302 
having 40 grains powder as against 20 
grains in the former. Excellent targets 
have been made with the 32-20 cartridge at 
100 yards. This depends, of course, on the 
ability of the man behind the gun. The 
cartridges used in our automatic pistols 
are loaded with smokeless powder, and ex- 
ceed both in penetration and range, the 
black powder cartridges named above. 
In my judgment there is no shot gun that 
is suitable for all around shooting. For 
snipe, quails and shore birds a 16 or 20 
gauge gun with 26 inch barrels is right. 
For prairie chickens, ducks and geese I 
should use a 12 gauge with 30 inch barrels, 
weighing 8% to 9 pounds.—EDITor. 

SMALL SHOT. 
I should like to have some accurate data 
about rifles from any of your readers. I 
carried a .303 Savage in Canada last year 
but did not shoot any big game. My com- 
panion carried a 33 Winchester with which 
a caribou was killed with 2 shots. Both 
bullets went clean through and did not 
mushroom. These bullets are not so blunt 
as the ordinary small bore bullets, and I see 
that the weight is reduced to about 183 
grains. 
The last cartridges which I got for my 
Savage were from the Savage Arms com- 
pany and were said to be loaded with a 190 
grain bullet. If this load is right and the 
charge of powder is heavy enough, it should 
be better than the 33. This last gun and 
the 35 Winchester have their reputation to 
prove. 
as against all other American rifles. I do 
not understand why it is generally classed 
with the 30-30. It must be a far better kill- 
ing gun since the bullet weighs .30 per cent. 
more. It is, however, strange that the pene- 
tration should be so nearly the same as 
given in your table in November REcrEA- 
TIon. Since you speak of a 180 grain bullet 
I presume you mean Winchester company 
loaded shells, which are not the same as the 
Savage. 
W. M. E., Baltimore, Md. 

Can you tell me how to reload 25-30 rifle 
shells without a full charge of powder? 
At present I am using about 8 grains of 
semi-smokeless, wadded with sawdust to 
_ keep the bullet from falling into the shell. 
Am using an Ideal No. 4 reloading tool. 
Louis Lyens, Coldbrook, Ill. 
ANSWER, 
Good results are not often obtained by 
filling vacant space in the shell with saw- 
dust. This increases the recoil and some- 
times causes fouling difficult to remove. 
I suggest using some of the new high 
power rifle shells made by the Win- 
chester Repeating Arms Co. These have a 
I am a believer in the Savage .303. 
RECREATION. 
crease at the base of the bullet, which pre- 
vents the bullet from being pushed into 
the shell. If black powder is used in these 
shells a wad could be placed over the pow- 
der to keep it in the base of the shell in 
contact with the primer.—Epiror. 

I have taken RECREATION 3 years and am 
much pleased with the way it handles ques- 
tions asked by its readers. They are an- 
swered better than in any other sportsmen’s 
periodical that I see, and I take 5. Will 
you or your readers kindly answer the fol- 
lowing. Of the Parker, Ithaca, Remington, 
Baker and Lefever guns, which is the best? 
Will shot spreaders make a full choked gun 
equal a cylinder bore for close range wing 
shooting? Would the use of shot spreaders 
wear away the choke? Would you choose 
a 12 or a 16 bore for shooting rabbits and 
grouse? Which is best at the trap? Would 
a I2 or a 15 inch beagle be most service- 
able to a man hunting rabbits on foot? 
Small Game, W. Lebanon, N. H. 
Will some of my readers please answer? 
—EbIrTor. 

The gauge, or bore, of shot gun barrels 
was originally designated by che number 
of solid spherical lead balls to a pound, one 
of which would exactly fit the bore. Thus 
the 12 gauge runs 12 balls to the pound, the 
16 gauge 16 to the pound, and so on. Hence 
the numbers of the different bores run in- 
versely to their diameters, The ball fitting 
the I2 gauge is .729 inches in diameter, and 
that fitting the 16 gauge .662 inches. While 
this system of measurement seems crude and 
awkward as compared to the caliber meas- 
urement of rifle bores, like other archaic 
systems of weights and measures, long es- 
tablished custom continues its use.—Baker 
Gun Quarterly. 

I have hunted all through Wisconsin, 
Minnesota, Michigan and Canada and have 
used all kinds of rifles on deer, bear and 
moose. At present I am using a .303 Sav- 
age. I see some complaints about the stock 
of this gun being too short; I am over 6 
feet tall and a 13 inch stock fits me to. per- 
fection. A .303 will stop anything that a 
45-90 will and make just as big a hole. 
Why use such a heavy caliber as 35 when a 
.303 will do the work? My favorite shot 
gun is an Ithaca hammerless. 
G. E. Van Alstine, Rockford, III. 

I wish some of your good wing shots 
would give me a few pointers on holding on 
chickens and grouse in their different lines 
of flight. Where can I get a good book on 
dog training? 
J. E. Bates, Spokane, Wash. 
