GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



CLEANING THE SMALL BORE SMOKELESS. 



Editor Recreation: I have never had 

 an opportunity to use the 30-40 rifle, or in- 

 deed, any other arm, on large game. I 

 have, however, thoroughly tested its mech- 

 anism and accuracy. 



I have not found it either a slow or clum- 

 sy operation to load the box magazine; 

 though perhaps Dr. Conyngham, in his 

 article in February Recreation, did not 

 refer to this by his use of the word load. 

 If he meant that the feed of the magazine 

 was rough and jerky, I agree with him. I 

 have also found the action easily sanded. 

 In these respects it is not up to the Win- 

 chester standard of excellence. 



With respect to the trigger pull, I find it 

 admirable. I do not object to the " crawl " 

 of which the Doctor complains. 



There is a springy feel to the trigger as 

 the finger touches it, the lower point mov- 

 ing yi inch before the real pressure begins. 

 I have not found this feature confusing. 



The Doctor justly complains of the fac- 

 tory sights. When I first tried my gun, 

 finding that it overshot, I asked an ex- 

 planation of the Winchester Co. They said 

 the gun was sighted for 300 yards, and 

 would therefore shoot about 5^2 inches 

 high, at 50 yards. Preferring to have it 

 sighted point blank for 100 yards, I pro- 

 cured Lyman's Model '95 sights. The fac- 

 tory front sight is ^2 inch in height; Ly- 

 man's is 1-16 of an inch higher. With the 

 latter, the point blank range is reduced to 

 about 75 yards, and, with half the trouble, 

 they give twice the accuracy of open sights. 

 I hope Dr. Conyngham will try them. 



I also have experienced the difficulties of 

 cleaning the arm, but have learned how to 

 avoid them. Before the rifle is sent from 

 the factory, the bore is generously lubri- 

 cated with a heavy adhesive oil. Before 

 firing, this should be entirely removed. 

 The heat resulting from the great velocity 

 of the forced bullet converts the oil into a 

 lacquer which nothing but a wire brush 

 will remove. Those unused to the quick 

 twist of the new rifles, are liable to find 

 trouble in satisfactorily cleaning them, from 

 another cause. 



The cleaning rod should not be held rig- 

 idly in the hand, for its passage would then 

 be across the lands and grooves, and not 

 along their length. Small particles of the 

 cleaning cloth and a portion of the lubri- 

 cant used, would thus be scraped off and re- 

 tained in the grooves. Hours of work will 

 not clean the gun unless regard is paid to 

 this. In the 30-40 Winchester there is one 

 turn in 8 inches; the cleaning rod should 

 turn completely around 3^ times in its 

 passage from breech to muzzle. If this is 

 done, swabbing the gun twice with an 

 oiled patch will completely clean it. 



I would like to ask readers of Recrea- 

 tion, if they have had any trouble with the 

 30-40, shooting from a rest. Holding the 

 gun loosely, I have found it very accurate; 

 held tightly or rested, the flight of the bul- 

 let is as erratic as that of a woodcock. 



Will some one tell me whether a practi- 

 cal hunting telescope has yet been evolved, 

 for black powder rifles. Arjeeb. 



PATCHED BULLETS AND SMOKELESS POWDER. 



Editor Recreation: In March Rec- 

 reation, Mr. H. Roberts, of Syracuse, 

 N. Y., asks if paper patched lead bullets, 

 used in the 30-30 or 30-40 cartridges with 

 high power powder, would " lead " the rifle 

 barrel. My experience — which covers a 

 long use and trial of all kinds of rifles and 

 ammunition — convinces me that paper 

 patched lead bullets will not " lead " the rifle 

 barrel. 



How can a paper patched bullet "lead" 

 a rifle barrel? Does Mr. Roberts think the 

 lead might soak through the so-called 

 " patch "? That is the only possible man- 

 ner in which a rifle barrel can become lead- 

 ed from the use of paper patched bullets. 

 The stronger the powder, the better the re- 

 sults from such bullets. I have never 

 known of the leading of a rifle, where 

 patched bullets and smokeless powder were 

 used. Thirty-five grains of Walsrode high 

 pressure military (not shot gun) powder 

 and a 200-grain paper patched bullet gives 

 a splendid target, in the 30-40 government 

 shell. The paper patched and metal jacket- 

 ed bullets may be fired alternately, for a 

 great many rounds without cleaning the 

 rifle barrel, and the target will show good 

 results. Such, however, is not the case 

 when lead and metal-jacketed bullets are 

 alternated. The latter bullet, under these 

 conditions, will not give even an indifferent 

 target, but the shooter will find that his 

 bullets strike anywhere and everywhere. 



I would like to call Mr. Roberts' atten- 

 tion to the Swiss military rifle. This arm is 

 30 calibre and carries a paper patched bul- 

 let with a metal covered point, and the bul- 

 let is propelled by high power smokeless 

 powder. 



G. Allen Rowe, Calumet, Mich. 



LYMAN SIGHTS. 



Mr. C. W. Perry, in February Recrea- 

 tion, gives some excellent advice regarding 

 the use of Lyman sights. I have used them 

 for 20 years, in all kinds of hunting, and am 

 ever ready to say a kind word for them. As 

 my method differs slightly from Mr. Per- 

 ry's, I will describe the sights now on my 

 heavy hunting rifle. 



The front sight is invariably the cheap 



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