The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-17
NEW IDEAS IN SH0TGUNS.
AMERICAN FOWLING PIECES NOW
~ THE FRONT R.iNk.
Fine shooting Hnnc ny ~ New Shotgun-
IhShi-wcight Gums In Dcmsni-A Squares
Mua1led Gun-Oi" That shoots Two WAYS
nj 0ncc-Thc improvements In sights.

biNui-Wrighf asHns In II squares
MuR1led Gun-Oic That shoots Two WAYS
NJ 0ncc-Thc improvements In sights.
or late year tho American fowlirg piece has
taken rapid strides to the from, and has OVER.
come thc early prejudice of the Englishmcn
who objected to 1t on the ground chiefly that ID
was y hcar gun n compared with The $3.50 or
5000 weapon which every man OF means in
England twenty years hgo considered the only
gun worth handling. Siurc then American
mNrSsmCu hsNC demonstrated what they could
do with American guns in several countries in
Europe and have proved that American guns
arc worthy of the highest concentration.
In Europe the chief topic in regard to guns
this season is still the sinGlc.triggcr idea. which
was described fully in THE SuN last fall. AL
though guns made on tins model have been
shown here, they 10 moi nurcar TO have won
favor. possibly because OF the more severely
practical element in The makeup Ut the Amer
lean sportsman, who shoots almost without
exception in the open, with naturally reared
and naturally. hunted game The game in the
surroundings of the English cuverts. grouse
moors. and strictly preserved country, is easier
TO bring down. and consequently the sportsman
over there Is apt to give more attention to such
things rs freaks and fancics in guns. The prin-
cipal American improvements made recently
have been in the direction Of greater regularity
Of pattern penetration was always n strong
point in American guns and some very fine
results have been obtained. At u trial of a gun
the other day, nifty shot b ing fired and tho
gun being wiped ouI after every. ten shots. the
variation between the highest and the lowest
result in "A thirty.inCh circle was not more than
= per cont. For many years It has been rs>t
gardcd n almost a certainty that in ten or
twelve shots with any gun here will lie at least
one weak pattern, and the recorded pattern OF
"a gun * always averaged ON that account. so
the showing III the trial referred To may be said
to have ii lfuhclct III" phenomenal.
There Is also an increase in the demand for
light. weight guns, and these run not so much
To u lighter weight for II given bore as to u
smaller bore. One of the prinCipal firms in this
country is now making. "A line which includes
:, 10. l., li,rl6, 30, and - gauge brccch;load-
mnnd comes from Texas, the Houston field shots
using the lightweight guns almost exclusively.
order weighs Z pounds : ounces. is Of Dumas
Gus stce!, hlncd to resemble iilid steel. and has
3D.inch barrels and n llln-inch stock. the drop
point to a straightcr type of gun than was used
shoot oifhnnd with an, american gun. TO CATER
I" III" demand for light guns Their" has been in
hollow. opr,i at one side. and are very neat
and wonderfully strong, but the slight difference
in wcight will scarcely affect the demand for
the old stock of finely seasoned. closely IN
spcctcd, wood. Cheap stocks are generally
made Of American grown walnut. hut fine stocks
are seasoned Tor from ten TO twenty years in
most case. and are of English walnut, worth
possibly 81 in the rough: German walnut. worth
approximately ~. and Brazilian walnut, worth
80. \ handmade stock of the last wood is fire.
| qucntly worth So. Mahogany is 700 brittle,
and rosewood too heavy. Ii is possible to-day
hGmm"rlcss. il desired. for from $40 to 81. 50.
y curious idea l. ih" sGuarc'm,izA!cd shotgun.
the outcome of II number Of experiments by DIR.
a. :. Kennedy Of Auburn. Me-. who. sought to
secure Improvement in pattern and penotra-
had il made square nj; the muz2le, and then
improved the shape. grading the four sides of tho
claims that the result ot his experiment, is that
the shot is pra tically ShovrI!rd into n compact
bunch a. it leaves the barrel. and 40 leaves the
gun without ,he tearing pressure made by Il
round choke.
Alcssandro ,Scuri of l;irEc, the great ,gunmak-
ing city of Belgium. 1t is a two-barrclled fowl.
ing piece or rifle which can he fired. each barrel
separately in the ordinary way, or The tw" bar
rcls at once. at two objects nol more than forty
yards apart. The gun is provided with "A scale
at and the necessary difference OF direction OF
the muzzlcs of the lw" barrels. y pull at II
ring on the under side of the gun orrralrs two
rods, which slide the barrel, apart 10 the cx-
tent r,4nired' ain lin is taken; mmd the 3So5 objects
Iiegc has introduced since Herr Picpcr. the
great gunmaker. produced a, gun designed
Ia be fixed like "A modern machine gun on the
stem of "a boat. TO carry an ordinary charge OF
shot and powder. and to fire 100 shots a minute.
In the Sighting oil fowling pieces there is a
very little use to the, average. quick shot.
;dGS gun snI G ,Hn, ,bs s" !v 1hai this sasr id inst is mis-,
in the act OF raising the gun to the shoulder.
and that it is of vital Importance. Ivory sights
have been long in vogue. but not commonly
with a rear or brccch point OF ivory rs we'll as
cially adapted for dawn and dusk shooters is a
protected piece of glass at the muZzle under
which is a streak of se!f-luminous material.
An innovation on the grass mats used as a
blind for wild fowling has been introduced by
n New Yorker at "A point in Georgia where
snipc and wadcrs are plenty ana the beach is
hard md smooth. This j. a grass blind built
around a rubber tired tricycle. in which he sits
and quietly pedals from point TO point where
he has placed stalos, calling, as he goes. II
birds alight or are seen at n distance. he very
slowly drifts down, TO them, and IN this way 10
r,,,,tnJ 30 "a, ,,nl ;,,y ,S,,lI,,,t l..r.