Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1875-08-05

RULES FOR HANDLING A GUN.-As
the hunting season is about to open it
may be well to impress upon the peo-
pie of Grant county the following
rules for handling gun:
l. Never handle gun unless you
know how, nor suffer any person over
whom you have control to handle one
unless he knows how. You have no
right to endanger your own life or the
lives of others by handling danger
Gus weapon in any other than the
safest manner.
2. Always handle gun as fit were
loaded; never let it point to yourself
or any one else never point loaded
or an unloaded gun at any live thing
unless you mean to kill. Hardly a
day goes by that the papers do not
report that some idiot has snapped
gun at his wife or daughter ssppos-
ing it unloaded, and has therefore had
the misfortune to kill a human being.
The galIows should rid the commun-
ity of such unmitigated fools.
3. Always carry your gun at half
cock never with the hammer on the
cap. This rule is almost invariably
violated. A few illustrations will
demonstrate its correctness First,
half cock your gun; if it will pull off
in that condition, take an axe ana
split the stock, bend the barrel and
sell it for old iron, Second, if it will
not pull off put cap on the cone and
let the striker down upon it; now
strike the back of the hammer with a
stone or against the door ijanb and if
the striker fits the cone decently well,
the cap will be exploded. This is
what happens when man carries
loaded gun with the striker down on
the cap, shoots himself while riding
in wagon, in falling or in climbing
over a fence or stone wall Third,
put cap upon the cone and let it fall.
If the main spring is good for any
thing the cap is exploded. More &C
cidents happen with guns in this way
than any other. A gun is carried
through underbrush, dragged out of a
boat, pulled on the ground by the
muzzle; your dogs jump upon you,
the hammer catches in your clothing
in either of these and in hundred
other ways the hammer is liable to be
drawn back almost TO half cock and
then to fall back upon the cap. If
the gun is a good one all explosion
ought to follow. Fourth, now halt
cock your gun; draw the hammer
back to nearly full cock and let it fall.
1t will stop in the half cock notch,
and no blow is given. So always
carry your gun at half cock. If you
cock it expecting to get shot and
are disappointed, hold the muzzle
straight up in the air and put the ham
mer again at half cock.
4. If you know of no other way of
ascertaining whether a gun is loaded
or not than by putting the muzzle to
your mouth and blowing, or if you
don't feel inclined to draw the charge
retire at a safe distance and at once
blow out your brains if you have any,
before you kill or MAIN other people
by your stupidity and carelessness.
The above rules were taken from
the Fur, Fin aud Feather, and are
the rules of one of the best shots and
finest hunters in the country. They
are more particularly applied to boys
and people in the country, who seem
determined to kill some one or shoot
themselves by their carelessness.
These people have an idea that it is
dangerous to carry gun at half cock,
and that man is perfectly safe with
the hammer down on the cap. Then
when one of them takes gun he
pokes it at every person he can see,
not Intentionally of course, but be-
cause, like Wrinkle in the Pickwicll
papers, he don't know what else to do
with it,