Pistol and Revolver Shooting Part 2

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 17a--COLT AUTOMATIC TARGET PISTOL Ten shots; 6 inch barrel; weight, 28 oz.; .22 cal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 18--COLT POLICE POSITIVE REVOLVER Six shots; 4 inch barrel; weight, 1 lb., 4 oz.; .32 cal.]

One of the most popular pocket revolvers is the Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless. This arm has a safety latch in the back of the handle, so designed that unless the piece is properly held it is impossible to operate it. It has many valuable and desirable features to commend it as a practical pocket weapon and for home protection. The standard length of barrel is 4 inches. This arm is also furnished in .32 caliber. (See Fig.

21, facing p. 34.)

With 4-inch barrels, the foregoing pocket weapons are capable of shooting regularly within a 2-inch circle at 20 yards.

A heavier and correspondingly more powerful Pocket revolver is the Colt "Double Action" revolver. This arm is chambered for the Colt .41 caliber short and long cartridges. It has a solid frame, and is operated exactly like the Colt Single Action Army Model (Fig 6). It is compact, strong, durable, and accurate.

For many years there was no high grade .22 caliber revolver on the market.

Within the last few years two excellent arms in this caliber have been produced. The Smith & Wesson is supplied chambered only for the S. & W.

long cartridges, but in two lengths of barrels; 3 inches with fixed sights and 6 inches with target sights. The Colt is furnished only in one length of barrel, 6 inches, but chambered for any of the rim-fire cartridges, and the .32 caliber short and long Colt, central-fire cartridges. These arms with 6-inch barrels are extremely accurate, pleasant to shoot on account of the light recoil and the ammunition is inexpensive. They are well adapted for target shooting for ladies and excellent for small game shooting. (See Figs. 22 and 23.)

A very handy little arm to carry in the pocket on hunting and fis.h.i.+ng trips is the Stevens Diamond Model single-shot pistol. It is light in weight, very accurate, and low in cost. (See Fig. 24, facing p. 36.)

All these .22 caliber arms can be depended on to kill grouse, ducks, rabbits, and other small game. The hollow-pointed bullet ammunition should be used, or the regular cartridge, with the front of the bullet cut off square, so as to leave a flat point. This will increase the killing effect of the bullet considerably.

Magazine pistols of smaller size than the military arms have in recent years become popular as pocket weapons. Such types as have safety devices to prevent discharge when the arm is not properly held for firing, are well adapted for this purpose.

The Colt Pocket Models are made in .38 caliber and .32 caliber as shown in Fig. 25, and in .25 caliber as ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 26 (facing pp. 36 and 38.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 19--SMITH & WESSON HAND EJECTOR REVOLVER Six shots; 4 inch barrel; weight, 18 oz.; .32 cal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 20.--SMITH & WESSON DOUBLE ACTION PERFECTED REVOLVER Five shots; 4 inch barrel; weight, 17 oz.; .38 cal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 21.--SMITH & WESSON SAFETY HAMMERLESS REVOLVER Five shots; 4 inch barrel; weight, 1 lb., 1 oz.; .38 cal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 22.--SMITH & WESSON POCKET REVOLVER Seven shots; 3 inch barrel; weight, 10 oz.; .22 cal.]

The Savage Pocket Model is made in .38 and .32 caliber using the same cartridge as the Colt. It has an automatic indicator showing when the arm is loaded. A recent improvement in this arm is a spur c.o.c.king lever which permits c.o.c.king with the thumb of the hand holding the weapon. (See Fig.

27, facing p. 38.)

The Smith & Wesson automatic is furnished only in .35 caliber. It has a wood stock backed by steel plates. The automatic safety in this arm is located in front of the trigger guard and is operated by the second finger. (See Fig. 28, facing p. 38.)

As in the case of pocket revolvers, the larger calibers of the pocket automatic pistols will be found to have better stopping power and as practical weapons for use in case of emergency are to be preferred to the smaller calibers.

Persons who have very limited use for a weapon as for home protection and occasional pocket use, especially when they do not expect to practice shooting with it regularly will find a suitable revolver much more serviceable, safer, and generally more satisfactory than a magazine pistol. The latter on account of its more complicated and concealed mechanism is liable to be left in an unserviceable condition for safety in the home (unloaded, magazines misplaced, etc.) and when needed, unfamiliarity with its manipulation not only causes delay in getting it in action but also is a fruitful source of accident. For the purpose referred to in this paragraph a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless, a .38 or .32 caliber Colt Police Positive, or a .32 caliber Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector with a 4-inch barrel and a 4-pound trigger pull in each case is recommended. Owners of such weapons for home or personal protection should practice with them occasionally, firing at least 20 or 25 shots. A good range for such practice is 20 to 30 feet. After using the arm it should in all cases be carefully cleaned and oiled as described under "Cleaning and Care of Arms."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 23--COLT POLICE POSITIVE TARGET REVOLVER Seven shots; 6 inch barrel; weight, 1 lb., 6 oz.; .22 and .32 cal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 24.--STEVENS DIAMOND MODEL PISTOL Six inch barrel; weight, 8 oz.; .22 cal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 25.--COLT AUTOMATIC POCKET PISTOL Eight shots; 3 inch barrel; weight, 1 lb., 7 oz.; .32 and .38 cal.]

CHAPTER III

AMMUNITION

The degree of perfection that has been attained in the manufacture of ammunition is remarkable. Generally speaking, the smaller the charge the more difficult it is to make it accurate. Notwithstanding this, we have in the .22 caliber ammunition a tiny cartridge the accuracy of which falls little short of marvellous.

Until 1907 black powder ammunition was used almost exclusively for pistol and revolver shooting. In central-fire ammunition smokeless powders are now invariably used, especially in military shooting, where the regulation full charge is required. In the .22 caliber pistols, the fouling of the black powder is not a very serious matter, and it is not uncommon to shoot fifty or a hundred rounds without the necessity of cleaning. In the larger calibers, however, the fouling is frequently so excessive that it affects the accuracy after the fifth shot. The incessant cleaning that is necessary in order to get good results with black powder ammunition was a great drawback, and detracted much from the pleasure of revolver shooting.

Fortunately this objection is now entirely eliminated by the use of smokeless powders.

Nearly all the cartridges referred to in this chapter were originally designed for black powder. The various manufacturers now supply them loaded with smokeless powder at a very slight advance in price. The cartridges are loaded so as to give approximately the same velocity as the former black powder charges but the new charges are rarely the exact equivalent of the old ones.

The accuracy and uniformity with the smokeless powder was not at first equal to that of the black, but with a better knowledge of the action and behavior of the smokeless powders, these difficulties have been overcome and the smokeless ammunition now gives not only superior accuracy and reliability, but also causes much less fouling and smoke and has a lighter report. In "gallery" ammunition light conical bullets have entirely superseded spherical bullets and smokeless powder is almost invariably used.

To obtain the best results, the proportions of any charge must be adapted to the caliber, length of barrel, and weight of the arm in which it is to be used. These proportions are generally determined by experiment.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig 26 COLT AUTOMATIC POCKET PISTOL Seven shots; 2 inch barrel; weight, 13 oz.: 25 cal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 27--SAVAGE AUTOMATIC POCKET PISTOL Ten shots; 4 inch barrel; weight, 1 lb. 5 oz.; .32 and .38 cal.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 28.--SMITH & WESSON AUTOMATIC POCKET PISTOL Eight shots; 3 inch barrel; weight, 1 lb., 7 oz.; .35 cal.]

The accuracy of the cartridge depends largely upon the uniformity exercised in the operations of loading, the fit of the bullet, its shape, and the reliability and uniformity of the powder. The primer must be of uniform strength also, especially in reduced charges. In ammunition for military service the sh.e.l.ls are crimped on the bullets to hold them in place. This does not increase the accuracy in black powder ammunition, but it is necessary and advantageous in all smokeless ammunition including gallery charges, in order to confine the powder and produce uniform results.

The following is a digest of the princ.i.p.al pistol and revolver cartridges in use at the present time.

_Rim-fire Cartridges._--These are primed with a fulminate of mercury mixture around the outer edge of the rim, or base of the sh.e.l.l, and are generally loaded with Lesmok, semi-smokeless, or black powder.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 29.]

The smallest and lightest charged ammunition in general use is the .22 caliber. In this caliber the "C. B." or Conical Ball Cap loaded with black powder is the smallest practicable cartridge. The charge is 1 grains of powder and a lubricated conical bullet weighing 29 grains.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 30.]

An excellent cartridge in this caliber is the .22 short, (Fig. 30). This cartridge fouls very little and is almost equal in accuracy to the .22 "long rifle" up to 50 yards. On account of its lighter report it is preferred by many for gallery shooting.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 31.]

The .22 caliber "long rifle" cartridge is more extensively used for pistol shooting than any other. It is the most accurate of the .22-caliber cartridges, being well proportioned, the bullet well lubricated, and the sh.e.l.l uncrimped. In addition to this, the ammunition is inexpensive and has very clean shooting qualities. It is, therefore, particularly well adapted for pistol shooting. This cartridge, fired from a 10-inch barrel, will shoot regularly inside of a 2-inch circle, at 50 yards, and inside a 5-inch circle at 100 yards.

The .22-caliber Long Rifle "Armory" and the .22-caliber Smith & Wesson Long are special makes of the long rifle cartridge that are furnished with a crimped sh.e.l.l, preventing the bullet from becoming dislodged and thus adapting this popular cartridge for use in revolvers of this caliber.

In all of the foregoing cartridges only the surface of the bullet outside the sh.e.l.l is lubricated. Exposed in this way, the lubricant is easily rubbed off, or melted if allowed to stand in the sunlight on a warm day.

Great care should be taken to prevent this, as, without lubrication, the bullets will lead the barrel and cause inaccurate shooting.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 32.]

The .22-caliber Winchester is a cartridge with inside lubrication. It is more powerful than the .22 long rifle, and gives good results in the pistol. The bullet has a flat point, making it suitable for game shooting, and the lubrication being within the sh.e.l.l, these cartridges may be carried loose in the pocket.

All of the .22 caliber cartridges can be had with hollow-pointed bullets, which are to be preferred for game shooting. They are also furnished loaded with smokeless powder. When this powder was first used in .22-caliber ammunition the results were far from satisfactory, but as now manufactured the smokeless ammunition approximates very closely in uniformity and accuracy to that loaded with black powder.