Gun barrel

“ Gun barrels can only burst by having some obstruction in the barrel or by overloading with powder. Any gun barrel can be burst by misuse or by carelessly loading smokeless powder, but no barrel will burst by using factory loaded ammunition, provided there is no obstruction or foreign substance inside the barrel. When a gun barrel bursts at the breech or chamber, it is caused by an overloaded shell, and when it bursts in the center or near the muzzle, it is caused by some obstruction, such as a dent, snow, water, etc. ”

“ Even if there be a small air space between the powder and the ball or shot cartridge it will affect the shooting. Every one using double guns should accustom himself to the use alternately of both barrels, not only for safety but for good shooting. A barrel is often said to be a poor shooter, when its bad qualities may be wholly ascribed to the air space produced above the powder by the recoil occasioned by firing the other barrel.
To Prevent Gun Barrels from Rusting.—Heat the barrel to about the temperature of boiling water, no higher, and then cover it with a good coating of copal varnish. ”

“ Fitting Barrels Together.—When selecting a pair of gun barrels, preparatory to joining them for the purpose of making a double-barreled gun, it is necessary to ascertain if the barrels be of the same length, and have the same size at breech and muzzle, and also at points between the breech and muzzle. Nearly all shot-gun barrels are ground, or made some smaller at the centre of their length than at other portions. Any one who is not conversant with this may be somewhat surprised on placing a straight-edge along the side of a barrel, a common musket barrel, for instance. ”

“ You will frequently hear them heaping anathemas on a hard barrel, when floating it, and wishing the man who invented steel barrels “in the shades below.” Ask these men’s opinions, [198] and if they expect to have the job of filing the barrels, they will surely recommend you soft iron, stub-twist, or charcoal-iron.
Boring and grinding gun-barrels generally take place under the same roof; the borer occupying a very small shop, the grinder a large one. Two men and two boys are generally found in a shop. ”

“ ON GUN BARRELS.
Long and Short Barrels.—A long barrel may be preferable for several reasons: 1st. A longer distance between the sights is given and the back sight can be put farther from the eye, so that finer sighting is possible; 2d. A long barrel is steadier in off-hand shooting; 3d. It permits a slower burning powder to be used, so that the charge starts more slowly and yet allows the full strength of the powder to be used before it leaves the barrel, getting a high initial velocity with but little recoil. ”

“ Next to absence of friction is the construction of the gun barrel. Already have we shown that the [279] inner surface of a gun barrel requires to be like glass; next to this it is necessary that the metal should be composed of the most unyielding structure. Metals absorb force in proportion to their softness: a barrel constructed of lead gives the worst result of any metal; in truth, as is the increase of tenacity and density in the tube, so is the increase of range in projectiles. ”

“ Harpoon gun-barrels, one inch and a half in the bore, having the metal at the breech end an inch and a quarter thick, will stand a proof which invariably bursts a thicker barrel; in fact, all experience tends to show that light wrought iron or steel barrels are stronger than unusually heavy ones. As all depends on the principle of condensing the fibres of the iron, ceteris paribus, the greater the condensation the greater the strength, and the less the condensation the greater the weakness. ”

“ The right-hand barrel of my gun for Turner himself; the left-hand barrel for the man next to him: such was the calculation; and then, if I still survived, I had the sword and the pistol left. Long deliberation under such circumstances is neither possible nor necessary. Both hammers were up, my finger was on the trigger, murderers were before, and the next instant I should have fired at any risk, and at any odds. ”

“ Beware of the muzzle of the gun being kept hanging downwards; when so carried, the shot is apt to force its way from the powder, especially in clean barrels; if it happens that a space of sixteen or eighteen inches is thus obtained, and the gun fired with its point below the horizon, it is ten to one but the barrel bursts. There are other perilous consequences besides those that generally accompany the disruption of a barrel, for the men, horses, and dogs, are in perpetual danger of being shot when a gun is carried in the before-mentioned pendent manner. ”

“ The next thing to be done is to draw-file the gun barrel where the rib is to be fastened on, and care must be taken to have the surface bright and clean, or the solder will not adhere. Place the breech end of the barrel in a clean charcoal fire and carefully warm it sufficiently, wet with the acid, and with the soldering copper tin over where it was draw-filed. ”

“ That the destruction of the gun barrel does not arise from the property possessed by fluids, and in some measure also by sand and small shot, of pressing equally in all directions, and thus exerting a force against a large portion of the interior surface, seems to be proved by a circumstance mentioned by Le Vaillant and other travellers, that, for the purpose of taking birds without injuring their plumage, they filled the barrel of their fowling pieces with water, instead of loading them with a charge of shot. ”

“ I have sent with this, such relics and Indian trinkets, as I could prevail upon our people here to part with. They are less than I expected to obtain. The gun lock, spear head, axe, piece of gun barrel, and lead ball, are all of the size and patterns usually found. They are from the farm of Mr. David Hinsdale, in the town of Pompey, west part. All the gun barrels, or parts of them, are found flattened similar to this. Not a perfect one has been found. ”

“ An inner barrel, having a bore of .22 inch and a length of 17 inches, its upper end counter-bored, is inserted in the barrel and secured by a screw; the length of the block is such as to close the space between the chambered recess and the end of the inner barrel. A hole is bored through the side of the stock to communicate with the hole through the breech-screw. A dart is fired from this musket, which when fired into the target is extracted with a claw-tool. The men in firing stand at a distance of 15 paces from the target; and two men use the gun, firing alternately. ”

“ It's very seldom that you hear of a first-class gun exploding. I don't recall a case of one of ours for years and years. And even if by some chance flaw they did, the good ones, being nickel steel, would just make a hole in the barrel,—not fly to pieces. But, as a matter of fact, any barrel that has been through that 'proof-room' will have been subjected to the greatest strain it will ever have to undergo, for there is no cartridge made that would have one-half the power in proportion to the size of the barrel. ”

“ Each barrel has its own breech-plug, striker, spring, and extractor, and each fires independently of the rest, so that all are not out of action together. The gun has a swivelled mount easily elevated and trained, and the steel frames take up the force of the discharge. In rapid firing one gunner [Pg 99] can work the firing-handle while another lays and alters the direction. The firing is operated by a lever working backwards and forwards by hand, and the gun can be discharged at the rate of 600 rounds per minute. ”

“ In like manner, I imagine that in the section of a gun barrel, if portions are more or less elastic than others, or at all different in their character, not only many points of fracture may be determined on, but that the whole may be rendered much less able to resist the violent explosion. ”

“ In sporting guns snow may accidentally get into the muzzle or a lump of dirt may “somehow” get in so as to fill the bore, and when the gun is fired, it will probably, yes, most certainly be blown off or blown open where the obstruction exists; the muzzle of a gun being thrust into water for a couple of inches or more will have like effect. The gas formed by burning the powder finds no outlet of escape, and the whole expansive force concentrates itself on the weakest portion of the barrel, and as a result it is forced apart. ”

“ The barrel, made of a strong alloy of nickel, has its cartridges fed in by means of belts coiled in boxes attached to the breech-casing, the boxes moving with the latter so that the movements of the gun do not affect it. ”

“ With the long barrels, a coarse, slower burning powder may be used and get a good result, but as a general thing cut off the barrel to a convenient length for off-hand shooting and moving game, use a finer-grained powder, which will be quicker burning and just as good results are obtained.
A gun having barrels over thirty inches in length, must needs be made with heavy barrels, and is very fatiguing to carry in an all day hunt. A gun of this kind, to be safe and well-proportioned, ought to weigh nine or ten pounds. ”

“ Gun-barrels are made to taper towards each other, and some more than others. To make them uniform, it requires that they should be reduced or flattened, so that the thick or heavy end should join closer, to allow the point of [203] convergence to be extended to a greater distance. If, then, we take two barrels two feet eight inches long, and having a solid substance of metal at the breech of 3-16ths of an inch each and 1-16th at the muzzle ”

“ The weight of the barrel alone was estimated at 325 tons.
It would have to be built up in four sections screwed together and because of its great length and weight it would have to be supported on a steel truss. The gun would be mounted like a roller lift-bridge with a heavy counter-weight at its lower end so that it could be elevated or depressed at will and a powerful hydraulic jack would be required to raise it.
The recoil of a big gun is always a most important matter. ”

“ The single-barrel gun has passed out of modern sport; but I remember mine with regret, and think I shall some day buy another. I still find that the best double-barrel seems top-heavy in comparison; in poising it the barrels have a tendency to droop. Guns, of course, are built to balance and lie level in the hand, so as to almost aim themselves as they come to the shoulder; and those who have always shot with a double-barrel are probably quite satisfied with the gun on that score. ”

“ In loading a rifle the powder is first measured in a “charger,” and then poured down the barrel; next comes the patch, which is usually a piece of new and strong cotton cloth, most commonly the kind known as white drilling. This, having been tallowed upon one side, the tallowed side is spread over the muzzle of the gun, and the bullet is pressed upon it into the muzzle, the side from which the “neck,” formed in moulding, has been cut, must be directly downward. Generally with the handle of a knife the bullet is pressed into the bore as far as it can be sent by such means ”

“ There were guns with only a vent, to be fired with a live coal, guns without ramrods, barrels without stocks, stocks without barrels, guns without cocks, cocks without pans. One gun, I remember, consisted of a barrel that flared out at the muzzle like a bell nailed on a crooked cypress rail, without cock, having only a pan and vent, requiring one man to hold it and another to "touch it off." ”

“ In seven minutes of continuous firing the barrel had grown so large that the rifling failed to grip the bullet at all. The gun was no better than an old-fashioned smooth-bore. The bullets would not travel more than three hundred yards. It is because of this danger of overheating that the Colt and the Hotchkiss guns are always furnished with a spare barrel. As soon as a barrel gets hot it is uncoupled and the spare one is inserted in its place. Our men are trained to change the50 barrel of a colt in the dark in a quarter of a minute. ”

“ Have him hold the gun immovable thus, and then request him to open his eyes, and it is evident if he requires a stock to be made different from the one he has in hand. If the face comes naturally to the breech and the eye has a “fine sight” along the barrel, it is just the pattern of gun stock for him to have. If it be too straight he will shoot over, if too much crooked he will shoot under. ”

“ A spring returns the extractor to its place when the empty cartridge cases have been ejected, and brings the barrel to an angle of about 45°, for convenience in loading. The soundness and rigidity of the weapon depend upon the efficiency of the connexion between the barrels and the standing breech, and a top snap bolt has proved the strongest and handiest with the pistol, as with the shot-gun. ”

“ When this happens, invert the gun, pass the rod upwards, and the shot will fall out, when the rod can be withdrawn. The ramrod will also at times get firmly fixed in a foul barrel, and defy every ordinary effort to get it out. A little water, spirit, or any other fluid poured down the barrel almost instantly releases it. Should a gun or rifle miss fire, or be exposed for any time to damp, cut a small peg of dry, soft wood, hammer it well down into the nipple, cut it off flush, put on a new cap, and pull the trigger, when the weapon is almost certain to go off. ”

“ This reasoning ought, however, to be admitted with caution; and perhaps some inducement to examine it carefully may be presented by tracing it to extreme cases. It would seem, but this is not a necessary consequence, that a gun might be made so long, that it would burst although no obstacle filled up its muzzle. It should also follow that if, after the gun is charged, the air were extracted from the barrel, though the muzzle be then left closed, the gun ought not to burst. ”