Regarding Questions 



Once upon a time a diminutive hunchback 

 counsel was endeavoring to hector and brow- 

 beat a strapping sergeant of the guard who was 

 unfortunate enough to be in the witness box. 



"Now, sir," thundered the lawyer, "since 

 you know so much, please tell this court what 

 is an interrogation point." 



"A little crooked thing that asks questions." 



Now this little crooked thing that asks ques- 

 tions is a very easy thing to send forth through 

 the mails, but any person with sufficient leisure 

 may ask more questions in an hour than an 

 admirable Creighton could answer in a year. 



This reflection is prompted by an examination 

 of sundry letters that have been sent into this 

 department by persons who "want to know." 

 A few samples will possibly amuse the brethren 

 and are, therefore, set forth: 



Q. I wish to ask you regarding an old 

 Revolutionary War flint-lock Ferguson rifle: (a) 

 Was the bullet used round or conical ? (b) Was 

 it lubricated? (c) If so, in what manner? 



A. The flint-lock Ferguson rifle shot a round 

 bullet, which was unlubricated. (Although this 

 correspondent does not ask for further particu- 

 lars, we have much pleasure in supplying them, 

 thus anticipating other requests.) The barrel 

 was 44 inches long and weighed about nine 

 pounds. The bore was § inch, and the barrel had 

 six grooves. The front sight was of brass and 

 the rear sight a standing notch. This rifle was 

 invented by Major Ferguson, an officer in a 

 Highland regiment, and used by a small num- 

 ber of riflemen on the British during the Revo- 

 lutionary War. 



Q. Can a conical bullet be shot in a smooth- 

 bore rifle without leading the barrel ? 



A. What is a smooth-bored rifle ? We know 

 of an oval-bored rifle, invented by Lancaster, 

 and which is still in favor in Great Britain, 

 but a smooth bored rifle — no, frankly, this 

 beats us! 



Q. How far is a round bullet accurate? 



A. This depends upon our conception of 

 accuracy. Modern riflemen find that 75 feet is 

 about far enough if you want the round bullet to 

 go just where it is aimed, yet the late lamented 

 Pathfinder could shoot birds on the wing at 

 an incredible distance, using round bullets, 



assumably cast in his own bullet-mold. 



Q. Does a hollow-based bullet check gas 

 more than a flat-based one? 



A. Not necessarily. A bullet in order to 

 check gas must either be mechanically a perfect 

 fit, or else it must be expanded by the blow of the 

 explosion until it seals the grooves and makes a 

 gas-check. If a flat-based bullet is not too hard 

 it will upset upon receiving the blow, and fill 

 the grooves just as well as would a hollow- 

 based one, but with a light charge of pow- 

 der it might be necessary to use a hollow-based 

 bullet, as this would, of course, expand more 

 easily. 



Q. How far is a smooth-bored rifle accurate ? 



A. We pass. 



Q. Which of two bullets, round or conical, of 

 same weight and with the same charge of 

 powder, is the deadliest? 



A. (We can see our finish; the end cannot be 

 far distant.) If our correspondent will inform 

 us at what distance the victim is to stand, we will 

 tell him which bullet is the more deadly. The 

 round bullet will make the biggest hole, and if 

 the muzzle were placed against the victim's vest 

 (supposing the victim to be a man) it would be 

 very effective. But, if the aforesaid victim was 

 distant, say, two hundred yards or so from the 

 firing point, we should expect the more deadly 

 results from the conical projectile. First N. B. 

 — This is about as near as we can get it to-day 

 as we are not feeling very strong. 



Q. What size round bullet and what charge 

 of powder would be necessary to kill a moose or 

 a bear in a muzzle -loading rifle ? 



A. If the moose or the bear would consent to 

 stand perfectly still, so that the hunter could 

 approach sufficiently near with his trusty 

 muzzle loader, taking a deadly squint along the 

 faithful tube, we think that a buck shot might 

 be sufficiently large. The Hudson Bay Com- 

 pany found that a 28-gauge smooth bore was 

 the best for their trade, and for something like a 

 hundred years every Hudson Bay post carried 

 a supply of 28-gauge, flint lock, smooth bore 

 guns, and we think it is safe to say that these 

 guns, in the hands of Indian hunters, have killed 

 more bear and moose than have any other 

 weapons whatsoever. The powder charge was 

 usually two drachms of coarse black powder. 



