The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1899-12-07
USE OF SMOKELESS POWDER.
II Has Caused Big Reduction In the
Price of Sporting
Guns.

Price of Sporting
Guns.
With every prospect of a fine fCwling
and hunting season the sportsmen are
boxing around for the latest things in
guns 1t looks as if perfection had been
nearly reached so far as structural fea-
lures are concerned, and the great prob
lem is which are the best of certain fair
ly new devices grated on old standards.
The only really new item is gun which
has a movable breech. The entire part
containing the lock mechanism and the
chamber for the cartridges may be
taken out to be replaced by another
similar piece. This is designed for rap
id firing, where leaders are employed,
and although it has gained a certain
amount of favor in Europe it is not like
ly to receive much notice from Ameri
can sportsmen.
The magazine fowling piece proper is
receiving more attention than for years
past. Especially has this been the case
with the reed bird and the rail hunters
this fall. The single trigger gun has
failed to take here, except as novelty:
and the fowling piece with auxiliary
chambers on each side of the barrel to
hold two extra cartridges, did not APP
pear to sell at all. The truth is the
American sportsman is satisfied with
the performance of the average high
grade American double-barreled gun.
Possibly never before were guns SC
| cheap as at present. 1t is said that the
cut price fever is responsible for this
and that the secondhand guns so eX-
| tensively advertised are second hand
in the same way as the bicycles were
| when a ride around Central park had
roughened the tires a little and so en-
| abled the dealer to sell them at second
| hand" prices without breaking his price
agreement Certain it is that many OF
| the guns at reduced prices show little
or no wear, and equally certain 1t Is
that the fairly large profits on these
| goods will permit a smart dealer TIC
make a good thing out of the second
hand sales. The type of gun has
changed also, owing to the use OF
smokeless powders. a few years age
when the everyday shooter knew moth
ing but black powder as a sporting eX-
| p1osive, the lowest grade Belgian bar
rels were good enough for guns made to
sell at six dollars, and for ordinary
amateur shooting filled the bill. About
the worst that happened in case of an
overcharge was that the barrel was
bulged at the breech or muzzle, and a
badly burst gun was the exception.
Smokeless powder has all changed the
situation. A comparison of gun OF
ten years ago and one of to-day will
show material differences in the mech
anism of the breech, the thickness OF
the breech, and the construction of the
body and action. All these changes are
designed to withstand the greater
strain of the nitro of smokeless pow
ders.
The smokeless powders have also
been extensively used in rifles, espe
5 cially those of small caliber. The eX
perience in actual game shooting witt
these arms has been about the same as
in war. The bullet perforates withOu
killing. In the Maine woods fine deer
was well within shot of New Yorl
man, and it was noticed that the tip o
one antler was split in peculiar fash
ion so as to distinguish the animal. HI
fired and apparently hit the deer jus
back of the flank. The bullet wen
clean through the deer, and away wen
the animal. Three weeks later, in an
other camp, the animal was shot by an
other man and identified by the spill
point and the wound mark which hat
healed An old-fashioned bullet would
have stopped the deer within 300 yards
In the same camp a deer was secured
without visible wound. 1t was sho
at, thu ew up its head and dropped. Jus
as the guide reached it, knife in hand
it rose. but its throat was cut before i
escaped. At first the impression wa
that the knife caused the muscles to re
act, but investigation showed that tn
bullet struck the base of the horn AM
was detected, the shock stunning n
animal.-N. Y. Sun.