GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 379 
fore the public, I will attempt to outline 
what I believe would be improvements on 
different arms now on the market. 
Why do manufacturers persist in making 
small caliber rifles on frames designed for 
larger ones? Is it a matter of economy, or 
do they think shooters prefer to have a 
25 or .32 as heavy and bulky as a .44 or 
45? The first.named could be 2 pounds 
lighter than they are, and still be just as 
effective. 
For years the ’73 model .44-40 and .38-40 
were the most popular repeaters. They 
weighed 834 to 9 pounds. Later the .32-20 
and .22 were made to the same frames as 
the others, and the only changes required 
were in carrier, magazine and breech bolt. 
But what was the result? These guris— 
most excellent, barring their objectionable 
weight—weighed more by several ounces 
than the .44’s. 
The Winchester Co. has reduced the 
weight of the model ’go .22, to 534 pounds. 
It has a receiver proportioned to its car- 
tridge. The ’73 .22, made on the receiver 
of a .44, weighed 9 pounds or over. The 
model ’92 Winchester is the best medium 
size repeater on the market. The .38 and 
the .44 weigh but 634 pounds. But the 
Winchester Co. continues building .25-20’s 
on .44 receivers, and they weigh 7. to 7% 
pounds. 
It is necessary to use the same receiver 
on the .38 as the .44 because both shells 
have the same head diameter. No such 
necessity exists as regards the .25-20 and 
.32-20. The head diameter of those shells 
is identical and what would handle one 
would handle the other. Neither rifle, 
made on properly proportioned receivers, 
need weigh more than 534 pounds. Re- 
ceiver, barrel, fore end and stock could 
be considerably lightened with no lessen- 
ing of strength. 
Another mistake is made in the fore 
ends used. . They are too large. On 
nearly all repeaters the front of receiver 
could be made smaller, which would re- 
sult in a smaller fore end. A gun is more 
often carried in the hand than on the 
shoulder; and a small, shapely fore end 
that fits the hand nicely is an improve- 
ment anxiously looked for by many. The 
model ’94 Winchester, I think, is the best 
balanced, best proportioned repeater 
made; yet if the receiver was a trifle 
smaller it would be vastly better. 
What I have said regarding rifles applies 
as well to the mistake of making .32-20 re- 
volvers on .45 frames. The .32-20 could be 
made to weigh 12 or 14 ounces less than 
it now does, and 10 would be sold where 
One is now. 
Mr. M. W. Miner, whose articles I look 
for anxiously, in writing of the .32-20, 
closed by asking why we could not have 
a .22 caliber smokeless rifle to use, if I re- 
member rightly, Io or 12 grains of powder 
and an 86-grain bullet. Such a gun would 
be welcomed by many; but a .25, to use 
15 grains Du Pont .30 caliber smokeless 
powder and a 75 grain metal patched bul- 
let in a headless shell, and made by the 
Winchester Co. on the same lines as their 
model ’92, but with a small receiver and 
nickel steel barrel, would be the gun of 
guns. The cartridge proposed would, I 
think, be extremely accurate up to 500 
yards. I do not expect the Marlin Co. to 
profit by any of the above suggestions, 
as I have never yet seen one of their re- 
peaters that would repeat. I look to the 
Winchester Co. to help us gun cranks 
out. 
Ho, you gun cranks that contribute to 
RECREATION! How many of you would 
buy such a gun as I have described? 
A. A. Haines. 

A BATCH OF ANSWERS. 
I submit the following replies to ques- 
tions asked in May RECREATION: 
The gentleman who related his experi- 
ence shooting woodchucks with charge: 
from .22 short to .45-100-500 will find the 
.25-30 no less effective than most of the 
calibres he has tried and no more so than 
some of them. The result will still depend 
on distance and ai- An old hunter liv- 
ing on an island in Puget Sound shoots 
many black bears every summer with a 
single shot .22-13-45 Winchester. He 
thinks no man deserves to be called a 
hunter who would use anything larger. 
Mr. McQueen, “Box Magazine,” and 
others, seem to have difficulty in cleaning 
small bore rifles. Thorough cleaning will 
keep any rifle bright. First use brush, then 
rags, until every trace of dirt is removed. 
Then wipe out with any good rust repel- 
lant. Every rifle shooter should own a 
“government field cleaner,’ and draw it 
through his gun occasionally after the 
outing. 
L. H. Tarr, of Auburn, Me., asks some- 
one’s experience with short cartridges in 
rifles. I have had some experience, but will 
not have any more. Short cartridges may 
be used in a rifle by a careful cleaner for a 
long time without doing much damage to 
the barrel, but it is better not to run the 
risk. Save your .32-40 and get a .22 rifle 
for squirrel shooting. 
F. L. Bringhurst, Victor, Cal., asks con- 
cerning the .25-20 for a beginner. The 
.25-20 is O. K. for a beginner, or any one 
else for anything up to deer, and including 
cougar if the shooter is an expert marks- 
man. These cartridges give fine results 
when reloaded with 7 or 8 grains Dupont’s 
No. 1 rifle smokeless, or 17 grains F. G. 
