lO 
IVILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
Standing the slowness of fire necessitated by this 
antiquated weapon, the General cautioned his men 
by the assurance, “There is no necessity for firing 
very fast,” etc., etc. 
The breechloader is valuable through the power 
which exists, especially with repeating rifles, for 
pouring in an unremitting fire whenever the oppor¬ 
tunity may offer, but under ordinary circumstances 
the fire should be reserved with the care suggested 
by the advice of General Wolfe. 
Small-bores have become the fashion of the day, 
and for military purposes they are decidedly the best, 
as a greater amount of ammunition can be carried by 
the soldier, while at the same time the range and 
trajectory of his weapon are improved. The new 
magazine rifle adopted by the Government is only 
'303, but this exceedingly small diameter will contain 
70 grains of powder with a bullet of hard alloy 
weighing 216 grains. 
For sporting purposes the small-bore has been 
universally adopted, but I cannot help thinking that, 
like many other fashions, it has been carried beyond 
the rules of common sense. 
When upon entering a gunmaker s shop the in¬ 
experienced purchaser is perplexed by the array of 
rifles and guns, varying in their characters almost as 
much as human beings, he should never listen to the 
advice of the manufacturer until he has asked himself 
what he really requires. 
There are many things to be considered before an 
order should be positively given. What is the rifle 
