The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-04-19
EVOLUTION OF THE GUN.
The Mastery Of Missile Weapons
Considered Manly Ac-
complishment.
Pistols the Most Dangerous and
Least Useful Sort of
Firearms.
The Rifle the Only Weapon for Noble Game
How to Choose Shotgun-Its
Range and Calibre.

The gun is, perhaps, the most fascinating
thing to boys that can be thought of, says
M. Thompson in the Minneapolis Tribune,
and it is, therefore, necessary that they
should be instructed in its use. There is
comparatively little danger in handling fire.
arms if carelessness is avoided. Nearly all
the accidents by which boys have been hurt
or killed while using guns have been the
result of gross neglect of the simplest rules
of safety.
From the most ancient times the mastery
of missile weapons has been considered a
manly accomplishment and one peculiarly
indicative of superior manly development.
TIE first of these weapons was, perhaps,
simply stone which was thrown by the
hand or from a rude sling. Next after this
came spear, or javelin, cast, as they are
now, by the force of the arm. Following
the javelin we find the bow and arrows TAX
ing the place of the clumsier weapons. The
cross-bow was modification of the long
bow and next came the gun.
Fire arms were invented in a Grade form
some time in the fourteenth century, but
they did not come much into use till the
Spaniards invented the arquebus, early in
the sixteenth century. Even the arquebus,
however, was not able entirely to take the
place of the long-bow. 1t was not until the
invention of the perfected fiint-lock that
the gun became the one great engine of
sport and war.
Three kinds of weapons may be classed as
hand guns-the rifle, the shotgun and the
pistol. It is rare indeed for a boy to need a
pistol, and shall only say here that it is
the most dangerous and the least useful OF
all arms. It is so short that it is hard to
handle with perfect safety, and it is not &C
curate enough for use as sport weapon.
My advice to boys is to let it alone.
The rifle is long-range weapon of sport
and for large game is the only effective one.
time rifle has been less and less in demand
for small game; still, for squirrel hunting,
especially in the south, it is in common use,
and for target practice it can not be
equaled.
All the best guns now made are breech-
leaders. No other kind is worth buying.
can not here recommend any special makers
gun, but would say that Americans make
as good guns as the English or anybody
else.
The best rifle for boys is a 32-caliber
breech-loader, which uses short, metal
shells. Such a gun, if of good make, will
be quite accurate at any range within $50
yards and will kill any game that boys are
privileged to hunt. say this because game
that is large or dangerous should never be
followed by the young or inexperienced. It,
however, a boy must shoot large game, let
antelope and the like 44-gauge is quite
heavy enough, but fer bear and all large
and dangerous animals the guns to be used
are extra heavy express rifles, which none
but strong men should try to handle. II
For target shooting at short range %
caliber or even shorter rifle may be used,
and these small guns are very effective for
squirrel shooting in low timber or for kill
ing rabbits.
The rifle may be used for shooting at
moving objects, but it requires great e1-
pertness and there are few who can attain
to success in it.
The shotgun is a later invention than the
gun throwing one ball, though its origin
dates back to the middle of the sixteenth
century. when '.hail-shot" began to be used
in rude smooth-bore gun. As time passed
many improvements were made in the parts
of the fowl-piece, until by slow degrees the
present perfection was reached. At this
time the shotgun most used is the double
barreled,. breach-loading, hammerless
weapon, but I advise boys to be content
with the best make of hammer guns.
In choosing shotgun the chief thing is
to get one of excellent workmanship, and
to do this requires some knowledge Of the
parts of the weapon. OF all the parts the
barrel is the most important, though, for
that matter, nearly all the reputable makers
Order gun with Damascus or laminated
steel barrels and rebounding locks; have
the left barrel "choked'' and the right with
cylinder bore. A choked barrel is bored SO
that it throws the shot very close together
and with even distribution. The cylinder
bore is of the same diameter throughout
its length, and it scatters the shot over
large surface.
Boys will find gun of the size called
2O-gauge the lightest and best for shooting
all game not larger than quail. For all or
binary inland shooting, however, the prefer
seven, or better, six and half pounds, Let
the stock be as straight as you can we'll use,
and the barrels should be twenty-eipht or
not under twenty six inches long. / have
used gun of the heavier weight mentioned
TOR years and have found it just the thing
cessfully on wild fowl. Still, for shore and
boat, when water fowl are flying high and
fast, 1t is much more satisfactory to handle
heavier gun.
The safe range of shotgun loaded with
small shot is from fifty to sixty yards at the
their guns killing every time at much
greater distances. About forty yards is the
more probable limit of safety for light guns
loaded with, say, No. shot. The pellets 90
with great force when they first leave the
gun, but lose speed rapidly as their distance
from the muzzle increases; moreover. thew
spread apart or scatter as they fly, soon get
ting so widely separated that there can be
no certainty of their hitting the object
aimed at.
The object in having the left barrel Ct
your gun choked is to make it more effective
at long range. Thus, if bird is fred at
and missed with the right barrel, which is
always first used, the left barrel is better
suited to make the second shot. as the flying
bird has got much further away.
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Milwaukee d st. Paul railway, running
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est and best sleeplng cars and the finest
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fort and convenience to be had at the very
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ored on these trains and the rates are no
higher than by other lines. 1t is for this
reason that discriminating travellers pat
rOnlZo this COmpanv and iDciat that thar