GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



227 



will easily make 3-inch groups, and 10 shots, 

 with the long rifle, can often be fired into a 

 circle 2 inches in diameter. Less than 10 

 consecutive shots is no test at all, and a 

 rifleman does not really know what his 

 rifle will do until he has fired 100 shots. 



The beginner should not be discouraged 

 if, on trial, he makes a 6-inch group, at 100 

 yards, instead of one half that size. Practice 

 faithfully. In a few weeks you will be as- 

 tonished at the improvement you will have 

 made. 



Do not be afraid rest shooting will spoil 

 your holding for off-hand work. It will 

 help you; but this subject requires a chap- 

 ter by itself. 



With perfect ammunition and an accurate 

 rifle, some surprising groups can be made. 

 I have made several such, in the past few 

 months, with a single shot, weighing 8 

 pounds; 28-inch barrel, 25-20. Lyman rear 

 and aperture muzzle sights were used. The 

 bullets weighed 86 grains and were seated 

 in the barrel, ahead of the shells, which 

 were loaded with Dupont's f.f.g. powder. 



To clean rifle shells is looked on by al- 

 most all riflemen, probably, as a task. To 

 some it is so laborious as to be neglected 

 altogether. Others use acids, and scrub out 

 each shell, which is indeed a task. If 

 properly cleaned, shells will last almost in- 

 definitely. If they are to be reloaded they 

 should be washed out on the day they are 

 fired, before they begin to corrode. It is 

 an easy matter to clean 50 or 100 shells. 



For several years I have not had a cor- 

 roded shell. Nor have I ever taken over 10 

 minutes to clean all used on any given day. 

 First, the primers are knocked out; then 

 the shells are put into a basin of water — hot 

 is best, but not necessary. They are stirred 

 until the water is black. Then the water is 

 changed. This may be repeated 3 or 4 

 times. The shells are now spread on a 

 paper to dry. Or, a board with holes in it 

 is good; for then the shells will drip .and 

 dry quickly. 



When hunting, I have washed half a 

 dozen shells while sitting by some stream, 

 without removing the primers. There was 

 no work about it, and they were then in a 

 condition to keep, for months, without 

 danger of corrosion. 



It is really painful to see a brother rifle- 

 man's shells and rifle in a dilapidated condi- 

 tion. Who does not like to see the bore of 

 a rifle bright and free from even a hint of 

 rust? Yet what numbers are ruined from 

 lack of care! 



The bore of a rifle can be kept in perfect 

 condition, with almost no care — if one 

 knows how. No oil nor hot water is neces- 

 sary. I blow into the barrel enough to 

 moisten it, run a rag or 2 through; then 

 breath into it again, and wipe perfectly dry. 

 Next, a rag saturated with vaseline, or with 

 Marlin or Winchester rust repeller, is used 

 and the barrel is wiped dry again. Now a 



rag, with plenty of one of these compounds, 

 is again put through, when the rifle may be 

 laid away, without danger of rust, for weeks. 

 The whole operation takes not more than 

 10 minutes. 



However, if the rifle is a 22, it should be 

 cleaned again the next day; for this size is 

 harder to keep free from rust than the larger 

 bores. 



Warrens, Idaho. 



Editor Recreation: We got in here all 

 right. Had a pleasant trip, except that one 

 of our horses gave out, and caused us to 

 lose a great deal of time. It gave me a 

 chance to whip some fine trout streams. 

 There is one large creek near here in which 

 fishing is unusually good. 



We are' going on a hunting and pros- 

 pecting trip soon, into a country that is 

 almost unknown. Two miners just came 

 from there and report moose, silver-tip, elk 

 and deer plentiful. This is a great country 

 — wild and woolly — and not enough folks 

 here to keep trails clear. Deer come down 

 in the flats, among our horses, and whistle 

 at our fire. Have seen fresh elk tracks, but 

 no elk. Yesterday morning I saw where 

 a bear had crossed the road. He was a 

 large one too. 



You want to know how the little 25-25 

 Stevens rifle shoots. Well it's the best lit- 

 tle killer on earth. Driving up the Snake 

 river valley, near Weiser, we made a regu- 

 lar slaughter of jack rabbits, without ever 

 dismounting. Our rule is that the man 

 who sees the game takes first shot, miss 

 and go out. So far only Billy has a go- 

 out to his discredit. We have killed all 

 the grouse we could eat and some that we 

 gave away. The other afternoon Billy and 

 I walked ahead of the team, up a long hill, 

 and left Lew to drive. While resting the 

 team, on a grade, he saw a deer on the hill- 

 side, looking at him. He picked up the 

 little 25 and planted a bullet squarely be- 

 tween the deer's eyes, at a distance of about 

 60 yards. He dragged it down, threw it in 

 the wagon, and covered it up; intending 

 to give us a surprise when we pulled into 

 camp. We waited for him at the top of 

 the hill and got the little rifle, intending to 

 shoot some grouse for supper. We had 

 only gone a short distance when we 

 jumped a spike buck. Billy planted a bul- 

 let in its neck that paralyzed it on the spot. 

 We carried it out to the roadside and when 

 Lew drove up he said, 



" Well. I'll be . But the joke isn't 



on me, after all. I have one in here, my- 

 self." 



He then produced his deer. Both were 

 killed dead, at distances of 60 and 70 yards. 

 It's simply marvellous what penetration 

 that bullet has. The shot in the neck com- 

 pletely shattered and dislocated the verte- 



