
GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 51 
THE .30 — 3D. 
ALLAN BROOKS. -; 
So much has been written about .30 cal- 
ibers that there should be nothing more to 
learn about them, but still it is evident that 
many of the writers have very little prac- 
tical acquaintance with this type of arm. 
The writers on this subject can be classed 
under 3 heads; Ist, those who ridicule them 
as big game guns; 2d, those who have alto- 
gether too high an opinion of their killing 
qualities and 3d, those who, having an ex- 
aggerated idea of their power, yet condemn 
their use for this reason. 
I have used a .30-30 light weight rifle 
for 2 seasons and while it has fully answered 
my expectations, it is in my opinion a 
much less powerful gun than a .45-70; and 
in killing power and penetration is only 
about equal to a .40-65 with factory ammu- 
nition; though, of course, the .30-30 soft 
nose bullet has not nearly the same pene- 
tration as a .40-265 grain bullet when prop- 
erly hardened. 
If I based my conclusions on the first 
4 or 5 deer I killed with it I should have 
given it a much higher place, as they were 
all killed instantly, though some of them 
were hit in places not usually immediately 
fatal. Since then I have had fuller op- 
portunities, and have had some lively chasés 
to bring some fairly hit animals to bag. 
In trajectory the .30-30 is far superior 
to the .40 or any other black powder gun; 
but even this is very much exaggerated. 
One has only to consult the tables published 
by the different manufacturers to see what 
the trajectory is; to get the drop of the bul- 
let if fired without raising sights double the 
height at mid distance. For instance, the 
.30-30 bullet, when fired at 100 yards with 
sights set for that. distance, 1s 2.1. inches 
above line of sight at 50 yards, this would 
give a drop of over 4.2 inches if fired with- 
out raising sight. 
I tried 4 shots once at 200 yards with 
sights at point blank and the average drop 
was 10.4 inches. A .38-50-330 black powder 
rifle showed a drop of about 30 inches un- 
der the same conditions. 
The only fault I have-to find with the 
.30-30 is its penetration. If the bullet ex- 
pands much it nearly always stops in an 
animal of any size, and as the hole where 
the bullet enters is so very small there is 
ie or no blood to track a wounded animal 
y. 
I hit a deer at long range and, though it 
lay down in the snow several times, there 
was not a single drop of blood. When I had 
bagged the beast I saw the first shot had 
hit it in the ribs and lodged somewhere in- 
Se Without snow I should have lost the 
eer. 
Still, taking it altogether, the .30-30 is a 
wonderful little weapon, and is a really 
good all ’round gun, as a load of 7 grains of 
_ made. 
Dupont’s No. 1 powder, and a very hard 
bullet of 120 grains, makes a first rate load 
for small game and will not tear a grouse 
as badly as a .32-20 would. 
The Dupont .30 caliber smokeless powder 
seems to require a shell with a cup shaped 
base inside, as there is always a certain 
amount not consumed in the shells as now 
This gets into the action of the gun 
and is apt to cause trouble. In the first is- 
sue of .30-30 cartridges by Winchester Arms 
Co., a powder of the leaflet pattern was used 
which had not this defect. 
The .30-40 is a much more powerful gun 
as far as penetration and smashing power is 
concerned, but even it would be inferior as 
a bear gun to a rifle taking any of the .45 
S.S. cartridges with a bullet of 450 grains 
or over. . 

SMALL BORES VS. MORTARS. 
Wichita, Kan. 
Editor ReEcREATION: I have been noting 
with increased satisfaction the prominence 
that the small bore, both rifle and shot-gun, 
has attained during the last few years, and 
especially among the readers of your valu- 
able journal. 
I must confess that the communication 
from Rossland, B. C., in the February issue, 
rather staggered me. I am a firm believer 
in the 20 gauge shot-gun, but the 28 is a 
i CORKeG 
I have a 20 gauge Belgium gun with 
which I can stand alongside any 12 bore gun 
made and kill at the same distance, or 
farther, bird for bird, or target for target. 
I may possibly not put as many shot in, but 
if I kill the bird, or break the target, I con- 
sider my work as well done, and with a 
great saving of ammunition, and shoulder. 
I had my gun specially bored by a local 
workman after I bought it, making the. 
barrels shoot just alike—a modified choke. 
I do not wish to be understood as boasting 
about my particular gun, as I believe that it 
is the gauge and boring that count, and 
there might be much more desirable guns 
than mine, in workmanship, material and 
durability, but I have stood in the field 
alongside $150 guns that would not kill so 
far as my little 20, which weighs just 6 
pounds. j 
For the benefit of R. S. Hamilton, Berlin, 
Wis., I will say that I use for quail, plover 
and small game generally, 2 drams of Du- 
pont smokeless powder and 34 ounce of 
chilled shot, and for ducks, pigeons, etc., 
2% drams powder and 7% ounce chilled shot. 
For the former I prefer No. 8 and the latter 
No. 6. This will kill from 40 to 60 yards. 
I do not think soft shot should be used in 
a 20 gauge at all. 
I have a .22 Winchester repeater that I be- 
lieve will kill a deer or turkey as effectively 
as the larger calibers of rifles, with much 
less destruction to the game, and will cut a 

