


GUNS AND AMMUNITION. ri 
he has done a good job; then, if he is any- 
thing of a marksman, any old rifle he may 
happen to be carrying, will do the rest. 
There is no rifle made that will kill game 
unless its energies are rightly directed, and 
any modern hunting rifle will, if they are. 
“The man behind the gun”’ is the most im- 
portant factor in successful hunting. The 
paricular make or caliber of rifle is of minor 
consideration. 
I had thought of replying at length to 
some alarmists who write freely of the 
“terrible penetration’ and “ terrific range,” 
of the .30’s. They don’t know what they 
are talking about. If they will test the 
penetration of the .30, or any other rifle, 
with soft nose, or hunting, bullets, on solid, 
10 inch trees, at 100 yards, they will find a 
wonderful -difference between the results 
and those published in the catalogues, as to. 
pine boards at 20 feet. 
“The .30.’s will send their bullets 2 or 
more miles, with killing power.” Yes, if 
you are gunning for the man in the moon; 
but when shooting at something standing 
on the ground the case is different. Ninety- 
nine times out of a 100 the point on the an- 
imal at which the rifle is aimed, is nearer the 
ground than the eye of the hunter, so that 
the rifle is most apt to be pointed downward. 
Even if held level, and no obstructions, any 
bullet will reach the ground in from 6 to 
7-10 of a second, from gravity; or in 250 to 
500 yards, according to initial velocity. 
Some are alarmed at the “ terrific range ” 
and pretend to think it unsafe for anyone 
else to hunt in the same township or coun- 
ty with a man who carries a .30. I have 
never heard of a man’s being struck by a 
wild bullet that had been fired at game. The 
only danger in the woods is that some 
fool will fire at a moving object, or noise 
in the brush, without first making sure it 
is caused by something he wishes to kill. 
He will do that with any kind of a gun, and 
hit a moving man at 300 yards, when he 
could mot hit a standing moose at 50. 
Penetration and the range of the .30’s, 
are very much over-rated by some who have 
made no tests, but who accept the wild 
stories put in circulation by ignorant or too 
enthusiastic admirers. 

TELESCOPE SIGHTS. 
I have as fine a rifle outfit as it is possible 
to obtain. It is a .32-40 take-down, se- 
lected walnut pistol-grip stock and forearm, 
26 inch octagon barrel, full length maga- 
zine. I have also an extra barrel the same 
as the other except caliber, which is a 
.30-30. I have Lyman’s combination rear 
sight on the tang and one of his ivory bead 
front sights on each barrel. There are no 
slots in the barrels for rear sights. 
In addition to this I have one of John W. 
Sidle’s 24 inch combination 2 power: tele- 
scopes, the mountings of which are so ar- 
ranged as to be attached to either barrel in 
a few minutes. If I wish to use the Lyman 
sights, the telescope and mountings can be 
removed in a short time, He who has never 
used a good telescope sight has never real- 
ized the full pleasures to be had in shoot- 
ing a rifle. It is a great pleasure to watch 
a woodchuck at, 200 yards or more, seeing 
every move he makes, and to know that by 
pressing the trigger he is yours as certain 
as 1{ he were but a few yards distant from 
you. With my ’scope, using the 12 power, 
an object 200 yards off appears to be only 
about 17 yards and one can seemingly reach 
out and get his game without firing a shot. 
It is great sport also to hunt squirrels with a 
*scope. The little animal is brought so 
near that one can center the cross hairs on 
his head without any trouble. Last Sep- 
tember I tried the ’scope on squirrels for 
the first time. I shot at 7 and brought down 
6 of them, each at one shot. I took my 
*scope along with me to the Adirondacks 
last fall and, although I did not get a shot 
at a deer, I had an opportunity of testing 
the glass in the woods just at dusk, and 
dark places were brought out clearer than 
with open sights. 
A short time ago, through the columns of 
RECREATION, someone made inquiries con- 
cerning rifle telescopes. I have not noticed 
an answer to them nor any other mention of 
telescope sights in this magazine. I have 
often wondered why they are not discussed 
more frequently in sportsman’s magazines. 
Previous to purchasing mine I looked the 
matter up quite thoroughly and came to the 
conclusion that John W. Sidle, of Phila- 
delphia, Pa., manufactured the best, and 
surely I cannot find any fault with it. It 
has a large flat field, the lenses are excellent, 
and the illumination perfect. The price is 
not more than one would wish to pay for a 
fine instrument. 
In the way of caliber, I think I have as 
nearly an “all-around” rifle as is possible 
to get. If I go after squirrels, woodchucks, 
etc., I take the .32-40 barrel with a supply 
of the regular .32-40 cartridges and some of 
the .32-40 miniature, containing 13 grains of 
powder and 08 of lead. This latter is ac- 
curate up to 100 yards, and is’a good load 
for squirrels. The .32-40 is excellent for 
wood-bucks at almost any range and is a 
fine she.! for target practice. When deer is 
the game sought I attach the .30-30 bar- 
rel, and if a bear accidentally makes his ap- 
pearance this cartridge with soft nose will 
quiet him. 
Let us hear from others who use the tele- 
scope sight. 
B. L. Fredendall, Albany, N. Y. 
It would be profitable for the various 
telescope sight makers to advertise their 
goods in RECREATION. The riflemen cannot 
be expected to know much of an article 
which is kept hidden away.—EpirTor. 

