the bullet by about half an inch, or rather less. The length of the long side should be just sufficient to fold twice round the bullet at its base, with half an inch to spare, and the angle which the inclined side makes with the long side about forty-five degrees. Supposing such a piece of paper to be lying before the person making up the bullet, with its square end towards him and its long side to his right, the bullet would be laid on the end nearest to him, with its point to the left and its shoulder exactly over the left edge, and rolled from him in the paper till the latter formed a closefitting tube round its cylindrical part, and projecting about half an inch beyond its base. This hollow part is then 'choked' with a piece of strong string or catgut, till a neck is formed sitting close against the base of the bullet, when it is secured by two half-hitches and a thumb-hitch of thread or fine twine, and any edges of paper that are left trimmed off with a pair of scissors, so as not to project beyond the sides of the bullet. It is then dipped in grease, and ready for use. The bullet, thus prepared, is precisely as though it had been removed from a Government cartridge by cutting away the part above the shoulder of the projectile.

"Unless it is likely to be carried far in a pouch, the trouble of tying the neck may be avoided by merely twisting it after 'choking,' and pressing the end into the hollow base of the bullet with a round-headed former. It is rather difficult to obtain a paper of uniform texture-thin, and yet sufficiently tough to bear the choking' without tearing.

"The bullet thus prepared would, like the naked bullet, be used with a powder-flask. One of a pattern made by Messrs. Dixon, of Sheffield, in which the charger is detached from the body of the flask, is the best, because it gives the charge of powder more regularly than the ordinary pattern, and the safest, because, if the charge of powder should ignite in passing down the barrel, as in loading rifles does occasionally (but very rarely) happen, the explosion cannot ignite the remainder of the powder contained in the flask, and thus cause a serious accident. "WELSHMAN."

RAMRODS.

Breech-loaders, as a matter of course, do not require a ramrod, but every kind of muzzle-loader must have one. In order to avoid bruising the point of the bullet in ramming it down, the head of the ramrod should be made hollow, and this should fit the bullet exactly, for if it is too shallow it will bruise the point of the ball, and if too deep the edge will cut some part of the cone, and thereby impede the flight. The rod itself should be either of metal or of very strong wood. An excellent plan is to make it of iron, and hollow, so that, however foul the barrel may be, the powder may be poured down through the ramrod, the head of which, while it fits the conical point of the ball, acts as a trumpet mouth for the powder. When thus made hollow, the metal ramrod is scarcely heavier than when made of wood.

PLAIN AND TELESCOPE SIGHTS.

Every rifle is, or ought to be, carefully sighted, and this cau only be done after repeated trials. It is necessary to fix two sights: one near the muzzle, which does not rise or fall, and which may be either a simple pointed wedge, or what is called the "bead sight," but both should be arranged so that they may be moved towards either side by a slight blow. By this plan, any inclination of the trajectory to either side is allowed for, this front sight being moved in the same direction. The back sight is a more complicated affair, inasmuch as it must vary with the distance, for however well it acts at 100 yards, it will be useless at 200, and so on. Hence it is usual either to have a succession of flaps which turn down over each other, or to have one small frame to turn up and fall down on the barrel, and on this is a slide containing the sight, so fixed that it can be raised to the several elevations necessary for all the distances within the compass of the frame. A V-shaped sight is that best suited to sporting purposes, and the succession of flaps as shown in the two-grooved rifle at page 316 the most convenient for rapidly changing them according to the distance required. It takes some little time

and care to raise a slide exactly to the required height, but a flap is lifted in half a second.

The telescope sight is much used in America and Switzerland, but in this country it is not considered of any service in deer-stalking, a shot being seldom taken at more than 300 yards. It consists of a small tube fixed along the upper surface of the barrel in such a manner that it may be raised or depressed according to the distance, and containing lenses similar in construction to those of an ordinary telescope. For target practice, especially with short-sighted people, the plan is greatly to be recommended.

RIFLE-POWDER AND POWDER-FLASK.

The powder suited for shot-guns is not so well adapted for rifles, which require a kind that shall leave as little residuum as possible, and which will not burn too quickly. Hence rifle-powder can hardly be too coarse, provided it will pass into the base of the nipple, and as the caps for rifles are stronger than for the shot-gun, there is no necessity for its entering the nipple-tube itself. Curtis and Harvey have the reputation of making the best rifle-powder, their No. 6 being that generally adopted. The powder of the Kames Company in Scotland is also extremely free from residuum, and between it and the above there is little choice.

Powder-flasks for rifle shooting should be made with the charger of small diameter, especially if the tubular ramrod is adopted. The object of the small size is to admit of its passing into the muzzle, by which some little adhesion of the powder to its sides is prevented. In other respects there is no difference from the usual form. (See also p. 355.)

RESTS.

For target practice a wooden rest is generally adopted, but this is quite useless for sporting purposes. In deer-stalking, also, there are almost always rocks or similar projections, which serve as rests, but in shooting over a plain, there is sometimes nothing of the kind, and then a rest such as that introduced by Captain Conolly will be found of great service.

Here the ramrod is made to form a rest, as shown in the annexed engraving.

The rest is made by a swivel screwed on to the lower part of the upper band of the rifle (see fig. 93 a), the upper

swivel b being sufficiently large to give the ramrod full play, and being slightly ovalled, if necessary, to fit flush into the stock when not being used and the ramrod is returned. A small brass cup or socket, large enough to receive the head of the ramrod, is let into the stock above the band, the ramrod being then let fall through the swivel, and the head inserted into the cup, a most perfect rest is obtained.

It is by no means indispensable that the head of the ramrod should rest in the cup; it is nearly equally steady when butting against the slings or any other part of the stock-indeed, for a sportsman firing from the kneeling position, it is better to slope the ramrod forward, and let the head of it rest against the upper band. Captain Conolly merely inserts the cup into the stock, because, he says, a small incision must be made to receive the swivel b when not used. At the same time it steadies the ramrod more, and makes the rest more perfect when the cup is used.

CHAPTER V.

CHOICE OF A RIFLE FOR SPORTING PURPOSES.

REQUISITES FOR A SPORTING RIFLE-COMPARISON OF THREE PRINCIPAL

KINDS-FINAL CHOICE.

THERE are three requisites for a sporting rifle-first, correctness of shooting at moderate ranges; secondly, a definite weight, which should not exceed nine or ten pounds; and thirdly, facility in loading. To these may be added strength of shooting and weight of ball. These several qualities are not equally shared by the muzzle and breech-loaders, and it will therefore be well to compare them together in reference to each other.

There is little advantage to either in this respect.

Beaten by the breechloader. There is, however, a great difference in muzzle-loaders,some being very difficult to load, while others are just as easily managed.

FACILITY IN LOADING.

Load far more easily as well as quickly than the muzzle-loader, and also than the revolver in a large number of rounds.

Inferior to both the muzzleloader and breech-loader in actual practice.

Six shots can be fired more quickly than with a breechloader, but the latter will have the advantage if more than that number are to be fired.