294 RECREATION, 
Now, some Marlin crank will jump in 
the air, crack his heels together and swear 
he once shot his Marlin a certain number 
of shots in a given number of seconds, 
and the gun never failed during the oper- 
ation. Yes, of course,- my .iriend? abit 
how about that time’ when you tried a 
quick second or third shot and by your 
Marlin clogging on you, lost that 
magnificent buck? “Oh, well,’ you say, 
“such a thing is liable to occur in a Win- 
chester.” No, not if you are using the 
right cartridges and your gun is in as 
good condition as it should be, even as 
good condition as your Marlin has been 
many a time when it has failed. The 
Marlin has a faulty extractor and ejector. 
I have used Marlins which failed to 
extract shells I could easily draw from 
chamber with my finger-nail; and others 
that, though they might extract with fair 
regularity, would fail to eject the shell ex- 
tracted. 
The gun is so constructed that the cart- 
ridge in magazine follow. the bolt to the 
rear as gun is opened. There is no hook 
attached to finger-lever, as should be to 
draw cartridge out of magazine into car- 
rier, and often in rapid shooting the mag- 
azine spring is not quick enough; the 
cartrid~e does not come clear into the 
carrier, and the latter being raised by the 
closing motion, catches against the cart- 
ridge which is partly in magazine. In at- 
tempting to close the lever the carrier is 
broken or bent, the cartridge badly de- 
formed, or trouble is sure to arise that 
could not occur in a Winchester. In rapid 
shooting I have had cartridges nearly cut 
in 2 in this way. Another cause of the 
cartridges failing to enter the carrier 
quickly enough is, the carrier is depended 
on aS a magazine cut-off and sometimes 
raises too far, not allowing the cartridge 
to escape to the rear, as it should. 
Here is an extract from a well-known 
Northwestern gun  dealer’s catalogue 
which has been in circulation several 
years: 
“I do not manufacture, recommend, or 
guarantee Marlin rifles. If they chew up 
the heads of the cartridges, clog up in the 
action and magazine, it is not my fault; 
so do not ship them back on my hands. I 
have Marlin rifles for sale for those who 
want them, but when sold and delivered 
my responsibility ceases.” 
A good advertisement truly. I consider 
any gun that leaves the Winchester fac- 
tory perfect in every respect, both as re- 
gards accuracy and manipulation. 
Coyote. 

THE .25-20 WINCHESTER. 
inhoreply.to (HH: Fie Warkin-andiehe oes 
Bringhurst: I have experimented in the 
last year with my .25.20 Winchester, single 
shot, and have found it excellent in every 
way. 
For most small game shooting the .25 is- 
away ahead of other calibers, especial- 
ly as regards accuracy. I have. used 
this rifle on woodchucks, wild turkeys, 
squirrels, rabbits, hawks, and all our small 
game, and everything I have shot so far 
has been killed clean without requiring a 
second shot. Moreover, my game is 
never mutilated, as it would be if I used 
a larger rifle. Grouce may be shot through 
the body with this cartridge and the meat 
not spoiled in the least. I have frequent- 
ly shot hawks and crows at ranges close to 
and sometimes exceeding 300 yards. I use 
a 75 grain hollow point bullet, cast in an 
Ideal mould, on woodchucks, and it is sel- 
dom indeed that one has strength after 
being shot to struggl into its hole. This 
bullet mushrooms nicely on contact, mak- 
ing a wound similar to that of a .38 caliber 
bullet. For grouse the 84 grain, pointed 
bullet has given great satisfaction. It kills 
clean and makes a wound even smaller 
than that of the .22, with no tearing of 
the meat. 
I can with this rifle place all my shots 
in a 3 inch circle at 100 yards, which is 
excellent for a hunting rifle. I load my 
own shells, having found factory, ammu- 
nition unsatisfactory unless when fresh. 
For target shooting and ordinary hunting 
E- use:“U.. M.-C. “shells; Ul. Mes Ce Nor 
primers, 20 grains of King’s semi-smoke- 
less F.F.G. powderandan 86 grain grooved 
bullet, cast I to 40 in a Pope mould and 
lubricated in a Pope pump. This load will 
give excellent results with either the sharp 
or hollow pointea bullet, making with 
the latter a fine express charge. The 
semi-smokeless pcwder I have adopted 
after trying all kinds, as I find it cleaner 
and more accurate th:n any other. It does 
not require nitro primers and will not 
make the shells brittle nor spot the barrel. 
I do not crimp my shells ag this destroys 
the accuracy to a great extent. Bullets 
cast in the Pope mould are exceedingly 
accurate as they have a perfect base and 
do not need resizing. I resize the muzzle 
of my shells about every 3 shots. If this 
is not done the bullets are liable to be 
loose in the shell. 
I believe this cartridge is good up to 
350 yards. I have tried it on the Creed- 
moor target at 500 yards, on a still day, 
with target sights, but could not get good 
results although most of my shots were in 
the 3 ring. The .25-20 is not large enough 
for deer; it would be cruelty to shoot them 
with this weapon. For such game I use 
a .30-30. By the way, I have never found 
any trouble cleaning my smokeless powder 
rifles, probably because I always carry a 
field cleaner with me when shooting and 
immediately after the last shot of the day 

