGTON. 



it all intelligibly, but who will do it gladly 

 and with such evident interest in both the 

 subject and his auditor as to make one 

 feel that Mr. Rowland is receiving rather 

 than conferring a favor. Mr. Rowland is 

 the owner of the most perfectly appointed 

 weapon possible to the craft, and cares 

 for it with a love and devotion that com- 

 pensate me for the jeers I have endured 

 because of my tenderness toward my hon- 

 est old Remington. I send you, herewith, 

 a photograph which shows the piece in 2 

 aspects, presenting both sides to the view. 

 To get a proper conception of its beauty 

 one must see it, handle it, caress it, peer 

 through its twisted heart, aim at imagin- 

 ary bull's eyes, have it all explained to him, 



styles of levers, but that exhibited in the 

 picture, designed by Mr. Rowland himself, 

 is the one he uses exclusively in doing his 

 best work. The stock is a beautiful piece 

 of walnut, which Nature in an artistic 

 mood had fashioned into a dream in wood. 

 This Mr. Rowland has had ornamented in 

 the manner of the finest old Kentucky ri- 

 fles, inlaying it with sterling silver, the 

 right side having the old cap box let in. 

 On the top, just where his cheek caresses, 

 it, he has put a strip of ebony, which adds 

 much to a beauty already nearly perfect. 

 The rifle is provided with double triggers 

 which act at the lightest touch, yet will not 

 move untouched and which have not the 

 slightest creep. The sights are peep and 



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