Referring to the Wesson muzzle-loading rifle, Mr. Chapman says that the barrel is made of cast steel, not highly carbonized, but thoroughly annealed in an air-tight oven. The length of the barrel is two feet eight inches when the loading muzzle is off. Outside, the barrel tapers a little from breech to muzzle, the difference in diameter being one fourth of an inch. The barrel is not furnished with a rib, except it be that the short tube at the breech can be called a rib, the peculiarity of stocking doing away with the necessity for a regular rib. The gun has a patent breech, which is made of iron case-hardened. It is joined to the break-off by the old-fashioned hook, with the addition of a half-lap joint, secured by a square-headed screw. Such a mode of fastening the barrel destroys the necessity for wood forward of the breech, and gives a peculiarly elegant and striking appearance to the arm. The loading-muzzle is put on by means of four steel wire pins about one-eighth of an inch in diameter and three-eighths long, and the holes for these pins are located as near the outside as possible.
The grooves of this rifle are cut with a twist, which turns the bullet once in three feet six inches. There are six grooves, and the spaces between them are left entirely square to the interior surface, presenting a kind of dove-tail appearance. The grooves are not quite so wide as the spaces between them. The breech is furnished with a vent or breathing nipple, about the diameter of a common pin, and bushed with platinum. The lock has back-action, furnished with a single set. The stock is of black walnut, made as straight as possible. It is furnished with a patch box, and also a small box to contain a wiper, which can be attached to the end of the ramrod. A globe sight is fixed into the stock, just behind the break-off, while a bead sight holds position at the muzzle-end of the barrel. The weight of the gun complete is ten pounds.
Of course it will be clearly understood that this description is not offered as of the best muzzle-loading rifle made, but simply because it happened to be convenient to make. There are, doubtless, other guns equally as good, and a preference of one over the other, in all probability, would have to be born of circumstances, as something peculiar in the tastes or requirements of the person by whom the gun was to be used, or in the particular line of use to which it was to be applied.
The Breech-loading Shot Gun.—Gloan tells us that, in judging the quality of a breech-loader, there are other things to be taken into consideration besides the mere shooting of the gun. First among these is its safety relative to the person using it. There is more machinery and complication about it than there is about the muzzle-loader, and to that extent, if not made upon sound principles, and perfectly well made, it is more dangerous, to say nothing of being less durable.
But the principle must be a prime consideration, for, if a gun, no matter how well made, is constructed with a working movement which presents great strain and great friction, it must speedily wear out. Even the best breech-loader, with the soundest known action, must wear out sooner than would an arm of less complication, because some peculiar strain and friction cannot possibly be avoided; hence the great importance of passing judgment entirely favorable upon only the best.
The first thing to decide upon, then, is the principle upon which the gun works. No special rules can be given to govern in the formation of this decision other than that simplicity is always worthy of favorable consideration—the greater the simplicity the better, provided it works to the full accomplishment of all the ends desired. Next to simplicity may be ranked durability, and next to this may come in good shooting and safety. These last two considerations are put as third and fourth, when many persons would be inclined to rank them as second and first. Why this is done is because many of the most common guns are safe enough, so far as that is concerned, while not a few of them shoot very well for a while.
Some most excellent shooting has been done with extremely common guns, working upon a principle so complicated and so imperfect as to render it impossible for them to remain in order beyond a comparatively short length of time.
The English manufacturers, of good reputation, take great pains with their breech-loading shot-guns; hence, until within a very few years, English guns were considered entirely superior to those of American make, but now it is acknowledged, even by the English people, that in America we put up, at least, some guns that have no superiors. This last named fact has somewhat destroyed the weight of English brands with persons who are looking for a gun of the very best quality. But the advance on the part of American gunmakers is not the only thing that has worked against the reputation of English guns for being eminently the best. The gun-making business of Belgium has seriously injured the general good name of English guns, just as the watch-making business of Switzerland has injured the good name of English watches. For instance, Liege, in Belgium, is almost literally a city of gunmakers. It is estimated that there are now more small fire-arms made in Liege than in all the rest of the world put together, though Liege gets credit for comparatively few of them. The different parts are manufactured there, and shipped to other countries as gunmakers’ materials, where they are put together and branded with the name of a maker who really played no part whatever in the making. In Liege each manufacturing house is devoted to the manufacture of but a single part, knowing nothing whatever of the other parts manufactured at other establishments. As a result the gun made of Liege materials is simply a patchwork, and hence could not possibly be so reliable as a gun whose every part is made in the same establishment, and under the eye of the same general superintendent. England has gone largely into the putting up of these patchwork guns, simply for the reason that she can buy the Liege materials much cheaper than she can make them at home. This cheapness is due to the inferior materials used by the Liege manufacturers, and to the extremely low rate of wages in Belgium. It is asserted, upon good authority, that the English “manufacturer” can get his finished materials from Liege, paying regular Government duty, and put together what would appear to be a fair quality of double-barrel breech-loading shot-gun, at the cost of about seven dollars. And he does it, giving the gun to the market under his own brand, or surreptitiously under that of some other house known to be more reliable than his own. As a consequence, English reputation is sadly injured as regards the business of making the best guns, and gunsmiths can no longer trust to English brands as a sure guarantee of first-class quality. Of course there are some English manufacturers whom it will always do to trust, provided one knows to a certainty that the gun is really genuine.
If that patchwork game is played in this country at all it is on a small scale as yet, and is confined to the cheapest guns. A gun from any of our prominent houses is quite sure to be as represented; and, until the gunsmith becomes so familiar with all the requirements of a good gun, the maker’s price may be taken as a pretty safe rule by which to judge of quality. Each manufacturing house is apt to have its guns graded, and priced accordingly—the higher the price asked the better the gun in every case, for it is as much the desire of the prominent manufacturer to make a good name as it is to make a good gun.
Of course this rule can only be considered entirely safe in case where the scale of prices has been obtained directly from headquarters. Passing through half a dozen or so of middle houses might work important changes from the original price list.