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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 event in American history does Tim Harrow know the most about?
(a) The 9-11 terror attacks
(b) Custer's last stand
(c) The Gettysburg Address
(d) The amphibious assault on Tarawa

2. On the rifle that Cornish McManus builds, what is the name of the part that holds the flint?
(a) The patch box
(b) The frizzen
(c) The bore
(d) The hammer

3. What object rekindles in Cornish McManus the desire to build a masterpiece of a rifle?
(a) A rough-sawn "blank" of curly maple
(b) A woman's petticoat
(c) A target shooting competition
(d) A newspaper article

4. According to the novel, what is the curve of a bullet's nose called?
(a) The snout
(b) Hollow point
(c) Sugar loaf
(d) The secant ogive

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Tim Harrow live?

2. Why was curly maple so prized for gun-stocks?

3. After his apprenticeship is complete, Cornish McManus is referred to as what?

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

5. In the rifle that Cornish McManus builds, the flint strikes a piece of metal called what?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What was John Byam called in his day as a soldier? What would he be called today?

3. Describe how life in the American army forces is presented in the novel.

4. 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.

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

6. Is the "sweet" rifle evil?

7. Describe the initial organization of McRary's Rangers.

8. What was the leading cause of death among American Revolutionary War soldiers?

9. The "sweet" rifle shoots a .40 caliber ball; most rifles of the period shot a much, much larger ball. Does the small caliber of the "sweet" rifle reduce its killing capability?

10. What aspect of Cornish McManus's personality, that John Waynewright dislikes, allows him to build a "sweet" rifle?

(see the answer keys)

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