Old Shotguns My old shotgun became an ornament years ago,
and recently, just to make sure, I took out its firing pins. Although I shot a great deal with it when a boy, it is not to be trusted now, for it has those old- fashioned twisted barrels that were in use before the modern shotgun and cartridge came on the scene. Almost every day I meet a man on the road coming from the field or going to it with an ancient gun in the crook of his arm. These. old guns have been handed down from father to son, bought and sold, hammered up when the action wore loose, doctored by blacksmiths, mechanics and long-dead gun- smiths. The old guns were made for the now out-of-date black powder that gave less pressure at the muzzle when a shot was fired. They were made of soft steel. Not one in a thousand of the old pieces has been back for a proof test with modern loads, and most of the men who use them are blissfully unaware that their guns may at any moment burst in their hands. My gun has had its teeth drawn. It will soon be an antique, for it was made long before 1900.
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