GUNS AND 
me my money’s worth, for that is exactly 
what it amounts to. 
Geo. i. Cable, Surgeon U. 8. A., Ma- 
tanzas, Cuba. 
PREFERS. .38-55. 
Mr. Hill asserts in September RECREA- 
TION that the .30-30 gets in its work when 
it hits a bone, but believes the bullet too 
small for bleeding an animal when it 
fails to hit a vital spot or a bone, and goes 
through the fleshy parts. In the fall of 
1897 I had sufficient experience with the 
30-30 to convince me that a gun of larger 
caliber is more reliable for general results. 
For instance, I shot a large doe, running 
200 yards broadside, and hit her 3 times 
before she dropped, the first 2 shots pass- 
ing between theribs on bothsides (through 
the intestines), the third striking the back- 
bone. All 3 were soft-nosed bullets, the 
first 2 shots inflicting but a small hole 
while the third struck a bone and flat- 
tened. The bullet separated in its course, 
the casing and lead tearing an ugly 
wound. I cannot therefore agree with 
many hunters that the soft-nose bullet 
tears a larger hole in its exit than where 
it enters, providing it is not flattened in 
its course by a bone before it passes out. 
In this latter case is where the .30-30 has 
made its reputation. 
For a medium caliber, carrying sufficient 
weight and penetration for any game, I 
believe the .38-55 smokeless will fill the 
bill. The modern .30-30 or the .303 Sav- 
age cannot surpass it for general results. 
Fred Naegele, Helena, Mont. 


DEFENDS THE SHOT GUN. 
I am much interested in RECREATION. 
Your readers have confidence in it, which 
is not always the case with other publica- 
tions. In the game notes of the August 
number I see that Bob, Kishacoquillar, 
Pa., wants to prohibit the use of shot guns 
for I0 years in order to increase the game. 
That could not be done. The hundreds 
of gun manufactories throughout the coun- 
try would be ruined, causing a panic in 
business and commerce. 
I think the only way is to join the L. A. 
S. and help Coquina protect the game. 
I don’t see why the arms companies and 
sporting goods companies don’t talk a 
little more plainly in their catalogues. If 
they would be more explicit about the 
mode of making guns, ammunition, etc., 
’ than about their excellence and beauty, the 
next generation of hunters would know the 
hammer of a gun from the trigger. Others 
should imitate the Winchester catalogue. 
There is no game here except doves, 
larks, squirrels, etc., and occasionally a 
duck. 
Y. K., Louisville, Ky. 
AMMUNITION. 465 
SMALL SHOT. 
Tell H. H. Larkin I consider the .25-20 
Winchester a fine rifle for ducks, geese, 
squirrels and turkeys. I have one with 
which I shot a large hawk and a squirrel 
and doubled them up in good shape. It 
tears as much as a .32-20 Winchester. I 
intend trying it on deer and rabbits. Do 
you recommend using the 86-grain metal- 
patched ball in my .25-20 rifle? I read 
in RECREATION of A. H. Verrill’s .25 cal- 
iber explosive bullet. I find the ordinary 
lead bullet expands fully as much as his. 
LeDoux Bringhurst, Alexandria, La. 

Having heard considerable talk in rela- 
tion to the merits of the new .30-caliber 
Winchester, ’95 model, and not knowing 
what it will do, I wish some one who has 
used it would advise me what the effects 
are if an animal is hit in the fleshy parts 
with a soft-point ball, as in a paunch shot, 
supposing said shot to have been made 
within 250 yards. Will ball expand as the 
.50-caliber express does? I have used the 
latter rifle in Arizona on mule deer and . 
Virginia deer, and always found it highly 
satisfactory. 
J. H. Isbester, Evanston, III. 

I shoot nothing but a .32-40 Winches- 
ter and think I can kill a deer as easily 
as anybody who shoots a .25-35. The 
.32-40 is an excellent little gun. It is ac- 
curate at 400 yards and will drop a deer 
at 200 every time. If anyone wants an 
all around gun he will make no mistake 
in buying a .32-40. It is more accurate 
than the .30-30. 
Winchester, Lake Forest, III. 

Will some reader tell us something about 
the accuracy of the “miniature” cartridge 
“black powder” and “paper patched,” for 
the Savage rifle? Are these cartridges 
accurate? If they are I should think the 
Savage the best all around rifle on the 
market. 
Walter Diehm, St. Louis, Mo. 

I have a Stevens .25-calibre, which I 
think the best single rifle ever made. The 
Stevens is cheap, simple and durable. 
J. D. French, Dewitt, Mo. 

Will some of the readers of RECREATION 
please inform me where I can buy a 
Howard rifle? 
G. O. Lien, Foldahl, Minn. 

Will some one tell me about the shoot- 
ing qualities of the Winchester repeating 
shotgun, and if a choke bore is good for 
field and duck shooting? 
F. A. Musser, Witmer, Pa. 
