Suggestions to Military Riflemen

er and rags, dry the bore, and apply oil; but such treatment, or, rather, lack of treatment, would ruin one of our present rifles in about three days. The proper cleaning of a modern rifle is a complicated chemical process, and this must be realized if one wishes the good shooting qualities of his piece to last for more than a few days. I have seen many rifles which after a week's use on the range were absolutely useless for good shooting, being pitted, rusted, and filled with an accumulation of cupro-nickel; and I have also seen thousands of rifles which were bright, clean and free from rust, but which were absolutely useless for accurate work from having been cleaned from the muzzle. If a rifle is cleaned from the muzzle, it takes only a few days for the cleaning-rod to dull the muzzle, and then the gun begins to scatter. The reason for this has been given in the pfevious chapter. A "pull through" or thong, if used right (that is, inserted in the muzzle and pulled through to the breech), does not injure the muzzle ; but it is a very hard and tedious-process Lo clean a rifle thoroughly with a thong. Moreover, the thong is liable to break, and of all obstructions in the barrel a broken thong is the hardest to get out. The only safe way of cleaning is from the breech with a long cleaning-rod. This': rod should be 36 inches long and made of %-inch tool steel or brass, with a tip like the cut. The expert shot prefers a steel rod, because experience proves that dir...