the face, in the event of a recoil. But, if they should have been loaded some time, it is best to loosen the charge of shot, which, otherwise, would be felt severely.

If one of these guns should be laid aside for a season or two, your filling it with mutton suet will entirely prevent rust.

TO MAKE AN OLD GUN SHOOT WELL.

The following directions relate only to flint-guns, and shall therefore be compressed in small type. I admit they are out of date, but still they may be useful for some outlandish place.

THIS may be done, if the barrel be of sufficient substance; of tolerably good iron; and perfectly sound; first by boring it* (as before mentioned), so as to have friction downwards, and this gradually relieved forward; secondly, by putting in a chamber plug (vide wood-cut); and, thirdly, by giving extra strength to the mainspring of the lock.

This recipe may not only be worth the observation of those who cannot afford a new gun, but useful to officers on service; who, from not wishing to increase their baggage, when constantly engaged, take no gun with them; and are, perhaps, after a summer's campaign, stationed in winter quarters, where they have plenty of leisure, and the finest shooting, though with no other fowling-piece than a regimental musket. This was the case on the old expedition to New Orleans, in the country near which place the wildfowl were innumerable.

A regimental armourer (even if he had the means) might not be perfectly master of the boring; and if he was, where, on service, would he get a lathe? but the perforated plug and the strengthening of the mainspring would very much accelerate the firing of a musket; and some of these barrels, if properly loaded, often make a very effectual substitute for a duck gun; and particularly if eased a little at the muzzle by the hard working of sand-paper. (This, by the way, would be very near the right bore for a detonater.)

The proper charge for them would be about two tobacco pipes full of powder, and the same measure of large shot: but, as this had better be regulated by the degree with which they are felt in firing, I shall lay down a rule, which, by the way (with a very

* In a stout barrel, even the deep flaws may be easily got rid of, by means of making it red hot, and beating them in, before you fresh

bore it.

trifling alteration, according to circumstances), may be applied to all duck guns, and most other guns that are fired with a flint-lock. Load with POWDER and SHOT by EQUAL MEASURE in as large a quantity as can be fired with ease to the shoulder; putting your WADDING STRONG on the FORMER and LIGHT on the LATTER.

As this alteration is all inwardly, it cannot affect the appearance of the musket; and (omitting the boring) it would, if kept clean, be all the better for her Majesty's service. The perforation of the plug, however, should not be too small; and particularly in cases where it may become necessary to use it with cartridge powder.

Before concluding the observations on improving common guns, it may not be amiss to mention the following circumstance :— - An old fisherman, in the country where I was residing, had killed more wildfowl than any other man on the river, with a gun which he had picked up for thirty shillings. A few seasons previously to his death, he gave up shooting, and I bought this gun, from the reported excellence of the barrel, which fully answered my expectations. Finding, however, that the plug and touch-hole were rather too much worn to be safe, I had them both replaced by the same country maker, who put a new stock and lock. The barrel afterwards shot so slow and weak, that it was perfectly useless; on which I sent it to be altered by Mr. John Manton, who very civilly undertook the job; and, by putting in a common chamber plug, and fresh perforating a common touchhole, made this gun shoot so admirably well, that it was not till I had received five best finished duck guns from London that I could get one to equal it.

We are often laughed at for our expenditure in guns, when an old gamekeeper will sometimes beat them all with a "piece" that has scarcely a choice, whether to prefer firing, or being fired at with it. I admit, that, if his barrel happens to be well bored, his mainspring strong, and his touchhole and chamber plug well put in, there will perhaps be very little difference in the killing, between his "piece" and the best gun that ever came out of London. But if we consider that the excellence of a lock and soundness of a barrel, although not absolutely requisite in killing, are indispensably necessary for the safety of our persons; and that, although practice may bring a man to point accurately with a broomstick, yet we must allow the advantage, not to say the comfort and neatness, of having our guns turned out in a proper and workmanlike manner,

ARMS FOR THE QUEEN'S SERVICE.

The following observations were written in or about the year 1836.

As the foregoing article has led us into the subject of arms for the service, let me, before I take leave of large-sized shoulder-guns, make a few observations under this head. There can be no question as to the copper cap being the cheapest and most simple ignition. But, as all the caps that I ever tried have occasionally failed in my wildfowl campaigns, I am justified in doubting whether they will prove infallible in other campaigns. As an order has been given for muskets with this ignition, perhaps something may be contrived to improve it; and I only hope this may be the case, as I would much rather be condemned as a false prophet than hear of any thing unsuccessful in her Majesty's service. In the meantime, I cannot conclude more explicitly under this head than by here reprinting a letter that I wrote on the subject to my friend Colonel (now Major General) Brotherton :

"I feel proud that you have thought me worth consulting in any thing for the good of the service, and I have therefore well considered the subject on which you spoke to me the other day-improvement in the fire-arms of the British army. To the point, then, as I hate superfluous prosing. I will begin with the old

"FLINг. We all know that a flint-gun will shoot rather stronger

and farther than a detonater, and that it will recoil less. But these are no advantages in ball shooting, because a ball will always go farther than we can command precision of aim; and the recoil from a ball is scarcely more than that from a blank cartridge. The flint, I admit, affords a simple means of loading, in which even an awkward recruit can scarcely make a mistake; but then, on the other hand, if there comes a wet day, or you have only to pile arms on a damp night, you have nothing but your bayonet to depend on, when you meet your enemy. Under these considerations, therefore, I must at once turn to the detonater, and I will begin with the

"COPPER CAP. - Although I have every reason to believe that I was the inventor of this universal mode of firing detonating guns, yet I have my doubts as to its efficacy for His (now Her) Majesty's service. 1st. Because the copper cap cannot be well applied without a new solid breeching (which would be too expensive an alteration to suit the economy of the service); 2d. Because a copper cap, even if well completed, requires a fine powder, that will corrode with either damp or rough usage and neglect; and 3d. Because if a copper cap is applied by means of brazing on a piece to the old musket (as I hear is now being done), it will for ever be liable to miss fire, in consequence of the long communication. I will, therefore, now come to what I conceive the only mode of detonating ignition that will never fail, and that is the

"COPPER PRIMER. With this you have only to screw in a projecting touch-hole, soften the lock-plate, and, instead of the hammer and spring, braze (or screw) on the piece of iron that conducts the primer to the touch-hole; and then you may use powder that will stand all weather, and may bring in Captain Norton's cartridges as the best plan that can be adopted. (I say this without having seen these cartridges, and without the honour of knowing Captain Norton, because only six weeks ago I had thought of nearly the same thing, and proved it to answer*). The only question,

* Long since this was written (in March, 1844), Captain Norton did me the honour to request an interview on gunnery. I called on him at the Junior United Club. He then told me that his cartridges for muskets, after firing many rounds, produced a residuum that was objectionable; the flannel left one of animal, the muslin another of vegetable matter. (But there are, perhaps, many other materials which might be used without these disadvantages.) In