THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
become universal. Speed of loading was increased, since the cartridge 
had no longer to be inserted with a particular part of the base uppermost; 
time was also saved in extracting the fired case, since by an automatic 
action, it was moved a short way out of the chamber on the gun being 
opened, so as to afford a ready grip for the fingers. 
The Lefaucheux gun, as has been said, had at first an awkward under 
lever, for which the lever lying under the trigger guard was soon sub- 
stituted. This was a strong, simple, and convenient arrangement. A lever 
at the side was subsequently fitted by some gunmakers; others used an 
under lever projecting downwards in front of the trigger guard. This was 
for many years a feature of Purdey’s guns. Such improved levers were 
fitted with springs which returned them automatically to the locked posi- 
tion on the gun being closed. A rival system, which soon obtained almost 
a monopoly, now appeared, the lever being placed above the action, and 
lying snugly for use with the thumb of the right hand, a small movement 
of it to the right being enough to release the holding -down lugs, while, 
on the breech being closed, it snapped back into place. In this position 
the lever lent itself very conveniently to an additional locking of the barrels 
to the breech by an extension in the line of the top rib, fitting into a suitable 
hollow in the breech and secured there by a bolt. 
After firing a shot with the pinfire breechloader, the first need was to 
raise the hammer to half cock, in order to free the barrels and allow the 
gun to be opened. With the central -fire system, it was possible to open the 
breech without first raising the hammers to half cock. This, however, 
was a source of danger, since it was possible, on reloading, if the breech 
were closed sharply, to bring the cap under pressure from the striker, 
with every probability of its being fired. The invention of the rebounding 
lock by Stanton in 1867 met this difficulty, as it provided for the auto- 
matic return of the hammer to half cock after the blow had been given to 
the striker. 
The boring of the barrel has always been recognized to exert a para- 
mount influence on the spread and penetration of the shot. In the early 
“seventies” the invention of the choke bore, a constriction of the barrel 
at the muzzle, came praminently before the public. It would seem that 
though boring suggestive of the choke had been previously practised, the 
principle was not fully applied before 1866, when Pape, of Newcastle, 
patented a barrel in which the bore at the muzzle was reduced in order to 
give a closer pattern. The invention apparently was of American origin. 
306 
