“AMERICAN RIFLEMAN MAY, 1931 The Muzzle-Loading Rifle HERE is « growlng Interest in the rife ‘of by-gone days, So interwoven kas it Been in the lives cf oxir people and the Gesiny of our country, We glory in the Now Tradition and early records by reliable au- thorities have handed down to us accounts ted Zor"huling ded in the Wonuetece meustatns gary Nunber, Bie, By WALTER M, CLINE (Photographs by the author) ‘nasi ee Ged: of our border rifemen of "70, of the AP aAUaMR ARE Giees het OA Kentucky and Tennessee backwoodsmen under Wie" 06,80. yal Mut Anicew Jackson at New Orlane, snd. of mureioulue te he pak of Ter ouejonent GCfocket and Mis compunions al the Alamo. Sanaa wad mur’ of Wa ce they Have to ft very closely in the barrel, ‘having to be driven to the Dottom by blows ‘of the ramrod.” Robbins, in his tracts on ‘nmmery, maker mention of the Swiss using ‘he greased patch; but the ball still remuined A very tight ft im the bore and had to be forced into the grooves in loadins—the very thing thet is not productive of accuracy with a round ball. This dificulty of leading caused the berrel of the rife of Centre) Europe to sf some of the remarkable shots made in the shtsung mrtsies i wile the" bed tke nae be short Gays of the muzieoading fintode fl, “They seem like fairy tales to those who know Fut the long rifle of the pioneer was an in- Strumeat of precision and served its purpose well What we know of the first riled arms has come own to us irom a dim past, Captain Beaufey, one cf the best carly writers on the fle, says that the Knowledge of the grooved baxrel and the effect of Spiral motion was known in Rusia and the more forthem parts of Europe long before its use by the ‘more advanced rations of Central and Southem Ex» ope, Te quite probable that the theory of spical motion was known at a very early date. Arrow points Feveled co as to produce a rolary motion have been found in considerable numbers, showing that the abo. rigines were familiar with this principle With the discovery ané use of gunpowder as a pro- pellant for che missile or ball from the first firearms, Tegan the search for accuracy. Just when the lead Tal was frst used is rot Enowi, but no doubt it came into use with the handgun. Yet it was several Trundred years before the effect of unpowdler on the Teal bull was discovered, All eforts of the carly ‘makers and users of the first riled anms were to force the ball into the grooves before the arm was fred. Bullets of groove diameter vere used and were forced down the boreel with on ion vamred and mallet. ‘The greased wad and patch were used very early and are mentioned by a Spanish writer. Alonso Mar- tines d> Bspinar, in 1644, who says: “Tt is necessary to have felt wad cut with 2 punch, which mus be exactly filted to the mouth of the barrel. ‘This mus he pitched with Greek pitch, wax, and tallow. All this should be dissolved and the wads thrown into it, and after they have abserked the pitch they must be allowed to cool and then they remain very hard and greey; these are very important far riled Arquebuses, Teecause with them the balls go in more easily, for little of the accuracy of these esrly rifles, fnr"inf” aricle—kowae. Daddy Crest end hie fateh hot ltiaa Me “Old Sealey” ‘seal a ‘The discovery that a ball of Hore diameter used vith greased patch could be leaded with: out dificulty and better accuracy secured, must have heen made before there was any chonge in the design of the rifle, Te have attempted o use the same method of loading the loag-barrel fintlock rifle as that used in loading the ritle of Cen- ‘tral Europe would have renviered the formes useless. ‘Tho use of the greased patch, together with a tall of bore diameter, allowed the guusiich to experiment with different lengths of barrels. As the musket and fowling piece of this period had long bartels, it fol Towed that the rifle should have a leng barrel. Te ‘yas not the conditions in this country—Americe—that cused this racical change in the rifle, but thst age~ fold quest far arcuraey. With the development of the loug-barieled intlock fe by che pioneer gunsmiths of Pennsylvania, and fts appearance at about the be: inning of the great inflax of Germans and Scotch- Trish into America, there wes availble an accurste shooting vile that made possible the advance of thee home-seeking people Yeyond the then essed Frontiers. ‘The manufacture of the rile spread repidly as the pionesr conquered the wilderness and the savaxe, Fram Pennsyivania, fis birtaplace, down the valley of Virwinia into the Carolinas, and on westward across the mountains into Tennessee, thie rifle followed the napidly-advancing frontier Tried ond tested i hun ‘dreds of desperate confics im the hands of the Amer ican pioneer its use became almest universal. Tt was not devised by any beard of ordnance, but was the product of a race of practicel men developed over @ Period of many years and with the improvements which were contributed hy each generation of skilled ‘yorkmen; snd it became @ weapen of wonilerful pre cision at distances within its range During the decade preceding the Givil War, and the period of transition of the murslelonding to the Tresch-losding ville, the muzele-loading rifle attained 7a = a g 5MAY, 1931 fis highest develormert. Every town and ity had one or more gunemiths, and rifle raking spread the leagh and breadth of the land. The shooting match became the great~ cst of all Amecican sporis. Her» the excel- Tence of each riemaker was put to a test, ky which bis reputation was made. In mary paves where these matches were beld every Saturday, for years, the writer has seen the stumps of large trees which had been shot down by having bad the targets placed against them. ‘There were three types of the muse. Ioading wile which were in use during the Inte percussion period: the hunting rifle with its different lengths of barrel, an all-purpose rifl, in general use; the long, homy’, nani i iRifing the burels, Inu THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN Moulding bullets and burning boards black for tergeis for a shank, ‘The square end, was then Treated, twisted, ond sempored, This did the ‘eulting, This Dit would follow the hole in the barrel left by the rod in welding. A shore point Toft straight, not twisted at the ‘ext of the bit prevented the letter from Wailing off, so that che barrel could be bored from both ends, and the twe bored holes rest on line in the middle ‘The long bit wis next weed. This waz made by welding to the side of a sinall squared bar of iron ¢ thin piece of steel. ‘This welding vas done hy the sid of borax as a flix. to make the eel stick to the soft pioze of fren. This bit wes now welded to dhe end of @ rad of sufficient lengch so that all cutting could be done froin one end of the barrel. The xcel portion -vas now tempered, and then eiraigh-ened, The steel, bucked by the soft iron, was Zid on the anvil and tapped with f hommer, It required considerable sill in Tempering to get just the ght degree of hardness $0 that the steel would mot crack ightening. The two edges of the steel hich were to be the (vo cutting edges, were grow sharp; ard on the back of the har, opposite to the steel, was fastened a ship of hickory wood, rounded to coniom, fo the bore. This strip of hickocy prevented ny iron eutings from scratching the Darel tnt by placing small shims of paper between the wood and the iron, as many cuts could bbe mide as were necessary. All cutting with the lng bit was made iam the breech to the muzzie, the slight wearing away of de ‘wood as the bi: traveled through the barrel fn saecessve cuttings giving a taper, or choke, bore, The Darrel was row straightened silk thread was stretched throurh the bore, and swe kept taut bya hickory bow. By Teok- ing through the baxrel toward the Beht, the crooked places could be detected by the shadow thai the silk thread cast on the pol- ished surface of the bore, This crooked place vas matked on the outside of the bare] by maisiening the fingers with saliva and then touching the place opposite the shatow, The barrel was then placed on the anvil end tapped, wieh a hammer, This was repeated, if necessary, until no shadow showed in the bore, the work progressing: from the middle owsrd the ends of the Tiarrel, Meredith Wolf, one of the easly gun smiths of Teanessee, told the writer that in his fifty sears of experience he had seen only ‘one barrel that did not need straightening ‘The barrel was now ready for efing. The rill machine consisted pfs cylinder of ‘wood, sometimes as much as 4 inches in Giameter-—the larger the better, as this tended to reduce lost motion when working Ubrough small bore in the barrel. ‘This cylinder of ‘wood ed spiral grooves cut in the ouler surface, te the number of sis, coven, cight br whatever number 0} grooves dhe workman decided to cut in 2 barrel, or the order called for. ‘There were exira cylinders, each having ‘ certain number and pitch of grooves. One gunsmith fad elght exits cylinders, each ane dliffecent, end all interchangeable in a irame- swark of wood An “index.” iastened in the hhench, bad fingers fitting inte tho spical groaves in the wooden cylinder, and revolved the crlinder when the latter, held in its frame, was pushed hack and forth along the top of the bench, ‘This cylinder carried an Iron Yo¢ at one end, and st the cher end of this rod 2 piece of ickory wood was fastened which ‘carried the culling tool, or ‘say, this pices of hickory being eylindt in shape, and a close sliding it in the bore. These sivs were made indifferent shap seme having teeth inclined in only ene dir tion, others with tooth inclined both way: and catting with both movemenis of die rod back and forth through the bore. Sail others hed straight teeth, that scraped the metal rather thin cut i, The finished resuk wis cependent upon the shill of the work: After the sow was set in the hickory ‘sing head,” the hier was passed throug’AV, 1931 the barrel, the first cut being avery heavy ‘ne. The saw vas worked back and forth until it would aot cut any more. The cylin- der vas then tumed so Ghat its next groove fewmaged the fingers of the index, and the next groove vias cut in the bareel: and so fon until all groeves were cut to the sme depth, ‘The sa was then ralsed and a thin shim of paper plsced under it, and the above ‘Process repeated. So slight was the cut taken at each operation tint for each groove the Sty was passed rough the Dore as many as forty times for each time it vas raised. With a T-groove barrel. that would mean 280 strokes for cach time the saw was raked. ‘This was repeated from ten to Afteen times for exch groove, depending upon the size of the ball to be wsed, making 2,900 or mare times the saw was passed through the barrel to complete the job. A barrel riled by this process needed no smoothing out with emery. and 3 few shots would remove the wire edge from the lands. No more perfect job can be done today with the test machinery than the arels rifled by the master gunsmiths of the muvale-londing days ‘The outside of the barrel was shen fled, ground, or left just as it was welded—some ‘customers preferred it that way—aiter which it was broeched, stocked, sighted, and tected. ‘The gunsmith made bis own tools for the ‘work That these old ritles were accurate beyond the belief of present-day cifemen is borne out by targets preserved by the writer from the cldtime shooting-matches, and by the perfomance of the rifes in the mountains ff Tennessee on black ear, deer, wildcat, and various species of emall game, The writer has wed these rifles with regular loads, and hnas also used them double-ckarged and Gouble-patched. He has killed game as dead ‘st 100 yards as could have been done vith @ high-power rife. The long-barrel Kea tucky, with its balf-ounce soft-lead ball, driven with a full charge of powder, was all that could be desired, and « second shot was seldom required. ‘The longest shot 1 ever sew vas made by William Welker on a black hese, with hie rife that he called “Death.” ‘The distance es measured was 290 yacds, The bear was crossing a deep hollow on 2 Jog. and was hit in the leit fore shoulder and so disabled that it waz exsly overtaken and killed. Very few shots were thruwa away by men who used the muzle-loading rifle. Tt was accurate, economical of ammunition, and deally. “Recent mezsurenents of the veocty of the muzzle-loading rifle have shown that with a powder charge of only tworffths the weight of the bullet, using FFF granulation of powder, a velocity of over 1,700 feet per second waS attained ‘This test was made by a the late Dr. Philip P. Quayle, of the Peters Cartridge Co., with a rife made by BW. Amuden, of Saratoga Springs, N,V. This se has a 28-inch barrel and is in perfect condi tion, By double-charging and double-patehing, as was often done in hunting big game, the velocity went over 2,600 fost per second. ‘A remark was made by one of my mous tances friends recently, as 2 party of us sat around the camp fire one night while en = hunting tip in the Cumberland Mountains ‘hea the conversation turned to the old dass ‘when we all used muzzle-loading rifles This rman, # true mountaineer, said that he “wished there had never been any other gun made except the muszle-ioiding rile, because i that case we would alnays have had plenty of game.” The match ries difered from the Inunting ritles im length of barrel, weipht, and caliber, very few being less than 40 caliber. The Dersel lengths ran from 48 inches to 6D inches, with some few even longer The bartels were made of the softest tron, and were always welded. Very few of the best makers of match rifles would put their names fo the barrels unless chey had welded them themselves. After the barrel was welded, it was annealed and made as saft as possible One very successful maker used a process iat had been handed down in the family for four generations. He would place the Moulds and bullets for American torget riflesTHE AMERICAN RIPLEMAY An old-time shocting-match, with mueste aud elbow Dacre on a level plete of ground prepared especially for it, then pile a long heap ot dry chesinat wood over it, ond shen st fire to the wood, and leave it until all the wood Thad been cousumed and the Lasrel had slowiy cooled. I have in my possession two rifles that were annealed by this process, and fos may slave them with a pocket lmife nil net dull the blade—in fact, Ue sides 0 the ociagoas were shaved true with a dra Knife made by the smith himself, These bsr- rels would not shoot slice like a steel barrel. ind were much in demand, There is n0 doubt that these heavy match sifes were the most accurate roun-hall rifles ever made Several weeks ago T received a post card which read as follows’ ‘ello Boys! ‘A Dig shooting match at the Raven Rock neat Seturday, for Two fat cheep. Come! Tell all ‘The boys and les have a big watch, Yours ior luck, Grimes Avert.” Here, in one of the most picturesque spots fn Ameries, is still held the elf.time. shoot fing match, in which the loag, heavy, soft metal-barreled match rifles are still used Rifles that would delight the eve of “Deer- layer"! Raven Rock is @ high cliff where for years the ravens had nested and reared their young, until, with advancing civilization and the building of highways into this meuntsin fast ness, they Tad passed ou, no ove knows where, leaving only thefe name in-memory of the cays when the sir about the place was black with these somber-winged birds, ‘The mountain tzeil which gained the summit through a cleft in the rocks hus been replaced Dy a fine highway to the summit of the Cum- Derlands, and on vestward across the broad plateau, No mote wonderful pancrama is seen than that viswed from che Raven Rock. Soat ard stretches the Sequatchie Valley for more than 70 miles, Midway of the valley nuns the Alsin York Highvay, named for Sergeant Vork, who had learned to handle a ile in the Cumberlands long before tis country called him oversess to became the nation’s hero, He is ore of the mountain mea whose deadly kill with the de was acquired Ubrough daily use of the weapon in the hills around his heme, AS cut car topped the mouniain on the way to the match, the shup reports of rifles were heard, and the sir was pungent with the smell of black powder. The big maich was on. and we wete invited to take art. One dollar was the entry fc, test ‘There were to hold Just his amount. Anether le is to uso a ferlain number of meulds full of powder, ising the moulé in which the ballet was cast Large balls call for three moulds full; small cones, four moulds ful, ete. a. charger being rade in cach ease ¢o bokl the exact amount ff powder, ‘The patching is usualy of driling, of a certain thideness for esch individual fo This is wet wih sslive, Inid un the muzde of the rife, and the bullat seated with a slater, the Inter heing so formed thal it always seats the bull! sn pate to the same depth in the bore, The edges of the paicl- ing are then gathered together in the leit hand and cat off close en the mvzale with a Fanife. the edgo of which is beveled so <2 not (@ injure the exd of the barrel, This makes a circular patch with the bullet seated exactly in the center: and the pach is always the same size. A bullet Jonded off center of thew THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN N. J. Whitmore rifle in case with accessories, patch will shoot wild. ‘The rifles are not fired pidly, but are allowed to cool between shots, So that the temperature of the barrel is as nearly the same for each shot as pos- ble Open sights only are used. The front Sight is of the wide bade type, the rear sight Uacle Rute Swofo rifle *Comter” and his One of the f hhoving < rectangular slot in which the front sight is accurately centered, The top of the front sight is sp held as to show an equal strip of white at the top and at each sde fof the bullseye, This sight was invented by Bnoch Hardin about forty-five years who told the writer that he had laid awal at night trying to figure out how to. beat f competitor that was getting the better of hhim in the maiches, Both front and rear sights are shaded by a piece of sheet icon 0 bent at to slip on over the barrel. This rmukes the sights stand out clearly and also iminates the problem of changing lights on them. Wherever the location permits, the targets are placed to the south of the shooter, so that they vill be shaded, and all shooting be done toward the light. There were many noted marksmen at this match on Raven Rock, There was Gilbert Angel, who. shot a 24poud gua called the “Jake Keedy Gun,” snd who cut center three times in secession. There was Unels Ryril Freeman who rode up from the valley, bringing hic pet rile, “Old Beck,” which had s $3+inch barrel, bearing the outside hammer ma and ail, just as it had been welded by the maker, but with the inside ae true a: could be made, Uncle Byrd shot a fine match, all shots being cut torether; but he cut the croés only once. Then there were Rert Fann and Rudolpa Holt, from Weldens Ri beth fine shots Holt could never get 2 barrel long enouzh to suit him, so be welded tsso barrels together, end to end, bored snd .ed out this long barrel, and rifled its and now he has s ine shooting rifle with eC-inch barrel, The only trouble be says he has with it ie that, as he is mear-sghted, it takes him so long to sce the front sight that it is always dark before be gets his T have never seen a short. shots. fired st examples of the handmade tercet rife Barrel rifts coin o match; snd while these bbe just as accurate ss the Jung bacrels have no place in one of these old-time matches. All the shooting is done irom a rest, either from a prone postion, resting the muzile on a log and the elbows on the ound, ot from a shooting bench, which permits che shooter to be seated, and afords tn elbow and muzzle rest These were 25 contestants in that match, and it vas almost dark before the shooting Uncle Byrd, a fomons rife shot, and Ihe rife “Old Beckaay, 1931 Equipment for target rife was finished. Then came the measuring to determine the winners. This is a very par ticular job, and was especially 20 in this match, &s the shoo:ing hae been very close anda number of croses hid been cir Dividers are used for measuring. Each man that has a close shot furnishes a bal? bullet Of the size his rifle uses, on the cut face of which the center has been marked This hai bulle: is peed in tho bullet hole in the hoard, and the cross lines extended across the bullet, Then the measurement is taken from the center of the hulle: to the center fof the cross lines. The bullet that has iis Center resrest to the center of the cross wins first place; and so on until the best 5 shots Ihave been measured. Fortune favored the ‘writer io this fascance, his second shot cu ting a dead 4-point center, winning fs place, though kis fourth shot, only a little more than an cghth of an inch of, did not get anything. This will give some idea of the fine accuracy of these old-time match rifles, and the closeness of the contest There was a sixth prize in this match, which consisted of the lead cut oat of the ee against which the tarre's had been placed. And here io where « little supers don enters in, for all firmly believe that the fad shot in s match, if moulded into bullets fod shot in another match, will never ain Snything. This lead is right to we in hunt z.but never in another ch! Daring match erything is taken good Saturedly, and no finer bunch of sportsmen ev ssthered together than Sea who tale part in ee old shooting catches, The American target Mould, swage, false mussle Bullot mould and poder charger Title, 2s developed in the late percussion pe- Hod had the greatest accursey and power ‘of any muzele-loading rifle, and it is doubt: ful if its accuracy at medium ranges has ever been surpassed. The earliest specimen in the line of development of this vifle that hat came to the notice of the writer is a fine piece by Tryon, of Philedelphia. It is of the late fiintlock peried, and must have heen wade after 1811, as that was the year Tryon ied his ile works in Philadelphia, This rife bas s caststedl barrel $4 inches in length, caliber 0, and hos nerrow grooves which make a three-quarter turn in the length of the barrel The end of the barrel & turned round and fitted with a brass starter of the piston type. That it weed the sharp- luted ball is Indicated by he end of the starter-rod, which is reamed out to fit a ball of that type. The rifle has « fine rainproof lock by Parker, stock of cutly maple, with fa drop of 5 Inches. ‘The weight is 14 pounds. This is quite a departure from the long, hheavy-barrelad fintlock match rife, and i= the only specimen knows to the writer. An example of the rest step in the line fof development ie a rile marked “Edward Wesson, Northhoro, Mass," and dated 1826. The number 225 is stamped on the barcel The tarrel has 2 length of 37 inches, and is marked “Cast Steel.” Tt has six grooves 015 for convenience in using Note teat funnel is vinged to charger starter, nipple wrench, sowder fask and screwdriver, etc inch in depth, and the rifling makes a three (quarter tum in the length of the barrel, ‘The Jands are twice the width of the grooves) the caliter is 44. ‘Ths rifle uses the sharp. Dointed picket bell with slightly rounded base Moulds, swage, and charger are 4 pact of the equipment; and the charger bas a loading- funnel attached. ‘The muzzle of this rile also is turned and fitted with a brass starter, the same as the Tryon rifle. Its weight is 16 pounds. So great was the improvement Jn accuracy of this type of rifle and ball ‘hat « powerful incentive wee given the gun: mekers to continue its development. Experi ‘ments were conducted with every conceivable shape and design of ball, with different pitches of rifling, varying widths and depthe of grooving, diferent lengihs and welghts of barrels, as well 2s powder charzes, to develop greater seeuracy and range The nest stzp in the improvement of the rifle was the false muzzle, sald to have been inveated by Calos Clark, of Windsor, Vi.. in 836, Thy earliest rie with thie attachment nown to the writer is one by Frank Wesson, of Hartford, Comn., and which bas the name “Clark” stamped on the false muzzle The invention must have spread rapidly, as this rifle was made in 1837 and is numbered 433, The false muzzle is made after the barrel is hored and ready for rifing Four small holes are dilled in the murcle end of the barrel as near the outside edge as possible. A piece is then cut of the barrel of the same length as the outside diameter of the barrel, Four steel ins are how fitted in the holes in the piece that was cut of, and this piece is clamped toTHE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN Brockway rife, This rife uses the two-sinip paper patch, ond is adapted for the Bordan primor hhe ‘barrel, the ping fitting in the holes in the larrel which wore drilled before the piece yas cut off, and which were drilled deep ‘nough to zo on through the length thet was ‘9 be cut off, and into the barrel preper. The grooves ate now cut in beth barrel and fae muzde, thus making the grooves in he latter correspond exactly with these in the barrel. The bore of the false muzzle is sow beveled, or countersunk, to permit. the ‘oading of the bullet and patch by the aid af the starter, so that the patch is not ext and the bullet is securately centered in the tore of the rife each time it is loaded, with the axis of the bullet coinciding exactly tth the axis of the bore. The false muzzle is thon semoved before the rife is fred The use of an elongated bullet—that is, a tulle: in which the Tength is greater than the siometer—had been tried many yesrs before Lautman, writing in 172%, recommended the Hiptical ball, and the Englishman Robbins in 1742 recommended a ball of this type. But the dificalty of leading at that early date prevented its use to any extent, and it was goon discarded, I: remained for the ingo ruity of the American gunsmiths to develop a rifle and a method of loading it with this type of bullet 0 as to attain the greatest accuracy and range of any muzsle-louding rifle, In this they reverted in a wav to the methods employed in Central Europe, The bullet was forced into the grooving in load ing and this still holds true with all rifled arms. The hulle! sonst be made to take the grooves and be per~ fectly centered in the bore, ether in loxding or upon being fired, ‘The so-called grin, or geining, Luwit was next developed in the target rifle. Chapman gives Ed- ward Wesson the eredit for first employing this aystem of fing Jn 1835 the Fishers, of Virginia, were advertising the gain twist in rifles of their own make. Tt is doubtial whether i can be eillied co any one man, as Imad been tried many years be- fore. The object of the axin- twist method of grooving vas 10 pemnlt the use of heavy charges ‘of power without the danger of the bullet stripping, or being siriven across the lands. J. W. Suilman, writing in the Aifantic ‘Monthiy in 1859, says that the ‘American gunsmith his solved the problem by adopting the gaining 6 in which the grooves start from the breech neatly parallel to the axis of the bore, and radually increase in rate of twist, until at the mussle they have a much sharper pitch. In this vay the rotation of the bull is begun very gently, with less tendency for the surface metal of the soft bullet to be Stripped off in the grooves. The gaining twist is the greatest improvement siace ‘grooving was successfully applied. To reject iL is to reject something indispensable to the best performance of the rif ‘The barrels of all these rides were “reel; that is, in the final boring of the barrel a slightly deeper cut was taken fram the breech up to within 12 or 2 inches of the muzle The idea was to reduce friction and permit of easy loading, the plunger of the bullet starter crrying the bullet through the tighter ruzzle section, and on into the locser, “freed” por ton of the barrel below. I: was soon found that the shamp-pcinted picket bullet with its stright nes was not the best form, for if loaded slightly ff com ter each revolution would throw the pint into a wider circle, and the bullet would Decome more erratic than s round ball Therefore the point of the cone was gradu: ally brought to more of a curve, and the sc-cilled “sigarloai” bullet was the result. ‘Very fine accuracy was developed with this new bullet, and Stillman records two targets shot by rifles made by Morgan James, of Utica, N.Y. The first tarmet was shot by The method of using the Berdax primer, showing primer in place & ready for tke cap to b0 screwed down The machine rest was made for the rife A rifle of 60-gauge, 25 shots being fred. the average deviation being 174 inches; the sec: ond was shot by a rifle of wO-gauge, the average being 8/10 of an inch, both ‘at a listance of 220 yards, Stillman alo sates that in the northern part of the State of New York the practice at shooting matches was at turkeys at 100 rads (550 vards); and that a good marksman was expected to hit on turkey on an average of every tree shots By 1860 a new bullet had been designed that far supessed the sharp-pcinted suger- losf bullet in sceuriey, and bad been uni verselly adopted in various calibers and lengths to sult ecch individual pitch of rifing One of the most acearate bullets of this new type as designed for a certain rifle measures 420 in diameter at the base, 200 at the point, is 735 in length, and weighs 225 grains. The riflo that uscd this ball would de considered a oO-gauge, 1s measured by the round-ball method, as round balls of this size would ran cixty to the pound. Another Dullet is .sop in diameter at the base, .250 at the point, is 050 in length, and. weighs oumce and 48 arsine, By this time the length of barrels haul be reduced to almost a standard, althoush opin- jons were various on this aubject. Experi ments Ind developed the fact that a barrel of 26 inches was the best for the strone- est shooting, and fer the best one of 34 inches, while for a combination of both, a barrel of 30 inches was consid- red the best length Telescope sights were ia we, and extended the full length of the barrel; and many of them terchangeable with the peep and covered bead front sighs. A telescope sigit brought ft by Daniel Wand, af Roches. tes, N. Yu. in 1861, especially designed for the American starp- shooter, had 2 range-fnding and flevation device consisting of tight horizontal cross hairs paral Felt each other and at certain definite distances apart. These ross hairs were intended to in dicate the fall of the ball for diferent ranges, and were so spiced as to excily correspond with it When used finding device, the object as measured between the ss hairs indicated the rence The telescope was also wed incorrecting shots on the target. Tf the first shot was lox, the rile wat held immovable with the cross hairs on the center of the bul’seve. The elevating screw was. then tumed up until the cross hairs ceatered the hulle: hole Tn this way the correct eleva. tion was secured; and if the calculation nd been correct the next shot should strike the bul’seye. If the distance were so great that the bullet hole could not be seen, something easily seen was pheed over the bullet hoe. and the adjustments made. Try time when sighting in a rifle, and see how much ammunition you will save ‘The following data will give come ides as to how accurately range and wind variation Inad to be judged to make goovl scores when using these rifles. A test was made of a certain rifle, the barrel of which weighed 8 pounds and was 29 inches in length. A conical ball was used weighing 65 to the pound, with « charge of 2)2 inches of Huzard’s No. 1F powder, At 110 yards the drop of the bullet was 3 inches; at 220 vari, 30 inches; and at 430 yards, 18 feet All this will very, of course, with diferent wifes, charges of powder, weights of tulet, etc. Back in those days flags were used on the range, sel every 40 yards between fring point and target. These were made of red cotton doth about 6 feet long, and of cylindrical shape, 3 or 4 inches in diameter. They were opt spread by the use of wire rings sowed inside. ‘These logs tapered slighily, and hud fa slit in one side in which a weight could he placed in case of a heavy wind. They were fastened t0 the edge of a strip of tin, 3 x 10 inches, on one end of which were brazed lugs to slip over a rod fastened to the top of + pole. The strip of tin acted like @ weather yane and was free to turn ln any direcilen. The idea was ly the cid of these days io select an average wind velocity, and fire when the dags showed an even wind over the ex tire range, That the old-time riflemen could dope wind is evidenced by that famous match in 1886 between Warmer and Perry, at Warrea, ‘Ohio, The match was a. 50-shot aifuie for $500 a side; dictance, 220 yards. Though it was a very These illustrations chow the Brockway ‘roo-part false macsle, and the manner in hich the two-siriy poper-patched. bullet i londed. The lower picture shows the ‘bulletin place ready t0 te seated by the ‘starter windy day, Warner won the match his 50 shots in a group measuring 42 inches; and Perry's group was just over sO inches, ‘There was always great rivalry between Warner and Perry, Warner always dlsiming that Perry copied him. Thoro aro other sim- kr achievements recorded for both. IL is recorded by Barber that at a meeting of a rifle club in Ohio just before the beginning of the Civil War, 30 men put 10 shots each Inside of a 10-lnch ciccle at $00 yards, Tt is also recorded that st a distance of three quarters of a mile a number of shots have ‘been phecd in a flour barrel, without 2 miss. With the breaking out of the Civil War many sharpshooting regiments and companies were orgenized in the Federal Army. These ‘were composed of picked men from various States—men of known ability as marksmen, Tn Berdan’s two regiments of sharpshocters rng one was permitted to join who could not place 10 shots in a target, measuring 50 inches or under, at a distance of 200 yards— fan average of § inches to the shot I: ie recorded that one of these men, by the namic of Townsend, fred a S-shot group at 200 yards that measured 3% inches. Two com- panies of this rosiment fumished their own rifles, which were the heavy target rifles with fale muzzles, and telescope and peep sights. wal bow Complete composite Bullets, and component parts, for ‘Brockway rife 9 ‘Then there were the Andrew Sharpshooters from Massachusetts company of picked men named for Govemor Andrew of that State, Each man provided his own rifle. A description of these rifles published in a bis tory entitled, “Massachusetts in the War,” says that they were very heavy, and were considered to be the most efficient rifles Knowa, They weighed from 20 to 70 paunds, and were necessuily fired from a rest. They ‘were made by various gunsmiths in diferent parts of the coustry to suit each individual ‘They were muzle-lnading, shooting * conical ball with a patch, and propelled by. hen charge of powder, An expert in their use could load, aim, and fre about once in 2 ‘minutes Tt is also recorded that at York ‘town mary of the Confederate batteries were silenced by the sharpshooters using these heavy rifles. One incident is relted in which some of the Federals, working in the trenches, were annoyed by 2 Coniederate sharpshooter wo had posied himself in a tree 800 yards distant, from which point he could mate their position an uncomfortable fone, while i was impossible for them at that distance to distinguish him with the naked eye among the branches of the tree Two fof Andrew's sharpshooter were pat in the trench, a telescope sight held on the man in the tree, and the first shot brought kim down. Tn the Wester Federal Army, General Fre- mont orgenized 9 rosiment of picked men se lected from many different States, and known as “Binge’s Westem Sharpshooters.” They ‘wore fit armed with the American target rifle ‘obtained from the sporting-goods stores of Se. Louis, These niles varied in caliber, and ‘each man carried a mould to fit his rlle Reports of the offcers of both the Con federote and Federal armies contain the in- formation that the fire of the sharpshooters was very accurate. After the war these muzele-loading target niles vere still preferred for fine target work to the breech-loading fe that was fas coming into use One of the last developments vyas the twosstrip paper patch and (Text continued on page 47, iis trations ow page 20)20 THE AMERICAN BIPLEMAN 1 2 3) iia sla 1 9) 9f 8 consecubive shots shown above wer Leth of January 1990 u: ightly cloudy witi Temperature about 60° F, Tine 4 Upper: Result of Dr. Quayle’s test, Lower: Targets shot in ectual matches. The groups as shows aro about actual sizeAY, 1031 THE MUZZLE-LOADING RIFLE (Continued from poge 19) the adaptation of the Rerdan primer to. be used with the muzale-leading rile. The false muzae was altered to hundle the composite bullet with the two-strip paper patch. This composite or combination ballet os male in two parts, The point was of an alloy, and much harder than the base. These two parts were swaged together so as not to twist apart when fired, The bullet was lengthened, 2e- cing heavier charges of powder; the recoil vas heaxy, and machine ress were devised for use in firing the rifles in target work. A cross hesd wae sitached under the barvel ear the muuzle, having a V-notch into which fitted a piece of metal atiached to the sboot- ing bench. ‘The rear portion of the rest per~ nitted the sliding of the rifle in recoil, and Trad fine serew adjustments for both windage ind elevation, To ire, the rifeman seated imself to the leit of the rfl, with his right hand against the but and the first finger cof the left bard on the trigger. When the rifle was fired the right hand took the recoil as the gan came back on the bench. The rifle was then loaded again, and retursed 10 the original position. After the Berdan primer came out, some of these rifles, to keep pace with the new development, were adapted to use it. Tr stead of the regulr the, or nipple, there was used a small tube of steel, the upper end being formed the same as the head of a brass cartridge chell, and receiving the primer. A cp was made, with « plunger, :0 screw down on the cylindrical portion. The hammer, striking the planger. fired the primer, which communicated with the charge in the barrel through a small hole. This arrangement prevented any escape of the powder gases ‘The false murale for loading the two-strip pitch was formed in the sime way 2s the false muzzle already in use, except that the center was bored out to 2 depth of thees- quarters of the length of the bullet, and about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, this latter size depending upon the caliber fof the bullet, The above dimensions are for 4 ball of 50 caliber and a length of 152 inches, In this hole in the false muzzle another muzzle was placed that protruded an eighth of an inch beyond the original false muizk The bore at the outer end of this extra false muzzle was fled square, gradually tapering down to the other end ‘Two chan- rnele were cut across the cuter end of this piece, at right angles to each other, and to aa depth that brought their bottoms dush with the end of the original outer false muzzle ‘Goo illustrations top of page 19). Two pieces fof bond paper, slighty oiled, were laid across each other in these two channels, and the Dllet pressed into the square opening of the inner false muzzle, the channels guiding the paper strips, which made a periect fold around the bullet. The starter was then tused as usual to cent the bullet and center it ia the bore, A rife of the above type is in che posses. sion of the writer. and was made by Brock- way, of Bellows Falls, Vi. It weighs 20 pounds, has a 30-inch ‘barrel, including the false muzzle, which is constructed to use the twossrip paper patch; a full equipment of accessories; swages for (wo diferent sizes of ballets; moulds for the points and base of the composite bullet, and also for the solid Dall, and a charger that indicates the amount fof powder for the charge, which is + inches in the bore of the rifle.” One swage forms a bullet that measures .520 st the base, 243 at the point, is 1/4 inches ia length, and weighs 700 grains. The other swage forms 1 bullet that measures 515 at the base, 240 ft the point, is 19/16 inches in length, and weighs 680 grains. There are eight marrow Jands in the riding, which make 13; turns in the length of the barrel, ‘The rifle is in perfect condition, and is a accurate as the day it was made. Tgnition is by use of the Berdan primer. This rifle is equipped with a fulllength telescope sight. A machine rest is also part of the equipment To those that are not fanilior with the capabilities of these old rites, the results of the following test of one may be of interest Recently, at the invitation of the late De. Philip P. Quajle, of the Peters Cartridge Co. the writer made a trip to Kings Mills, Ohio, where the Peters plant is located, taking with hhim one of the finest target rifles in his col Tectioa, as Dr. Quayle had expressed a desire to measure the velocity of one of these old arms, The rifle tesed was one of the finest if not the finest specimen in existence, and was male by N. J. Whitmore, of Pottsdam, N.Y. It is in splendid, new condition, in- side and out. Length of barrel, 31% inches cover all, including false muzzle and patest Dreech. The grooves are cut on a gaining toist, beginning with one tun in 6 feet and fending with one turn in 3 fest 4 inches; Dore diameter, 452; depth of grooves, .008; wwidih of grooves, 108; width of lands, 00; weight of rifle, 16% pounds The bullets are of the flat-pointed picket type, with tly rounded base, measuring 0 at the (0 in length, and weighing 225 grains base, These ballets were formed of pure lead. ham- mered and then swaged, re carefully weighed and only those used Which were with Q5 of a grain of the andard weight. Experiments were conducted in the laborstory with varioue powder charges, in which the velocity was carefully measuted and a charge of 64.7 grains of King’s Seni- after which they Smokeless, FFG granulation, was slected, giving a mean muzdle velocity of 1.638 fect per second. This rifle tas a full-length telescope sight of about 12-power, edjustable for ebvation by a finely cut setew, and a single act trigger. The starter will Bt on the muzzle in only one position, insuring that ‘each bullet will be centered exactly the same in the bore as every other one. Much de- ends upen the proper powder charge; and the method used in the laboratory for pre- determining this, together with the accuracy of the Forecast of its behavior before the Fille had fired a shot, seem incredible ‘The rile was taken to the range in its case, and there assembled. ‘The bore was carefully a Wiped out, and one of the weighed charges ‘of powder was poured into the muzzle, using ‘8 small wooden funnel that is part of the ‘equipment. A felt wad 3/16 of an inch in Ulickness was seated on the powder. The bullet was then centered in 2 circular patch vwot with saliva, placed ina depression in the muzzle provided for this purpose, the bullet Suter set in place, and ie bullet forced into the bore. the bullet being seated down fon the powder with a flatended ramrod. This datnded ramrod is used so that there Will Le no change in the axis of the bullet as fixed by the false muzzle and the starter. ‘Tre fale muzale wat then removed Two shots were fied to warm Ghe gun and settle he telescope in the mounts, after which 3 shots were fired for group, the bore being carefully cleaned after eich shot; distance, 186 yards, This group measured: Exireme horizontal, 136 inches: extreme vertical, 7 of an inch; mean radius, 7/16 of an inck. Every shot would have touched a S-cent pices. Tk is mest probable tat these muzzle loacing target rifles. equipped with telescop= Sight, set triggers, fale muzcles, and ballet starters, were the most accurate rifles. ever mace. "Very few of the riflemen that were familiar with this type of rife are living today, but three old photographs fram camera of forty-five years ago have pre- served the pictures of some of the famous old riflemen who upkeld the supremacy of the muzale-losding largt rifle to the wory last, GAME AND GUNS OF 1871 (Continued from page 30) to shoot. We haé millions of prairie grouse not erough remain o make it worth while to buat them, We had qui all the way from New Jersey fo the Pacific, but not over ‘one bird int the thousand is leit today. We hhad s0 many waterfow! that a man's only work was to Keep up his supply of ammuni- fon and to procure a gun which would shoot fast enough. Automobiles are scouring America todiy to find the remaining ducks We hed millions of passenger pigeons, and foc a single one is left If aman could bitch yp a mule team today and drive across the virgin praitie, potting up e thousand grouse in a day and ten thou sand ducks, he'd imagine that he must have suddenly died and gone to the heaven of the White hunter and the red. At that, man being what he is, and as unchanging as the laws of the Medes and Persians,” he'd very quickly ruin whatever heaven they might place him in; hence the wail of the old: timer for a’ day that is gone, for guns that are gone, for game that is gone. Shooters are too many, guns are too good, game is too scarce, and the mischief is about done. How many would have liked to sit in a blind with Jor Long, and, slowly loading a muzzleloader, each Kill his’ 75 ducks in an hour, rather ‘than now sit ia the same bling, with bis live Alecoys around him, his automatic across. his ‘knees, and never see a single hird in a whole day? Some of us have either lived too lateANNIVERSARY NUMBER 1871— MAY, 1931 a “Backward, Turn Backward, O Time, in Your Flight”