June 3, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



375 



f Z 3 4 S 



// 7Z 73 74 7f 



THE BULLETS— FULL SIZE. 



Grains. 



6. Brock way.... 417 



7. Cressy 338^ 



8. Park 356 



9. Cox 805}4 



Grains. 



11. Hinman 258 



12. Rabbeth 330 



13. Frye 330 



14. Ellsworth.... 293 



10. Fletcher 339J^ 15. Farrow. 



Grains. 



1. Stephenson... 603 



2. Brown 671 



3. Lowe msy, 



4. Smith 649 



5. Fenn 572 



box weighed 338}^ grains, while a powder charge weighed 84^ grains. 

 He uses a greased paper patch laid in two pieces across the gun 

 muzzle. Like the majority of the other weapons, his arm is slightly 

 choke bored, a point upon which some of the marksmen lay a great 

 deal of stress. His method of attaching the weapon to the rest is 

 very simple. The crosspiece attached to the barrel has in it a V- 

 shaped notch, and this goes to a screw fastened in the rest top. In 

 the rear there are the usual thumbscrews, one below lifting the rear 

 of the piece, and one on either side giving the brass notched piece in 

 which the barrel rests a lateral motion. 



Next to Mr. Cressy sits D. A. Brown, of Boston. He has a round 

 barrel arm made by Warner, of Syracuse. It falls within the 15lbs. 

 standard, has a uniform twist of rifling with one turn in 20in., 8 

 grooves, of .45-caliber. The barrel is 30in. long, and is slightly larger 

 at the muzzle than the breech, the purpose of this disposition of 

 weight of metal being to stiffen this outer end of the barrel and pre- 

 vent in a measure the springing of the barrel. Mr. Brown uses a 

 Warner made bullet with a hard point built up of a 1 to 1 antimony 

 and tin composition, while the rear end of the bullet is of pure lead, 

 the two parts are closely swaged together, and the taking of the 

 rifling by the pure lead heel is the point aimed at in this com- 

 posite missile. He uses powder of the Dead Shot brand, Ameri- 

 can Powder Company make. The bullet, weighed by your cor- 

 respondent, as all the other powder and bullet weights in this re- 

 port were taken, showed a weight of 671 grains, while a single powder 

 charge showed 142J4 grains. In loading, Mr. Brown uses a linen shel- 

 lacked and then greased, two narrow strips laid; crossways of the 

 muzzle in order that the eight grooves might be taken uniformly. 

 His shooting stand resembles exactly a miniature gun carriage. 

 There are two long ways on either side on which the cross head for- 

 ward rests and slides, while at the rear there are two side and bottom 

 screws. Mr. Brown is deliberation and good nature itself. His every 

 motion is cyphered down to a system, and it is almost amusing to see 

 him pour the powder in'and then with moistened rod at once look for 

 it. Yet in this way he avoids that constant menace of the absent 

 minded muzzle marksmen, a bullet in the barrel and no powder 

 behind it. 



Next in the line came Farrow— W. Milton Farrow, known on every 

 rifle range from California to Constantinople. He is now a Brattle- 

 boro resident, making rifles, and it was one of his own make that be 

 was shooting. He had secured a rest and had elbowed his way in 

 among the old timers. His weapon was the pigmy one of the meet- 

 ing. It weighed complete but 61bs., had a 34in. barrel of .32-eal. and 

 had 7 grooves of 1 turn in 16in. The rifling was peculiar with a ratchet 

 cut and one on which Mr. Farrow pinned his faith. The powder 

 charge— American Co. FF. make— weighed 45grs. and the bullet 

 163^agrs. The last was a 1 to 20 composition, hot drawn. In loading, 



who knew it all were often keen and to the point. He had an octago- 

 nal 151bs. barrel, .38-cal., 1 to 16 even twist, 8 grooves. The bullets 

 were of uniform composition, 1 tin to 20 lead, and the powder used 

 was| Hazard's FFg. The barrel was 30in. long, and was made by 

 Brockway. A charge taken showed 82J^ grains of powder to 356 

 grains of lead. In loading he used paper patches; while on the rest 

 a very complete brass cast rear device for elevating and swinging 

 the rifle butt. The big, booming piece did not look out of place in 

 Mr. Park's big, brawny clutch. He handled it like a toy pistol, but a 

 puny National Guardsman would have found it a stiff burden. 



Mr. F Fenn is one of the younger members of the club. He resides 

 at Dover Plains, N. Y., but generally manages to get up and enjoy 

 the shoots. He uses a'gun made by Phillips, of New York, and in 

 this meeting was in very bad luck, owing, he thought, to the use of 

 some special cartridge he had made. These were of the composite 

 type with a hard point made by putting 2 ounces of antimony in a 

 pound of lead, while the bullet heels were of pure lead. The weapon 

 was of .45-caliber, having 8 grooves of a gain twist rifling starting in 

 at one turn in 72 inches and finishing with one turn in 24 inches. The 

 barrel was 27 inches long, of octagonal form, and into it he poured 

 Hazard's FFg powder. One charge weighed showed 128 grains, 

 while one of the bullets turned the scale" at 572 grains. A stout 

 wooden block held the gun while the entire block was moved on its 

 bed from a center pin forward by the three rear screws. It was a 

 simple, strong, though somewhat clumsy device. A paper patch was 

 used in loading. 



Mr. E. B. Stephenson followed along the line with his big muzzle- 

 loader. It shock a small section of the State when it went off. It 

 was a .50-caliber weapon with a 30in. 151bs. octagonal barrel made by 

 Ferris. There were 9 grooves, necessitating in loading three paper 

 patch slips. The rifling grooves were concentric with the bore of the 

 barrel and had a gain twist increasing from 1 in 72 to 1 in 24in. The 

 bullet is worthy of special attention. It was of the composite order, 

 with a soft heel, a soft point and a hard inner section, this gave that 

 close grip on the rifling when the upsetting came which was particu- 

 larly strivpn for in this make of bullet. A paper patch was used and 

 Hazard's FFg powder. A charge taken and weighed si i owed 603 grains 

 of lead and 118J^ of powder. The rest device was the simplest in the 

 house. Two bent strips on either side forward preventing any jump- 

 ing up of the muzzle, while aft the barrel rested on a broad tongue, 

 the upturned edges of which afforded place for the screws used in 

 side adjustments. 



Veteran L. C. Smith was next in the line, a patriarch among patri- 

 archs, he knows the history of the club since its formation. He was 

 a charter member and has never missed a meeting. He is yet full of 

 shoot and is always deep in some experiment to settle some point in 

 the science of rifle shooting. Tne consequence is that as a prize win- 

 ner his name does not appear as often as it otherwise would. His 

 gun has a 28-inch octagon barrel. To name its maker would be diffi- 

 cult, since it has been cut and re-cut so frequently. It is of .46-cal. 

 with a uniform twist of 1 in 18. The bullet is of similar make to that 

 used by Mr. Brown, and comes from the works of Warner, at Syra- 

 cuse. Behind it he puts Fg powder of Hazard make. A sample 

 charge weighed 113 grains in powder and 649 grains in bullet. He 

 uses a cut paper patch, made in the 'form of a Greek cross, so that 

 the paper is not doubled below the heel of the bullet. His rest in 

 shooting is a very complete one with a pair of guiding ways forward, 

 while the shifting of the trigger end is done with great throttle valve 

 wheels. This, as many of the other guns, has the double nipple. In 

 place of using the ordinary percussion cap, a flat primer is placed 

 over the nipple paper, and over it a false nipple with a striking pin is 

 screwed. This pin when struck by the falling hammer starts the 

 primer and the charge is ignited without any loss oE powder or spit- 

 ting from the touch-hole. 



D. S. Cox, of Neperan, Weschester Co.,?N. Y., has a .38-cal gun 

 having a 28 in. octagonal barrel, with 8 grooves and a steady twist of 

 1 in 16. His bullet is 1 to 20 uniform composition, and the powder 

 • FFg. Hazard. The loss of one hand jputs him to some disad- 

 vantage but not to any material extent, and he is always ready on 

 time for his shot in the string He uses stout parchment paper patch 

 cut very narrow. His rest has a narrow iron guiding way forward, 

 while a brass resting block, near the breech, enables quick adjust- 



was leaded with Laflin & Band musket powder. A sample charge 

 showed, powder 67^grs.; bullet 330grs. 



Mr. Frye used a Ballard .38-cal. rifle of the ordinary make. Hia 

 patched 'bullets were the 330gr. Remington make and the powder, 

 Hazard's FFg, a sample charge weighing 55J^grs. in powder and 

 830grs. in lead. 



Mr. Ellsworth, jolly and fat, capital at off-hand work, as his Man- 

 chester score of the week preceding showed, not so good at the 



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strange rests provided, was provided with a 30in. long barrel Ballard 

 of .38-cal., loaded with a homemade bullet of 1 to 30 composition. 

 The rifle was in all respects like that of Mr. Frye, with the full Rigby 

 barrel. !The powder used was Oriental Fg and a pattern charge 

 showed 48grs. of powder to 293grs. of lead. 



The plan of shooting is a very simple one: On the morning of the 

 first day each man devoies his time to fixing up his shooting stand. 

 There is a small trunk full of tools — oil bottle, rags, ammunition and 

 knick-knacks of every kind— to be unpacked; then the gun itself and 

 the telescope and the rest fixture, all are unpacked, and the various 

 parts put in place. This is no small job. Each man takes a card- 

 board about a foot square, tacks it upon the low fence against which 



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Mr. Farrow, after carefully cleaning, inserted the patched bullet, and 

 after pushing it home with a gauged wooden rod, from the rear in- 

 serted the freshly loaded cartridge shell behind it. Mr. Farrow had 

 all the advantages of the dead rest, the long sight and the sliding 

 when the recoil came. He had clamped a crosspiece to his barrel 

 near the muzzle and this enabled him to use the wooden rest he had 

 secured. 



Mr. L Park, of Greenfield, Mass., was next in the Jine of closely- 

 crowded shooters. He was the funny fellow of the company and 

 sandwiched his shots with rallies of wit. He had come up to have a 

 good time, and his advice to those about him on shooting topics 

 would have filled a manual on the subject. He strongly urged a mem- 

 ber who had missed the foot-square target to take the rifle down aod 

 ntroduce the weapon to the target, while his sly joKes at the men 



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ment to be made, as the cross hair lines of the telescope demand. A 

 sample load showed 305>£ grains of lead and 69 grains of powder. 



Norman S. Brockway has the solemnity of an owl, and carries 

 about with him the responsibilities of the whole match. He is a 

 rifle maker at Bellows Falls, and knows all about this style of rifle. 

 He is the secretary of the club, and seems to have a life lease on the 

 position. He goes to work in his methodical way. not only in his 

 official labor, but in his shooting as well. He uses one of his own 

 make of rifles, an octagonal barrel, 28 in. long, -42 cal., with 8 

 grooves twisting evenly 1 in 16 inches, and the powder used is 

 Hazard's FFg, and the patch strips are of the usual parchment 

 paper sort. A V an the rifle cross head pushed home close on the 

 screw projecting from the rest bed, and the rifle is ready for shoot- 

 ing, guided by the stout compact directing rest at the rear. One 

 charge showed that the cold pressed bullet of 1 in 20 compositions 

 weighed 417 grains, while the powder showed 99 grains. 



C. F. Fletcher, of Bellows Falls, Vt., is another of the young men in 

 the ranks. 'He uses a Brockway made gun and has a 38-cal. rifle with 

 a 28 inch octagon barrel. There are six grooves of 1 in 16 twist, and 

 the bullet is of the cold pressed type and of 1 in 20 composition. The 

 powder is of Hazard FFg make, a charge taken weighed 339J^ grains 

 of lead with 82J^ grains of powder. He uses a paper cross patch, 

 and in loading is most careful in every movement, being specially care- 

 ful about the cleaning out of the rifle before inserting a fresh charge 

 of powder. His rest is of a simple sort, a V notch forward and a 

 block with three screws aft completing the fixtures. 



Wm. V. Lowe is a Fitchburg, Mass., citizen, and comes up to the 

 match with what he styles a mongrel gun, that is several makers and 

 remakers have tried to make it better and with varying success. It 

 has a 28-inch octagon barrel, .45-caliber with a uniform twist of rifling 

 1 turn in 20 inches and 8 grooves. He uses a combination bullet lead 

 butt and hard joint, and employs Fg Hazard powder, one charge 

 taken and weighed showed 108 grains of powder to 5S5J4 of lead. 

 His patch is a tbin parchment paper one cut in Greek cross fashion 

 and with an abundance of grease. His rest had a double base, the 

 upper one on which the rifle was placed being movable at the rear 

 and so admitting a vertical and lateral adjustment. 



Outside uf the shooting house the breechloader visitors from Bos- 

 ton were accommodated. A rest was improvised by driving two 

 stakes in the ground, placing a crosshead and then a long plank with 

 a notched block at the end enabled the Bostonians to sit comfortably 

 on chairs and draw their rifles carefully and exactly. 



Mr. Hinman used a .35 -cal. Maynard and into this he put the patched 

 bullet and the freshly loaded shell, charged with Laflm and Rand 

 musket powder; a sample charge of powder weighed 61 Vggrs., while 

 the bullet of 1 to 20 composition weighed 258grs. 



F. J. Rabbeth had a Remington-Hepburn rifle of .38 cal. It had a 

 round barrel and aperture front sight, as did the arms of his associ- 

 ates—Messrs. Hinman, Frye and Ellsworth. He had the regular 

 330gr. Remington patched bullet, as shown, of »to 80 composition. It 



the shooting is done, and then the small black patch or "budd" is 

 banged away at until the marksman has everything down fine. He 

 watches the flags, makes due allowance for wind, finally determines 

 just where the aiming budd is to be placed in order to get tne shots 

 aimed about the spot where the lines drawn from opposite angles of 

 the piece of cardboard cross m the center. So it may happen that 

 each of a dozen men may be aiming at a dozen different points and 

 all striving to get their shots bunched at the same point. When each 

 man has got his piece in good working order there is a pause for 

 luncheon, and then comes the counting string. It is shot on a time 

 limit; that is, a timekeeper with watch in hand waits until all are 

 loaded and then the call of "Time" is made. Five minutes elapse, 

 and in that period of time the shot must be fired. Each rifle is in 

 place, with hammer raised; "click," and the hair triggers are set. 

 Then in silence each waits for those flags to be a trifle less frisky ; 

 for that fishtail wind to swing about to the other side of the center 

 before touching off. Each is, in fact, waiting for that precise wind 

 which prevailed when he fired his last trial shot, the record of which 

 he knew and was satisfied with. Often m a temporary lull the line 

 of rifles will go off in a volley. While again, some unlucky one who 

 waited for a better chance is compelled, when he hears the voice of 

 the timer call out "Four and three-quarters," to shoot in whatever 

 wind may be blowing at the time. As the rifle recoils, the rignt hand 

 is ready to check it; but from first to last there is no sighting beyond 

 a glance through the telescope to see that the cross hairs have not 

 been directed to another point. 



For loading another five minutes is allowed, and there is need of it 

 First the muzzle end of the barrel is wiped off, then the false muzzle 

 is carefully fixed and linked down; then comes the pumping and the 

 cleaning. One after another the patches are adjusted to the wiping 

 rod and passed down. There are patches wet with saliva and others 

 saturated with oil. Finally come the cleaner bits of rag, and then 

 perhaps another final patch, fixed just right. Each man has his own 

 style of swabbing out, and the expression of serious concern on the 

 faces of some as they keep their eyes on the rafters as the stick goes 

 up and down almost suggests that a silent prayer goes up as the 

 stick goes down. The barrel clean, the loading is in order. The 

 powder is poured from the flask with just such a tap and no other to 

 the measuring tubes. Then down the funnel at the barrel mouth, 

 and if the shooter be particularly careful he carries his method to 

 the point of sending a stick down to see that the powder is really 

 there, and tne light stick resting on the granules gives them just the 

 proper amount of packing. Then the patch, in some of the false 

 muzzles inserted in side slits until they cross directly over 

 the bore; or perhaps if the patch is already cut out, it is placed in 

 a depression cut across the top of the false nipple. Now the bullet 

 just given a turn in the greasy finger or perhaps wiped carefully with 

 an oily rag and then placed upon the patch. The ball starter now 

 comes in and assists in pressing the bullet well down into the barrel 

 a collar fitting over the barrel end, a piston in it whose hollow end just 



