138 



RECREATION. 



tice, I went to our old gunsmith^ and 

 bought a quantity in bulk, not obtaining di- 

 rections for loading it. Leaving my meas- 

 ure set as for black powder, I loaded a lot 

 of brass shells and wadded them heavily 

 with 12 guage wads. The result was won- 

 derful execution on rabbits, but the gun 

 gave a sort of metallic ring and a sharp 

 recoil when fired. It also burst about one 

 quarter of the shells. On firing one at a 

 fence board, to test penetration, the shell 

 burst near the head. The other part of the 

 shell, with shot and wads intact, was forced 

 through the barrel and made a hole through 

 the board as though by a bullet, with seem- 

 ingly no injury to the barrel. Always fol- 

 low directions in loading smokeless pow- 

 der. J. D. Snyder, Lowell, O.- 



John Nordstrom complains in Recrea- 

 tion of the deterioration of nitro powders, 

 and asks if others have noted it. Another 

 correspondent says that Remington guns 

 do not shoot close enough to please him. 

 For the benefit of both I describe a test I 

 made recently. 



Powder, Robin Hood, loaded by Ken- 

 nedy, of St. Louis, in 1897. Shells, Nitro. 

 Loads, 3 drams powder, 1% ounces No. 3 

 soft shot. Target, 8x5^ inches. Dis- 

 tance, 40 measured yards. Gun, Reming- 

 ton ejector, 12 gauge, 7% pounds, 30 inch 

 ful choked barrels. Average number of 

 pellets in target, 19. Perforation, 9-16 

 inch in Florida pine. No. 3 shot was used 

 because it happened to be in the old shells. 



Two year old DuPont gave good pene- 

 tration, as, also, did one year old Ballistite. 

 L. Shannon, Bonifay, Fla. 



I noticed in Recreation that J. F. Rob- 

 erts would like to hear from someone who 

 -has hunted woodchucks. I have ; with a 

 .22 caliber Colt, using the short cartridge 

 with black powder. I never lost a wood- 

 chuck in the short time I hunted, as the 

 distance was not great, and I hit them all 

 in the head. 



My brother hunted woodchucks with a 

 rifle, using 38 long Colt's, In 3 years of 

 hunting he only lost one woodchuck. The 

 year before, he used 22 shorts on a .22 cal- 

 iber rifle, and did not secure any game, un- 

 less it was hit in the head. 



F. S. Mathias, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



If I called the 25-35 any bad names, I 

 will not take any back. Mr. Powell may 

 keep his gun, as I have a 30-30 Winchester, 

 which is a 10 times better gun. Any man 

 who has hunted deer will agree with me. 

 In 1901 I experimented with the 25-35 an d 

 my partner and I brought home 5. deer 

 between us. Aside from that, I lost a 

 buck, shot through the upper part of the 

 shoulders, and a large doe, shot through 



the flank. There being no snow, I could 

 not follow or track them. 



A. Huff, Minneapolis, Minn. 



In answer to G. N. McKay's inquiry in 

 January Recreation as to Marble's front 

 gun sights, wOuld say, that I used one 

 while on a hunting trip in St. Louis coun- 

 ty, Minnesota, last fall, also one of their 

 No. 1 hunting knives, a No. 5 axe and one 

 of their compasses ; all of which I recom- 

 mend as being all that is claimed for them 

 by the manufacturers. These goods are first 

 class in workmanship and material, and 

 entirely satisfactory in use. 



Henry L. Seire, Morton, 111. 



I read in Recreation that W. A. Barr 

 doubts the penetration of the 303 Savage 

 rifle. The rifle will do just what the mak- 

 ers claim. I tested mine on hemlock logs 

 shot in the end. It gives it penetration of 

 28 to 38J/2 inches ; and crosswise of the 

 grain 39 to 45 inches. My next test was 

 made in clear white pine boards, cross- 

 wise of the grain, and the penetration was 

 48^2 to 53 inches. 



H. C. Watson, York, Pa. 



Replying to H. C. Clark's inquiry about 

 shooting balls in a cylinder bored shot gun : 

 If the barrels are reasonably heavy and 

 'strictly parallel in bore, such a gun will 

 do satisfactory work. The ball should be 

 a little smaller than the bore, so it will 

 take a patch. It should be seated on a 

 y 2 -'mch. felt wad over powder. I have done 

 great execution on deer with such loads. 

 W. A. Linkletter, Hoquiam,' Wash. 



I wish some reader who has used the 

 Magniscope rifle sight would write of his 

 experience with it. It does not elevate, 

 therefore I do not see that it would be of 

 any use except at close range. 



•30-30, Westmount, Can. 



What is the best caliber for game up to 

 coyotes? Buck Shot, Milnor, N. Dak. 



Recreation is sent me by an unknown 

 friend, and I extend him my sincere thanks 

 through the magazine. I am a traveling 

 salesman. Recreation is very popular 

 among the traveling men, and they all de- 

 light in your frying pan. 



A. W. G., Elyria, Ohio. 



Recreation leads all sportsmen's journals. 

 I like to see the fish and game hogs get 

 roasted in Recreation, but the word "hog" 

 is not mean enough for those long bristled 

 fellows. They need it where the chicken 

 got the ax. 



A, W. Stone, Morrisville, Vt, 



