GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



BIG BORES FOR BIG GAME. 

 R. S. B. 



Editor Recreation: I wish to corrob- 

 orate what Mr. E. E. Van Dyke says. Also 

 to help him out of a slight error he made in 

 stating that the penetration of the 45~75- 

 405 cartridge is nearly one-half greater 

 than that of the 45-90-300. I have looked 

 up some data and present 5 types of guns 

 for comparison. 



lations between different guns I take up 

 the last 2 as representing the extremes of 

 large and small bores. The united energy 

 of the guns, in foot pounds, would be rep- 

 resented by formula 



p y a in which P is the weight of ball in pounds. 



it 1. y n <t velocity in feet per sec. 



2-0 " " 9 = 32.16 gravity. 



Which worked out for No. 4 gives 2092 foot pounds. 



<< » .« s <• 2308 " 



Thus showing that No. 5 has the greater power again. 

 But the energy per inch of cir. of ball would be repre- 



No. 









Velocity ft. 









per sec. 



I, 



45- 



70. 405- 



1271 



2, 



45- 



90 300. 



1480 



3i 



40. 



90 370 



1357 







(U. S. new 



navy.) 



4- 



.236. 



i35 



2306 



5. 



50. 



105. 450 



1383 



-Penetrations. 



14. y % " boards plain ball. 16%. V B. patched ball 



13' 19- 



16 " " " " 23 



16" 



62 

 23 



Momentum. 



90 



ft. 



lbs 



77 



" 



" 



89.7 



it 



it 



56 



" 



it 



125 



11 



it 



By looking at the table some queer com- 

 parisons are to be seen. No. 3, the old 

 Sharps, was my ideal rifle. Mr. Van Dyke 

 uses Nos. 1 and 2 and says the new No. 5 

 would be his ideal. I claim that No. 3 was 

 the best rifle, 10 to 15 years ago, for my 

 use on the plains and in the foot hills. Mr. 

 Van Dyke's ideal is a little larger. Prob- 

 ably he can carry a cannon better than I 

 could; but his gun has the same penetra- 

 tion, in pine wood, as mine. I admit Mr. 

 Van Dyke has picked the better of the 2, 

 as it is the gun that has the most power 

 with loads given, as shown in the column 

 of momentums; and just here is where the 

 whole business centres. The fine adjust- 

 ment of powder charge, gauge, and weight 

 of ball, granting the gup perfect in other 

 respects for certain resistance is admirable. 

 No one gun is adapted for all kinds of 

 shooting. 



The various governments have been try- 

 ing, for years, to produce the best gun to 

 kill men. Now it seems they want to do it 

 in a nice, gentlemanly way — by pushing 

 lead pencils through them. No. 4 in the 

 above table is that kind of a gun. It has 

 high velocity, great penetration and is sup- 

 posed to revolve a ball so rapidly that it 

 will tear a large hole. Granted. But if that 

 gun were given to me, or I dare say to Mr. 

 Van Dyke, and we were ordered to go 

 hunting with it, we would look for nothing 

 larger than jack rabbits. You all seem to 

 overlook the fact that it is not the ball that 

 does the killing. It is the resistance the 

 animal presents to said ball that determines 

 whether or not he is to yield to it. If the 

 nerve centres, or main nerve cords are pen- 

 etrated, you will paralyze and kill your 

 game in a much more humane manner than 

 by letting him bleed to death, and you are 

 more sure to get him. 



To continue the research as to the re- 



sented by formula 



PV2 



292 r ir 



in which P, V & 9 are the same 



as above, r=radius of ball in inches and ^=3.1416. 



Worked out we have for No. 4 2851 foot pounds per inch of 

 circumference of ball. 



Worked out we have for No. 5 1841 foot pounds per inch of 

 circumference of ball. 



The circumference of No. 4 ball is .-j-/' or area .04 sq. in. 

 " 5 " 1.25" " " 1. 21 " ". 



The area of No. 5 ball is nearly 3 times that 

 of No. 4. 



Now as to results in killing animals. 

 That depends on the elasticity or resistance 

 of the parts struck; and on this point we 

 have as yet no reliable coefficients by which 

 to work out formulas. 



Referring again to the table: The known 

 penetration of pine boards is as follows: 



For No. 4, 62%" boards, 54.25 inches X .04 sq. in. = 2.i7 

 cu. in. clean hole cut. 



For No. 5, 23% // boards, 20.125 inches X 121 sq. in. = 2.43 

 cu. in. of clean hole cat. 



Thus it is seen that No. 5 has actually cut 

 or penetrated more area of wood, or the 

 wood has presented more resistance than 

 to the No. 4 ball; but it is claimed that No. 

 4 will cut a larger hole in proportion than 

 No. 5. The increase in size is due to the 

 plug of material carried ahead of the ball 

 having a tendency to spread out; as a log 

 or boat propelled through the water forces 

 water ahead of it; this being retained by the 

 pressure of the side water, till this accumu- 

 lation of bow water overcomes the resis- 

 tance of the side water, when it passes off 

 in bow waves. The sharper your cut water, 

 and the finer your boat lines, the less re- 

 sistance is presented by the water to the 

 propelling force of the boat; and this is 

 certainly true of your ball. The twist of 

 the ball does not increase the size of hole 

 very much. Old hunters use soft nose, 

 hollow, or quartered point bullets. Or they 

 cut the point by casting around a piece of 



145 



