GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



HINTS FOR BEGINNERS, 

 j. p. 



The choice of a rifle should depend en- 

 tirely on the locality in which you live. If 

 you are on a ranch, in the West, you do not 

 need the rifle your cousin, back on the New 

 England farm, would find useful. Nor does 

 the city boy need the same cartridge that 

 would be just the thing if he lived in the 

 country. 



Do not select a certain rifle, or cartridge, 

 because some one advises it. Think the 

 matter over. Consider what use you will 

 make of the rifle. Then decide for yourself. 

 Do not expect to find the " all-round rifle." 

 There is no such thing. Deer have been 

 killed with a 22 rim-fire, and elk with a 32- 

 40; but such instances prove nothing. It is 

 cruelty to shoot deer with a 22 cartridge, 

 and absurd to hunt squirrels with a 44. 



Of all the small calibre cartridges made, 

 the 22 short, and the 22 long rifle, are 2 of 

 the best. The 22 long, is not the same as 

 the 22 long rifle. Refer to any rifle cata- 

 logue and compare them. The shells are 

 the same length* and the powder charge is 

 the same; but the bullet in the long rifle is 

 heavier and is not crimped in the shell. 



Well informed riflemen do not use the 22 

 long cartridge, for any purpose; while the 

 long rifle is used by the best rifle and pistol 

 shots in the world. It is one of the most ac- 

 curate cartridges made; and owes this ac- 

 curacy to just what is lacking in the or- 

 dinary 22 long — that is, to the heavy bullet, 

 and to its being loose in the shell. 



The 22 long rifle cartridge is accurate, 

 when there is no wind, at 200 yards, and can 

 be shot into a 6-inch circle at that distance. 

 The ordinary 22-long would probably re- 

 quire a 2-foot circle. The 22 extra long 

 rim-fire is not deserving of mention. 



The 22 short is a useful cartridge within 

 reasonable limits. It is not a long range 

 cartridge, though it occasionally does sur- 

 prising work at 200 yards. However, it is 

 ridiculous to expect much from it beyond 

 50 yards. Within that range, for the short, 

 and 100 yards for the long rifle, fine work 

 can be done. Do not expect too much of 

 your rifle; learn what it will do. 



The 22 short will kill quails and doves, 

 and even rabbits and squirrels, if shot 

 through the head. Ruffed grouse are likely 

 to fly away if shot through the body with 

 this light cartridge. 



Prairie chickens and ducks should not be 

 shot with it unless you can hit them in the 

 head or neck. Of course they can be killed 

 by a body shot, but as many will be only 

 wounded, it is cruelty to shoot at them. 



The long rifle cartridge is a little better 

 killer, though with it the larger game birds 



should not be shot through the body. Gray 

 squirrels are not always killed at once un- 

 less struck in, or forward of, the shoulders. 



Another 22 rim-fire cartridge, deserving 

 special mention, is that used in the Win- 

 chester rifle, model 1890; also in some 

 single-shot rifles. This cartridge does not 

 take the place of either the short or the 

 long rifle. It has a field of its own. The 

 powder charge is 7 grains and the bullet 45 

 grains. The bullet is seated in the shell, be- 

 low the grooves, making a clean cartridge 

 to carry loose in the pocket. The bullet is 

 flat-pointed, which makes it more destruc- 

 tive than the other 22 rim-fires. 



The 22 Winchester 7-45, as it is called, is 

 an excellent squirrel cartridge, though more 

 than sufficient for quails, doves, and indis- 

 criminate shooting at short range, say un- 

 der 50 yards. It is almost as accurate as the 

 long rifle. 



When I say one cartridge is more ac- 

 curate than another, this statement is based 

 on actual rigid tests, by experts, with the 

 best rifles made. 



I am aware many young riflemen often 

 fire 3 or 4 shots, at some kind of a mark, 

 using ordinary sights, and if the results are 

 satisfactory, they at once conclude rifle and 

 cartridges are accurate under all condi- 

 tions; and it sometimes requires years to 

 convince them of their error. 



It is easy for a good shot to test a rifle, 

 for accuracy, and to learn exactly what it 

 will do. One often hears about having a 

 rifle screwed into a vice, for testing. A 

 greater mistake could not be made. Rifles 

 are never tested in that way, by experts, nor 

 can accurate shooting be done under such 

 conditions. The spring, or recoil, even of 

 a 22, will make the results unsatisfactory. 



To learn what a rifle will do, the sights 

 must be good. The rear sight should be a 

 peep, of some form. Almost anything will 

 do for the muzzle sight, but one such as 

 used by expert target shooters is best. 



A muzzle rest is enough. A machine rest 

 is not needed. The rifleman sits at the rest, 

 his right elbow and side firmly supported, 

 the rifle held to the shoulder and the barrel 

 resting on something solid, 6 inches to a 

 foot from the muzzle. The left hand grasps 

 the rifle in a natural position, either for- 

 ward, or back of the breech. In shooting a 

 rifle with a light barrel, care must be used 

 that pressure be not brought down on the 

 barrel; for it is easy to spring a light bar- 

 rel, and thus to ruin its shooting. 



Under proper conditions, if the rifle be 

 accurate, the 22 short cartridge will shoot 

 10 or more consecutive shots into a V/2 inch 

 circle, at 50 yards; the long-rifle cartridge 

 into a ^4-inch circle; and the 22-7-45 into a 

 one inch. At 100 yards the last 2 cartridges 



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