CHAPTER XIV. A Few Notes on Rifles and Ammunition

A FEW NOTES ON RIFLES AND AMMUNITION

BY H. W. H.

Express Rifles.-These are usually made of five different calibres--viz. .360, .400, .450, .500, and .577--and are called ‘Expresses’ on account of the high velocity imparted to comparatively light bullets by the heavy charges of powder used in these rifles. Many sportsmen are under the impression that all Expresses of the same bore are practically the same--at any rate, as far as their power, velocity, &c., are concerned--and look upon, say, a .500 Express as a fixed quantity. No greater mistake could be made. Take two .500 bores, apparently alike, and the one may be a powerful and effective rifle, and the other quite uncertain, at any rate against the larger kinds of even soft-skinned animals. The reason of this is that the first is rifled and sighted for, and constructed to carry, a fairly long bullet weighing about 440 grains, and having a comparatively short hole in front (see figs. 3 and 4), while the latter fires the ordinary short bullet, which has a relatively larger hole in front, light walls and a thin base (see fig. 1), the result being that when it is fired at, say, the shoulder of a powerful tiger or bear, the whole of the bullet will probably break up into small pieces, causing a big flesh wound, but no part of the bullet has sufficient weight and momentum to penetrate through the bones or powerful muscles of the animal so as to reach any vital part. Unfortunately, the higher the velocity of the projectile, the more the bullet breaks up; consequently the short range at which such game is usually killed tells still more against this type of bullet for such sport.

The short Express bullet may be considerably improved, and greater penetration obtained, by having the hollow shorter and tapered (see fig. 2).

Rifles constructed for these short bullets are decidedly inferior to those arranged for the longer projectile.

Fig. 3 shows the long .500 bullet with a heavy fuse.

Fig. 4 shows the same bullet with a small taper hole.

It is certainly now for the most part acknowledged that rifles firing this type of bullet are much more trustworthy, giving as they undoubtedly do increased penetration and a more smashing blow. The front portion of the projectile generally breaks up in the animal shot, and the base part, having sufficient energy remaining to pass through the body, will nearly always be found under the elastic skin upon the other side. These rifles have the further advantage of giving accurate shooting at comparatively long ranges where the ordinary Express would fail.

Figs. 5 to 10 show some specimens of this type of bullet (.500 and .577 bore) taken from under the skins of tigers, after having passed through the animals, proving the great velocity and killing power of this form of projectile, and demonstrating that the whole energy of the charge had been effectually utilised.

A double .500 rifle to carry the lighter bullet may be made to weigh about 9 lbs., while to carry the longer and heavier bullet the weight should be nearer 9½ lbs. But when the increased power and penetration obtained are taken into consideration, probably few sportsmen will object to this slight extra weight. A crushing blow that may be depended upon is what is required, and reliance cannot be placed (except, perhaps, for deer stalking) upon the short, light bullets so much used. No doubt a good deal of game is killed with the light bullets, even up to and including tigers, &c.; but much has been lost, and many accidents have taken place, in consequence of the bullet breaking up too soon, causing only a flesh wound, and not having sufficient penetration to reach a vital part of the animal shot. The above remarks apply both to .450 and .577 rifles, but especially to the latter, so without going into further details illustrations are here given of the light .450 and .577 bullets generally used (see fig. 11), and the longer ones now recommended (see fig. 12).

.450 .577 270 grains 455 grains]

.450 .577 340 grains 625 grains]

Since Sir Samuel Baker has so strongly recommended .577 6-dr. rifles, they have become much better known, and are now much more used than formerly. There can be no question that when fired with proper bullets they are very effective weapons, even against the largest kinds of game. Of course for use against the latter it is necessary to employ solid hardened bullets.

The weapon used and recommended by Sir Samuel Baker is somewhat heavier than the ordinary .577, weighing between 11 and 12 lbs.; it was specially made for him, and is sighted up to 400 yards.

For soft-skinned animals, Sir Samuel used solid pure lead bullets, and he always found them deliver the whole power of the charge upon the animal, being generally forced into the shape of a mushroom, and found under the skin upon the opposite side of the beast.

Count Teleki, in his successful three years’ expedition in Central Africa, also used .577 rifles against elephants, buffaloes and rhinoceros with great effect, although he preferred his 8-bore (shooting 10 drs., and a short conical bullet) for big game, finding that at close quarters a knockdown blow was absolutely necessary. The question of the rival bores for such game as tiger, bear, &c., will probably never be settled, as so much depends upon the capabilities of the shooter, the class of country he is in, and the style of shooting, whether in a howdah or on foot, &c.; but it may be taken generally that for dangerous game it is always as well to be on the safe side and to use as powerful a weapon (in moderation) as you can conveniently handle.

In Africa, where animals of the same species as are met with in India appear to require much more killing than they do in the latter country, the .577 firing a solid hardened bullet and 6 drs. of powder must always be a most useful weapon. For lion, the largest kind of deer, &c., it is all that is wanted, and even for elephants it is a fairly effective rifle.

For sport in India, when the sportsman is limited to one rifle, a .500 Express, shooting a charge of 5 drs. of powder and a long bullet, and capable of also firing, when required, the shorter bullet and 4¼ drs. for the lighter kinds of game, will probably be found the most useful all-round weapon.

If, in the first instance, the barrels of a .500 Express are properly constructed for shooting the two kinds of cartridges, good shooting may be made with both, with the same sighting; and a most useful arrangement this will prove to be, the heavy cartridge being very deadly for all game found in India, with the exception of the pachydermatous animals, while for the deer tribe and for practice the lighter charge is all sufficient. Perhaps the most useful battery on a small scale for India is a .450 Express for deer, and a 12- or 16-bore Paradox, which does well as a shot-gun, and is also most effective as a rifle.

Ball-Guns.--One of the advantages which the ball-gun has over the ordinary rifle is its lightness and handiness compared with the latter, but the serious drawback to its wide use was, in the first place, that it would fire spherical bullets only, and consequently lacked penetration; and, in the second, that it gave but irregular shooting, except at very short ranges. This state of things has been completely reversed by the introduction of the ‘Paradox’ gun, the invention of Colonel Fosbery, V.C. In the ‘Paradox’ all the advantages connected with the lightness and handiness of a gun have been retained, while great accuracy when fired as a rifle with a smashing conical bullet has been added.

Since Colonel Fosbery’s invention was brought to the notice of sportsmen, the ‘Colindian’ and other systems of ball-guns have been introduced.

The result has been quite a revolution in the manufacture of weapons for use against game of all kinds, from the larger kind of deer up to elephants.

Take, for example, the 12-bore ‘Paradox.’ This weapon has all the advantages of quickness and handiness of mounting to the shoulder, so essential in snap-shooting, and yet fires a conical bullet (see fig. 15), hollow or solid, up to a hundred yards or more with the accuracy of a good Express. For all practical purposes, and with all game up to and including tiger or bear, a ‘Paradox’ weighing from 7 to 7½ lbs. has all the necessary qualities of a 10-lb. rifle, and has, moreover, the handiness of a 12-bore shot-gun, discharging shot quite as well as a good cylinder or modified choke. The man who uses a ‘Paradox’ need not take any other gun, a saving in the size of one’s battery worthy of consideration; but perhaps the strongest argument in favour of this weapon is that the man who has much snap-shooting to do (from a howdah, for instance) is much more likely to be successful when handling the gun he uses every day and often than he would be if trying to make snap-shots with an ordinary rifle, used rarely by comparison, and perhaps firing so heavy a charge as to make practice with it ‘no joke.’

Hollow point Cross cut]

Colonel Fosbery has succeeded in perfecting the ‘Paradox’ system for large bores, such as 10 and 8, and in 1891 one of the latter weapons when tested before the editor of ‘The Field,’ with the full charge of 10 drs. of powder, and a hardened conical solid bullet at 50 yards range, made the extraordinary diagram in six consecutive shots into a space 1¼ in. by 2½ ins. (shown in fig. 16), beating all the records of big rifles at the ‘Field’ trials.

It should be only a matter of time for weapons made upon this principle to supersede large-bore rifles for big game shooting. Everything is in their favour. An 8-bore ‘Paradox’ weighs some 2 to 3 lbs. less than an 8-bore rifle, and mounts to the shoulder with the handiness of a gun. The accuracy of the ‘Paradox’ is greater than that of an 8-bore rifle, the recoil less (as the bullet passes freely up the barrel, instead of having to cut its way through severe rifling, the ‘Paradox’ being rifled at the muzzle only), and the velocity or striking force is superior.

Several of these weapons (8- and 10-bores) have already been tried upon elephant, buffalo, &c., in Africa and India, with the most satisfactory results.

Small Bores for Elephant Shooting.--No doubt some sportsmen have been successful in bagging elephants and other big game with .450-bore rifles, firing a moderate charge of about 3½ drs. of powder and a long solid bullet, such rifles giving great penetration, but no shock to the animal unless a vital part is reached. If the game be found in fairly open country, so that accurate shooting can be made, this weapon may answer in the hands of a good shot; but in most parts, and in grass country, particularly where an animal has frequently to be shot at very close quarters, and where the chances of being able to make a run for it are very much restricted, one would much prefer to rely upon the paralysing blow given by an 8- or 10-bore loaded with a heavy charge of powder and a conical bullet; in fact, even the admirers of the .450 warn sportsmen that such rifles are useful under certain conditions only, and this warning is absolutely necessary, several fatal accidents having taken place through sportsmen having misread or not properly appreciated the accounts of the shooting made with these small weapons and the circumstances under which they may judiciously be used.

Systems of Actions for Rifles.--Different kinds of ‘actions’ are constantly being invented for double-barrelled rifles, but very few, if any, have the sterling qualities of the old double-grip lever, especially when used for rifles shooting heavy charges. No doubt snap-actions of various kinds are made which are sufficiently sound to stand the strain of the charges fired, especially if the ‘body’ be long and deep, but none of them have the binding down power of the grip lever, which is really a kind of screw-grip. Another point in favour of the grip lever is that, should there be a piece of cap or other obstruction between the action and the barrels, the grip lever will have sufficient power to force the action to close and allow the rifle to be fired; and the same thing applies when a very tight cartridge, or one with somewhat too thick a rim, requires to be forced home. Now, under the same circumstances, a rifle with a snap action could not be closed at all, or, at all events, only with great difficulty and with unusual force, because all spring bolt systems require that the barrels should close up freely upon the action before the bolt can move into its proper position for fastening down the barrel.

For small bores such as are used for deer stalking, &c., the hammerless system has some advantages; but there are objections to these actions for weapons intended for foreign sport, and these objections apply more particularly when big game rifles are in question. Most sportsmen are fairly well acquainted with the construction of the ordinary hammer gun fitted with rebounding locks, but very few know anything of the internal arrangements of the hammerless system, and there is no doubt that the internal arrangements of the latter are more likely to get out of order when subjected to the wear and tear and the rough usage of a shooting expedition than those of the former, to say nothing of their being more easily affected by sand, rust, &c. They are also less readily taken to pieces and cleaned.

Too much care cannot be given to the selection of a battery, the minutest details of the weapons, and the ammunition for them, and yet it is a curious fact that sportsmen frequently spend much time and money over their general outfit, and take but little heed about their weapons, upon which their sport, and possibly their lives, may depend.

In ordering a battery, choose the best rifles you can afford to pay for. The first expense is likely to appear heavy to those who can see little difference between the expensive rifle of a high-class maker and those supplied of a cheaper kind, but very little experience will be needed to prove that the best is the cheapest in the end.

Few sportsmen know the amount of money, care, and skill that has to be spent upon a double rifle which is the best of its kind and a really accurate weapon; that is to say, a double rifle which has its barrels so perfectly adjusted that even a skilled shot cannot tell the shooting of one barrel from that of the other. Great care has to be taken in the manufacture of all the parts, for the failure of a striker or a spring may mean serious or even fatal results to the shooter when after dangerous game; and this work has to be paid for.

The workmen employed on best rifle work are skilled men, and can always command high wages. In some of the cheaper kinds of double-barrelled rifles one barrel frequently shoots some inches away from the other, rendering it impossible for the sportsman to make good practice even at a target, much less at game.

Great strides in the accuracy and adjustment of double rifles have been made during the last ten years. It is impossible here to say exactly what diagrams one should be fairly entitled to expect, so much depends upon the type of rifle required; but perhaps as good a guide as any is to take the diagrams made by the winning rifles at the trials of sporting rifles before the editor of the ‘Field.’ For an ordinary Express it may be accepted that a double .450 firing ten shots, right and left barrel alternately, making a 4-inch group, viz. all the ten shots in a 4-inch square, is a very fine shooting weapon, and that one putting all its ten shots into a 6-inch at a hundred yards is quite up to the average.

Do not depend upon diagrams shown as the record of the shooting of a rifle. The only satisfactory plan is to go to the maker’s grounds and see the rifle fired, to fire it yourself, or, if that is not convenient, get a competent friend to go and see the diagrams made. Then, again, it is very desirable to have the sights cut to suit your own style of shooting, for it is not at all unusual for two good marksmen firing the same rifle to make a considerable difference in elevation on the target at, say, 100 yards range.

Recoil Heelplate.--It is not a bad plan to have recoil heelplates fitted to all rifles from .450 to 4 bores. They save the shoulder very much when firing large charges. See that the rubber is properly smoothed and varnished, so as to get rid of the clinging feeling these heelplates otherwise have.

Spare Weapons.--In going for any length of time upon a sporting expedition, it is always well to have reserve rifles which should be as nearly as possible duplicates of those in the regular battery in weight, mount, sighting, &c., so that no difference is noticed by the sportsman should he have to fall back upon his reserve. You may never want them, but if, when you are in the game district, hundreds of miles up country, you smash or injure the rifle you are depending upon, you will then fully appreciate the advantage of having a reserve. It is a very easy thing to break the stock of or otherwise damage a rifle, or it may even be lost, and if you have no others to fall back upon the sporting trip must be spoiled, or at any rate seriously hampered.

A fair battery for an expedition to Africa would be a pair of 8- or 10-bore rifles or ‘Paradox’ guns, shooting 8 to 10 drs. of powder; a pair of .500 bore, 5 drs. solid ball rifles, one .577 and a 12-bore shot or ‘Paradox’ gun. Also a .400 or a .450 single-rifle sighted up to 500 yards would be found very useful in many parts.

Spare limbs should always be taken, viz. extra hammers, mainsprings, tumbler pins, and foresights, and lessons should be taken from an experienced gunmaker in taking weapons to pieces and putting them together again properly. Turnscrews, such as working gunmakers use, should be specially ordered, and not the slight and nearly useless tools usually found in rifle and gun cases. These are made by the gross, and are generally well-nigh worthless. Do not fail to have a very powerful screw-driver to take out the breech-pin, which is always very firmly screwed up.

With large bores and all rifles that have very much recoil insist upon having the front trigger thick and well rounded, to prevent its cutting the forefinger when firing the left barrel. It is a very good plan to have the front trigger hinged or hung quite loose, so as to give way to the finger. Also see that the left trigger pulls at least 6 lbs., to prevent both barrels being fired together. There is no objection to having both locks of such weapons made with a fairly heavy pull off; the fact being that when a rifle weighing 12 or 13 lbs. is being handled a 6 or 7 lb. pull does not feel heavier than a 4 lb. pull does in an ordinary shot gun. See that all your rifle stocks are made of tough strong wood, and that the grasp or handle is left sufficiently thick to give a good hold to the right hand. It is also a very good plan to have the hand of the stock strengthened by having the strap of the action made so as to extend its full length and come over the comb. This plan was first suggested by Sir Samuel Baker, and there can be no doubt but that it very considerably strengthens the stock in its weakest part.

Try your cartridges in the chambers of your rifle or gun before starting for the day’s shooting, and carefully discard all that will not go into the weapon freely and allow the action to be closed with ease. It is desirable to have cartridge-correctors made the exact size of the chambers of each weapon.

Rebounding Locks.--Many sportsmen think that when the hammer is at the rebound or half-cock it is in a safe position, but sometimes it is quite the reverse. This is because some rifles and shot-guns are made with the face of the hammers too close to the end of the strikers; when this is so, it will be found that, should the hammer be pulled up nearly to full cock and then let down again (without touching the trigger), there is sufficient ‘give,’ or ‘spring,’ in the parts of the lock to allow the hammer to just reach and to ‘flick’ the striker hard enough to fire the rifle. The danger of this defect must be obvious. The face of the hammer when pushed forward as far as it will go (without the trigger being pulled) should be well away from the end of the striker. If there is any doubt as to whether there is sufficient space or not, hold a flat piece of metal or card against the face of the action, lift the hammers nearly to full-cock, and then release them; if the metal or card be marked by the end of the striker, it is evidence that the space between the hammer and striker is not sufficient. This should not be done often, as it has a tendency to injure the end of the scear of the lock.

Stocks, Loops, Stops, Cases.--In ordinary rifles do not have the stocks made the same shape as in your guns. Most sportsmen miss birds by shooting under them, but with a rifle more game is missed by being shot over. It is desirable to have the stocks of rifles made a quarter of an inch more bent than those of guns, and in heavy bores even half an inch extra will be found an advantage in shooting, to say nothing of saving the shooter’s face from being punished by the recoil. Also remember that as you increase the weight of your rifle you must decrease the length of your stock.

When loops are attached to rifles for the purpose of enabling you to use slings, it is desirable to have flat ones, thus--

and not rings or swivels, which always rattle, and may disturb game. The above form has the further advantage of being stronger than the others. Always refuse to allow the gunmaker to fit stops to the hammers of any weapons intended for use against dangerous game. You may at a critical moment forget that the locks are bolted, or the bolts may have got loose and may have slipped into the hammers without your knowledge.

For rough shooting, especially in damp climates, have your rifles constructed for solid brass cases, or those covered with a thin coating of brass. These are less likely to stick in the chambers, and are not so easily damaged as the paper ones. Have your cartridges done up in small tins, hermetically sealed, packing a few of each kind you are likely to use in a separate tin, say fifty in each package. In this way you will be able to keep the bulk of your ammunition weather-proof. The contents of each tin should be stamped on the outside.

It is a useful plan to have loose-fitting flannel bags made for the barrels and stock of each weapon.

Perhaps the most convenient form of rifle case is ‘The Shikari’:

See that your case is made of strong sole leather, so as to be fairly rigid and capable of resisting pressure; for real rough work there is nothing better than oak covered with leather.

Rifle Sights.--No absolute rule can be laid down as to the best form of sights for sporting purposes. Generally speaking, the wider and the shallower the V in the backsight the better for snap-shooting, but beyond a certain point this shape makes it difficult to ensure taking the centre of the sight. The silver line or the ivory pyramid with which the standard is frequently inlaid very much assists in getting the centre quickly.

A very good form of backsight is a modification of the style frequently used in German rifles, viz. a wide shallow V having a small rounded nick and a fine line down the centre (see fig. 21).

A sloping standard has the advantage of showing up the silver line, but in a bright light this has a tendency to ‘blurr’ and prevent a fine bead being taken. It is as well under these circumstances to black the standard, and upon occasions the foresight; this may be done very simply by smoking them with a wax match. Foresights should be let in from the front and fixed with a small screw, so that they can easily be removed and a different form of sight inserted when required.

A spare iron foresight and two or three ivory ones should be fitted to each rifle.

A very useful and convenient form of night sight is an ordinary iron one having at the rear end a small disc covered with white enamel or luminous paint (see fig. 22), and so arranged that this disc can, when required, be raised in front of the ordinary bead. If properly constructed and placed at the correct angle, it can be seen well when the ordinary sight would be quite invisible.

Telescope sights are now made with elevating screws, which enable the necessary elevations to be quickly obtained. For stalking and deliberate shots the telescope is most useful, but it is necessary to have the eye-piece fitted on a spring slide and made sufficiently large to prevent injury to the shooter’s eye in case of the recoil being heavy; but these sights for rifles firing heavy charges cannot be recommended.

Many sportsmen complain that with Express rifles (in particular), and not infrequently with other rifles, they shoot over their game at short ranges, an error which they attribute to the ‘high sighting’ of their rifles. Sometimes this explanation of their shooting over their game is the correct one; but frequently the error is caused by the shooter, when firing a snap-shot at an animal moving across him at a short range, taking a very full foresight, not having sufficient time to get his eye down to the level of the backsight, and draw as fine a bead as he would have done had he taken a deliberate shot.

But no doubt some rifles are ‘over-sighted,’ and if so it is partly the fault of the gunmakers and partly the fault of the sportsmen themselves, who insist upon gunmakers trying for the impossible. It is not an uncommon thing to hear a sportsman say, ‘Oh, my rifle has a flat trajectory up to 200 yards,’ the truth being that the rifle in question has been sighted to shoot correctly at 200 yards, but the bullet at the highest point in its trajectory (i.e. at about 110 yards from the muzzle) will probably have risen from four to eight inches (according to the velocity of the bullet) above the line of aim.

It is best to have an Express rifle made with the first leaf or ‘standard’ sighted for not over 150 yards, and if this is properly done, no misses from over-sighting need be made between thirty and 150 yards.

Again, it is within the experience of most rifle-shots that it is exceedingly difficult to make good shooting when firing at game very much below the shooter (ibex down hill for instance). This difficulty is often accounted for by a theory that in shots of this kind the bullet is less acted upon by the forces of gravity than in ordinary horizontal shots; but in reality the difference in the fall of the bullet at 150 yards in downhill shots at an angle of 45 degrees and in horizontal shots at the same range is very slight.

Still sportsmen find in practice that they have to aim three to six inches below the part which they wish to hit, to ensure success in these downhill shots.

In this case the cause of errors in elevation is the great difficulty there is in getting the head down to the stock so as to properly align the foresight with the bottom of the notch or V of the backsight.

The sportsman can easily test this theory for himself by putting any ordinary rifle to his shoulder in a room, aiming first at some object considerably above his head, and then at some point or object upon the floor. Anyone who does this will find that in shooting at the object above him it is easy enough to align the sights upon it, that by bending the neck and lowering the head the sights can be accurately aligned upon any object on a level with the shoulder, but that there is very considerable difficulty in getting the eye down to properly align the sights when the object aimed at is upon the floor. In fact, if the stock of the rifle is fairly straight it cannot be done. Both these cases of over-shooting come from the same cause; in the first ‘hurry’ has induced the shooter to forget to set his head down properly on to the stock, in the second his own build and his rifle’s make it very hard for him to do so. The same principle is illustrated in rabbit shooting with a fowling-piece at short ranges. Unless using a gun with a good bend to the stock it is difficult to get down low enough to your rabbit crossing at say fifteen yards, so that a dozen are missed by shooting over for one that is missed by shooting under at that range.

It is as well, too, to remember that in shooting from a ‘rest’ there is always an inclination on the part of the barrels to fly upwards, and this is particularly so where the ‘rest’ is of any hard substance, a rock or a log for instance. To counteract this tendency to fly upwards, grip your rifle firmly with your left hand, and put a pad of some soft material (say, your cap) between your rifle and your rest.

Assuming that any rifle-shot knows the danger of pulling as opposed to pressing the trigger, that he will be careful to see that his foresight neither gets bent nor shifted, that he does not get buck fever, and can judge distance with approximate accuracy, there seems to be only one other hint worth giving, and that only to those who find a difficulty in seeing the backsight clearly; those, that is, to whom it appears blurred and misty.

These sportsmen should have their rifles arranged with the backsight not less than seven or nine inches from the breech, since the further off from the eye it is, the more clearly defined it becomes; but of course there is a limit to the distance at which the backsight can be put from the eye, since the closer the backsight is to the foresight the greater the angle of error.

It is sometimes even desirable to have the barrels made of extra length to allow of the backsight being put further from the breech end, but long barrels are unhandy on horseback and in thick timber.

NOTE.--It may be added that these notes have been submitted for criticism and comment to experienced practical sportsmen, including Mr. F. C. Selous, Col. James Baker, and Mr. Edward Ross.

Mr. Selous wrote, ‘As far as my experience goes, I agree with what he says.’

Col. James Baker stated that, after perusing the chapter with his friend Mr. Edward Ross, they both of them fully concurred in the views expressed, and had nothing to alter or to add.--C. P.-W.