Metal Fouling Did Not Bother Me At All, Though I Had Been
Led To Expect Trouble From It.
The weapon was always cleaned with
water so boiling hot that the heat of the barrel dried it.
When
occasionally flakes of metal fouling became visible a Marble
brush always sufficed to remove enough of it. It was my habit to
smear the bullets with mobilubricant before placing them in the
magazine. This was not as much of a nuisance as it sounds. A
small tin box about the size of a pill box lasted me the whole
trip; and only once did I completely empty the magazine at one
time. On my return I tested the rifle very thoroughly for
accuracy. In spite of careful cleaning the barrel was in several
places slightly corroded. For this the climate was responsible.
The few small pittings, however, did not seem in any way to have
affected the accuracy, as the rifle shot the following groups:
3-1/2 inches at 200 yards; 7-1/4 inches at 300 yards; and
11-1/2 inches at 500 yards.*
*It shot one five-shot 1-2/3 inch group at 200 yds., and several
others at all distances less than the figures given, but I am
convinced these must have been largely accidental.
These groups were not made from a machine rest, however; as none
was available. The complete record with this arm for my whole
stay in Africa was 307 hits out of 395 cartridges fired,
representing 185 head of game killed.
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