The principle of the ejector is that with split extractors there is a connection between the fall of the tumbler or hammer and an ejecting mechanism, or lock in the fore end of the gun. The opening or closing of the gun after firing is made to cock the tumblers, strikers, or hammers, and also to put the ejector at full cock, or otherwise bring it ready for action, then when a shot is fired the fallen hammer or tumbler, or its re-cocking, is made to react on the ejector at that stage of the opening gun when the extractors have already moved the empty cartridge-case. The undischarged cartridges are therefore extracted, but not ejected, and the used cases are ejected.
Safety of Guns
The safety bolt placed upon hammerless shot guns is very necessary. It ought, when placed at safety, to prevent the lock springs working, and should prevent the possibility of the scear being released from the catch, or bent, or scear catch. Mr. Robertson, proprietor of Messrs. Boss & Co., has shown conclusively that a slight rap on the lock plates will disconnect any scear catch, and so let off the gun when not at safety, unless it is also protected with an interceptor, which is moved out of the way of the falling tumbler, or striker, only by the pull of the trigger. Mr. Robertson’s own single-trigger action is also a safety action, even when very light trigger pulls, such as 1 lb., are employed.
The strength of barrels is assured by the proof of them at the London, Birmingham, and foreign proof houses, with loads and charges larger than for service. Anyone in doubt about purchasing guns and rifles would be well advised to write to the Proof Master for the literary matter issued for the protection of the public and guidance of the trade. This changes from time to time, but at present it gives very full information of the meaning of the various foreign proof marks as well as of our own.
Cross-Eyed Stocks
It is often suggested that a thumb-stall which stands up and blocks the fore sight from the left eye is an assistance to right-shouldered shooters, and sometimes it is. But as it has no effect on the manner of bringing up the weapon, it must require revision to get the correct aim if the weapon is not brought up correctly. The author thinks that a long course of shutting the left eye will force the right eye into becoming governing eye by habit. Some people have neither eye greatly the governor, so that each has an influence on the manner of the “present,” and helps to fix the point the gun is brought up to. This point may be half-way between the extended lines from the two eyes to the foresight, and permits of no real alignment until the gun is moved after presentation, which is always slow. For such men nothing but shutting one eye will be of much use, but for those who have a controlling left eye it is different, and a cross-eyed stock, or shooting from the left shoulder, is to be recommended. Those who have a control eye need not necessarily be able to see the game with it. Provided they see the latter with one eye and take alignment of the breech and fore sight with the control eye, that is enough. If the eyes are pairs—that is, not crossed—and produce on the brain but one image of an object focused, then the direction of the alignment over or upon the game or target is accomplished in the brain, and the hands obey. That is to say, the left eye may be unable to see the sights, and the right eye may be unable to see the game, but as the images on both are superimposed on the brain the aim is quite correct for normal eyes. A beginner thinks this impossible, but if he uses a thumb-stall, and blocks the fore sight from the left eye, and puts a card over the muzzle, so as to block the right eye from seeing the target, and then focuses the latter, and not the fore sight, he will soon become unconscious that he is blocking out anything from either eye.
As the ability of the eyes has had to be referred to here, it may be well to remark that any normal eyes can see the shot in flight against the sky, and this ability has been used to advantage in coaching shooters. To see this phenomenon, stand slightly behind the shooter, and look for a little darkening of the sky in the direction of the aim; it will be easily seen about the time the shot has spread to a foot, or so, diameter. Whether anyone can see the shot much nearer than 15 yards or farther away than 20 yards is questionable; the spread of the pellets reduces the dark shade-like appearance, and it vanishes. Consequently, experts who see clay birds apparently in the middle of the pellets may be quite correct at short distances, and appearances may be absolutely wrong for game or clay targets at distances farther away than the shot can be detected. The bird may have flown another two yards by the time the shot intersects its line of flight. Consequently, this ability of the coach to see the shot should only be relied upon at about 20 yards range.
SINGLE-TRIGGER DOUBLE GUNS
The idea of a single trigger to double guns cannot be said to have occurred to anyone as an original conception, since it was natural that at the first attempt to build those toys (as Colonel Thornton considered double guns, when he was upon his celebrated Highland tour), the inventor must have exercised some ingenuity to supply these first double guns with two triggers. It was as natural to attempt to make double barrels with one trigger as for a duck to swim. First, because single barrels were the fashion, and second, because single-trigger double pistols were made and were successful. It was, however, at once discovered that the action of the double pistol would not do; it let off both the shoulder gun’s barrels apparently as one. For a century afterwards repeated attempts were made to overcome this double discharge, and many patents were taken out on the strength of the inventor having discovered “the real, true cause” of the involuntary discharge of the second barrel, by the pull off that was intended to actuate only the first. However, the problem remained commercially unsolved until Mr. Robertson, of Boss & Co., of St. James’s Street, overcame the difficulty, and took out a patent, about 1894, for an action that prevented the unintentional double discharge. The great success of this action led to some hundred patents being taken out between that year and 1902. But most of them were afterwards dropped, and found not to effect the prevention of the double discharge for which they were designed. As a matter of fact, the reason of the involuntary discharge of the second barrel was not understood, not even by Mr. Robertson, who had, by trial and error, arrived at a perfect system of overcoming the difficulty, without being aware of what really occurred.
In the autumn of 1902 the author contributed some letters to The County Gentleman, which explained the difficulty; but his discovery, for such it has proved to be, was hotly disputed in a correspondence led by some of the leaders of the gun trade. This was by no means wonderful, although it is disconcerting for a discoverer to be treated as “past hope” when he is so unfortunate as to make a find that can do him no good, but ever since must have saved much in work and patent fees to the gun trade.