

GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 
yards. Timber, unlevel ground, etc., hin- 
ders it being killed much farther, though 
there is much boasting of long shots. 
Geo. W. Warner, San José, Calif. 

A WORD FOR THE WINCHESTER SHOT- 
GUN. 
Editor RECREATION: 
I have seen numerous inquiries in REc- 
REATION concerning the Winchester re- 
peating shotgun and I wish to say that 
purchasers of the Winchester will get 
their money’s worth. 
I have used the lever action and now 
have a ’97 model take-down that I would 
not exchange for any double gun. With 
the lever action I killed a large hawk sit- 
ting on top of a tall tree at 60 yards (load 
Bdr. 1 oz. No. 5). I had no idea that I 
could kill him. I could kill everything I 
pointed it at. The slide action is 
quicker than the lever, but both are good 
guns and each model has some advan- — 
tage over the other. The ’97 model is 
choked slightly more than the lever ac- 
tion. If you use black powder get the 
lever action, if smokeless, the ’97 model. 
If R. I. O. Travers ....1 get a 10 gauge 
cylinder bore lever action Winchester he 
will find the gun he wants for buckshot. 
To clean empty rifle or revolver shells 
I throw them in hot water as soon after 
firing as possible, then swab them with 
a rag and wipe dry. 
I should like to-hear more talk on re- 
volvers and revolver shooting; what re- 
volvers your readers like best, etc. 
I use a .38 caliber double action, 5 inch 
barrel, and can usually place my 10 shots 
in a 6 inch circle at 25 yards, resting. Is 
that considered good for a revolver? The 
best shooting I have ever done was to put 
3 consecutive shots in a small envelope at 
74 yards. 
I use a .44 caliber ’92 model Winches- 
fer Tis: a.good gun: I do not think 
it equal to the .30-30 or larger black pow- 
der calibers, but good enough for me. 
Now I will ask Bro. Coquina and his 
readers which gun gives the greater pen- 
etration, a cylinder or a choke bore? Also 
why does the ’92 model Winchester .25- 
20 give more penetration than the .25-20 
single shot? The velocity per second is 
lower in the repeater and there is little 
difference in the trajectory. 
Sport, Schenectady, N. Y. 

AS TO. DERIET, ETC: 
I note with interest the very lu- 
cid illustrated explanaion of drift 
by GaP: Serine “Would not »-an 
analogous case be a tennis. or base- 
ball thrown with the forward half moving 
129 
to the left? Since the right side of ball 
is moving forward and the left is moving 
backward toward thrower, does not the 
friction of air on the right side cause the 
ball to drift or curve to the left rather 
than to the right, as the bullet of Mr. 
Servin has done? If both cases are true 
evidently velocity, twist and specific grav- 
ity must be important factors. Will not 
Mr. Servin or some one kindly explain? 
Would say to J. W. Brown, who wants 
an open pattern for quail shooting at 30 
yards, I prefer a full choke and Peter’s 
shells loaded with King’s smokeless. I 
have tried the following methods for 
brush shooting: 
Reduce the charge of shot, use larger 
shot, decrease wadding between powder 
and shot, divide the shot and use thick 
wad over shot, one wad black or pink 
edge between powder and shot, one ounce 
shot divided by card wad and black edge 
wad over shot, will give a load with open 
pattern and enough penetration for brush 
shooting. 
But it must not be expected to give 
either the evenness of pattern or penetra- 
tion of the standard shell. 
Mr. Travers would find that the Ithaca 
company makes a 12 gauge gun which 
shoots buckshot exceedingly well. Other 
makers, also patrons of RECREATION, no 
doubt make as good guns for buckshot. 
It has been proved that the Io gauge is 
superior to the 12 gauge where the larger 
shot is used. The method of loading as 
recommended by the Ithaca people is 
good and is as follows: . 
Place a wad in muzzle of gun forming 
a cup Y% inches deep. Select such a size of 
buckshot that a layer of f-om 3 to 5 will 
chamber loosely in cup formed in muzzle. 
Take the number selected and place in 
shell and if the gun is full taper choke, 
they will chamber very loosely in shell. 
Fill up space between top of buckshot 
with Nos. to s. 12 s. or sawdust. Then 
another layer of buckshot as above until 
the required charge is obtained. Shot 
wads between the lavers spoil the. pattern. 
C. D. K., Newport, Ky. 

OFF-HAND SHOTS. 
I heartily recommend to all sportsmen 
the Laflin & Rand powders—both Sport- 
ing Rifle Smokeless and the .30 Caliber 
Smokeless. ; 
I have tested the Sporting Rifle Smoke- 
less at 75, 100, 200, 300, and 600 yards 
range, in a .25-35 Winchester and a .30-30 
Marlin, for light shooting with lead bul- 
lets. I used 9g grains and 12 grains of 
powder in a .25-35 Winchester shell and 
.30-30 U. M. C. shell with No. 5 Win- 
chester and No. 6 % U. M. C. primers 

