50 



RECREATION 



my pet. This is entirely unsolicited, but 

 I like to see honor fall where honor is 

 due. W. W. Prentice. 



I notice Mr. M. L. Parshall; Chesaning, 

 Mich., speaks of the fault of the Savage 

 rifle, because the bullets fly in pieces at 

 snort range. I am guessing he used U M. 

 C. ammunition, as that same fault was 

 found by both my companions in Colorado, 

 and neither one used a Savage ; while I 

 used a Savage and Winchester ammuni- 

 tion, and had but one bullet break, that 

 being the closest standing shot I had while 

 there. The bullet struck at the point of 

 shoulder, smashing the bone and tearing 

 the jacket so the lead left it. One small 

 piece of lead lodged on the skin near the 

 root of the tail, the balance of the bullet 

 passing on and out of the deer. I saved 

 the piece, as it was something of a curi- 

 osity, being lead that stayed in the same 

 from a Savage. One of my companions 

 said his 30-30 would scarcely ever shoot 

 through a deer within 100 yards if it struck 

 a bone on entering. I found the jacket, 

 minus about %, midway between en- 

 tering and exit of bullet. I know the Sav- 

 age people recommend the U. M. C. am- 

 munition, but the Winchester ammunition 

 does well enough for me. 



Now, I want to learn. Is there any 

 semi-smokeless powder that one can use 

 in strong loads in brass shot gun shells, 

 and that will not swell and spoil the shells? 

 I have a gun bored expressly for brass, so 

 I can not use paper shells. I always used 

 American wood powder. When they 

 stopped the manufacture of powder I 

 bought what I thought would last me while 

 I lived, and may be it will, but it is get- 

 ting low. I don't wish to throw my Le- 

 fever away and don't want it rebored to a 

 10 gauge; so if there are any readers of 

 the magazine that have had satisfaction, I 

 wish they would give me the benefit of 

 their experience. 



Stubb, Orwell, Ohio. 



In October Recreation M. S. Parshall 

 writes about a fancied fault of the Savage 

 rifle. Now, I am the proud possessor of a 

 Savage, and have killed moose, elk, deer 

 and bear with it. Of the last, black, 

 brown, grizzly and polar; and I have yet 

 to discover a fault in the rifle. 



In the same letter Mr. Parshall wants 

 .to know how far to hold ahead of a deer 

 running at 100 yards. That depends on 

 how fast the deer runs. The bullet of the 

 303 Savage travels about 2,000 feet a sec- 

 ond, and the time it takes to go 100 yards 

 is about 1-6 of a second. If the deer 

 travels 20 feet a second, for example, in 

 1-6 of a second it would only travel 

 1-6 of 20 feet, which is 3 1-3 feet; the dis- 

 tance it would be necessary to hold ahead. 

 J. Wills, Seattle, Wash, 



DEFENDS PETERS' GOODS. 



Plainwell, Mich 

 Editor Recreation : 



With your permission, I should like to 

 say a few words, unsolicited, through 

 Recreation, in defense of the goods man- 

 ufactured by the Peters Cartridge Com- 

 pany. For several months past your sub- 

 scribers have read a numbei of articles, 

 published by you, which, if true, would 

 convince them that this company is plac- 

 ing in the market ammunition of little 01 

 no value, but it happens that many of us 

 have been using at least a portion ol these 

 goods, and from experience know that the 

 writers have made many mis-statements ; 

 not intentionally, of course, but through a 

 lack of that good judgment and sound dis- 

 cretion which it is necessary for a person to 

 have before criticising the acts and doings 

 of another. It is impossible to remember 

 the names of the correspondents, but one 

 stated that the .22 short smokeless cart- 

 ridges, when fired, did not carry up as 

 they should. Another found fault because 

 so many of them missed fire. I am not 

 sure whether he referred to the smokeless 

 or the semi-smokeless. In your November 

 number John C. Cracknell, of Oakland, 

 Cal., says emphatically that the Peters 

 cartridge, .22 long, both smokeless and 

 semi-smokeless, is a failure. He is just 

 as emphatic in saying that the Remington 

 gun of a certain grade has the fewest de- 

 fects of any gun made in America, and 

 that for closeness of pattern and penetra- 

 tion it is inimitable. Now, we all know 

 that the Remington people make a fine gun, 

 and perhaps as good as is made; but when 

 Mr. Cracknell makes the positive state- 

 ment that it has the fewest defects of any 

 American gun, and that for closeness of 

 pattern and penetration it can not be 

 equaled, he is making an assertion which 

 your readers will at once see is not cor- 

 rect. It is merely a mistake of judgment 

 on his part, and not intentional. He may 

 be like a great many others who own a 

 gun and think it is the best in the world. 

 This is because they are wedded to their 

 guns, and do not use any reason in mak- 

 ing their assertions. We all know that 

 there are other firms in the United States, 

 whose names it is not necessary to men- 

 tion, manufacturing shot guns which are 

 as good as the Remington. Otherwise, 

 why do so many professional and ama- 

 teur shooters use them in preference to 

 the Remington? Mr. Cracknell also states 

 that the new U. M. C. .22 caliber smoke- 

 less cartridge is the only accurate .22 cali- 

 ber smokeless on the market. There is 

 another positive statement which your 

 readejs will also probably doubt to some 

 extent. That this cartridge is accurate, no 

 one will dispute, as the U. M. C. Com- 

 pany manufactures ammunition as nearly 



