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rifled firearms, a twist of the grooves, which increases regularly from the breech to the muzzle. To gain on or upon. (a) To encroach on; as, the ocean gains on the land. (b) To obtain influence with. (c) To win ground upon; to move faster than, as in a race or contest. (d) To get the better of; to have the advantage o…

lied to the hogs, and has a very thick, naked skin, a thick and square head, a very large muzzle, small eyes and ears, thick and heavy body, and short legs. It is supposed to be the behemoth of the Bible. Called also zeekoe, and river horse. A smaller species (H. Liberiencis) inhabits Western Africa.…

the twixt of a rifle groove in which the angle of twist increases from the breech to the muzzle.

octurnal mammals allied to the monkeys, but of small size, and having a sharp and foxlike muzzle, and large eyes. They feed upon birds, insects, and fruit, and are mostly natives of Madagascar and the neighboring islands, one genus (Galago) occurring in Africa. The slow lemur or kukang of the East Indies is Nycticebus…

See Muzzle. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ch. -- Neck of a gun, the small part of the piece between the chase and the swell of the muzzle. -- Neck of a tooth (Anat.), the constriction between the root and the crown. -- Neck or nothing (Fig.), at all risks. -- Neck verse. (a) The verse formerly read to entitle a party to the benefit of clergy, said to be th…

A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.

The rod used in ramming home the charge in a muzzle-loading firearm.

andom shot, a shot not directed or aimed toward any particular object, or a shot with the muzzle of the gun much elevated. -- Random work (Masonry), stonework consisting of stones of unequal sizes fitted together, but not in courses nor always with flat beds.

ere planted culverins and sakers. Macaulay. The culverins and sakers showing their deadly muzzles over the rampart. Hawthorne.

turned with the barrel to the front and grasped by the right hand at the lewer band, the muzzle is dropped to the front, and the piece held with the guard under the right arm, the hand supported against the hip, and the thumb on the rammer.

of Arms which the piece is placed on the right shoulder, with the lock plate up, and the muzzle elevated and inclined to the left, and held as in the illustration.

A small piece of metal, fixed or movable, on the breech, muzzle, center, or trunnion of a gun, or on the breech and the muzzle of a rifle, pistol, etc., by means of which the eye is guided in aiming. Farrow.

the report of a firearm shooting its projectiles singly, as a tubular attachment for the muzzle having circular plates that permit the passage of the projectile but impart a rotary motion to, and thus retard, the exploding gases.

boreal Australian marsupial (Tarsipes rostratus) about the size of a mouse. It has a long muzzle, a long tongue, and very few teeth, and feeds upon honey and insects. Called also noolbenger.

To examine, as the thickness of the metal at the muzzle of a gun; or, in general, to examine the thickness of, as ordnance, in order to ascertain its strength.

g twist (Firearms), twist of which the pitch is less, and the inclination greater, at the muzzle than at the breech. -- Twist drill, a drill the body of which is twisted like that of an auger. See Illust. of Drill. -- Uniform twist (Firearms), a twist of which the spiral course has an equal pitch throughout.…

n which the mechanism is worked by the recoil, assisted by the pressure of gases from the muzzle, which expand in a gas chamber against a disk attached to the end of the barrel, thus moving the latter to the rear with increased recoil, and against the front wall of the gas chamber, checking the recoil of the system.…

g, mottled gray above, white or yellowish white beneath. There is a white band across the muzzle, and a dark band on each cheek. It inhabits grassy plains, and is noted for its extensive burrows and for heaping up miscellaneous articles at the mouth of its burrows. Called also biscacha, bizcacha, vischacha, vishatscha.…