The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-11-08
How to Choose and Keep a Rife,

How to Choose and Keep a Rife.
How to choose a rife is at once a
mysterious and ponderous question, not
only to hundreds but to thousands of
persons. A contributor to the .4tiantic
.NonthIy gives some very good advice to
assist ali those who have either the curl
osity or the ambition to become marks
men, IN selecting their i" shooting irons"
The first part of the advice is as fol-
lows Newer buy a gun, and least of
all a rife, without trying it, and do not
be satisfied with trial in shop or
shooting gallery, but take it mo the
field, and if you distrust yourself get
some one in whom you have confidence
to try it for you. This is all very we'll,
but no stranger could 60 into a gun
store and modestly ask for one or
several rifles to give them the benefit of
field trial, as a preparatory process
toward the purchase of one; still in the
collection of a flrs,-ratc rifle such trial
should always be first made. The way
to do This is given as follows Choose
a perfectly calm day. Have rest pre-
pared upon which net on y the gun may
be lald, but a support also secured for
.he elbow the shoe or being seated.
By this means, and with the aid of globe
and pcek-sigh:s (Which should always
be used in trying ii gum it may as GER
ainly be held in the same position at
every shot as is if i, were clampcd In
machine. For the target take shee;
of cartridgc-paper and draw on it cir
Gle of foot in diane or, and inside Of
that draw another four inches from IT
and paint the space between black, lcav
ing viii bulls, eye four inches III
diameter against which the globe-sight
will be more distinctly seen than if 1t
were black. The target should be
placed so that the sun will shine on
your back. On very bright day brown
paper is better than white. Begin shoot
ing at 100 yards, and fire ten shots aimed
directly at the bul's-cye, without wip-
ing the gun out after each shot. Do not
look to see where you have hit till you
have fired the string of ten shots. If you
find, when you get through, that all the
shots are close together, you may be
sure that the gun shoots we'll, though
the hi s may be some distance from the
place aimed at. That would only prove
that the line of sigh was not coinciden
with the line of fire, which can easily be
rec.iGed by moving the forward sight to
the right or left, according as the vari-
alton was 10 the one side or the other
Having fired the string of ten shots,
take pair of dividers, and with radius
equal to half the distance between he
two hits that are most distant from each
other, describe circle cutting through
the cen:cr of each. From TIE center of
Ibis circle measure the dis ance to each
of the hits, add these distances together
and divide the sum by ten, and you have
the acreage variation, which ought not
to be over two inches at the utmost. -
If the gun is what it ought to be, and
fired by good marksman, i: will proba-
bly, be much less. This is sufficient
/ test for precision for that dis ance, and
the same method may be adopted for
longer ranges. But if the gun shoots
well at one hundred yards, Its capacity
for longer ranges may be proved by its
penetrating power. When fired at a
target of dry pine set at a hundred
yards dis ance, if the bullet penetrate
nine inches it may be considered equal
10 range of six hundred yards if it
penctrates twelve inches it may be con-
sdercd equal to range of one thousand
yards. Many persons suppose that the
best way to increase the range is to
increase the charge of powder, and that
certain amount of powder, varying fol-
every range should DO used. But it is
held by frst-rate marksmcn that a speci-
fic charge should be use for all ranges,
and that the increased range should be
obtained by clcvathg the sight. The
contributor to the atlantic .Monthi1
states "the proper charge Of powder
for every rife is about one-seventh the
weight of the bullet" A very common
way of testing the charge capacity of a
rifle is to commence q series of shots
with small charge and increase the
quantity every shot until the rife kicks
when the charge used for the previous
shot is selected as the best for all occa-
SONS. This is not a good method
because rifle sometimes kieka with &
very small charge and not with large
one. The kicking almost always de.
ponds on the fabrication of the pitch and
the condition of the barrel.
Some usful directions are given fol
the purpose of keeping rife in order
After firing it should be wiped with 6
clean wet raglan on flannel is stated
to be the best then it should be wiped
) dry and oiled. We have found that