GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 
FAVORS THE .30-3o. 
It is my conviction that the .30-30 is the 
best cartridge for all game. The state- 
ment recently made in these columns 
that it tears and smashes the turkey is 
true so far as the soft-nosed bullet is con- 
cerned, but nothing could be cleaner than 
the wound left by the full-jacketed bullet, 
and with a Winchester model 1894, .30- 
30 rifle, and the pockets filled with both 
full jacketed and soft point cartridges, 
the hunter is equipped for all game usual- 
ly hunted with a rifle. But for the dan- 
ger to the community of shooting 
such a powerful cartridge at an ele- 
vation, it would be an _ ideal squir- 
rel rifle. For squirrel hunting generally 
the best cartridge ever devised is the 
plain old-time .22 short. For distances 
much greater than the height of any tree 
East of the Rockies it is absolutely ac- 
curate, and when fired from such rifles 
as the Winchester model 1890, or the Ste- 
vens si gle-shot rifle, it has force enough 
to go clear through the head of a squirrel 
at distances up to 150 feet. Moreover, it is 
a safe cartridge in a settled country. 
Loaded with smokeless powder it makes 
little noise, not enough to frighten a 
hawk at 125 yards if the shooter be well 
hidden. I rapidly fired 4 times at one at 
that distance, the 4th bringing him down. 
With the Marlin itself I fnd but 
one fault, and that is so grave that I have 
sworn off on the Marlin. This is, that 
the action can never be depended on to 
do its duty So sure as you get a hurry 
call just so sure will a cartridge stick in 
that infernal action and 
Sometimes 2 at a time will rush into 
the action from the magazine, and then 
there is nothing for it but to take the 
action apart and poke the cartridges in 
place. I think this one thing has caused 
more profanity than I can ever atone for. 
It does not occur every time. I can some- 
times run a dozen cartridges through the 
action without a catch; again the first ef- 
fort to throw in a cartridge has resulted 
in totally disabling the gun. 
have complained to the Marlin Com- 
pany about this and got a very polite let- 
ter of regret, and the suggestion that that 
particular model worked well when in ad- 
justment, but—in effect—could not be ex- 
pected to give satisfaction long, as the 
“cutoff” was not positive They advised 
me to try a later (1897) model as likely to 
give more satisfaction. I remember that 
the model 1892 was “fully guaranteed.” 
It seems to me in looking over the field 
stop the fun.. 
for an ideal small caliber repeater if the 
Winchester model 1890 only had a lever 
action it would meet the requirement. 
I don’t like the left-hand slide action. It 
is not a good plan to get used to one ac- 
tion around home and have to use an en- 
tirely different system when in the woods 
with big and possibly dangerous game. 
It is better to have but one system and 
get thoroughly used to that, and then you 
can always depend on yourself to shoot 
quick and true. Besides, the said Win- 
chester will handle but one kind of cart- 
ridge. The gun made for .22 short will 
not handle any other cartridge, that made 
for the .22 long will work only that cart- 
ridge, etc. This is a good feature that 
only becomes clearly apparent to one af- 
ter years of experience with rifles It is 
good for the reason that the twist that 
gives the best results with one cartridge 
will not do well with another and for the 
additional reason that your sight-adjust- 
ments will not suit the different cart- 
ridges. 
The Marlin purports to handle too 
many widely-different cartridges to give 
the best obtainable satisfaction with any 
particular one. Besides, the “long rifle” 
cartridge will not work well in any re- 
peater. It pulls apart too easily, and can 
not be extracted whole, the bullet in- 
variably remains in the chamber while the 
shell pulls away, scattering powder 
through the action. If the Marlin could 
be made to use but one kind of cartridge 
it might be made sure and reliable in its 
action I give it up regretfully and seek 
my ideal elsewhere. 
John F. Keenan, M. D., U. S. Pen- 
sion Bureau, Washington, D. C. 

WHAT IS THE BEST GAUGE? 
I am much interested in the articles on 
10, 12, 16, 20, and 28 gauge guns. I ex- 
pect to purchase a shot gun before sea- 
son opens next fall and am in a quandary 
to know what gauge gun to buy. Gun 
dealers all say get a 12 gauge by all 
means. Many old sportsmen cling to the 
12 for the simple advantage of always be- 
ing able to find ammunition for it. I 
have used a 16 with good results for 2 
seasons in upland shooting, and found a 
thoroughly satisfactory load this last fall 
in 36 gr. Gold Dust and one ounce chil- 
led shot. This charge is strong enough 
to burst any but the best U. M. C. shells 
and I would not recommend it to any 
one using a cheap gun. 
I had thought to 

