GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



297 



A. B. Turf, Pittsburg, Pa. To both I say, 

 shoot Robin Hood smokeless powder. In 

 my travels over this district as a special 

 game warden I have met disgruntled 

 sportsmen everywhere, who were shooting 

 various brands of powder at geese and 

 ducks. Some of these men claimed they 

 could not get a smokeless that would kill. 

 I filled my shooting coat pockets with 

 shells, loaded with the 3 leading brands of 

 nitro powders, and went out to show the 

 boys how to do it, but out of 16 easy shots 

 I got only 4 geese, the closest falling near- 

 ly y 2 mile away; so I joined the black 

 powder brigade. 



Shortly after this I saw the Robin Hood 

 advertisement in Recreation and wrote the 

 company to send me a case of shells that 

 would kill geese, if there were such. When 

 the shells came we were so dubious about 

 them that we shot them all away at targets, 

 and could scarcely believe the evidence of 

 our eyes. We bought special hand-loaded 

 shells, loaded with various nitro powders, 

 and tested them with the Robin Hood, to 

 be sure we were right before pinning our 

 faith to the latter. When I say the Robin 

 Hood is the best powder we ever shot, it 

 does not convey one-half our appreciation 

 of it. To be more definite, 3 l 4 drams of 

 load : 10 to 12 grains, by weight, Du Pont 

 Robin Hood will put every shot through an 

 inch soft pine board at 40 measured yards. 

 The same load will put as many shot in a 

 24-inch circle at the same distance as a 

 corresponding load of any other powder, 

 black or nitro, will in a 30-inch circle. 

 Robin Hood is not a nitro, but is cheaper 

 than any and cleaner than the best. I 

 write this because we have found the mak- 

 ers of that powder straight men. Theirs 

 are the only smokeless shells handled as 

 stock shells by the hardware dealers of our 

 city, for they can not sell anything else. 

 By "we" I mean 46 sportsmen of this city 

 and vicinity who have made a special test 

 of these shells for penetration and pattern. 



Long life and the best of everything to 

 Recreation and its fearless editor, who has 

 re-created many good men out of poor 

 game hogs. 



W. W. Tesch, Lexington, Neb. 



In answer to A. W. Crampton, St. Al- 

 bans, Vt., re Robin Hood smokeless pow- 

 . der shells, I have used the shells in ques- 

 tion ever since they were put on the mar- 

 ket, and always found them quick and re- 

 liable. As to pattern and penetration, they 

 have no rival. 



W. L. Cameron, Ottawa, Can. 



using paper patched Savage cartridges. 

 Last year I used several hundred paper 

 patched cartridges in my .303 Savage, and 

 found them, for small game and medium 

 range target practice, much superior to 

 other cartridges. At 100 or 200 yards the 

 paper patched bullet will give much closer 

 grouping than any other I have used. With 

 a little care every bullet can be put inside a 

 21 inch circle at the distances mentioned. 



The charge I have used most is a 155.- 

 grain bullet, and 15 grains powder, either 

 Savage No. 1, 1901 brand, or Du Pont .30 

 caliber smokeless. I can see no differ- 

 ence between them when using that or a 

 slightly heavier charge. Lately I have been 

 using a 162-grain bullet and 20 grains pow- 

 der. The latter cartridge gives a slightly 

 increased velocity and flatter trajectory, but 

 while just as accurate, is no improvement 

 over the lighter charge for hunting small 

 game or target work. 



The 155-grain bullet and 15 grains pow- 

 der is a more powerful load than most of 

 the 32 or 38 rim fire cartridges on the 

 market. 



The bullets are cast in an Ideal cylin- 

 drical adjustable mold. I also add a small 

 quantity of zinc, say one part in 50 or 75, 

 to the one to 10 mixture. That makes a 

 harder and smoother bullet and one less 

 liable to lead the barrel. Use thin patch 

 paper, put it on damp and allow it to dry 

 thoroughly before seating. If shells are 

 ■ not new they should be resized. Each 

 charge of powder is weighed. I have never 

 yet been able to get a measure that would 

 dip exactly the same quantity each time, 

 no matter how much care was used. Bul- 

 lets are sealed within Ideal No. 3 special 

 reloading tool, and not crimped. Each bul- 

 let is well lubricated by dipping twice in a 

 dish of melted lubricator after being sealed. 



The gun and ammunition department is 

 a constant source of pleasure to me, and I 

 get many valuable hints from it ; but I 

 feel that all things should be thoroughly 

 tried and known to be good or bad before 

 being reported in it. 



F. H. B, M.p., West Pawlet, Vt. 



PAPER PATCHED BULLETS. 

 In February Recreation, G. L. W., Pasa- 

 dena, . Cal., asks for experience of those 



CRITICIZES MODERN GUNS. 

 I have an old 38-90 Winchester single 

 shot rifle which has killed many antelopes 

 since I first came to Texas in 1883. I re- 

 load my shells ; in fact, I generally buy the 

 empty ones and load them to suit myself. 

 Sometimes I use 255-grain solid bullets and 

 again hollow express bullets. I load with 

 coarse powder, Du Pont Chokebore, 5 or 7, 

 as it gives better results. I use a buckhorn 

 rear and an ivory front sight. Both have 

 been filed down until I know just how the 

 rifle will shoot. With 5 cartridges in my 



