134 



RECREATION. 



rifles is preferable? They are nearly 

 alike. Both actions are modifications of 

 the old 1871 model Mauser army rifle, 

 which is still a standard action on the 

 other side for target and hunting rifles. 

 The Mauser has no box magazine, which 

 is an advantage, as one does not have to 

 load by means of the clip, as in the Mann- 

 licher or the 1888 model ; but while the 

 latest model Mauser may have advantages 

 over the 1888 model Mannlicher, from a 

 military standpoint, give me the model '88 

 for a sporting rifle. The cartridge is pow- 

 erful and big enough for anything. While 

 neither the 2-3 nor the 4-5 jacketed bullet 

 is so accurate as the full mantled, both are 

 satisfactory for hunting purposes, the 4-5 

 mantled especially. It is evident, however, 

 that the bullet which has 4-5 of its length 

 covered by a metal jacket will give better 

 penetration than a 2-3 mantled, while it ex- 

 pands amply with the full load of powder. 

 I have not dwelt on the far killing 

 power of my favorite rifle. It is true 

 the weapon leaves nothing to be de- 

 sired in that respect, but no hunting 

 rifle should, as a rule be used at 

 long range. Some might now say they 

 could use a 44-40 just as effectively as high 

 power ammunition. Perhaps so, but it is 

 evident that with the modern gun one is 

 more certain of his game and will probab- 

 ly save it hours of suffering and save his 

 legs as well, by speedily despatching his 

 game. In olden times the hunter took de- 

 light in the work of his well trained blood- 

 hound on the trail of the deer he had pur- 

 posely wounded the night before, but such 

 work at the expense of the poor suffering 

 brute is unworthy of the 20th century. 

 If we must take life, let us_ do so in the 

 safest and quickest way, without causing 

 any unnecessary suffering. 



It appears reasonable to me to use only 

 standard ammunition in a high power rifle 

 and by having different styles of soft 

 points, adapt the rifle to different kinds of 

 work. One will thus be enabled to regu- 

 late the penetration and killing power or 

 smashing effect, while the accuracy re- 

 mains uninfluenced and the sights need 

 not be changed. 



F. J. G., New Brookland, S. C. 



SPARROW GUNS. 



I noticed an article in Recreation de- 

 scribing a miniature sparrow gun, made 

 from a 22 Winchester rifle, smooth bored 

 and chambered for 22 center fire shells. 

 The writer of the article lauds the weapon 

 highly. I tried industriously to rid our 

 premises of sparrows, not long ago, and 

 they seemed to thrive on the 22 caliber shot 

 gun treatment. It was not until I invoked 

 the aid of a 22 rifle and the new Winchester 

 greaseless 22 short that the birds left the 



yard for good. My little shot gun was a 22 

 smooth bored Flobert, chambered for the 

 22 long shot cartridge. The shot charge 

 in this shell varies from 75 to over 100 No. 

 12 shot. Its penetration is good, and the 

 noise is slight,. I found, after much shoot- 

 ing and many unexplainable misses, that at 

 25 to 30 feet it would scatter over an area 

 of about 6 inches, making a pattern that 

 would kill a sparrow very dead. But, un- 

 less the gun was kept clean by swabbing 

 after each shot, it would ball the shot so 

 badly that the bird would be either cleanly 

 missed or cut into ribbons. I made several 

 targets at 20 feet to 20 yards where the 

 shot all entered the paper in a solid mass, 

 making one hole and penetrating an inch 

 of soft pine. I shot 2 sparrows on the wing, 

 and missed so many others that it disgusted 

 me, and I fell back on solid bullets and a 

 repeater. The new 22, greaseless bullet, 

 smokeless powder cartridge is a dandy. It 

 has a much harder bullet than the ordinary 

 22 black. It carries up to all short ranges, 

 shoots remarkably true, is cleaner than 

 anything ever before invented in this am- 

 munition, and is cheap. 



Another new thing on the local market 

 is the Robin Hood smokeless powder for 

 shot guns. This is a good, strong, clean 

 and quick product, and the manufacturers 

 have resolutely kept out of the combine 

 into which Peters and other companies 

 have gone. Robin Hood took my fancy 

 from the start and I have used many hun- 

 dred loads of it with excellent results. It 

 is a moist burning powder, giving great 

 velocity and little recoil. It is loaded by 

 bulk measure, and as much as 3^ and ^34 

 drams may be fired in a 12 bore without 

 discomfort. The Robin Hood people are 

 putting on the market their factory loaded 

 shells and these can now be obtained in 

 Topeka and in Kansas City, Mo,. If any 

 of the Western readers of this magazine 

 have used Robin Hood I wish they would 

 let me know how they like it, and we can 

 compare results. 



Chas. H Morton, Topeka, Kan. 



A BIT OF RIFLE TALK. 



As some of your readers know, I am one 

 of those rabid rifle cranks who never rest 

 content until they have tried every new 

 weapon and rifle or cartridge that is put 

 forward. 



Yesterday I finished a few experiments 

 with the new 35 caliber Winchester. As a 

 result, I'm sore, not about the gun, but 

 about the shoulder. 



The 35, to my notion, is a happy medium 

 between the much discussed 30s and the 

 many large calibers. The advocates of 

 each will find their favorite points embod- 

 ied in this new cartridge. While the 30-40 

 has long been my favorite, I have often 



