after cleaning, to see if there is any damage going on from corrosion.

Use the cleaning fluids recommended for the particular powder you are using, as what may be good for one powder is of no use for another.

The great thing is to clean very thoroughly. I use cotton-wool of the best quality rather than tow, and I do not use boiling water unless in very exceptional cases, for fear of overlooking a spot in drying, and getting rust in consequence. If necessary to use water to remove fouling, let it be as hot as possible, but this cannot be done if the barrel is not capable of being separated from the action.

Do not try to oil the lock, or put it right; send it occasionally to the maker to be seen to. It is also well to have a cleaning kit with wooden not metal (except for calibres of .32 or less) cleaning rods, cotton-wool, cleaning fluids, screw-drivers, etc., all in proper compartments, and to put them back when used. See that the cotton-wool is absolutely dry and clean before using it. Throw away such pieces after once using. Do not use too big a piece on your rod, such as would get the latter jammed in the barrel, as you may ruin the shooting qualities of the barrel by using force to remove it. Have the cleaning rods long enough, or you may bark your knuckles.

I do not care much for detachable stocks for pistols. They only turn a pistol into an inferior carbine, and the pistol is not meant for a long-range weapon.

I also do not like the cardboard cases in which American pistols are usually packed, for permanent use; they are not strong enough and are apt to injure the sights, especially fine sights. A holster, again, is not the thing in which to keep a pistol habitually, as the sights get knocked about; if the holster is used out-of-doors it gets damp inside and rusts the weapon. Great care should always be taken to see that the holster is absolutely dry inside before placing a pistol therein. To dry the inside of a holster, make some oats very hot in a saucepan and fill the holster with them, emptying them out when cold. Some American holsters are made of india-rubber, to prevent perspiration from the body rusting the pistol, but such an one is very liable to retain dampness inside after rain. The holster which I prefer (for wearing, not as a pistol-case) is a cowboy holster, without any button to the flap. If you fasten the flap, you cannot get the pistol out in a hurry. A lining of rabbit fur is useful in keeping out sand or dust.

My pistol-cases are good, strong, and solid, of leather, with brass corners like gun-cases. Each case holds four, placed either side by side, each pistol in its own compartment, or, with a tray, two in the tray and two below. If you have only two pistols, they can be put in a case without this upper tray, or the tray can be used for cartridges. Under all circumstances, use a good lock,—not the sort that any key fits,—keep the case locked, and wear the key on your watch-chain, so that you are sure nobody but yourself can open the case. Keep the case in a dry place, and look at the pistols occasionally, when they are not in constant use, to see that they are not rusting.

Keep your cartridges, if not in the same case as the pistols, also locked in a good leather case. This may be fitted with compartments for various calibres and loads. The word “loaded” may with advantage be inscribed inside the lid of the pistol-cases. People then feel less encouragement to meddle with the contents.

CHAPTER IV

SIGHTS

Sights are made in many forms. Some suit one man best; others another. You cannot decide which suits your individual case without trying each sort for yourself.

When you find one form which suits you, it is a pity to risk spoiling your shooting by changing to others; a beginner should never do so, as he will get into an uncertain way of taking his sights, instead of always the same, which is the only way to make reliable, consistent, shooting. Of course, all your sights may be useless if you are going to shoot in a competition, consequent on the authorities making some new rule as to “fit for rough usage”; and then you will have to shoot with whatever will pass the rules.

My patent sight has, so far, complied with every rule, and it can be used for hammering nails without sustaining damage.

The main point is to have a front sight at once easily seen, and of which you see each time the same amount; not sometimes more and at other times less, else you cannot keep your elevation.

Also the “U” in the back sight should have bevelled edges, so as to give a sharp edge, else it looks “woolly.”

Again, if you are not able to see daylight each side of the front sight when it is in the “U,” you cannot be aware that you are not covering part of the front sight on one side or the other, and, therefore, whether your aim is in horizontal axis with your barrel.

The reason I prefer a “U”- to a “V”-shaped notch in the hind sight is because in the “V” you do not see this daylight so well.

As soon as you can shoot well enough to know whether bad shots are the fault of the sighting of the revolver or of your own holding, you can sight the pistol properly for yourself; and in this way you can do the sighting much more accurately, and with greater nicety, than by taking it to a gunmaker and saying: “Alter the sights to shoot three inches higher and two to the left at twenty yards, and open the ‘U’ a little,” etc. To do this, have front and hind sights made of horn, put in temporarily, without any “U” in the hind sight, and both hind and front sights a little higher than you think necessary. Then go to the range with your pistol and several files of various sizes, including some that are round. Make a slight “U” in the measured centre of the top edge of the back sight. Shoot a few shots at the range you want to sight for (taking care that you do not go clean over the top of the butt, owing to being sighted too high), and then keep working with the files, first at one sight and then at the other, till you get them approximately right.

Do not cut the “U” down too close to the barrel, as it will then give you a blurry aim, especially when the barrel gets hot. If you find you shoot too high, unless you cut this “U” down take out the front sight and put in another higher one, rather than file the “U” unduly low.

Remember when filing: Filing at the bottom of the “U” makes you shoot lower; filing at the top of the front sight makes you shoot higher; filing on the side of the “U” or the front sight makes you shoot towards the side on which you have filed. Therefore, by filing a very little at a time, where necessary, you can at last get your sighting perfect. Be sure to file a very little at a time, or you will overdo it. As in sculpture, you can easily take off, but cannot replace. If you have taken off too much anywhere, you may be able to correct this by filing so as to alter the direction. For instance, if you have been shooting too much to the right, you can correct this by filing on the left of the front sight or the left of the “U,” whichever makes the more symmetrical job; but if, by doing so, you make the front sight too small or too narrow or make the “U” too wide, there is nothing to do but to put in a new front or hind sight and begin shooting and filing again.

When you have got the sighting perfect,