RIFLES.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 272, 29 May 1860, Page 4

RIFLES.

A stout heavy barrel is indispensable to accurate shooting. The chief fault in our English rifles is that they are made far too light, thin and flimsy in the barrel. I maintain—and I speak from full thirty years' experience, in the Western World, as well as in Europe,—that it is impossible to shoot with accuracy and precision with a thin light barrel. There must always be more or less recoil, especially with .a large calibre, (and our English rifles are unnecessarily large in the bore}-as well as more or less expansion of the thin metal, both of which operate effectually to destroy good shooting. All nations accustomed to the use of the rifle and taking pride in accuracy of aim, such as the Swiss, the Tyrolese, the Western Americans, &c, invariably make use of a thick heavy barrel. In my opinion, a rifle barrel should not weigh less than eight pounds, independent of lock and stock, even with a calibre of the smallest dimension. Most good marksmen will prefer a barrel of nine or ten pouuds weight.

Englishmen seem to entertain an unaccountable dread of a heavy gun! I say unacconntable, for is John Bull inferior in bodily strength to the Swisa or the American ? I trow not.— Independently of the great advantages of an absence of recoil and of expansion, when the explosion takes place, a heavy barrel possesses another no small recommendation—it can be held much steadier in taking aim. Let any one take aim with a light gun at a very small object—say the head of a nail driven into a wall at thirty or forty yards distance —he will find it impossible to bring the sight to bear on it for more than a single moment, whereas with a barrel of the weight I have abo\fe mentioned he will be able to hold the aim steadily on the object for nearly a minuts, without the slightest perceptabie vibration. Military rifles must, I presume, be always made light for th;e sake of those who have to undergo long marches and drille*ercise; but from these weapons no very accurate performance can be expected. They might nevertheless be greatly improved,by diminishing the size of the calibre, and adding somewhat to the weight of the metal. A barrel weighing five pounds will not be too heavy, and the entire weight of the rifle, bayonet included, will not exceed ten pounds. Tbia is about the weight of the Federal rifle of Switzerland, which is the best pattern of a military rifle I have,seen. —-ShaepSHOopiR. .

KiELEMEN.—An accident, fortunately unattended with serious consequences, occurred on Wednesday last. Some members of the Cirencester Volunteer Corps, provided with the short

rifles of the 1859 pattern (their, own property), were practising at a target near Strattori^ when: one of pieces at the third round exploded, scattering the lock and stock in thousands of fragments. The gentleman who fired it, strange to relate, escaped with only a few scratches on the left wrist. On consideration of the circumstances that may have caused the explosion,* we believe it is certain that the accident arose by the incautious use of the ball without a pad. After the ctiarge had been rammed home, and before the rifle was brought to the "present," the ball must have shifted forward, of eating a slight vacuum, which would be sufficient,, as all practical sportsmen are aware, to account for the, accident. We strongly recommend that in all cases a properly-made cartridge only should be used. The barrel of the rifle (which was purchased of Mr. Holland) bore two proof marks, signifying that it had been tested both before and after rifling.— Wilts Standard. {From the London Spectator.)