134 



RECREATION. 



people who say they have written him re- 

 peatedly, but could get no reply. — Editor. 



STILL USES THE .45-90. 



A shot in head, heart or neck, from a .32 

 Flobert, will kill a deer as quickly as will a 

 .45-90. About two-thirds of the deer killed 

 are shot within 15 rods. A great many are 

 shot in the side, a little far back. That 

 kind of a shot from a .30-30 will not stop a 

 deer so well as will the old .45, which 

 makes a large hole on entering and goes 

 through, allowing the blood to flow from 

 both sides. A .30-30 soft makes a small 

 hole on entering and generally goes to 

 pieces; the deer bleeds inwardly and 

 leaves no trace. If there is no snow and 

 the ground is frozen hard you lose him. I 

 shoot smokeless powder in my .45-90, with 

 a 300 grain bullet, and for a large game 

 gun think it's far ahead of the .30. Trie 

 extra pound or so in weight won't make 

 much difference to one who can tramp 

 from daylight until dark, as most of us 

 do who hunt deer in Michigan. 



James Edwards, Grand Rapids, Mich. 



AN OLD TIMER. 



Herewith I send you a photograph of 

 myself, my long gun and an ordinary 32- 

 inch barrel gun, to show the contrast in the 

 length. This old gun is 7 feet in length. 

 It was made in London in 1799, as a brass 

 plate on the breech tells. It was brought 

 to this country soon after by a gentleman 

 who came from England, and who sold it 

 to my grandfather, who lived on a farm 

 near Sandyspring, Montgomery county, 

 Maryland. 



The old gun next came into the posses- 

 sion of my father and he handed it down 

 to me. I have not fired it at game for 

 some years, as it is unhandy to carry, al- 

 though it is not so heavy but that it may 

 easily hold to the shoulder. The last time 

 I did shoot it at game I killed 7 ducks at 

 the one shot. It has killed many a canvas- 

 back, on Chesapeake bay, where my father 

 lived some years. If there is a longer 

 gun in the country I should like to know 

 it. C. A. Bennett, 



Editor The Journal, Granite Falls, Minn. 



SMALL SHOT. 



Ducks are scarce this season, and one 

 of our prominent citizens, possibly the 

 best shot on the Sound, was not killing 

 them fast enough, so he wrote a well- 

 known gun house in New York to send 

 him a "flock gun." 



In due time the gun arrived and the 

 p. c. took it in the sneak box to try it. 



Every time a flock came up he turned her 

 loose. Result, nil. At first he thought he 

 was not "on to" it, but one day he took it 

 out and tried it on his barn. Same result; 

 never touched it. 



Then taking his pen in hand he advised 

 the New York house that the flock gun 

 was not worth a beaver dam. It would not 

 even hit a barn. What should he do with 

 it? The reply came on a postal card— 

 "Try it on a flock of barns." 



A. S. Doane, Coinjock, N. C. 



I have a Winchester, model 1897, take- 

 down gun, full choke 12-bore. I have 

 used both kinds of powder and all sizes of 

 loads, from 34-grain smokeless up. While 

 loading, by mistake I got 2 34-grain 

 charges in one shell, and when I shot that 

 load I thought the gun would knock me 

 off my feet; but I stuck to her. The cart- 

 ridge burst at the breech and some powder 

 and shell, flew back. With a little work I 

 took the shell out and the gun was as 

 good as ever. This shell had 1% ounces 

 shot in it, 2 card wads, 2 black edge wads 

 and was crimped tight. The Winchester 

 is the best and the cheapest gun one can 

 buy. 



John N. Galigher, Zanesville, Ohio. 



I have been trying the new shells re- 

 cently put out by the Peters Cartridge 

 Co. in my new hammerless and find 

 them the perfection of shot gun ammuni- 

 tion. While dove hunting I fired nearly 

 50 shots without cleaning. Have never 

 known a Peters shell to snap or stick and 

 they foul a gun less than any other load I 

 have used. To test the waterproofing I 

 put several in water and allowed them to 

 stand over night. When dried they fired 

 just as did the other shells. 



W. C. Whittemore, Redlands, Cal. 



I should like to hear through Recrea- 

 tion of the experience of some sportsman 

 who has used the .23 calibre Lee straight- 

 pull rifle, with soft-point ammunition, on 

 deer and similar game. 



P. W. Magill, San Francisco, Cal. 



Has any reader of Recreation a 

 Hotchkiss repeating rifle which he bought 

 of Bates & Co.? If so, will he please tell 

 me its killing power and range? 



George Smith, Newport, Ky. 



Our club is using the Laflin & Rand's 

 smokeless shotgun powder, and all agree 

 that it is the best powder they ever used. 

 Rock Creek, O., March 22, 1899. 



