392 



RECREA TION. 



ANSWER. 



The Winchester Arms Co. replies to this 

 inquiry as follows: 



We make no repeating rifle having a 

 solid top. They have, however, solid 

 sides and are symmetrically locked about 

 the line of recoil. We believe no other 

 repeating rifle has this advantage. There 

 is nothing about the solid top that adds 

 particularly to the strength of that part 

 of the receiver which resists the recoil 

 at the moment of firing; nor is there any- 

 thing about this top which holds the breech 

 block against an explosion of the cartridge. 

 The solid top adds nothing to the value of 

 the receiver in point of making it strong, 

 or for any other reason. We think you will 

 find that ours are the only guns which are 

 symmetrically locked and the value of sym- 

 metrical locking, as against explosion of a 

 rifle charge or shot gun charge, is great. 

 Our breech blocks are all locked on 2 sides, 

 not on the bottom only, or on one side. 



HOW ABOUT THE DRIFT? 



A gentleman of this place claims that all 

 rifles shoot to the right, about 4 inches in 

 100 yards. 



This is caused, he says, by the twist of the 

 rifling. Is he right? 



Moses E. Chase, Effingham, N. H. 



ANSWER. 



There is always a lateral drift of the bul- 

 let in the direction of the twist. If the twist 

 is from left to right, the drift is to the 

 right. The amount of drift is variable and 

 depends on the weight of bullet, velocity 

 and quickness of the twist. 



In reply to R. H. T., I wish to say that 

 I prefer the 10 gauge to the 12, for the fol- 

 lowing reasons: 



1. That 10 gauge, having the larger diam- 

 eter, has more surface for the shot to lie 

 on. Therefore why would not the killing 

 circle be larger? 



2. In duck and goose shooting, you need 

 power to propel the shot. I think 1% 

 ounces chilled shot, backed by 3^/2 drams of 

 Dupont powder, is none too much. 



What is the best method of making shot 

 spread from a full choke, as it would from a 

 cylinder bore? Will some reader olease 

 answer? 



N. K. Elkhart, Ind. 



HIGH PRICES OF NITRO POWDERS. 



I am a rifle crank, and, with Mr. Chase 

 and others, wish to register my protest 

 against the outrageous charges for ammu- 

 nition, especially of nitro powder. Take 

 for example the 32 W. C. F. black powder 

 load, listed at $16 per M.; smokeless load at 

 $20 per M.; the bullets listed respectively $4 

 for lead, $5 for metal patched per M. That 

 leaves $3 for the difference between black 

 and smokeless powders. At the list price of 



$9 per M. for primed shells, and $4 for bul- 

 lets, the company allows itself $3 for less 

 than 2$i pounds black powder and the labor 

 involved in loading 1,000 32-20-115 cart- 

 ridges. One can judge how great a pro- 

 portion of that charge is for powder. Sup- 

 posing it to be 1-3; add that to $3, the dif- 

 ference in cost of the 2 powders, and we 

 have the price of $4 for 9,000 grains of low 

 pressure smokeless powder. The point I 

 wish to make is this: Why should a man, 

 rich or poor, be obliged to pay 10 times as 

 much for a thing partaking of the nature of 

 sport, as he would for the same thing, if of 

 an economic nature? Why does the great 

 body of shooters submit to such extortion? 

 W. E. S., Montpelier, Vt. 



NOTES. 



In targeting a new 16 gauge Forehand 

 gun, after firing 3 shots from each barrel, 

 the shot began to " ball " or bunch; throw- 

 ing from 3 to 10 pellets into one hole, at 40 

 yards. 



Three charges of No. 7 and 2 of No. 5 

 shot, both chilled, acted the same. Four 

 shots fired afterward did not. Shots were 

 fired at intervals of 2 to 5 minutes; so the 

 barrels did not heat. Cartridges were 

 loaded with 2% to 2Y2 drams, Dupont 

 smokeless powder, and % to 1 ounce shot. 



I have targeted many 10 and 12 gauge 

 guns, and never before had shot ball, al- 

 though I have heard of its doing so. 



Kindly explain, through Recreation, 

 the cause of shot balling; and whether it 

 occurs more frequently with small than 

 with large bore guns. 



M. K. Barnum, No. Platte, Neb. 



Will the editor, or some one of the many 

 readers of Recreation, please answer these 

 questions? 



1. What is the best cheap rifle for target 

 practice, at 75 or 100 feet? 



2. Is there an indestructible target that 

 can be thrown from a Blue Rock trap? 



3. What is a good and cheap charge for 

 a 12 gauge gun, for target practice? 



4. What pattern should be obtained with 

 a full choked 12 gauge gun, 30 inch barrels, 

 using 3 drams E. C. powder and 1^ ounces 

 No. 8 shot? 



5. What is the best method of testing a 

 gun for pattern and penetration? 



I take pleasure in recommending Mr. Al- 

 fred Ellerson, of Buford, Col., as a reliable 

 and competent guide. I have employed 

 him 4 or 5 seasons, and my trips with him 

 have always been successful. 



Dr. T. J. Hood, Lancaster, Ky. 



I have just returned from a 4 months' trip 

 in the Rockies. Made headquarters on 

 Thompson river in Flathead County, Mont. 

 While there had some fine sport with rod 



