135 



RECREATION. 



the past year, and I have never hack -it jam, 

 stick or go wrong in any way. I have 

 seen men who knew no better than to place 

 the cartridges in the magazine wrong end 

 first. Naturally in such a case the 

 action would balk. Have had the pleasure 

 of using both Winchester and, alas ! Mar- 

 lins, but would not exchange my Savage 

 for either of them. I surmise that if there 

 was any trouble with that Savage the man 

 behind the gun was responsible. 



I reload my own cartridges and use 

 them over and over. My perfect target 

 and small game load is 15 grains Sav- 

 age No. 1, smokeless powder, and a 32-20 

 Winchester 115 grain soft point bullet. The 

 32.20 bullet is exactly the same diameter as 

 the .303 namely, .311. I use the Winches- 

 ter reloading tool and prefer it to the 

 Ideal, as the cartridge is crimped and re- 

 sized its full length all in the operation of 

 reloading. 



Would like to hear from someone who 

 has used the Magniscope rifle sight for 

 hunting purposes. 



Ralph K. Mussey, Warren, N. H. 



There is no better nor neater gun made 

 than the Ithaca. For shooting qualities no 

 gun can beat it. I have used a No. 4 

 grade which made a pattern of over 400; 

 and one can have an Ithaca made to order 

 without extra cost. 



The Winchester 25-35 is as nearly an all 

 around gun for this country as one will 

 find. I used small loads of black powder 

 and hard bullets for small game and find 

 it just the thing for rabbits, grouse, etc. 

 With 'a full load of smokeless powder and 

 soft point bullets it would be all right for 

 deer. 



I have also used the 22 Marlin. When 

 the magazine is full, there is trouble, but 

 when I had in only 15 cartridges it would 

 work as smoothly as any gun. For all 

 that I would not get another till they fix 

 the action, for, -when one is out after big 

 game, he does not want it all to escape. 



Will- some reader tell me his experience 

 with the 33730 Winchester with full load 

 black powder and wire patched bullets? 

 Also small loads with same bullet; also 

 King's semi-smokeless, same loads? 



M. E. Daniels, Orrock, Minn. 



Some of the men who rush into print 

 and tell of the merits and demerits of cer- 

 tain rifles should give us satisfactory proof 

 of their ability to hit a tomato can 5 times 

 in succession at 60 feet. If some of these 

 writers were to go into the back yard and 

 try their skill at an inch target 50 feet 

 away they would soon discover how easy 

 it is to get on the outside of it. Then they 



might learn where the blame belongs when 

 they shoot 200 or 300 yards and miss. 



They write of the killing power of dif- 

 ferent rifles and it is enough to send a 

 novice wrong on many good rifles to read 

 such stuff. Every beginner should prac- 

 tice with a good rifle at not over 75 feet, 

 using a small target; and when he gets so 

 he can put a ball into it once in a while 

 and put all the rest within one inch of it 

 he is fit to go after big game. 



Use a 32-40 or a 38-55 and if you can do 

 good work at 50 to 75 feet on an inch tar- 

 get you may bring home some game. If 

 you use a black powder gun you will never 

 be sorry, for it will not disappoint you. 

 H. A. Plante, St. Johnsville, N. Y. 



H. P. Brown, of Auburn, N. Y., asks for 

 information concerning a target rifle to 

 cost him about $25. He does not state 

 whether it is wanted for 25 yard gallery 

 shooting, or 200 yard range work ; or if 

 the latter whether for off hand or rest 

 shooting. I assume it is wanted for 200 

 yards off hand shooting. In my 10 years' 

 experience in range shooting I find that 

 the majority of shooters use the 32-40 

 cartridge, reloading the shells to suit their 

 tastes. The Winchester single shot rifle 

 for this cartridge is a good arm and wilL 

 make 10 shot groups in a 4 inch circle at 

 200 yards from a rest, with surprising 

 regularity. Get a Swiss butt plate, mid 

 ringed Vernier rear and wind gauge front 

 sights, and procure a barrel to suit your 

 strength. The No. 3 weighs about 9^ 

 pounds and the No. 4 about 11 pounds in 

 the 30 inch length; cost about' $18, plain 

 stock. Have that target shooter's abom- 

 ination, the Rocky mountain, or buckhorn 

 rear sight, left off and no slot cut for it. 

 V. R. Olmstead, New York City. 



It is amusing to read the experience of 

 H. R. Van Sommel in February Recrea- 

 tion. He has a 30-40 Winchester, tries it 

 on boiler plates, steel rails and dead horses 

 and finds it deadly on all. It is a pity he 

 did not get his 30-40 6 or 7 years ago so he 

 could inform the world of shooters of its 

 terrible killing power. He says, "Come, 

 brethren, be honest. Which is the most kill- 

 ing gun, a 30-40 that whips a bullet through 

 a 6 foot oak or a 45 that perforates one 

 foot in soft pine?" Yet the makers of his 

 rifle give its penetration as 50 inches of 

 soft pine. 



Come, Brother Van Sommel, be honest. 

 Just tell the readers of Recreation that 

 you used a yard stick instead of a foot 

 rule when measuring that 6 foot oak ; in 

 future do not laugh at the .45 caliber since 

 the new 45-90 high velocity bullet travels 

 faster than the 30-40 bullet. When it 

 comes to striking power, your 30-40 is not 



