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RECREATION. 



Last fall 2 friends and I spent 30 days in 

 camp near Crater lake, Oregon, and the 

 little 22 furnished more dinners than any 

 other gun in camp. In fact, its only rival 

 was a 22 Stevens in the hands of my friend 

 Best. Our large guns remained in their 

 cases, because we were in a country where 

 the noiseless 22 was just the thing. 



The only drawback to my pleasure was 

 the fact that my pet 22 developed a cranky 

 streak. The extractor slipped over the 

 heads of the cartridges and left the empty 

 shells sticking in the barrel, and the action 

 jammed. Examination showed the shells 

 slightly swelled near the head and devel- 

 oped the fact that the breech block did not 

 hold the shell firmly in place. It let the 

 shell slip back iust enough to allow the 

 portion next the rim to swell and jam tiie 

 action. The p-un was but 2 months old, 

 and I blamed myself for the trouble, think- 

 ing it due to using smokeless ammunition; 

 but as I talked the matter over with the 

 boys in camo I found both of them had dis- 

 carded Marlin rifles on the same account. 

 I had thought of writing tl^e Marlin com- 

 pany about the matter, hoping to be able 

 to set them right; for the Marlin is as 

 good as the best, were it not for that in- 

 fernal action vhich spoils the whole gun. 



After I returned home I bought a 22 

 Winchester and 2 boxes of Peters semi- 

 smokeless, and went out to try the new 

 gun. I tilled the magazine, put up a mark, 

 and worked the lever, but nary a cartridge 

 would come up in the gun. With Win- 

 chester ammunition the gun worked like a 

 charm, as I found later. Examination of 

 the Peters shells showed that the bullets had 

 slipped back in the cartridges, as they will 

 readily do, makinar them too short to be 

 handled by the action. The Peters people 

 need not get rore about this statement, for 

 the fact can be readily established in court 

 if necessary The Peters company should 

 fill their shells so full that the balls can 

 not slip back. I like their semismokeless 

 better than black powder and as well as 

 smokeless except for the noise it makes. 



The Winchester companv might also take 

 the hint and fix their gun so if the cart- 

 ridge is a little short the gun woul handle 

 it just the same. 



I am not yet fully acquainted with the 

 Winchester, but doubt if I shall ever like it 

 as well as I could like the little Marlin — 

 if it would only work right. However, I 

 am disgusted with Marlin's attitude in this 

 matter and unless it changes he will lose 

 custom in this country. I should think 

 it would pay him to ■hire a man to read 

 Recreation and learn what is the matter 

 with his gun : then fix it properly and tell 

 his patrons through this magazine that he 

 has done so. The Peters comnan-" too, 

 would better follow the same line. When 



they sav through Recreation that the fault 

 in their cartridges has been remedied, then 

 my friends and I will try them again. 



M. C. Kissinger. 



STRANGE FREAK OF SMOKELESS 

 POWDER. 



I send you a 25-20 Winchester center fire 

 shell which has been fired 3 times ; once 

 with the factory load of black powder and 

 twice with 3 grains of semismokeless. It 

 was used each time in a new Marlin rifle. 

 The indenting of this, and of every one of a 

 lot of other shells of same make and with 

 same load, occurred at the second firing. 

 I used Winchester No. 1 primers. There 

 was nothing in the chamber of the rifle and 

 the reloading chamber of tool was clean. 

 I can not see what could have caused the 

 dent. All the other shells were dented in 

 exactly the same place and to about the 

 same extent. One had another slight dent 

 by the side of the first. 



This is my first experience with smoke- 

 less powder. Have heretofore used 10 to 

 15 grains of black, filling the space between 

 powder and bullet with sawdust. As that 

 was a great deal of trouble I thought of 

 using an equal bulk of smokeless. 



Have never heard of anyone having simi- 

 lar trouble with smokeless powder. It 

 surely could not have been caused by the 

 shells not fitting the gun ; they worked 

 easily in the chamber and do so still. 



Igno Ramus, Moscow, Idaho. 



ANSWER. 



In relation to the above Mr. J. H. Bar- 

 low, of the Ideal Manufacturing Co., writes 

 as follows : 



Have looked this matter over carefully, 

 and have about come to the conclusion that 

 I am a brother of Igno Ramus. 



I have but one theory, which is this : 



The denting was caused by air be- 

 in^ imprisoned between the chamber of the 

 rifle and the outside of the shell. The im- 

 prisoned air was heated by the ignition of 

 the powder, which expands it greatly, and 

 the instant the bullet left the muzzle of the 

 rifle, the inside pressure became simply the 

 normal atmospheric pressure. . Then the 

 heated expanded air exerted its power and 

 compressed the shell inward. 



I have frequently seen the same thing 

 occur when resizing shells in a resizing 

 tool. The forward portion of the muzzle 

 of the shell striking that portion of the 

 chamber or resizing die, imprisons the air 

 between the muzzle of the shell and the 

 shoulder, which, when driving the shell 

 to the head, compresses the imprisoned air, 

 and the result is an indentation, the same 

 as in the shell sent to me. 



This may not be the true reason, but it 



