The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-11-21
TRIGGERS.


dice Of the Englshmen who objected to 1t
on the ground chiefly that 1t was cheap
gun as compared with the $3.50 or $500
weapon which every man of means in Eng
land twenty years ago considered the only
gun worth handling, says the New York
Sun. Since then American marksmen have
demonstrated what they could do with
American guns in several countries in Eu-
rope, and have proved that American guns
are worthy of the highest commentator
The principal American improvements
made recently have been in the direction
of greater regularity Of pattern-penetra-
ton was always a strong point in Amerl-
can guns-and some very fine results nave
been obtained. At trial of gun the
other day, fifty shots being fired and the
gun being wiped out after every ten shots,
the variation between the highest and
lowest result in a 30-inch circle was not
more than per cent For many years 1t
has been regarded as almost certainty
that in ten or twelve shots with any gun
there will be at least one weak pattern,
and the recorded pattern Of gun Is always
averaged on that account. So the showing
in the trial referred 10 may be said 10 nave
approached the phenomenal.
There Is also an increase in the demand
for lightweight guns, and these run not so
much to lighter weight for given bore
as to a smaller bore. Ono of the principal
firms in this country is noe making a line
which includes, s. 10. -. IA, 16. 20 and a.
gauge breech- loading guns. The greatest
increase in this demand comes from Texas,
the Houston field shots using the light
weight guns almost exclusively 16-
gauge recently turned out on special
order weighs pounds ounces is OF Da-
mascus steel, blued to resemble fluid steel,
and has 3O-inch barrels and JAZZ inch
stock, the drop at the butu being | 7-S
inches. This appears to point to a
straighter type Of gun than was used
twenty years ago, when few but Ameri-
cans could shoot off-hand with an Ameri-
can gun. To cater to the demand for light
guns there have been introduced stocks or
spun aluminium. They are hollow, open at
one side and are very neat and wonder
fully strong, but the slight difference in
weight will scarcely affect the demand for
the old stock of finely seasoned close-in-
spected wood
A curious idea Is the square muzzle
shotgun, the outcome Of number Of ex-
periments by DR.. A. s. Kennedy OF Au-
burn, Me-, who sought TO secure improve
ment 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 bevel.
He claims that the result OF his expert
ments is that the shot is practically SHOW
eled into compact bunch as 1t leaves the
barrel, and SO leaves the gun without the
tearing pressure made by q round choke.
novel invention has been turned out by
Alessandro Scuri of Liege, the great gun
making city OF Belgium. 1t is a two
barreled fowling piece or rifle, which can
be fired. each barrel separately in the or
binary way or the two barrels at once, at
two objects not more than forty yards
apart. The gun is provided with q scale
which shows the distance of the objects
aimed at and the necessary difference of
direction OF the muzzles Of the two barrels.
A pull at a ring on the under side OF the
gun operates two rods, which slide the bar
rels apart to the extent required aim is
taken. and the objects ought to fall. This
is the greatest freak gun Liege has intro
drced since Herr Pieper. the great gun
maker, produced gun designed to be
fixed like modern machine gun on the
stern of a boat to carry an ordinary charge
of shot and powder. and to fire 100 ehots
minute.