GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



38i 



The chief advantage, I think, is in price. 

 One can buy for $18 a Winchester repeater 

 that will outshoot any other gun made at 

 that price. Are they safe? The lever ac- 

 tion gun is. I would not use a sliding fore- 

 arm action. I consider them dangerous. I 

 think a Winchester repeater will wear as 

 well as any other gun. I have seen these 

 guns which had been used a number of 

 years and were in good sjaape. Is there 

 much likelihood of jamming? Not unless 

 you try to use reloaded shells that have 

 been bulged, or unless you get in too much 

 of a hurry. I have never known one to 

 burst. 



If one can afford a good double gun, 

 then he would better buy it. For general 

 use I prefer this form, as it is nicer to 

 handle. It gives the shooter 2 occurate 

 shots in much less time than the repeating 

 gun can, and 2 shots at one time ought to 

 be enough for any reasonable man. Still, 

 the man who wants a cheap and reliable 

 gun of great killing power can not do bet- 

 ter than to buy a Winchester lever action 

 repeater. 



F. W. Bicknell, Des Moines, la. 



DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS. 

 I will tell J. H. Isbester my experience 

 with a .30-40, '95 model, Winchester. 

 While hunting in Montana last fall I 

 jumped a white tail doe from a thicket 

 on the edge of a draw, about 75 yards 

 from me. Just before she went out of 

 sight I fired. Following, I found her dead, 

 about 50 yards from the edge of the draw 

 The bullet entered the middle of the body, 

 just in front of the right hip, ranging a 

 little forward. It came out on the opposite 

 side at about the same level, and back of 

 the ribs. The bullet hole at point of exit 

 was an inch in diameter. Later in the day 

 my companion, Dr. Squires, shot a doe, 

 the bullet passing through the right hip, 

 the bowels, liver and right lung. She ran 

 100 yards and lay down. The doctor fol- 

 lowed and fired again, breaking her left 

 hind leg. She ran 75 yards farther and 

 again lay down. She attempted another 

 run as we came up, but we caught her and 

 finished the work with a knife. Dr. Squires 

 used a .45-90, '86 model, Winchester. Mr. 

 Isbester may draw his own conclusion as 

 to the comparative power of the 2 guns. 

 Dr. F. D. Fanning, Butler, Ind. 



ANCIENT MODEL S . 



Under the heading of "An Old Timer," 

 C. A. Bennett tells of a 7-foot gun in his 

 possession. That gun, I suppose, is a 

 smooth bore flintlock, woodwork extend- 

 ing to muzzle, and with brass trimmings. 

 I think 7 feet the maximum length of 

 those guns. They were apparently popular 

 on Long Island at one period; but so 



many were cut down and fitted with per- 

 cussion hammers that but few remain in 

 their original state. Those can be found 

 only in the ancient farm houses on the 

 island. I have one 6 feet long, and have 

 seen one that measured 7 feet in the pos- 

 session of the Kowwenhoven family. The 

 late John Halleran, famous as a collector 

 of Long Island antiquities, had a most in- 

 teresting collection of old smooth bore 

 flintlocks, but the one I have is longer 

 than any of his. "Robinson Cruesoe's" 

 (Alexander Selkirk) gun was of the same 

 pattern, although it was apparently not 

 over 6 feet long. I judge from a photo- 

 graph of it, a reproduction of which I 

 have. 



Dan Beard, Flushing, L. I. 



DOES CRIPPLED AT LONG RANGE. 

 The small bore is now strictly in fash- 

 ion, but is it just the thing for a hunting 

 arm? Those who have not had much ex- 

 perience will buy the gun most in fashion 

 and think it just right. For the purpose 

 for which it was designed, war, it is the 

 only arm, but it needs good eyes to go 

 with it. I appreciate the value of smoke- 

 less powder and a flat trajectory, but ex- 

 treme range is no advantage in hunting. 

 This State forbids the killing of does; yet 

 I have seen men blaze away at deer so 

 far off one could not tell whether they 

 were bucks or not. Does were crippled 

 and killed by long range guns and the 

 hunters didn't dare bring out the meat. 

 Tenderfeet? Well, yes; but you can see 

 plenty of men start out with 100 cart- 

 ridges to kill 2 deer. It would be a good 

 thing if everybody had to use a single shot 

 rifle. But in that case some cartridge fac- 

 tories would have to shut down. 



W. H., Goldfield, Colo. 



SMALL SHOT. 



In August Recreation I notice A. E. 

 Midgley's answer to J. W. Brown, how 

 to make a full choke gun shoot an open 

 pattern. I have used the shot spreaders 

 sold on the market. Also the divided 

 charge of shot with thin wads. I shoot a 

 full choke gun. and always use a scatter 

 charge in right barrel. I take a good qual- 

 ity of note paper, roll it 5 or 6 times 

 around a lead pencil, securing the edge 

 with mucilage, and let it dry. To load 

 your shell, put in powder, wadding and shot 

 as usual. Then take your paper roll, press 

 it down in center of shot, cut it off even 

 with roof of your shot charge. This gives 

 you the length of your shot spreader for 

 the amount of shot used in the load. Put 

 on top shot wad and give a good crimp. 

 I find this load for a scatter charge supe- 

 rior to anything else I have used. 



B. A. Fay, Springfield, Mo. 



