Related article:
In the making and assembling
of the hundred pieces or so of
which a gun is composed, it would
be surprising if there were not
some irregularity, but, in most
cases, it requires a sequence or
coincidence of unusual events to
produce an "accident." The wea-
pon with which Salson recently
attempted the life of the Shah was
defective; it did not strike cen-
trally, so miss-fires were the rule,
not the exception. The self-ex-
tracting revolver with which a
desperate burglar snapped at a
pursuing constable some time ago
was not defective, but, improperly
closed, the striker fell too high and
would not detonate the cap. Like
instances might be multiplied in-
definitely, but neither kind may
be regarded as really illustrative
of the uncertainty of firearms.
It is, and long has been, the
rule to make gims of greater
strength than requisite to with-
stand the strains they will have
to bear in ordinary use. This
margin of safety is secured in
most countries by the compulsory
proof of the weapon with heavy
charges and loads. It has hap-
I900.)
A GUN-ROOM CAUSBRIE.
435
p>ened that a gun has withstood
' these tests perfectly, yet burst at
the very first time fired with the
ordinary load, possibly because
the strain of the "proof" charge
exhausted the tenacity of the
metal, or strained it beyond Purchase Metformin Online the
limit of its elasticity. Usually
ivhen a barrel is burst it is be-
cause it is subjected to a greater
strain at a certain point than it is
expected, or constructed, to with-
stand. Internally a barrel is prac-
tically cylinder ; externally it is
taper — really a curve so that the
thickness of the metal of the bar-
rel corresponds to the diminishing
pressure of the explosion. If by
a too weak cap, or a too strong
one, the ignition of the powder is
not efi*ected in the powder cham- Order Metformin Online
ber, but a portion only of it is
ignited there and a part of the
charge driven up the barrel before
it ignites, then there will be an
increased strain at some point for-
ward of the chamber, Buy Metformin and it is
only a question of Cheap Metformin degree whether
the barrel is or is not burst by
this unwonted pressure. As the
strength of a chain is only that of
its weakest Purchase Metformin link, so it may happen
that the workman in edging up
the rib has cut slightly into the
barrel with his file, and thus
. weakened the barrel, but so long
as he left a sufficient thickness to
ensure a reasonable Order Metformin margin of
safety, he cannot be held respon-
sible.
So many things — from varying
loads and difierent explosives and
detonators to the total or partial
obstruction of the muzzles — change
or increase the pressure, that the
sportsman cannot be expected to
know a tenth. He can secure
practical immunity from the dan-
ger of a burst barrel, or a badly
broken action, by using a gun and
ammunition which give uniform
shooting. Test the gun by shoot-
ing, at sporting range, at a target
VOL. Lxxiv. — NO. 490.
half-a-dozen times consecutively
with each barrel ; count carefully
the number of pellets on the plate,
or target ; if between the greatest
number and the smallest the dif-
ference is not more than 10 per
cent, of the pellets in the load,
then, so far as human foresight
goes, every precaution has been
taken to avoid an "accidental"
discharge. If the gun does not
shoot uniformly, the load or am-
munition should be varied until
the proper charge is found. If
the gun will not shoot within a
maximum variation of 30 per cent.,
then there is that in the gun or
the cartridges which tends to an
unusual, and possibly disastrous,
discharge.
Mechanical uncertainty gene-
rally results in • a premature dis-
charge, a miss- fire, or the failure
to eject a fired cartridge case. A
gun with which miss-fires are
frequent is clearly defective, and
can be remedied. The gun which
rarely will not go off, but sometimes
goes off too soon, is more common
and much more difficult to put
right. The usual cause of a pre-
mature discharge is the failure of
the scear to enter the notch or
bent Metformin Online of the tumbler. With an
ordinary hammer-gun, when the
cock is brought to full cock, it
will be noticed that it may be
drawn still further back ; this
" over-draft " is to allow of suffi-
cient time and space for the scear
to be worked right home before
the thumb releases the hammer.
If the lock is clean and the parts
quite free of the wood, the scear
very rarely fails to catch and to
hold the tumbler. In a hammer-
less gun there is less room, the
parts are cramped, and Generic Metformin the " over-
draft " is reduced to a minimum.
A slight strain of the cocking-
dogs, a Buy Metformin Online maladjustment of the
limbs, even the wear of them by
the friction oi proper use, will re-
31
43^
BAILY S MAGAZINE.
ID
duce this "over-draft/* and the
scear will catch on the very edge
of the bent ; then a tap upon the
stock, the jar of firing the other
barrel, or the least pressure upon
the trigger, will suffice to liberate
the tumbler and fire the gun.
The common remedy is to pro-
vide a " second " scear, or an in-
tercepting safety bolt, which will
catch the tumbler like the half-
bent in an old hammer lock.
This is not altogether satisfac-
tory. There is not any too much
room in the gun-lock for the parts
which are absolutely indispens-
able ; the second scears and bolts
encroach upon this. Then there
is the common fallacy of relying
upon the second scear to guard
the tumbler, and the proper scear
and bent are not made deep
enough or strong enough for the
work required. The right remedy
is so to arrange scear and tumbler
that it is impossible for the tum-
bler to escape Buy Cheap Metformin unless either the
trigger is pulled or some part of
the mechanism breaks. Gun-
makers seem unwilling to do
this ; consequently, hammerless
guns have an unenviable reputa-
tion in this matter of premature
discharge ; and, as the second
scear sometimes does the work
of the primary one, the blow d
the striker is shortened, and ixass-