290 
The Ithaca cannot be shot loose with nitro 
or any other powder, is as even, close and hard 
a shooter as I have ever seen tested, is remark- 
ably strong and simple in construction and, in 
the higher grades, is superbly finished. 
I have owned two Smiths, and the Smith is a 
reliable gun, and the Parker is a good shooter 
and very beautiful, and the Lefever, and the 
Baker and the Remington are good, but I 
should suggest the Ithaca to ‘‘Black Duck,” 
because it combines so many good features, 
and in price it is by far the best value of all. 
I think a sportsman makes a mistake when 
he exercises too much economy in the purchase 
of a gun, because, although the lower grades 
in the heavy or medium weights are strong and 
shoot well, yet a degree of pride and confidence 
in one’s weapon, the sense of pleasure from the 
fine balance and outline, the easy-working 
mechanism and all the perfections of real art in 
gun-making are conducive to a good score at 
the traps or to real sport in the field. 
I have been reading the pistol talk and want 
to say a word for the 1905 Model Smith & 
Wesson in the .38 Special. What’s the matter 
with the stock of that gun? The Smith & 
Wesson is built like a Geneva watch. A ten-year- 
old Smith & Wesson is usually tighter every- 
where than, and will outshoot, a new Colt! 
W. M. Byram, M. D. 
Richmond, Mo. 

Outdoor Cooking Pointer 
The choicest morsel incident to the dietary of 
the camper is evidently something which Mr. 
Bramble has had the great misfortune to miss 
in his apparently extensive and varied camping 
career. Had he any experience in the proper 
manner of preparing game and fish in camping 
he would have recommended that game of all 
kinds, whether feather bearing or fur bearing, 
or of the finny tribe, should just have the en- 
trails removed and well washed inside, then 
with a little salting, the whole carcass just 
wrapped up in wet paper and buried in hot 
ashes for from thirty minutes to one and a half 
hours, according to the size of the roast, and 
the heat of the ashes, and he would then find 
the best dish he ever tasted while camping. The 
skin with the feathers, fur or scales, will just 
drop off when removed from the paper, and all 
the sweet juices of the body will be retained, 
and if any dish ever was “‘fit for a king,” the 
one here described is. In the absence of the hot 
ashes just bury it under the fire for the proper 
time, and that will soon be evident to the 
RECREATION 
observing camper. Let Mr. Bramble try the 
plan and his next article will highly recommend 
it. No better dish was ever served, or ever can 
be, at the most expensive caterer’s. 
J. S. Kitaer. 
South Bend, Ind. 

Wants Partridge Sights 
Will the writer who told about the Partridge 
sights in the July number please advise me if 
these sights can be adapted to the .32 Colt’s 
automatic, and very much oblige? 
C. P. WINTHER. . 
Hamilton, Mont. 

Desires Company 
I would like to join one or two sportsmen 
who are going up New York State this fall for 
deer or bear, also small game. 
““BLUE GROUSE.” 
New York, N, Y. 
A Good Tomahawk 
I see a great deal of discussion concerning 
guns and ammunition by readers of RECREA- 
TION, but I never see anything about an imple- 
ment that is equally as important as the rifle— 
the hunter’s axe. If you do not depend upon 
a guide to lead you about in the woods, make 
your bed for you and cook your meals, you will 
know this is true. 6 
For a belt axe that is there with the good 
when it is wanted, I can find nothing that 
equals a Colclesser tomahawk. I prefer one 
weighing 12 ounces, and with a hatchet handle. 
I don’t want a crooked handle in any belt axe 
I carry. An axe and a tomahawk are two dif- 
ferent instruments, and there is no use putting 
a miniature axe handle in a tomahawk just 
because it looks cute. 
I filed the handle of my little Colclesser down 
and wound it with cord, like the handle of a 
fishing rod, and this makes it easy to hold 
securely when chopping. 
The Colclesser Brothers put real steel into 
their axes, and although I have had: other 
makes, I must say I have found nothing but 
their axes that gave good service. I have one 
of their grown-up axes for heavy chopping, and 
I never saw a better one—and I was raised in a 
ship timber country, and served my apprentice- 
ship down to making my own axe handles. 
W. BROWNRIDGE. 
South Orange, N. J. 

