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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What type of grease does Cornish McManus use to lubricate his patches?
(a) Rancid butter
(b) Bear grease
(c) Hoppe's #9
(d) Axle grease

2. After buying the "sweet" rifle for twenty-five dollars, for how much does the antique store owner sell the weapon?
(a) Two hundred thousand dollars
(b) Two thousand dollars
(c) Twenty thousand dollars
(d) Two hundred dollars

3. What does Harv Kline do with the "sweet" rifle?
(a) Sells it to an antique shop
(b) Uses it to shoot British officers and sergeants
(c) Takes it hunting
(d) Hangs it over the fireplace

4. What is the twist rate of the rifling of the barrel of Cornish McManus' "sweet" rifle?
(a) One turn in six inches
(b) One turn in thirty-five inches
(c) One turn in thirty-five yards
(d) It doesn't twist

5. Who trained Cornish McManus?
(a) Joe Manton
(b) John Waynewright
(c) Richard Allen Mesinger
(d) John Byam

Short Answer Questions

1. In his lifetime, how many times does Tim Harrow use a firearm to protect his life or property?

2. What happens to John Byam's "sweet" rifle after he dies?

3. What does Cornish McManus make out of rough-sawn "blanks"?

4. What type of heel drop does Cornish McManus use on the butt stock of his "sweet" rifle?

5. Tim Harrow's vest has all of the following slogans except?

Short Essay Questions

1. In order to fire properly, the following things must be true: "the powder is dry and in good shape" (p. 16); "the flint is clean and with a new sharp edge" (p. 16); "the frizzen is wiped dry" (p. 16); "the spring on the hammer is strong" (p. 16); "the flint [slams] hard against the frizzen" (p. 16); "the powder is positioned correctly in the pan" (p. 17). Explain how all of these things happen to occur on Christmas Eve, 1993.

2. In reading the novel, do you think of the "sweet" Rifle as a character or as an object?

3. Describe how the British are presented in the novel.

4. The cover image of several common editions of the book shows a highly-engraved flintlock rifle. Does the book describe the rifle as being engraved?

5. Cornish McManus is a superb gunsmith with great vision and skill. Describe his shooting ability.

6. Most gunsmiths would test their barrels early in the manufacturing process, to avoid wasting time finishing faulty barrels. Cornish McManus does not test his barrel until the entire gun is finished. Why?

7. Why does John Byam kill the first British officer that he kills?

8. What types of uses is Cornish McManus' "sweet" rifle put to during the novel?

9. The novel spends many pages describing the construction of the rifle. Do you have a clear mental image of the processes involved in hand-making a muzzle-loading rifle?

10. When Cornish McManus built his "sweet" rifle, what did he probably imagine it would be used for?

(see the answer keys)

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