h the muzzle
sight, unless it is of some bright metal, such as silver or platinum;
and a broad cut in the breech-sights, if shaped as described, allows a
rapid aim, and may be taken fine or coarse at option.
The charge of powder must necessarily depend upon its strength. For
elephant-shooting, I always rise six drachms of the best powder for the
No. 10 rifles, and four drachms as the minimum charge for deer and
general shooting; the larger charge is then unnecessary; it both wastes
ammunition and alarms the country by the loudness of the report.
There are several minutiae to be attended to in the sports of Ceylon.
The caps should always be carried in a shot-charger (one of the common
spring-lid chargers) and never be kept loose in the pocket. The heat
is so intense that the perspiration soaks through everything, and so
injures the caps that the very best will frequently miss fire.
The powder should be dried for a few minutes in the sun before it is
put into the flask, and it should be well shaken and stirred to break
any lumps that may be in it. One of these, by obstructing the passage
in the flask, may cause much trouble in loading quickly, especially
when a wounded elephant is regaining his feet. In such a case you must
keep your eyes on the animal when loading, and should the passage of
the powder-flask be stopped by a lump, you may fancy the gun is loaded
when in fact not a grain of powder has entered it.
The patches should be of silk, soaked in a mixture of one part of
beeswax and two of fresh hog's lard, free from salt. If they are
spread with pure grease, it melts out of them in a hot country, and
they become dry. Silk is better than linen as it is not so liable to
be cut down by the sharp grooves of the rifle. It is also thinner than
linen or calico, and the ball is therefore more easily rammed down.
All balls should be made of pure lead, without any hardening mixture.
It was formerly the fashion to use zinc balls, and lead with a mixture
of tin, etc., in elephant-shooting. This was not only unnecessary, but
the balls, from a loss of weight by admixture with lighter metals, lost
force in a proportionate degree. Lead may be a soft metal, but it is
much harder than any animal's skull, and if a tallow candle can be shot
through a deal board, surely a leaden bullet is hard enough for an
elephant's head.
I once tried a very conclusive experiment on the power of balls of
various metals propelled by a
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