GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



499 



caring to risk an indictment for man- 

 slaughter, I declined, and besought him to 

 inform me, in advance, whenever he in- 

 tended to fire that gun within 3 miles of 

 town, that I might retire to the cellar until 

 the trouble was over. 



The man who wants a more deadly arm, 

 in skilled hands, than a Marlin repeater 

 with black powder shells, should contract 

 with the Almighty for a supply of chain 

 lightning. 



What many shooters most need is a gun 

 that will hold and aim itself. 



I know a man who shot the tail off a fox, 

 and complained that his gun was no good 

 anyway — yet he got all he aimed at. With 

 a Marlin 22, long rifle shells and Lyman 

 sights, I can score 9 kills out of 10 shots at 

 woodchucks, coons or foxes, within 100 

 yards; and have dropped a chuck stone 

 dead at 180 measured yards. What more 

 can you ask of a gun. The man who isn't 

 smart enough to get within 180 yards of any 

 animal, should quit hunting and turn con- 

 gressman. 



Even the little 22 has a range greatly in 

 excess of that claimed for it. I once shot a 

 crow, through the body, at 75 yards, and 

 the bullet continuing, hit a cow, peacefully 

 grazing, more than 300 yards beyond. I 

 had no idea before, that a cow was so agile 

 and melodious. Didn't stop to inquire how 

 badly she was hurt, but when I reached the 

 tall timber, half a mile away, that cow was 

 still cavorting around the pasture, testify- 

 ing loudly to the range and penetration of 

 the toy gun. 



I never shoot even a 32 without a calcula- 

 tion as to where the bullet would drop if I 

 missed my mark. 



The ideal rifle would be one that would 

 throw a ball, with the utmost accuracy, 200 

 yards and have it stop there. Instead of in- 

 creasing the range of the modern rifle, in- 

 ventors would do well to turn their atten- 

 tion to providing us with something worth 

 shooting at with any old gun. 



G. A. Mack. 



LARGE OR SMALL BORES? 



Chicago 111. 



Editor Recreation: The best parts of 

 your magazine are " The Game Fields " 

 and " Guns and Ammunition." 



These departments are read with profit 

 by many a city dweller who has vainly 

 sought, elsewhere, to obtain the informa- 

 tion which they contain. It is true that 

 game is becoming scarcer every year; and 

 without news from many states who can 

 select new fields when the old grounds are 

 depleted by game hogs, or other vermin? 



The sales of the new 30 calibre smoke- 

 less powder rifles are constantly increasing 

 in this city. Many of these new rifles are 

 taken by persons of limited experience, 

 into the forests of Wisconsin and Michigan, 



where most deer are killed within a range 

 of 150 yards; and I expect to read of many 

 accidents in these states, during the open 

 season, which will be traced directly to the 

 use of 30 calibre rifles. 



These new small bore smokeless powder 

 rifles, charged with metal jacketed bullets, 

 are selected by sportsmen because of their 

 light weight, and flat trajectory. When 

 shooting at deer or other large game, with- 

 in 150 yards, however, the trajectory of a 45 

 or 50 calibre bullet, propelled by 70 to 120 

 grains of black or low pressure nitro 

 powder, is flat enough to avoid missing the 

 game, if the sights be held "on; " and the 

 danger of shooting an unseen or unnoticed 

 object, beyond the animal fired at, is much 

 less than if a 30 calibre rifle were used. To 

 illustrate: Suppose that, at a range of 150 

 yards on level ground, a hunter shoots at a 

 deer, with a 30-30 or a 30-40 modern rifle. 

 Assume that the bullet passes just above the 

 deer's back, describing at first a horizontal 

 line. Now, unless the bullet is stopped by 

 a tree, or some other obstacle, it will, at a 

 distance of 300 yards beyond the deer, be 

 high enough above the ground to mortally 

 wound a man of ordinary size, by passing 

 into his abdomen. 



If the deer had been shot at with a 45-90- 

 300 rifle, the bullet would, when 300 yards 

 beyond the deer, be too near the earth to 

 strike a man above the feet. 



Again, a small tree will check the flight 

 of the 45 calibre 300 grain bullet; whereas 

 the 30 calibre metal jacketed bullet will pass 

 through a tree of considerable size, even 

 though it have an exposed lead point. 



Sportsmen who hunt in a brushy or 

 thickly wooded country, where game is 

 shot within 150 yards, and where an unob- 

 structed view of the country beyond the 

 game cannot be had, would, therefore, do 

 well to select a 45 or 50 calibre express rifle, 

 of the older pattern, in preference to a 30 

 calibre smokeless. 



In a mountainous country, or on the 

 prairies, where an unobstructed view may 

 be had beyond the game, there can be no 

 objection to the use of the 30 calibre rifles. 



G. L. Lehle. 



THAT LONG RANGE SHOT GUN. 



Orient Point, Suffolk Co., N. Y. 

 Editor Recreation: I admire your 

 model journal as much as ever. The " Guns 

 and Ammunition " portion of it is especi- 

 ally interesting to me. I have been under 

 the impression I knew something about 

 good guns, as I have bought, sold^ and 

 used them for 40 years. I am acquainted 

 with a number of different makes, and 

 have used most of them. Among these are 

 the Remington, Ithaca, Parker, Richards, 

 Hemmingway, etc. I believe many of your 

 readers will agree with me, fully, when I 

 say these are good guns. 



