GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 
Anybody can shoot all day, but a gentleman always quits when he gets enough. 
THEY WRITE WINCHESTER, 
Chicago, IIl. 
The Winchester Repeating Arms Co., 
Dear Sirs—I have before me a copy of 
November Recreation, which I regard ,as 
a real sportsmen’s magazine and good auth- 
ority regarding our outdoor life. In it I 
see an article about automatic shot guns 
which interests me much.* I am a true 
lover of nature, American wild animals and 
game birds, and I enjoy seeking the wild 
creatures in their native haunts. I regret 
to learn that you contemplate making a 
shot gun which will discharge 6 shells in 2 
seconds. You will agree with me that there 
are already too many game hogs at large 
slaughtering birds and game with the shot 
guns of the present day, and should an 
automatic gun be put on the market, it 
would mean that the birds and game will 
soon disappear as the buffalo has gone. 
For instance, a game hog encounters a 
covey of quail; if he gets a pot shot that 
means a decrease of about half their num- 
ber. When they rise he has 5 shells left, 
and will clean out the whole covey, as most 
of these fellows are good shots and go 
for the game, not the sport. With a double 
barrel gun the birds have a show. 
This is a suggestion to protect our game. 
I shall do all in my power to discourage the 
use of an automatic shot gun among my 
many field friends. That such a gun is not 
intended for real sportsmen is recognized 
by all. 
Mr. Shields has the right idea regarding 
automatic shot guns, and may success fol- 
low him in his endeavor to protect our 
American game. 
An automatic gun may be more modern 
in construction than others and perhaps 
equally as powerful, but just place a fire 
arm of this nature in the hands of a game 
hog and all the game laws in the Union 
will be of little use. I sincerely hope that 
this gun will not be manufactured, but that 
you will see this important fact before it is 
too late, as I think there must be a few 
sportsmen in your company. 
Truly yours, 
A. S. Miller. 
Hampton, Va. 
The Winchester Repeating Arms Co., 
Dear Sirs—I call your attention to an 
editorial in RecrEATION for November re- 
garding the manufacture of automatic 
- shot guns. I wish to go on record as en- 
dorsing everything contained in that ar- 
ticle, and sincerely trust that you are not 
137 
contemplating the manufacture of any such 
gun, which you would never sell to decent 
sportsmen. Only the lowest class of pot 
hunters would use such a weapon, and as a 
rapid exterminator of game it would sur- 
pass anything ever known. This, it appears 
to me, would in the long run injure your 
business greatly, for if there is no game 
what chance have you of disposing of shot 
guns? A man has no use for a mousetrap 
after the mice are all caught. I have al- 
ways entertained the highest regard both 
for your firm and the goods you manufac- 
ture, and each year use numbers of your 
shells; but should you make the mistake of 
putting such a weapon as an automatic 
shot gun on the market I should not only 
condemn it in the strongest terms, but 
should never again use anything made by 
you. I believe you would be made the 
subject of the most scathing condemna- 
tion by the L. A. S. and by all who deserve 
the name of sportsmen. You surely wish 
to cater to the majority, and the feeling in 
regard to game protection is growing rap- 
idly. If you have had any serious intention 
of manufacturing this arm you will do well 
to abandon it. 
Yours truly, 
Chas. H. Bentley, L. A. S., 3610. 
New Market, N. J. 
Winchester Repeating Arms Co., 
Dear Sirs—I have noticed recently 
that you are about to place on the mar- 
ket a new Winchester gun, an automatic 
weapon, calculated to be more destructive 
than anything now in general use, and I 
write you to protest against this gun. My 
individual protest may not carry any weight 
with you, but you should and probably do 
know that the sentiments expressed in this 
letter are the sentiments of every real 
sportsman in the country. 
It is a notable fact that the game of this 
country is fast being killed off, and any in- 
vention that tends to destroy game more 
rapidly is nothing short of a public calami- 
ty. The guns of the Winchester Arms 
Company are sold almost exclusively to 
hunters, and you should be able to see that 
if this new gun of yours’gets in the hands 
of pot hunters it will only be a few years 
until there will be no sale for your guns 
of any description. 
As I have owned and sworn by Win- 
chester rifles and ammunition for the past 
Io years, I feel fully justified in making 
this protest, and sincerely hope you will 
not cause your admirers and customers to 
