GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 
satisfied many deer are shot with the 
.36 gun and are never afterward found, 
especially in the mountains. The .30 cal- 
iber is a long range gun and a man hunt- 
ing with one is likely to take chances on 
long shots, and may hit the-deer, but 
when he gets to the place the deer may be 
2 or 3 miles away, dead as a hammer. In 
such a case it would be rather hard to 
find, when, on the other hand, if the man 
- was using a shorter range gun he would 
not take so many chances, and would bag 
as much game. At least that has. been my 
experience. I enjoy reading, in RECREA- 
TION, the different opinions in regard to 
large and small caliber guns, especially 
rifles. 
George W. Nellis, Dannebrog, Neb. 
SPORTING RIFLE SMOKELESS. 
As I have always been greatly inter- 
ested in the correspondence published in 
your magazine relative to the tests made 
with different rifles and different pow- 
ders, I take this opportunity of recording 
the result of a test which my 2 sons and 
I have just completed. The results ob- 
tained were so excellent I believe they 
will be interesting to riflemen throughout 
the country. 
For years I have been in doubt as to the 
relative values of the high power, small 
caliber rifles and the big bore black pow- 
der hunting guns. I appreciate the ex- 
cellent qualities of the .30 caliber in be- 
ing smokeless and in giving a high ve- 
locity, but I could never be convinced that 
the small lead pencil bullet would be as 
good a killer as or give the crushing force 
of the .45-90; therefore, I have stuck to 
my heavy guns, and have only sought to 
find a smokeless powder that could be 
satisfactorily used in them, thus doing 
away with the principal objections. I have 
now found that powder. 
Recently I obtained a can of Laflin & 
Rand’s Sporting Rifle Smokeless and 
have found it superior to any powder I 
have ever used. While in camp, with 
the aid of my 2 sons, I tested this pow- 
der thoroughly in the following guns: 
.38-55, .40-82 and .45-90. The charges of 
powder and weight of bullets used were 
as follows: 
.38-55, 18 grs. powder, 255 ers. lead. 
.40-82, 24 grs. powder, 260 grs. lead. 
.45-90, 28 grs. powder, 300 grs. lead. 
Our shooting was done at 100, 300, 500, 
and 1,000 yards, and I have never before 
been able to obtain such perfect accuracy. 
There was but little recoil and absolutely 
no smoke. The velocity was somewhat 
greater than that obtained with black pow- 
der and the trajectory a little flatter. It 
certainly is the cleanest powder I ever 

463 
used and hardly darkens the inside of a 
rifle barrel. I have used all kinds of pow- 
der for 30 years and never before have I 
secured such excellent results as with this 
new powder. Our tests also covered the 
statement made by the manufacturers of 
the powder to the effect that the powder 
was waterproof and could be fired as well 
after being soaked in water as before. We 
found this to be the case; it only being 
necessary to remove the surface water 
from the grains of powder with a cloth in 
order to obtain the same results as when 
dry powder is used. This quality will 
undoubtedly make the powder priceless to 
riflemen, as all who have had experience 
know what it means to find themselves in 
the backwoods with wet powder. 
Many of the Maine guides have taken 
up the use of Sporting Rifle Smokeless 
and there is no doubt that in a short time 
it will be used exclusively in the big bore 
black powder hunting rifles. I advise all 
sportsmen who contemplate a trip to the 
Maine woods to bring ammunition load- 
ed with this powder. 
John Cushman, Registered Guide, Sher- 
man, Me. 

GOOD LOADS AND POOR. 
Editor RECREATION:—I have a .25-36 re- 
peater and will give some loads I have 
tried: 
(1.) Regular load, 23 grains Dupont, .30 
caliber and 117 grain metal patched bullet, 
both soft point and hard. JI think this as 
accurate as the .32-40 and much more 
powerful. The full patch bullet holds up 
at 600 yards better than the soft point. 
(2.) Eighty-six grain copper patch, 
grooved U. M. C. bullet, with either 25 
grains (measure) Dupont No. 1, or 20 
grains (measure) Dupont .30 caliber. A 
fine load up to 200 yards. Must have a ve- 
locity close to 2,000 f. s. Is a great load 
for woodchucks; kills them cleaner than 
any .32-40 I ever saw. 
(3.) Eighty-six grain lead bullet (.25-20), 
(1 to 15) with 21 grains (measure) Du- 
pont’s No. 1. Good up to 200 yards. 
(4.) Eighty-six grain bullet, as in No. 
3, with 25 grains (measured) King’s semi- 
smokeless. Very high velocity and accur- 
ate; also clean. 
(5.) One hundred and ten grains lead 
(1 to 10), with 28 grains (measure) Du- 
pont No. r. If well greased, especially on 
point, will not lead barrel, and holds up at 
yards, almost if not quite as well as 
load No. 1. Accurate and cheap, but 
must be well lubricated. 
The above loads I know are all right. 
No. 2 especially is fine, and probably the 
best all around load. Will give some which 
were failures: 
(a.) One hundred and seventeen grains 
