Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/365

 FOWLING PIECE 357 the stub twist is the best, though a good wire twist, if perfectly sound, is fully equal to it; but the latter is more liable to imperfect weld- ing, and the barrels made from it have been known to break transversely ; but this is a rare occurrence, and they are not liable to burst. The damask and stub damask are, when skil- fully made, very beautiful barrels, of great strength, and slightly inferior to the stub and wire twists. The most curious and elegant damask is made at Li6ge, and many beautiful specimens are produced at Birmingham in England, at Vienna, Geneva, and Berlin. 9. Of all barrels, those of laminated steel combine in the highest degree lightness and strength, and, though less curious and elaborate in their damaskeening than the true damask, are yet very handsomely shaded. They are made by piling alternate sheets of steel and wrought iron, the former being much the thicker, and hammering the pile down until the laminae are exceedingly thin. The laminae are disposed in wavy forms, and their disposition is varied in many ways. Torsion is sometimes given to a moderate extent ; but an extreme degree of it is avoided, as it tends to diminish the abso- lute strength of the ribbon. The ribbons of various materials are coiled into the form of the barrel, around a mandrel, and the edges of the helix are welded together, about three inches at a heat, by "jumping " the coil on an anvil. The various kinds of barrels made at Birmingham are characterized by the width of the ribbon used for the coil. Thus, the width of the Birmingham damask ribbon is -^ of an inch ; of the stub twist, f ; of the stub damask, ^f ; of the charcoal iron, ; of the three-penny skelp, f ; of the two-penny skelp, 1 inch ; and of the sham-damn, inch. Most frequently the latter is not twisted at all, but is lap-weld- ed at once into a tube. These dimensions, together with the texture of the etching (when the etching is genuine), are of assistance in identifying the structure. The Li6ge damask is usually much smaller, both in tracery and in width of helix. Barrels are frequently veneered with damask over a tube of inferior metal, and this deception is difficult to detect in many cases, so artfully is the barrel covered not only in its cylindrical part, but at the ends. But first-class makers never resort to this trick. Veneered barrels are usually thicker and heavier than the varieties they are intended to simulate. It is obvious that a barrel of sufficient strength can be made of the poorest of the foregoing qualities, if the sportsman is willing to tolerate an increased weight ; but a sham-damn or two-penny skelp, no thicker than a stub- twist of the best quality, would be nearly as dangerous to the hunter as to his quarry. Excellent barrels are now made of Bessemer and Siemens Martin steel, rival- ling all but the laminated steel in absolute strength. They are perfectly plain, without weld or damask, and are made very cheaply, in the same manner as musket barrels (see MUSKET), by drawing a hollow cylinder of steel to the proper dimensions over a bulbed man- drel. The two barrels of a double-barrelled fowling piece are united by brazing or sol- dering to an intermediate rib. The taper of the barrels is such that in the setting the two axes converge at a point about 40 yards, in front of the muzzle. With this degree of con- vergence, the cross sections of the rib should be uniform at all points. The best and lightest barrels are usually finished externally in such a manner that a line drawn from breech to muzzle is slightly convex toward the axis of the barrel, and concave outward, and in this case the rib requires very skilful fitting. The lock of the piece is the member most liable to derangement by use. It should be of simple construction, and rather massive. A light, deli- cate lock should be regarded with suspicion. The points most worthy of attention are : 1. The method of attaching the main spring to the tumbler. The pivots should be large and strong, and fitted with precision. The ham- mer should be set, with reference to the main spring, in such a manner that the spring may exert its most direct action and greatest force when the hammer is down. 2. The pivot of the sear should be set so that it will be disen- gaged freely by the trigger, without danger of wearing too much, and at the same time be 'in no danger of catching at the half-cock notch. 3. The main spring should be attached to the lock plate so that it can be removed readily, and a new one substituted by a good work- man. This spring is liable to lose its tension by age, whether in use or not. Within the past ten years breech-loading fowling pieces have come into general use. That they are more convenient than muzzle-loaders cannot be questioned, and there is no material point in which they are objectionable, excepting the greater cost of weapon and ammunition, which is more than compensated by their great ad- vantages. A serviceable breech-loader involves the use of prepared cartridges, well primed and enclosed in cases of metal or other strong ma- terial ; copper or brass cases are much the best, since they can be made to enter the chamber loosely, and the elasticity of the metal allows a temporary expansion during the act of dis- charge, without producing any permanent en- largement, thus permitting the case to be readily extracted afterward. The metal case, moreover, forms a perfect gas check. Papier- mach6 cases are objectionable, because they are liable to change their dimensions, expand- ing when long exposed to dampness, and con- tracting when they dry. Many ready-primed cartridges are liable to failure through a de- terioration of the priming. This is a paste containing mercuric fulminate, and the most frequent cause of deterioration is a feeble but continuous voltaic action, which is generated when the fulminate is in contact with two kinds of metal. If a single kind of metal is used (either copper or brass) to form the re-