GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



383 



Another point is that the ammunition for 

 the 30 is entirely too expensive for target 

 or small game shooting, while the 38-55 

 shells can be reloaded at a cost of Vyi 

 cents each. I use the Ideal No. 3 tool 

 and load with 27 grains of Laflin & Rand's 

 sporting rifle smokeless. That gives a 

 flatter trajectory and less recoil than the 

 factory ammunition. 



Owing to the work of the L. A. S., 

 game is increasing rapidly here in Vir- 

 ginia. 



S. O. S. Graham, Williamsburg, Va. 



LIKES THE STEVENS FAVORITE. 



Three years ago I bought a Stevens Fa- 

 vorite No. 17. It has been shot several 

 thousand times and is as good to-day as 

 when I got it. I shot it against a 32-40 

 and a 38-55 Winchester, a 38-40 Colts and 

 a Marling The distance was 132 yards and 

 the target a 3-inch patch. It won 5 tur- 

 keys and 2 ducks, beating all other guns 

 there. The Stevens Favorite is the sim- 

 plest, safest and most durable 22 rifle 

 I know of. I use 22 shorts for small game 

 and for target practice. The 22 long is 

 effective in this gun. Last year I used the 

 22 long rifle for woodchucks and hawks 

 and found it a powerful cartridge. 



Will some Recreation readers tell me 

 the good as well as the weak points of the 

 repeating shot gun? Are they durable? 

 Do they get out of order easily? Which 

 is preferable, the Winchester of the Mar- 

 lin? I want a shot gun good for all kinds 

 of hunting and game. 



Glenn McGowan, Lawrence, Mich. 



SMALL SHOT. 

 I find it impossible to keep the rust out 

 of my rifle. I always keep it in a dry 

 place, well coated with oil. Have tried 

 neatsfoot, sweet oil and camphor gum, and 

 3 in 1 oil, but none of these give satisfac- 

 tion. In less than 2 days after I clean the 

 gun the inside of the barrel will be cov- 

 ered with a sort of black rust, which will 

 wipe out easily unless I leave it in the gun 

 for a long time. Then it eats into the 

 metal. Harry Cranston, Columbus, Ohio. 



ANSWER. 



One way is to cork up one end of the 

 barrel and fill it full of melted mutton 

 tallow. Then cork up the other end and 

 put it away. When you want to use the 

 gun warm the barrel and the tallow will 

 drop out. This method usually proves 

 successful under all conditions. — Editor. 



In looking over old copies of Recrea- 

 tion I have taken particular notice of 

 what has been said of high power rifles 

 for hunting big game. Of course we all 

 know the long range and great penetration 

 of those guns, but why do we need power- 



ful weapons? Is it because we want to ex- 

 terminate the game of this country? I fail 

 to see any sport in shooting at deer or 

 larger game half a mile away. What I 

 call sport consists in matching your skill 

 against the cunning of your game. It 

 makes no difference what sort of rifle you 

 have, as long as it carries a ball heavy 

 enough to do the work. It is better to 

 work to within 50 or 100 yards of your 

 game and kill it, than to take long shots 

 and perhaps only wound it. Recreation 

 is worth its weight in gold. 



E. Chaney, Pishon's Ferry, Me. 



I wish to add my testimony as to the 

 reliability of U. M. C. ammunition. I 

 served a campaign in the Philippines. We 

 were supplied with 30-40 ammunition of 

 various makes, and, as usual, could rely 

 best on the U. M. C. In many of the 

 others the bullets would slip back into the 

 shell, often by pressure of the end of the 

 bullets in the belt on the hips in march- 

 ing. This, of course, shortened the gen- 

 eral length of the cartridge, causing it to 

 jam in being forced from the magazine in- 

 to the barrel of the Krag. We had to sort 

 our cartridges regularly on that account, 

 but out of a consignment of U. M. C. am- 

 munition we got not one shell that gave 

 trouble in that way. 



C. W. L., Springfield, Vt. 



There has been so much said against 

 Winchester pump guns I would like to of- 

 fer evidence in their favor. With a '97 

 model, full choke, and U. M. C. Acme 

 shells loaded with 24 grains of Ballistite 

 powder, and 1% ounces 7H shot, I put 

 258 shot in a 30 inch circle at 40 yards. 

 In a 20 inch circle at 30 yards I put all 

 but 2 or 3 pellets of the charge. 



T. H. Mastin, Midland Park, N. J. 



I have a Winchester repeater, '90 model, 

 22 caliber take down, and do not want a 

 better gun for small game. It takes the 

 extra long U. M. C. black powder cart- 

 ridges. I killed a hawk 85 vards distant 

 with it, and have killed squirrels, wood- 

 chucks and rabbits. It shoots just where 

 held. F. E. Mills, Middletown, N. Y. 



The can of Laflin & Rand powder you 

 sent me as a premium I have compared 

 with Schultz's, and find the former su- 

 perior in pattern and quicker. If further 

 tests prove as satisfactory as ones made 

 shall certainly use it in future. 



J. F. Tusdall, Utica, N. Y. 



Will some of your readers kindlv in- 

 form me as to the advantage, if any, in 

 using chilled shot in place of the ordinary 

 soft shot in hunting feathered game? 

 Sage-hen, Miles City, Mont. 



