The Washington times., 1894-06-10
smaller caliber. and has . detachable barrel

smaller caliber. and has q detachable barrel
and magazine.
Naturally, after the advent OF the VIM
chester and its success, rivals soon came TO
the fore. OF these the Marlin and Colt alone
exempiify the survival of the fttest. Inc
Marlin. like the Winchester, is operated by
finger lever, which has, however, shorter
throw and is pivoted upon frame. back.
ward extension OF the lever engages steel
upright locking bolt. which is drawn down.
ward with tho first movement OF the lever,
unlocking the breech bolt, which is then
drawn to the rear, extracting the empty
shell; a. cartridge follows into the carrier,
which is then lifted sufficiently to close the
magazine.
The return movement lifts the carrier,
charges the barrel with its contents. and lastly
the locking bolt is forced back to position.
The gun opens and the shell is elected rom
the side, leaving the top solid, the advantages
OF which are that the eyes are protected In
case OF premature explosion, the shell Ia not
thrown in the face, and rain or snow are not
so liable to get in the magazine. 1t has the
easiest manipulation of any OF our magazine
arms. For fancy or quick shooting and the
smaller varieties OF game, including deer. 10
is therefore particularly adapted and extern
siyely used. They are extremely accurate
arms. simple in construction and readily taken
apart.
A few years ago there were five different
magazine arms in our market. Competition
lowering the prices made profitless the manu-
facture OF The least popular and more expen-
siye, with consequent cessation in the man
ufacture of two and a change of model in the
third. This last the Colt inaugurated new
departure in the way OF manipulation. the
left hand being used and the leverage changed
TO the forearm. which is movable. From this
extends back into the mechanism straight
steel lever. the first motion Of which raises
the two locking braces pivoted upon the
breech block. unlocking the latter and nov
ing il to the rear.
The action in other respects resembles the
other arms, except that the hammer is held
locked back by n special device until the
brecch is closed and locked, permitting the
rihcmen te fire the contents of the magazine
in rapid succession by simply holding back
the trigger and working the lever. The rifle
is called very appropriately Colts lightning
magazine rife. and its novelty, with the repu-
tation OF the manufacturers as revolver max
ers. gave it a speedy sale. 1t is now one OF
the most popular of our sporting weapons.
American arms are growing in popularity,
not only at home, but abroad. They have
long been favorite weapons in Asia. South
America, parts OF Europe and Africa. One
firm alone has an output OF $4,000 sporting
guns Der year, and numerous plants attest
the importance and extent of the industry.
We may well consider their superiority as
proven now that our English cousins are be-
ginning to use them extensively in India and
Africa A recent illustration in the Pail Mall
Gazette shows Mr.. Selous, their most distin-
gushed Nimrod, with Winchester in his
hands. 1t is also worthy of note that the
arms adopted for the English army, the Rem
ington-Lee is an American invention.