THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
than one-third of the above. At the same time, its accuracy is greater. 
Rifles for deer and antelopes are thus far deadlier and more certain to- 
day than ever before. 
One trouble only remains as regards pointed bullets. They have a re- 
markable disposition to turn on one side on striking a soft object, and 
so become, in a large measure, ineffective on striking. But it is not so easy 
to make them open out as in the case of bullets with the blunt head, and 
they are less consistent in their killing effect. Ingenuity is still needed to 
deal satisfactorily with this difficulty, but no doubt it will in due course 
be overcome. 
Smokeless powders affect the barrel of the rifle differently from black 
powder. With the latter, the bore of the shot-gun was almost certain in 
course of time to suffer from rust in the form of pitting or “ honeycombing” 
on its surface. With smokeless powders no such tendency appears, and 
barrels can be kept in admirable condition almost indefinitely. With rifles, 
in which much higher pressures are used, the case is reversed. The black 
powder rifle, if carefully looked after, would last for many thousands 
of shots without appreciable wear. But the heat, pressure, and friction 
of modern powders and bullets are very destructive to the bore of modern 
rifles. With high-pressure charges of cordite, a few hundred rounds will 
produce erosion of the barrel; and the surface of the steel shows minute 
cracks which have a great and most obstinate tendency to rust, almost 
defying the greatest care. To pour boiling water through the barrel as 
soon as possible after use would seem to be the most hopeful treatment 
where any large number of rounds is fired. It is evident that the improved 
metal of the barrel, strong as it is, must continue to suffer severely from 
the chemical and mechanical effects of firing. 
When we pass from deer rifles to those of bigger game, we find that in 
them a corresponding reduction of bore has taken place. The black powder 
4 bores and 8 bores have had their places taken by high-velocity cordite 
rifles of from *450 to *600 bore. These fire a heavy bullet with a velocity 
of 2,000 feet per second or more, and are proportionately effective. They 
have, in fact, ample power to deal with the larger game, and are for 
practical purposes as effective as the big bores of the last generation. 
Sir Samuel Baker’s 4 -bore rifle weighed 21 lbs. Mr Sanderson used for 
elephants a double 8 bore weighing 17 lbs. A very substantial saving on 
this weight is effected in the heavy Cordite rifles of to-day. Such a rifle 
of *450 bore, giving its bullet a velocity of over 2,000 feet per second, 
316 
