Dec. 10, 1885.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



387 



due north; but we have in all cases used the regular terms 

 employed at Creedmoor, and we think on most of the 

 American ranges, in describing the wind. 



We must suppose that the observer is standing at the tiring 

 point facing the target, and that he has in his hand a watch 

 lying face upward, with the 12 o'clock mark toward the 

 target. 



Then a wind blowing in the direction of the Arrow A 

 would be called an 11 o'clock wind, as coming from the 

 quarter marked by the figure 11 on the dial. Arrow B will 

 represent a 2 o'clock wind, and arrow C a 4 o'clock wind, 

 and so on for each of the twelve divisions of the dial. A 

 "wind coming direct from the target toward the shooter 

 would be 13 o'clock wind, and if it had a habit of shifting 

 first to one side of the meridian and then to the other, it 

 would be a "fish tail" wind. A similar fish tail wind might 

 come from the rear, and would then be a 6 o'clock fish tail 

 wind. With the direction and the force of the wind given, 

 all is noted that it is necessary to know of the wind part of 

 the atmospheric conditions. 



It will be seen that this same device of a dial may be made 

 use of in noting the point hit by a bullet on the target. In 

 this case we must suppose the watch to be hanging on the 

 target face. So a 13 o'clock bullseye would be one near 

 the top, and a 6 o'clock bull would be one near the lower 

 part of the bullseye. So also of inners, and centers, and 

 outers, they could all be accurately and tersely described by 

 this dial nomenclature. 



Bland .45, Double Barrel. 



The English express rifle came to the test from Thomas 

 Bland & Sons, through Major W. H. Merrill, to whom it 

 had been sent for testing purposes by the makers. It was 

 said that it was the identical rifle employed in the Field trial 

 of two years ago, and about the results of which so much 

 discussion had followed. The arm reached the range on 

 Sept. 29. and was brought by Mr. G. J. Romer, on behalf of 

 Maj. Merrill. In appearance it looked rather light for such 

 heavy charges to which it was subjected and for which it 

 was chambered. The weather conditions at the time of the 

 200-yard test, on the afternoon of the day named, were very 

 favorable, the wind was from the 7 o'clock quarter, blowing 

 seven miles per hour, the barometer stood 30 loO inches, the 

 drj^ thermometer at 75°, and the wet-bulb 

 thermometer at 68.5°, making a dew point of 

 64 5 and the humidity 70 per cent. The 

 weapon weighed eight pounds thirteen ounces 

 and the barrels alone when disconnected from 

 the stock five pounds eight ounces, the barrel 

 length being twenty eight inches. The twist 

 appeared to be uniform with six grooves, 

 making one turn in thirty-six inches. The 

 groove base was not concentric with the bore 

 of the weapon but was of peculiar shape, 

 deep in one side and slight in another, being 

 the ratchet groove. It would average about 

 .007 inch in depth, while in width it was 

 about .30 inch. The shop number on the arm 

 was 10,123. It was loaded with ammunition 

 brought by Mi. Romer and said by him to have 

 been sent over with the arm. They were Eley 

 Brothers cartridges, marked on the back of 

 the cartridge head "Eley express. No. 1," and 

 the bullet a solid one with patch, was marked 

 with a small M on the base. The powder 

 was Curtis & Harvey, No. 6, and one of the 

 cartridges when turned out for measurement 

 showed the powder in fine condition with a 

 310.1 grain bullet and 113.3 grains of powder. 

 It is impossible to say what the bullet composition is as no 

 test was made of it. The arm is of the tip-up shotgun 

 pattern, and no small trouble was met in getting it so fitted 

 to the rest that the muzzle height could be taken with ex- 

 actitude at each discharge. The cut will show the size of 

 cartridge used, while the bullet cut gives the size and 

 shape of tliat portion of the cartridge. 



right hand barrel was in each case flied first, followed by 

 the other barrel, making the odd-numbered shots belong to 

 the former and the even numbered ones to the latter. The 

 right-hand barrel record stood as follows: 



Round. 50 Yards. 100 Yards. 150 Yards. 



1 5.017 in. 7.236 m. 5.720 in. 



3 4..544m. 7.250 in. .5.519 in. 



5 5.023 in. 7.635 m. 5.965 in. 



9 5.160 in. 7.778 in. 6.141 in. 



Average 4.936 in. 7.475 m- 5.836 in. 



Of course the conditions in every respect were the same 

 for the other barrel, whose record stood : 



Round. 50 Yards. 100 Yards. 1.50 yards. 



4.. . 4.901 in. 6.941 in. .5.242 in. 



6.. 5.450 in. 7.932 in. 5.959 in. 



8 4.993 in. 7.378 in. .5.914 in. 



10 5.199 in. 8.093 in. 5.8a5 in. 



Average ... 5.136 in. 7.586 in. 5.750 in- 



The average of both barrels and for the rifle gives us: 

 50 Yards. 100 Yards. 150 Yards. 



Right barrel 4.936 in. 7.475 in. .5.836 in. 



Left barrel .5.1.36 in. 7. .586 in. .5.7.50 in. 



5.036 in. 7.530 in. 5.793 in. 



It will be seen that the two barrels are very uniform in 

 results, and at the subsequent tests at 100 yards the right- 

 hand barrel only was used. This enabled closer grouping 

 on the screens and targets, while it did not work any dis- 

 advantage to the gun or trial. 



Mr. Romer came again with the bag in which the Bland 

 was tucked away on Oct. 12, and about 11 o'clock in the 

 morning it was put to the test. He complained that the 

 gun had shown signs of weakness after taking from the rest 

 on the 39th ult. ; at least wh en he got home he found the 

 upper tang which fastens the metal work of the arm to the 

 wooden part'of the stock had sprung ; he had accordingly con- 

 structed a special rest in which wooden clamps were closely 

 fitted over the barrel at two points, they in turn fastened to 

 a thin metal plate, which slid in grooves or guides, fastened 

 to a broad base. With this contrivance, very simple and in- 

 genious, and very quickly fitted, we were enabled to get the 

 measurements of the muzzle at the moment of pulling the 

 trigger, while the arm was free to follow the natural motion 

 of recoil, and slide back to be grasped by the hand of the 

 firer. In noting the figures made under these conditions, 

 due allowance must be made for whatever advantage this 

 system of rest may be thought to afford the weapon, under 

 trial. 



The weather observations at the time of this lOO-yard trial 

 of the Bland showed a barometer of 30.320 inches, drj^ ther- 

 mometer 59. 5°, wet-bulb thermometer 55°, dew point 50.5° and 

 humidity 72 per cent. The wind was coming from the 7 

 o'clock quarter at 12 miles an hour velocity. The cartridges 

 for this test were from a lot of express-bullet ones sent over 

 from the Eley cartridge works to a gun shop in this cit}^ and 

 which after much inquiry we were fortunate enough to get. 

 Mr. Romer had used up most of the original supply of bul- 

 lets, and though he had shells and powder to reload, it would 

 have been necessary to send to England for bullets, and the 

 time for this we could not afford. The purchased lot turned 

 out to be very excellent ones ; they were in cartridge shells 

 marked as before— "Eley No. 1 Expr." — and three of them 

 turned out the powder in fine condition, the bullets were 

 patched and had the usual hollow point covered in with a 

 brass lid. This inserted tube of brass has a rounded point 

 corresponding with the outline of the bullet. Three charges 

 when weighed showed powder weights of 111.8, 112.4 and 

 112 grains, and corresponding bullets of 277.4, 277.7 and 

 277.2. This would give the very high proportions of nearly 

 1 to 2, and of course very swift moving bullets and low tra- 

 jectory was the rule. Mr. Romer, as an old rifleman, did 

 not take kindly to the idea of shooting patched bullets through 

 a dirty barrel , so the first five rounds after the sighting shots 

 were fired with the swab passed through the barrel after 

 each round. The record stood : 



Round. 25 Yards. 50 Yards. 100 Yards. 



1 1.278 m. 1.429 in. 1.283 m. 



2 1.330 m. 1.546 m. 1.378 m, 



3 1.308 in. 1.615 in. 1.169 in. 



4 1.150 in. 1.376 m. 1.364 in. 



5 1.219 in. 1.368 m. 1.329 in. 



Average 1.257 in. 1.686 in. 1.304 in. 



Now we said, as this is a test of hunting rifles and a hunt 

 ing rifle ought to be one capable of reasonably long use 

 without cleaning, we will fire five trial shots without clean- 

 ing. This was next done and the record of this test stood : 



Round. 35 Yards. 50 Yards. 75 Yards. 



1 1.146 in. 1.373 m. 1.298 in. 



3 1.1.59 in. 1.304 in. 1.247 in. 



3... 1.319 in. 1.415 in. 1.352 m. 



4 1.370 in. 1.364 m. 1.301 in. 



5 1.084 in. 1.216 in. 1.217 in. 



Average 1.175 in. 1.334 in. 1.283 in. 



Out from the recesses of his shooting trap box Mr. Romer 

 ]B.shed a half dozen cartridges. They were some which he 

 had himself loaded with C. & H. No. 6 powder and .some 

 .of the sq,me bullets as before mentioned in the 200-yard 

 test. One partridge taken and opened showed 107 5 grains 



Qi powdep m flue copditioc beMo4 ft pnlH ^ud juts 



until it was recorded as blowing 33 miles per hour, but from 

 the same quarter. The record of the five shots showed : 



Round. 25 Yards. 50 Yards. 75 Yards. 



1 1.082 ui. 1.399 in. 1.215 in. 



2 1.140 in. 1..5.57in. 1.383 in. 



3 0,964 in. 1.. 328 in. 1.215 in. 



4 1.1.32 in. 1.544 in. 1.355 in. 



5 0.944 in. 1. 333 in. 1.248 in. 



Average 1.052 in. 1.410 in.' 1.283 in. 



We regretted that we we were not able to make more 

 exhaustive tests with this imported arm of a class for which 

 so much is claimed and which are held in such high esteem. 

 Had not the supply of shells been expanded by the tests 

 already made we should have liked to load a few with the 

 naked bullet made for them and fired a set of test shots. 

 This grooved bullet is shown in the cut, and if report be 



true, is a very low-shooting, hard-hitting one, but with such 

 a charge of such quick-burning powder it could hardly be 

 otherwise. 



Wesson .44, Rim-Fire. 



This arm is the first of those using the rim-fire cartridge, 

 and the only one in the trial of the .44 caliber. We have 

 seen what the ..50 caliber weapons were capable of; also an 

 interesting group of .45; and now we come to a solitary 

 example of the caliber so popular among the small-bore, 

 long-range rifles at one time. The form of this old-time 

 well-known rifle is familiar to all, with its tip-up barrel, 

 which made it a very unhandy one for placing in the rigid 

 rest we had in use. It did not come from the factory of 

 Mr. Wesson, as repeated letteis had failed to bring a response 

 in the form of an express package containing a rifle. We 

 accordingly sent to the shop of Mr. Henry C. Squires, 178 

 Broadway, and selected from his stock a Wesson for the 

 trial. The ammunition also was procured there. The arm 

 weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces, had an octagonal barrel 30^ 

 inches long, and was marked 4455 in the shop. It was 

 loaded with Union Metallic Cartridge Company's ammuni- 



tion of the .44-28-214 pattern. Three rounds opened showed 

 the FG powder in fine condition and a pure lead bullet 

 with one groove. The powder weights of the three charges 

 were 27, 28.9 and 28.5 grains, while the three corresponding 

 bullets were 2J3.9, 214.2 and 214.8 grains in weight. 



The 200-yard test was made on Sept. 30, at 3 o'clock in 

 the afternoon, with the barometer at 30.03 inches, the dry 

 thermometer at 77.2, the wet-bulb thermometer at 66.5, 

 making the dew point 59 and the humidity 54 per cent. The 

 wind came from the 6 o'clock quarter at 16 miles per hour. 

 The record at this range stood: 

 Round. 50 Yards. 100 Yards. 150 Yards. 



1 14.496 In. 19.981m. 15.101 in. 



3 13..568m. 18.755 m. 14.297 in. 



3 13.419 in. 18.234 in. 13.885 in. 



4 14.031 in. 18.904 m. 14.419 in. 



5 14.893 in. 30.301 in. 15.443 in. 



Average ... 13.979 in. 19.213 in. 14.628 in. 



It was not until Oct. 13, at 3 o'clock P. M. , that the arm 

 was put on for the 1 00-yard test. The wind was coming 

 then from the 8 o'clock quarter at 16 miles per hour. The 

 barometer indicated 30.330 inches, the thermometer 53.5, the 

 wet- bulb thermometer 50.5, giving the dew point 47.5 and a 

 humidity of 80 per cent. The ammunition was as before, 

 and the trial showed : 



Round, 25 Yards. 50 Yards. 75 Yards. 



1 3..535in. 4.651m. 3.773 in. 



2 3.608 in. 4.584 in. 3.690 in. 



3 3.127 in. 4.134 in. 3.499 in. 



4 3.603 in. 4. .536 in. 3.793 m. 



5 3.634 in. 4.768 in. 3.898 in. 



A-verage 3.499 in. 4.532 in- 3.730 in. 



Merrill Muzzleloader. 



We have styled this the Merrill muzzleloader because it 

 was owned and furnished by Major W. H. Merrill, with 

 whom, as a writer on the question of muzzle vs. breech and 

 other topics connected with the science of rifle shooting, our 

 readers are already well acquainted. The weapon was made 

 by E Phillip, once well known in New York, and was 

 brought and fired by Mr. G. J. Romer, and we are sorry 

 that it was put through the 200-yard test only. It was, we 

 are informed, the special desire of the Major that it should 

 be tested at 100 yards, yet when at a later date we wrote to 

 Mr. Romer, the Major being then in the West, to come 

 down for the lOO-yard firing, another muzzleloader was 

 brought from the private arm collection of Mr. Romer. 



The Merrill arm was a type of the old time weapon, when 

 40-rod shooting was considered the very highest form of th.e 

 art of marksmanship. It weighed entire 11 pounds Qi ounces, 

 !^nd had an octagonal barrel weighing 8 pounds 6 ounces, 

 It was provided with .set trigger, and had to he provided 

 with telescopic sights before it was ready for flripg. The 

 barrel w§§ mc^gs io leagj^, Tbs caltbef ,4%iuolj 



