GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



THE 30-30 SMOKELESS. 



Baltimore, Md. 



Editor Recreation: In the July issue of 

 Recreation G. R. Roberts, Northfield, Vt, 

 asks for some information relating to the 

 ^hooting powders of the Savage small bore 

 smokeless cartridge rifle, also if the soft 

 nose bullet is more effective than the solid. 



A great deal has been said in Recrea- 

 tion as to the killing powers of these small 

 bore guns, and while I cannot add materi- 

 ally to the information heretofore given, 

 yet every hunter's experience will assist in 

 making up the sum total from which reli- 

 able conclusions may be deduced. 



I hunted deer and turkeys in Southern 

 Florida, last winter, and used the -new model 

 Winchester 30-30 smokeless. The gun 

 more than met my highest expectations. 

 The best test I had to ascertain its killing 

 powers, was on a large alligator, on the 

 Caloosahatchie river. The 'gator was shot 

 from the bow of a boat, while swimming 

 away, at a distance of 50 yards. The ball, 

 a soft nose, struck him squarely in the back 

 of the head, shattering the entire skull, and, 

 taking a downward course, was found in 

 many fragments lodged against the skin, at 

 the chin, or tip of the lower jaw. The hole 

 made by the bullet, at the entrance, was 

 about an inch wide and 2 inches long, leav- 

 ing a decidedly wicked wound. 



Another alligator weighing several hun- 

 dred pounds, and killed on the same river, 

 just above Ft. Meyer, was found taking a 

 sunbath on the shore and was instantly 

 killed by a soft-nose bullet, at a distance of 

 about 100 yards. The bullet struck near the 

 base of the skull, shattering the vertebrae 

 and tearing away the bony hide, and the 

 flesh, in a manner quite amazing. Those 

 who know how hard an alligator's head is, 

 and what is required to kill one instantly, 

 will appreciate this report. The old saying 

 " shoot an alligator in the eye, only," means 

 that at this spot the ball is more apt to pen- 

 etrate than to glance from his hard head; 

 but with the 30-30 smokeless, such fine 

 marksmanship is not required. 



I further found that the metal jacket shell 

 is the thing to use on turkeys, and other 

 large birds. A soft-nose ball fired at a sand- 

 hill crane, at 200 yards, tore a hole through 

 the bird large enough for a boy to run his 

 arm through; while the full jacketed ball 

 went through an egret, with little or no 

 mutilation. 



Mr. Roberts also says he would like to 

 hear especially about the Savage rifle. Dr. 

 Siremba Shaw, a well-known wing-shot of 

 Chicago, and a true sportsman, who hunted 

 deer and bear in Florida, last winter, writes 

 me this: 



" In regard to your 30-30 Winchester, I 

 am not surprised at your praise of its work. 

 Mine is a Savage, .303, and I have never 

 seen anything to equal it. They are perfect 

 terrors and fearers." 



I am now planning a September hunt, for 

 large game, in the Big Horn country of 

 Wyoming, and will depend on my 30-30 

 smokeless to do the work, leaving at home 

 that faithful old killer, the 40-82 Winchester. 



J. E. Taylor. 



DEVICES FOR INCREASING THE RANGE OF 

 SHOT GUNS. 



M. B., Conway Center, N. H., asks how a 

 charge of shot can be held together and 

 made to go in a solid body, a certain dis- 

 tance. I have tried various devices and 

 have not yet found one that is certain in its 

 operation. They all are irregular and un- 

 certain, so far as I have tried them. Some- 

 times the shot will be carried en masse 30 

 yards; sometimes 60 or 75 yards. 



About as good a device as I have found 

 is to cut the paper shell nearly off just be- 

 low the shot and above the top wad over the 

 powder, leaving about 4 small places uncut. 

 I have, by this means, made as good a tar- 

 get at 65 and 70 yards as I could ordinarily 

 make, with the cartridge intact, at 40 to 45 

 yards. I have tried this with both cylinder 

 and choke-bore guns; but don't recom- 

 mend it for the latter. I don't think it good 

 for the gun. 



Some years ago I got, from a New York 

 dealer, a device made and patented in Eng- 

 land, and called the Schrapnel shot cart- 

 ridge. It consists of a hollow globe, com- 

 posed of 2 halves, with perforated lips at 

 each end. This globe is filled with shot and 

 held together by a straight steel wire or 

 spindle, to one end of which an extra thick 

 wad is securely fastened. This shell and its 

 spindle are pushed down into the cartridge 

 shell, on top of the powder, and the edges 

 of the cartridge shell are then bent down, 

 with the fingers, to keep the contents in 

 place. The length of the cone determines 

 the distance at which the spindle will be 

 drawn out, by atmospheric pressure, and the 

 shot scattered to perform their work. The 

 theory of the device is, that as the charge 

 leaves the barrel the expansive force of the 

 powder drives the wad on the end of the 

 spindle against the metal globe, preventing 

 it from separating and carrying it forward 

 a certain distance as a solid shot. When the 

 impulse of the discharge begins to fail the 

 resistance of the air, against the forward 

 side of the wad, pulls out the spindle. 



Suppose the longest range of this charge 

 be 125 yards and you desire to reduce it to 



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