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GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 
Anybody can shoot all day, but a gentleman always quits when he gets enough. 
HOT SHOT FOR THE AUTOMATIC. 
I appeal to the sportsmen of America in 
the name of sportsmanship, in the name of 
common decency, to take a stand against 
that infamous bird exterminator, the auto- 
matic shot gun. This gun is being sold 
_ at a price that places it within the reach 
of every market hunter and farmer’s boy 
in the United States. Its introduction sim- 
ply means the extermination of our quails 
and ducks in a few years. How many 
quails would there be to-day if the quail 
net and the quail trap had not been legis- 
lated out of existence? Do you not know, 
can you not see, that this deadly automatic 
gun, in the hands of market hunters and 
farmers’ boys all over the United States, 
will prove even more of an exterminator 
than the quail net? You will admit the 
quails are scarce enough now. Do you 
think this deadly gun, firing 6 shots before 
the covey can get out of range, will make 
the birds more plentiful? Market hunters 
and game hogs may tell you they will kill 
no more birds with an automatic gun than 
with a double barrel. One market hunter 
said he used a pump and always picked out 
a bird on the outskirts of the covey, and, 
if he missed, kept on firing at that same 
bird. Another said that the majority of 
market hunters use double barrel guns in 
preference to pumps because they do not 
want to kill too many birds. 
Any man who has brains enough to com- 
mit the alphabet to memory knows such 
talk is rot. All market hunters and game 
hogs are built on the same lines. With 
this automatic gun such a man will fire 2 
shots on the ground. He will take aim, 
pull the trigger twice instantly, and 4 more 
times before the covey is out of range. 
Five birds on the ground with the first 2 
shots and 3 out of the covey with the next 
4, total 8 out of a covey of 15, before the 
birds can get out of range! 
Suppose he only gets 3 on the ground 
and 2 on the rise; what do you think he 
will do to the others when they begin 
flushing under his feet, one or 2 at a time? 
What do you think will be left for you the 
next day when you look for this covey and 
other coveys which have had the misfor- 
tune to come within his range? 
Sportsmen all over the country are cry- 
ing for better game protection. “Shorten 
the open season”; “Prohibit the removal of 
game from the State”; “Make a limit of 
20 birds to the gun for a day’s shoot”; 
“Prohibit the sale of game altogether”; 
“Feed the birds during the winter”; 
“Tax the gun”; “Tax the shooter.” These 
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are topics constantly being discussed. In 
the face of all this are you going to stand 
idly by and see a gun introduced that will 
exterminate the quails and ducks so fast 
you will not need any game laws? This is 
not cheerful reading for the lovers of quail 
shooting, but they can console themselves 
with the market hunters’ statement that 
when the birds are gone there will always 
be plenty of clay birds. Consoling, isn’t it? 
Here is one way of heading off the auto- 
matic gun. Let 2 or 3 prominent sports- 
men in every town request their friends and 
associates to sign a notice like the one 
printed below, then present it to the more 
prominent dealers. If any sportsman should 
refuse to sign, make it clear to him that 
his presence is not desired at future trap 
events. 
NOTICE. 
To Dealers in Sportsmen’s Supplies: 
We, the undersigned, respectfully inform 
you that if the automatic shot gun is of- 
fered for sale in your establishment we 
shall feel obliged to withdraw our patron- 
age. 
I trust there are in every town a few 
high minded sportsmen who will take up 
this matter and serve these notices on their 
gun dealers. If any dealer should decline 
to accede to this appeal for the protection 
and preservation of our game, then never 
buy another dollar’s worth of him till he 
sends those automatic guns back to the fac- 
tory. I further suggest that in case the 
Winchester Arms Company puts out such 
a gun, every true sportsman should decline 
to use any shells, ammunition or firearms 
made by this company. Any company that 
has no more regard for the preservation of 
our birds, or for the future pleasure of 
sportsmen than to introduce such a bird 
exterminator does not deserve the patron- 
age of any sportsman. Such people are on 
a par with those who wanted to manufac- 
ture quail nets, and should receive the same 
treatment. 
A few days ago I took one of these auto- 
matic guns out and shot it, just to see if it 
is as deadly as ReEcrEATION has pro- 
nounced it. I was simply amazed at the 
execution, the awful destruction that could 
be wrought with this machine. The quail 
net or the quail trap is a gentleman’s im- 
plement compared with it. 
W. J., Philadelphia, Pa. 
I read your article on automatic guns 
with deep interest and feel that every man, 
woman and child in the country should raise 
their voices in protest against the manu- 
