38o 



RECREATION. 



ing parts. If made of fine tool steel, this 

 action is of ample strength to withstand 

 the breech pressure of the most powerful 

 modern smokeless cartridges. I allude to 

 the English 40 caliber sporting smokeless 

 cartridge, which is far more powerful than 

 any of the modern military cartridge. 



If the Stevens Arms and Tool Company 

 would build a fine rifle on the Maynard 

 plan, and fit and chamber it for the modern 

 cartridges, both black and smokeless, they 

 would find a ready market for the weapon 

 among gentlemen who appreciate a fine arm 

 and who are able and willing to pay for it. 

 I should be glad to place my order in ad- 

 vance for a rifle made up as follows : 

 Tool steel properly proportioned Maynard 

 action ; nickel steel barrel rifled and cham- 

 bered for the 40 caliber smokeless English 

 sporting cartridge ; half octagon, 32 inches 

 long, checked English select walnut stock 

 and fore arm, rubber shot gun butt plate, 

 weight 8 to 8% pounds ; Lyman sights. 



It would be well to arrange the action so 

 double or triple set triggers can be added 

 at small cost. Equipped with a heavy bar- 

 rel and triple set lock the Maynard-Stevens 

 would soon be the foremost target rifle of 

 the world. G. L. Lehle. 



A LONG RANGE 12 BORE. 



Oroville, Cal. 

 Editor Recreation: 



A. R. D., Joliet, 111., inquires as to the 

 best long range 10 or 12 bore gun for 

 ducks. With guns whose weight is in pro- 

 portion to their bore a 10 mill kill farther 

 than a 12. For ordinary duck shooting a 

 gun similar to one I own is without doubt, 

 an excellent weapon and is equally useful 

 for other shooting. 



My gun is a 12 bore, hammerless ejector, 

 weight 7 pounds 12 ounces, with Whit- 

 worth fluid compressed steel barrels, thick- 

 ness at breech .1513 inch, chambered to 

 take a 3 inch shell. It will shoot with per- 

 fect safety 50 grains Schultz powder and 

 V/2 ounces of shot. 



Such a gun will kill ducks as far as an 

 ordinary 10 bore. With 40 grains Schultz 

 and 1 or V/% ounce of shot one can shoot 

 quails, etc., with this gun. 



I doubt whether A. R. D. will be able 

 to get a similar weapon in America. Last 

 spring I wrote to several gun manufac- 

 turers and asked for a price on a 12 bore 

 gun, 7^4 pounds, that would shoot with 

 safety 50 grains Schultz powder. They all 

 declined to make one. I bought my gun 

 in England. It cost me $200, including 

 duty and express charges, but I consider 

 it worth the money. 



A. W. K. in November Recreation sug- 

 gests that the shot gun be prohibited. J. B. 

 in the February issue seconds the motion, 

 giving as a reason that as the killing circle 

 is 2 or 3 feet wide the tyro may be as suc- 



cessful in getting game as the expert. J. 

 B. is talking through son chapeau. Makers 

 and users of guns have for years been try- 

 ing to make them shoot close. A choke 

 bore will average 86 per cent, of the charge 

 within a 10 inch circle at 10 yards, a 20 

 inch circle at 20 yards, a 30 inch circle at 

 30 yards, and so on. 



With exceptionally close shooting guns 

 there is, at 40 yards, a killing circle of 26 

 inches; i. e., any bird within that circle 

 will be killed. If the aim is 15 inches off 

 a bird at 40 yards, it will prove a miss. The 

 nearer the bird is to the shooter the closer 

 must be the aim to ensure getting the 

 bird. Men who have used shot guns real- 

 ize that it is extremely easy to miss a bird 

 on the wing. 



Make a target at 30 yards with the ordi- 

 nary charge of'i ounce No. 8 shot with a 

 choke bore gun. Then draw a 2 foot circle 

 around the center of the charge of pellets, 

 and see how many plucked quails could be 

 put inside that circle without touching any 

 shot marks. Even in a 15 inch circle you 

 will find several places where a quail would 

 escape. 



With a rifle A. W. K. and J. B. may be 

 able to shoot the head off a sitting grouse 

 at 25 yards, but if they had to live on birds 

 they shot on the wing with a rifle, they 

 would never grow fat. R. L. M. 



DEFECTIVE MARLIN GOODS. 



Columbiaville, Mich. 

 Editor Recreation: 



I am in receipt of a circular from New 

 Haven, Conn., and suppose it is from the 

 Marlin Arms Company. I do not fully un- 

 derstand the nature of their suit ; hence 

 this letter. Do the Marlin people want 

 damages or an injunction restraining you 

 from publishing articles unfavorable to 

 their make of arms? 



I have nothing against the Marlin people. 

 I like the hang and the shooting of their 

 guns, but I do not like the action. If the 

 principle of their guns is all right, then 

 they are not subjected to as rigid inspec- 

 tion as they should be, before leaving the 

 factory. 



I recently bought a new Marlin shot gun, 

 and, as is my custom, I looked it over 

 closely to see if all parts were in perfect 

 working order before using it. I found the 

 hammer could be snapped regardless of 

 where the bolt was, whether locked or not. 

 I wrote the Marlin people stating the case 

 and they replied that if I would send them 

 the gun they would put it in shape for me 

 free of charge; a generous offer, as the 

 expressage on the gun would be $2.20. I 

 did not approve of this outlay, for their 

 carelessness, so I took the gun apart, found 

 the trouble and fixed it. 



I then sold the gun, and in about a week 

 it came back because it would not eject the 



