GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



469 



" ivory hunting," witli sides of ivory filed 

 down to a thin edge. This weakens it some- 

 what, but it gives a fine and clear sight for 

 both short and long range. Should the 

 ivory get broken, when in the woods, the 

 sight is still good enough for ordinary 

 work, or can be made better by the sub- 

 stitution of a piece of wood or bone. As 

 the sight only costs 50 cents it is wise to 

 carry an extra one, on hunting trips. 



For a middle sight the old step, with the 

 horns filed off, or any low step sight, is 

 best. The ivory triangle leaf sight, when 

 turned up, is too high for short range 

 shooting and cannot be adjusted. The step 

 sight should be well below the line of the 

 tang and front sight. It can easily be raised 

 to correspond with the tang, when neces- 

 sary, and, as Mr. Perry says, proves all 

 sights to be correct when the 3 are in line. 



For big game hunting I take out the in- 

 ner rim of the tang sight. By long usage 

 the inner rim may work loose and drop 

 down half way, thus obscuring the sight, 

 and possibly spoil a grand chance for a 

 quick shot. The big hole of the tang sight 

 is admirably suited to quick shooting and 

 is accurate enough when one knows how to 

 use it. To make it just right I have length- 

 ened my stock i T / 2 inches, which carries the 

 eye a little farther from the hole and the 

 nose away from the thumb usually on top 

 of the grip. It is an advantage, in guns 

 with heavy recoil, and prevents flinching. 

 With 2 back sights we can break one and 

 still be ready for war. Finally, I never try 

 to see any but the front sight when shoot- 

 ing at running objects. 



C. A. C, Silverton, Colo. 



ANY OLD GUN BETTER THAN A NEW ONE. 



Pueblo, Colo. 

 Editor Recreation: I have handled 

 nearly all kinds of rifles made in this coun- 

 try and want to express my opinion of the 

 new 30-30. The idea of hunting any kind 

 of large game, with a 30 calibre gun would, 

 in the early days, have been laughed at. 

 I have been on the Western frontier ever 

 since '69, and have used all kinds of guns 

 on all kinds of game. I prefer the 45-75 

 Winchester to any other repeating arm. 

 The 44 and 45 are the choice of all old hun- 

 ters and frontiersmen, from Texas to Mon- 

 tana. Of single loaders, the Sharps were 

 the best, both for long range and killing 

 power. In the days of the buffalo large 

 calibre rifles were always used. The old 

 army musket had more killing power than 

 some of the new fad rifles. I saw Frank B. 

 Stanley, of Fort Worth, Texas, kill a buf- 

 falo, 400 yards away, with an army musket. 

 The bullet entered the breast, going 

 through the liver and lungs and out of the 

 left side, through the short ribs. 



The animal dropped in his tracks and 

 died before we got to him. I do not believe 



the fancy 30 calibre would have killed him 

 with a half dozen shots. 



I would like to see one of those Eastern 

 fellows tackle a grizzly with a little 30. 

 There would not be enough left of the dude 

 to bait a fish hook, when the bear had been 

 hit often enough to make it mad. 



F. W. Hambledon. 



HIS OPINION OF GREENER. 



Twenty-five years or more ago I used to 

 do a little shooting, but since then I have 

 had neither time nor opportunity to do any. 

 At least I thought I had not, and in that I 

 believe I made a mistake in which I am not 

 alone. Several months since, in anticipa- 

 tion of a removal from this State to one 

 where there was more game, and the in- 

 tention to take more holidays when I did 

 move, I began to make some inquiries 

 about guns. As a further means of ac- 

 quiring information I bought a copy of 

 Greener's " The Breechloader, And How 

 To Use it." I did get considerable infor- 

 mation from its pages, but when I closed 

 it, it was with a firm determination to buy 

 an American gun if I bought any at all. 

 Mr. Greener is, I presume, a fine gun 

 maker; but I think no self-respecting 

 American sportsman would buy one of his 

 guns after reading his book. His over- 

 weening conceit, and his contempt for 

 everything of American manufacture is 

 disgusting. Wherever he mentions an 

 American gun, and he mentions only 2 — 

 it is only to disparage them; but all the 

 time, he exalts the Greener. Briefly 

 summed up, his advice to his readers would 

 be, " Buy a Greener gun; if you can't, buy 

 some other English gun; under no cir- 

 cumstances buy an American gun." Of 

 course, he does not say this in so many 

 words, but nobody can read his book with- 

 out seeing this sentiment stick out in every 

 line. American guns are good enough for 

 me, and if they were not, I think Mr. Pooh- 

 Bah Greener's book would have converted 

 me to a belief that they were, and not only 

 myself but any other American. 



Jas. F. Fitzgerald, Ottawa, Kan. 



SMOKELESS POWDER FOR THE ARCTIC 

 REGIONS. 



The Winchester Repeating Arms Co. has 

 just issued its '98 catalogue, and it is need- 

 less to say it is a corker. It contains the 

 usual great fund of information about the 

 Winchester guns, that has appeared in pre- 

 vious editions of the same book, and a lot 

 of new data about new guns, smokeless 

 powder cartridges, etc. 



Among the interesting features of this 

 new catalogue, is a page on the subject of 

 reloading smokeless powder rifle cartridges. 

 This is a topic on which I have had a great 

 many inquiries, and I have always replied 

 to them to the affect that it is not wise to 



