The age-herald., 1897-10-24
NEW IDEAS IN SHOT GUNS American Bowling Pieces Now in
 the Front Rank. LIGHTWEIGHT GUNS DESIRED Fine Shooting Done by New Shot Gun--0ne That Shoots Two Ways at 0nce-The
 Improvements in Sights.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
 Of late years the American fowling piece has taken rapid strides to the front and has overcome the early preju- dice of the Englfshm=n who objected to 1t on the ground chiefly that 1t was a cheap gun as compared with the S2so or $500 weapon which every man of means in England twenty years ago con- sldered the only gun worth handling Since tn n American markamen have demonstrated what they could do with American guns in several countries in Europe and have proved that American guns are worthy of the highest commen- dation.
 In Europe the chief topic in rt gard to guns this season is still the sngle-trlg- ger idea which was described fully in ths Sun last fall. Although guns made on this model have been shown here, they do no, appear to have=won favor, D ssibly because of the more severely practical elem mt in the makeup of the American sportsman, who shoots almost without exception in the open, with nat urahy reared and naturally hunted game.
 The game in the surroundings of th+ English coVerts, grouse moors, and strict ly preserved country, IS easier to bring down. and consequently the sportsman over IneTe IS apt 10 give more dlt-ltlpH to such things as freaks and fancieS In guns The principal American improve ments made recently have been in the direction of greater regularity of pat ern-panetration was always a strong point in American guns-some very fine resulcs have been obtained. Att trial of gun the other day, fifty shots being fired and the gun being wipsd out after every ten shots, the variation between the highest and the lowest result in thrty-inch circle was not more than 8 per mt. For many years It has been regarded as almost a certainty that in ten or twelve shots with any gun there will be at least one weak pattern, and the recorded paptec'n of gun is always avsraged on that account. So the show ing in the trial referred to may be said to have approached the phenomenal
 There is also an increase in the de- mand for lightweight guns, and these run not so much to lighter weight Tor a given bore as to smaller bore One of the principal firms in this country is now making a line which includes 8, 10, 12 IA, 16, 20. and 24 gauge bresch-load- ing guns. The greatest increase in thls demand comes from Texas, the Houston field shots using the light weight guns almost exclusively. A 16-gauge recently turned out on a special order weighs 2 pounds ounces, is of Damascus steel fiued to resemble fluid steel, and has ,30-inch barr;ls and a 141s inch stock, the drop at the butt being 17s inches. This appears to point to a straighter type Of gun than was used 20 years ago, when but few Americans could shoot offhand with an American gun To cater to the demand for light guns there has been introduced stocks of spun aluminium They are hollow, open at one side, and are very neat and wonderfully strong. but the slight difference in weight will scarcely affect the demand for the old stock of finSly seasoned, cl ssly irsp ct d
 11r 11rr 1.aea,7 a of American grown walnut, but fine stocks are seasoned for from ten to twanty years in most cases, and are of English walnut, worth possibly $S in the rough; German walnut, worth approx 1nately $4. and Brazilian walnut, worth s15. A hand d-made stock of the last wood ds frequently worth $25. Mahogany is too brittle, and rosewood too heavy It is possible today to buy really good gun Of the finest twist. hammerless, If desired, for from $35 to $27.S0.
 A curious idea is eff the square-muz- zled shotgun, the outcome of a number of experiments by Dr. A. s. Kennedy, of Auburn, Me. who sought to secure improvement in pattern and penetration. He took an ordinary repeating shotgun, had it made square at the muzzle, and then improved the shape, grading the -four sides of the barrel inward and downward on a bevel He claims that the result of his experiments is that
  compact burch as it leaves the barrel, and so leaves the gun without the tear inc pressure made bv a round choke.
 A novel invention has been turned out by Alessandro Scuri of Liege, the great gun-making city of Belgium Dt is a two-barrelled fowling piece or rife which can be fired each barrel separately in the ordinary way. or the two barrels at once, at two objects not more than forty yards apart. The gun is provided with a scale which shows the distance of the objects aimed at and the neces- sfary difference of direction of the mug zle.s of the two barrels. A pull on ring on the under side of the gun operates two rods, which slide the barrels apart to the extent required. aim is taken and the objects ought. to fall. This is the greatest freak gun Liegc has introduced since Herr Pieper. the great gum maker, produced gum designed to be fixed like a modern machine gun on the stern of a boat, to carry an ordinary charge of shot and powder, and fire 100 shots a minute.
 In the sighl.ing of fowling pieces there is a general impression that the sight proper is of very little use to the average quick shot Most gun experts say that this idea is a mistake. and thadt the sight is seen fnstinctively in the act of raising the gun to the shoulder, and that 1t is of vital importance. Ivory sights have been long in vogue. but not commonly with a rear or breech point of ivory as we'll as the one at the muZzle, and still later idea especially adapted for dawn and dusk shooters is a projected piece of glass at the muzzle under which