GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



51 



Why a man need blow off whole sections 

 of a deer's head in order to kill it I can not 

 explain. These are simply hints as to 

 what those articles described. 



One writer says that after seeing 2 

 deer almost blown to pieces his guide be- 

 came a believer in the small bore rifle ! I 

 nave always thought the only use of a 

 rifle was to kill; simply and cleanly kill. 

 One might judge from many descriptions 

 published within the last 2 or 3 years that 

 total annihilation was the end to be at- 

 tained. Possibly, in the near future, some- 

 body may bring out a weapon which, at 

 its discharge, will destroy every vestige of 

 the game aimed at. Then the 30-30 will not 

 be in it, and there will be a mad rush for 

 the new gun because of its power. 



I believe in using tools or weapons 

 adapted to the work required. Undoubted- 

 ly the 30 has its place and its uses, but in 

 its indiscriminate use, it becomes a danger 

 because of the great surplus power exerted. 

 Moreover, it is, and must always be, ex- 

 tremely wasteful of meat. 



I am fully convinced that 4 out of every 

 5 of such rifles are as unnecessary for the 

 use they are put to as a 12 inch naval gun 

 would be. I have no excuse to offer for 

 owning, one myself except my anxiety to 

 be recent. If ever I use my 30 on deer it 

 will be with a reduced charge or low pres- 

 sure powder. 



I wonder if anyone else is tired of hear- 

 ing about the wonderful, I call it horrible, 

 work of the 30-30. L. A. Jordan.. 



GOOD LOADS FOR THE 30-40. 



Having noticed a number of inquiries in 

 Recreation as to the best all around rifle, 

 I recommend the 30-40 Winchester as being 

 one of the best. 



A good short range load for the 30-40 

 for target and small game is 9 grains Du- 

 Pont shot gun smokeless loose in shell ; 

 8 z /2 or 2^2 Winchester primer ; and Mr. 

 Beardsley's bullet, No. 3086, 101 grains, or 

 the Ideal No. 30812, 113 grains, cast 1 to 

 10 and well lubricated. Seat bullet in shell 

 just deep enough to cover lubrication, with 

 no crimp. If bullets are loose in expand- 

 ed shell, use a muzzle sizer. The sharp- 

 pointed bullet will not tear small game so 

 badly as the flat point. This load is clean 

 and accurate and about equal in power to 

 a 32-20. Another load which will do fine 

 work and is somewhere near a 38-55 is 52 

 grains (Ideal measure) semi-smokeless 

 ffffg. and a 220 grain lubricated wire 

 patched bullet. Those bullets are perfec- 

 tion and are advertised in Recreation. 



A great deal of useful information in 

 regard to reloading and reloading tools is 

 contained in the Ideal Hand Book. A good 

 plan for anyone using high power smoke- 



less rifles is to keep an Ideal broken shell 

 extractor at hand. They will save trouble, 

 delay and bad words. But unless care and 

 judgment is used in experimenting with 

 smokeless powders a good insurance policy 

 is the most important thing to have on 

 hand. 



I use Lyman receiver and ivory bead 

 sights. The rear sight can be instantly ad- 

 justed to any load. Tell A. G. Burg, Liv- 

 ingston, Mont., that the Ithaca No. 1 or 

 2 is the best medium priced gun in the 

 world. O. E. Raynor, Meadville, Pa. 



A DOUBTING THOMAS. 



In February Recreation Mr. Van Dyke 

 tells of his wonderful exploits with a 

 Stevens Favorite. Why didn't he sign his 

 name Van Winkle? Then the charitable 

 might believe that he fell asleep on some 

 mountain and dreamed that gun story. 

 Think of a 22 caliber bullet containing 45 

 grains of lead, with a penetration of 5 pine 

 boards, passing through the shoulder of a 

 bull elk and breaking a rib on the oppo- 

 site side. Think of his shooting 4 deer, 

 all through, or near, the heart. Imagine, if 

 you can, his loading and firing a single shot 

 rifle 4 times at a running deer. Why is he 

 not with Buffalo Bill? Then when he inves- 

 tigates he finds he has killed 4 deer with 

 those 4 shots while thinking there was but 

 one deer all the while. If Syracuse thought 

 some of Mr. Van Dyke's other stories were 

 fishy, what does he think of this later ro- 

 mance ? 



I have shot squirrels with a 22, but some- 

 times had to use 3 or 4 bullets to make 

 a neat finish. Mr. Van Dyke gets a bullet 

 stuck in the barrel of his 22 and blows 

 it out with another cartridge. It bulges 

 the barrel some. Then the poor little gun 

 falls under the wheels of a wagon and the 

 barrel is bent. Thrown away and left to 

 lie outdoors several months it is finally 

 restored to alignment and usefulness by 

 being hammered over a log. "Good medi- 

 cine for the crowbar, good medicine for 

 the gun." Great ! 



Moral : Throw away your 30-40 and 45- 

 70 guns and get a 22 for big game. 



E. G. Moulton, Derby Line, Vt. 



A CONVERT TO MODERATION. 



I have been reading Recreation regu- 

 larly for some time, though I was guilty of 

 throwing the first copy I saw under the 

 table with the remark that I would not 

 spend my time with such rot. I had grown 

 up in a region where the chap that killed 

 the most game was the best man. I shot 

 26 deer in 3 weeks one season, and 

 thought I was a great sportsman, but after 

 reading your publication a while I changed 



