49§ 



RECREA TION. 



and lead the 22 R. F. Winchester is su- 

 perior to the 22 long rifle, as a small game 

 killer, and, for this reason, I use it in pref- 

 erence to the latter. 



On account of its inside lubrication, and 

 the good hold which its shell has on its 

 bullet, the 22 R. F. Winchester may be 

 carried in bag or pocket with impunity, and 

 fired in the repeater made for it, with excel- 

 lent results. 



THE NEW SMALL BORE RIFLES. 



Editor Recreation: As all big game 

 hunters are interested in the new smokeless 

 rifles, I will, through Recreation, give my 

 experience with them. 



The first one I used was an 8 m.m. 

 Mannlicher, and the bullets gave uneven 

 results. The lead core, of the soft nosed 

 bullets, seemed too hard. In some in- 

 stances the bullet would pass through the 

 body of a deer without upsetting, and would 

 have no more effect than a full jacketed ball 

 would. At other times the bullet would go 

 all to pieces as soon as it struck, and, while 

 making a terrible wound, gave but little 

 penetration. I once shot a bull elk, with 

 this rifle, at about 10 yards, aiming at the 

 back bone, and though the shot knocked 

 him down, it failed to break his back. The 

 bullet went all to pieces on striking. Right 

 then I made up my mind I did not want 

 any smokeless small bores in mine when 

 after bear, and nothing I have since 

 learned about them has changed my opin- 

 ion. 



I used the Mannlicher about 18 months 

 and while I found it accurate, at all dis- 

 tances, up to 800 yards, and its flat trajec- 

 tory a great help in game shooting, yet I 

 do not consider its effect on game equal to 

 that of any of the large calibre sporting 

 rifles using black powder. 



Of course, when the bullet upset just 

 right both shock and penetration were 

 ahead of those given by black powder am- 

 munition; but this did not happen with any 

 reasonable degree of regularity. 



Last fall I began using another 30, and 

 am not so well satisfied with it as I was 

 with the Mannlicher. 



I think the core of the soft nosed bullet, 

 used in the Savage, is altogether too soft. 

 At short range it upsets too much, and the 

 penetration is about what one would ex- 

 pect from a 44-40-200. 



It is all right to shoot a deer or antelope 

 in the ribs, and have the ball lodge under 

 the skin on the other side, provided 

 there be plenty of shock and bloodletting; 

 but when you stand in front of a big bear, 

 or try to smash the shoulder of a bull elk, 

 your bullet must not only shock but must 

 go deep and smash everything it hits. 



For instance, the other day 4 of my 

 hounds had a big cougar at bay on the 

 ground. I took a shot at the brute, with 



my Savage, as the animal was quartering 

 away from me, at about 30 feet distance. 

 The jacket came off the soft nosed bullet, as 

 it struck the cougar in the short ribs, and 

 the core lodged just under the skin, the 

 jacket penetrating into the lungs, butt end 

 foremost. As the result I had but a small 

 fraction of a second in which to stop him, 

 and I do not like to think what would have 

 happened if I had been depending on that 

 first shot to stop a big grizzly, at close 

 quarters. 



In my opinion the new rifles are all right 

 for that class of sportsmen who use express 

 rifles, cover their game any way, as they 

 would with a shotgun, and depend on the 

 bullet to so mutilate the animal, no matter 

 where hit, that he cannot escape. But for 

 the man who hunts large and dangerous 

 game, and who depends on quick shooting 

 and on placing his bullet in the right place 

 to bring him out on top, black powder and 

 lead bullets are good enough yet. 



I have never used any of the Winchester 

 smokeless rifles, and know nothing of their 

 work but what I have read; but I do not 

 think the right combination has yet been 

 hit, in the new ammunition, for a good big 

 game cartridge, I have found that the 

 Savage powder is seriously affected by cold, 

 24 below giving a high trajectory and un- 

 even shooting. No doubt the new rifles 

 have great possibilities; but they are not 

 fully developed yet, and a great many of the 

 claims made for them do not stand the test 

 of practice. 



Wra. Wells, Meeker, Colo. 



AGAINST THE 3° SMOKELESS. 



Pleasantville, N. Y. 



Editor Recreation: I greatly admire 

 Recreation, and believe its contributors 

 to be all good fellows; yet am moved to 

 utter a jeremiade against their apparent 

 craze for the latest high velocity smokeless 

 powder rifles. The rifles of our daddies 

 were good enough to practically extermi- 

 nate the game of a continent. What will 

 our sons hunt? Clay birds? 



What is the great advantage of shooting 

 a hole clear through a buck, with the pros- 

 pect of also killing a man in the next coun- 

 ty, before the bullet stops? I have played 

 with firearms 20 years, and consider any 

 man who uses a rifle larger than 32 calibre, 

 in a settled country, a dangerous character 

 and a poor marksman. If you must use a 

 Savage rifle, Brethren, take it to the wilder- 

 ness; and if you chance to pot a stray Ind- 

 ian or trapper, you will at least have a 

 chance to skip out, ahead of the sheriff's 

 posse. 



A friend of mine lately bought a Savage 

 rifle, and, calling on me, with his pockets 

 full of long-range cartridges, invited me to 

 try the gun with him, on squirrels. Not 



