6 5 6 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Oct. 27, 1906. 
Carelessness in Cleaning Rifles. 
Sportsmen who are in the habit of putting 
their rifles away after cleaning at the end of a 
day’s shooting, with a plug of greased cotton or 
flannel in the muzzle, to keep out moist air, may 
express some surprise that barrels have been 
burst through the owner’s carelessness in neglect¬ 
ing to remove the plug. Max Baker, of the Lon¬ 
don Field, recently explained how an accident of 
this nature might occur. 
An Indian sportsman sent the Field a double 
express rifle, caliber .577, the right barrel of 
which had been burst, but the owner could not 
account for it. Various experiments were tried 
with the sound left barrel, until it was fired with 
a wisp of tow covered with vaseline and pushed 
down six inches from the muzzle, the theory 
being that the protecting wad had slipped down 
through the partial melting of the vaseline and 
escaped notice. A cartridge adapted to the rifle 
was then fired and the barrel burst behind and 
near the obstruction. The rifle had been made 
to shoot the long black powder cartridge, but 
when the barrels burst, low pressure cordite was 
used with the regulation 610-grain bullet. Mr. 
Baker concludes his remarks as follows: 
“All that can now be done is to warn those 
sportsmen who yet need convincing that a rifle 
should at all times be carefully examined before 
use, and if there is any surplus of grease in the 
bore, it should be cleaned out with a rod in pref¬ 
erence to firing it away by a ‘blow-off round. 
Muzzle plugs appear to be undesirable on account 
of their liability to slip down the bore. No ordi¬ 
nary gun grease with vaseline or its equivalent 
for a base is hard enough at warm temperatures 
to hold its position for an extended period. Even 
if a wad of tow is made with a head which pre¬ 
vents it from slipping down the barrel, there is 
always the risk that it may inadvertently be left 
in the muzzle. Its ejection by the bullet when so 
located would probably not cause a burst, but 
it might give the barrel a bell mouth, a condition 
of affairs hardly conducible to good shooting, the 
short Lee-Enfield notwithstanding. A heavily 
greased barrel when set up muzzle downwards 
is often found with a worm of arrested grease 
in front sufficient to cause injury. If the rifle 
is the other way up, the chamber will receive 
the surplus of grease, and if its presence is 
neglected the action may be strained by the di¬ 
minished power of the cartridge case to grip 
the'chamber in the action of firing. Of the many 
gun greases on the market we do not know of a 
single one which will remain where it is smeared 
on with anything approaching the tenacity of the 
engineer’s white lead and tallow, with which he 
anoints a piece of disused machinery. When un¬ 
duly thinned varnish is put on to a painted sur¬ 
face, it draws up into smeary lines, giving the 
effect of an uneven coat. There is no gun grease 
which has the lack of viscosity which debars it 
from attempting to assume a globular formation. 
The consequence is a tendency to collect in 
streaks and lines following the rifling, and leav¬ 
ing various places unprotected. The -use of un¬ 
duly thirt gun grease probably accounts for many 
of the disappointments which occur when examin¬ 
ing guns and rifles which have been carefully 
tested before putting away. On the grounds, 
therefore, both of safety and- preservation, there 
is a need for a gun grease of the consistency 
which one would expect to obtain by mixing 
vaseline and paraffin wax in suitable proportions, 
to be ascertained by experiment.” 
We believe it is by no means the rule for 
sportsmen to clean their rifles before firing them, 
and when heavy oils are used, and these become 
solidified or form in the rifling, injury of more 
or less importance is likely to result. No doubt 
the loss of accuracy of favorite rifles is sometimes 
due to this neglect. 
It is not, however, the general habit of care¬ 
ful sportsmen to smear the bores of their rifles 
with heavy oils. Instead a great many clean the 
barrel carefully, then oil it, following the oiled 
rag with a clean one which removes all or nearly 
all of the oil. It stands to reason that in a 
barrel left for a long time in a vertical position 
the surplus oil will run unevenly and collect in 
patches as it becomes gummy, hence the advocates 
of wiping the barrel clean claim, and it seems 
with good reason, that the almost dry surface 
is less likely to rust than if it were coated deeply 
with oil. 
In the backwoods we have heard men say that 
a rifle must become “acclimated” before it can 
be depended on. They claim that a rifle, taken 
into a region where the days are warm and the 
nights cold and dewy, will rust badly—outside 
and in—at first, but in a short time will become 
“acclimated,” as they call it, and after that will 
need scant attention. We know that there is 
truth in this old belief, and account for it in 
this way: that the steel, being kept in a warm 
and dry place for months on end, is sensitive to 
the first sudden change to a much lower tem¬ 
perature, but after being exposed to the latter 
several days, becomes accustomed to it, as it 
were. The rifles of our grandfathers, kept in 
a corner or in a closet in a room whose tempera¬ 
ture in winter seldom rose above 60 degrees, sel¬ 
dom got out of order or needed much inspection 
for rust. The temperature of the metal changed, 
if at all, very gradually. If a man came in from 
hunting when the mercury was low, he did not 
place his rifle, now as cold as ice, near the fire, 
where it would “sweat,” and these globules of 
moisture drying, become spotted outside and 
pitted with’in with red rust. Instead he put it in 
a distant corner of the room, where it warmed 
up very gradually, and later on, when cleaned, 
oil was used sparingly. 
There are men who- follow these rules relig¬ 
iously to-day, and they have very little difficulty 
in keeping their fire-arms in the finest condition. 
To them a spot of rust in a rifle barrel is some¬ 
thing to be religiously avoided, and if found, to 
be heartily ashamed of. 
We have been with men on the hardest kind 
of trips, who, ready to fall asleep at the even¬ 
ing campfire from weariness, would rouse them¬ 
selves with a supreme effort, take a final look at 
the picketed ponies, or around camp, to see that 
ajl was well, clean their firearms with scrupulous 
care, and fall asleep while fully dressed, like 
children. When their rifles were wanted, they 
could be depended on. 
Duck Shooting at Mt. Eden, Cal. 
Arriving at Mt. Eden, a small village, on the 
railroad about twenty miles south of San Fran¬ 
cisco, Off the shore of San Francisco Bay, about 
10 o’clock on the evening of Oct. 14, rye were 
taken by a beautiful Mt. Eden damsel, who drove 
the old white horse to the salt marshes about 
two and one-half miles distant. The night was 
beautiful, the silvery moon rising over the foot¬ 
hills in the east and casting long shadows across 
the road. In the old two-seated democrat wagon 
were six enthusiastic hunters, all eager for the 
whizzing ducks, which were pretty sure to be 
plentiful at this time of year. 
Arrived at the marshes we lit our candle 
lanterns and started out walking the dikes to the 
club house, which is situated well out in the 
marshes. Arrived there we made up a good fire 
and cooked some steak, opened a can of beans, 
made coffee, and ended the repast with a “Swain’s 
mince pie” which latter article touched the right 
spot. After taking out our guns and placing 
them on the gun rack, arranging shells, rubber 
boots, etc., all three were soon in the blankets, 
when whiz! pank! a patato sailed through the 
darkness and landed on the doctor’s head. This 
was a starter for a fusilade of “murphys” flying 
in all directions, and ducking my head under the 
blankets for safety, I waited until the ammuni¬ 
tion ran out. After quiet was restored we fell 
asleep and were shooting “spoonies” right, and 
left when, whirr, whirr, whirr, the little alarm 
clock told us it was 4 o’clock and time to get up 
and cook breakfast. 
The doctor had quite a job to wind his ankles, 
as he had a habit of keeping his feet in good 
condition in this manner. However, we donned 
our shooting clothes, and after a good breakfast 
all three silently strode away through the dark¬ 
ness, over the dikes, with our candle lanterns 
to our ponds. The dikes are about two feet high 
and a foot wide at the top, and when slippery, 
as they were this morning, it having rained the 
night before, are hard to walk, especially when 
loaded down with guns, shells, lunch, gum coats, 
etc., and it is hard to- keep one’s balance. 
The ponds at Mt. Eden are old salt ponds, 
which are out of use, but were formerly used 
for evaporating salt water in the manufacture of 
salt. A hogshead is sunk into the marsh with 
about six inches of the edge projecting above the 
water, and this furnishes a fine blind. We got 
out our decoys, about twenty each, got into our 
barrels, and waited for daylight. After about 
fifteen minutes a streak of light appeared in the 
east. First it was whitish, but it soon turned a 
golden reddish shade, and with a whirr, the 
spoonies were beginning to come in. Bang, 
Bang, Otto made a double; pretty soon the doctor 
was heard from; then a beautiful sprig drake 
came turning double somersaults down near the 
barrel. Whish, a flock of spoonbills. “Keep 
low,” we cautioned; “steady, Otto, they are 
beginning to circle.” Two more for Otto, and 
the doctor caught two, fine sprigs. I landed a 
mallard drake. The wind began to blow slightly. 
Soon in the southeast clouds began to appear and 
gradually covered the sky; a day for ducks sure. 
We kept this up until about 1 o’clock, when we 
gathered the ducks, Otto fifty, the doctor forty, 
and myself forty-five. Pretty fair for the open¬ 
ing day. E. W. Currier. 
Buck Fever. 
Without a sound we pushed off from shore. 
No moon, no stars—not a sound! Without 
sense of motion we glided through the inky 
water. The air was heavy from its very black¬ 
ness and the oppressive stillness seemed to 
smother us. Far off in the mountains two 
screech-owls called to each other -with discord¬ 
ant clamor, but when they ceased, we seemed 
more than ever apart from the world of living 
things. At times a rock would loom up uui 
of the blackness and glide slowly past. Without 
warning some sunken brush or lilypad would 
scrape raspingly along the canoe; and it seemed 
to me as though the whole world of deer would 
know of our presence there. The cold began to 
bore its way into my bones. The frost collected 
on the gun-barreb across my knees. I dared 
not move a muscle. Suddenly from the black 
shadow below me a great fish sprang up against 
the side of the boat, almost into my lap. and 
falling back with a loud splash left me shivering 
and shaking from the very suddenness of the 
thing. Stiff from the cold and the strain of 
my position, I began to wish I were in camp, 
when the rustling of leaves on the shore beyond 
was followed by the crackling of twigs and 
branches. As we drew nearer, the sounds came 
closer and closer to the water’s edge. I said 
before that I was shivering; now I was shaking, 
so that the whole canoe vibrated from end to 
end. My mouth was wide open. Catching my 
breath in little gasps, I waited for the guide’s 
signal to turn on the light of my electric jack. 
I lived a year in those few moments. My heart 
could be distinctly heard pounding away at the 
sides of my chest. With infinite care I lifted 
the rifle from my lap and pointed it toward the 
sound. As last came the signal. The light shot 
out from the lamp on my forehead and pierced 
its way into the woods. At first I could see 
only the end of my rifle waving madly, jerking 
and shivering and absolutely beyond control. 
There were two hedge-hogs prowling about in 
the bushes, but nothing more. Feeling the boat 
shake with motions other than mine, I turned 
the light upon my guide and understood. “Buck 
fever for a hedge-hog,” he whispered, and off he 
went into spasms of silent laughter. 
Lindley Smyth, Jr. 
Plenty of Big Game in Minnesota. 
Akeley, Minn., Oct. 18 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Our game and fish laws are perfectly 
satisfactory, and they are duly observed. We 
have plenty of big game, and the best fishing on 
earth. Ed. Harris. 
All the game laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
