
GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 
During my walk I saw several redhead and 
speckled woodpeckers lying in different 
stages of decay, slain by those whose all 
absorbing ambition is to kill. What a silent 
void is the wood where the forest carpenter 
no longer beats his energetic tattoo on some 
dry tree! 
At the rate this extermination is pro- 
ceeding, soon there will be no gray squirrels 
and few birds near the towns. What will 
he who carries a gun do then, and what 
will gun manufacturers do? Will guns con- 
tinue to be turned out at the same, or an 
increased rate, and the rising generation 
continue to purchase while trees and stumps 
hold out fot targets or is the time approach- 
ing when guns will go a-begging? 
J. A. Newton, Grand Rapids, Mich. 

THEY DO NOT FORGET PETERS. 
Asbury Park, N. J. 
The Peters Cartridge Co., 
Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Dear Sirs: Your letter in RECREATION 
is beyond comprehension, and has caused 
considerable comment among our sports- 
men. 
I can substantiate C. W. Radcliffe’s state- 
ment that Peters shot gun shells will jam 
in the Winchester pump gun. A friend and 
I were shooting, he using your shells and 
the Winchester gun. He could not get 
them to work and we finally exchanged 
shells. He took mine, after which he had 
no trouble; I, having a Packard, could use 
your cartridges. 
Since then, J. D. Newlin & Co., of this 
place, have never carried your shells in 
stock. 
I do not condemn your ammunition, but 
simply say that your cartridges will jam in 
the Winchester shot gun. 
What Mr. Shields has done for sports- 
men is, beyond words to express, and it is 
the bounden duty of every true sportsman 
to stand by him in such matters. It is the 
least return we can give him. 
_ Unless we again see. your advertisement 
in RECREATION we shall pass resolutions in 
the 4 large gun and rifle clubs in this vi- 
cinity, with a membership of over 500, not! 
to use any of your ammunition. 
We, to a man, believe you have treated 
Mr. Shields unfairly and trust you will see 
your mistake. 
E. B. Reed, M. D. 

HOW TO CLEAN RIFLES. 
After using nearly all the leading makes 
and calibers of rifles, I was foolish enough 
to try a second Marlin. I have at last 
settled on a 25-35 Savage. For such game 
as deer, turkeys, geese, etc., it is perfection. 
By reloading shells with 86 grain bullets 
375 
and a few grains of powder, it is as good 
as I want for small game. As a target rifle 
it is equaled by few, if any, and excelled 
by none. Have made a better score with it 
at 200 yards than I was ever able to make 
with the 32-40 or 38-55. This was a great 
surprise to me. - 
Have tried all kinds of devices for clean- 
ing small bore, smckeless powder rifles and 
have found nothing which suits me so well 
as a brass rod with head and absorbent 
cotton. Pinch off a small piece of cotton, 
wet it and force through bore. Repeat this 
till cotton comes through unsoiled. Finish 
with a few dry pieces, then draw through 
a well oiled wick plug. You can then rest 
assured that your rifle will not rust. 
Sportsmen who are always complaining 
about the fine red rust produced in their 
rifle barrels by smokeless powder, simply 
fail to remove the residue of powder be- 
fore oiling rifle. They think they get it 
all out, but do not. To all who are thus 
- troubled I would say, work on your rifle 
with rags till they come through clean. 
Then get some absorbent cotton and you 
will be surprised to see what you can get 
out after you think your rifle is clean. 
E. F. Pope, Colmesneil, Tex. 

DISAPPROVES WINCHESTER’S COURSE. 
I have been a reader of RECREATION near- 
ly 2 years. I see statements of people who 
say they could not get along without it. I 
am like the man who, after eating his first 
olive, was asked if he could eat them. He 
said he could, but he did not see why he 
should. I could get along without ReEcre- 
ATION, but I do not see why I should. 
I see that many sportsmen condemn the 
pump gun and request the Winchester peo- 
ple not to put an automatic shot gun on the 
market. I have never seen an automatic 
shot gun, but from what I have seen of the 
pump gun, I find only one redeeming fea- 
ture in it, namely, the frequent accidental 
discharge, which will tend to make a few 
less bird dogs and game hogs. I use a 16: 
gauge Lefever, and it is either a clean miss 
or a clean kill every time. I would rather 
miss a bird than have to shoot it again or 
have it get away wounded. I would rather 
make 2 or 3 good hard shots and score 
clean kills in a day than to pot all the 
game I could carry. I have used Winches- 
ter shells and wads and have always found 
them good; but if the Winchester people 
put that awful game destroyer and game 
hogs’ weapon called an automatic shot gun 
on the market, other ammunition will be 
good enough for me. I hope that at the 
next session of the legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania a law will be passed prohibiting the 
use of any repeating shot gun other than 
‘a double barrel. 
R. B. Edmiston, Milan, Pa. 
