132 



RECREATION. 



some time ago, he said he had killed a good 

 many sheep with the 45-90, but on one oc- 

 casion it took 8 shots to bring one down, 

 although almost any one of the 8 apparent- 

 ly should have been fatal. No man should 

 blame his gun or himself if he does not 

 kill everything he fires at. 



C. H. Stonebridge, 

 New York City. 



THINK THE 25-20 THE BEST. 



In reply to H. F. L., Washington, D. C, 

 will say that, in company with Gilman W. 

 Brown, of West Newbury, Mass., the best 

 authority on rifles whom I ever met, I have 

 made careful experiments with all the cart- 

 ridges H. F. L. named. 



We found the 25-20 single shot cartridge 

 superior to the 32-20 under all conditions. 



The accuracy of the 22 long rifle for 

 short distances, when not affected by the 

 wind, is almost beyond belief. It is the 

 most accurate cartridge made, although for 

 hunting small animals the 25-20 is prefer- 

 able, owing to its greater power. 



Tests were made with the following 

 rifles : 32-20 Winchester, single shot, 24 

 inch barrel, telescope sights; 22 long rifle, 

 Winchester single shot, 26 inch barrel, peep 

 and globe sights; 22 Stevens Pocket rifle, 

 15 inch barrel ; 25-20 Stevens Ideal, No. 

 44, with Lyman sights, 26 inch barrel. 



As between 25-20 single shot and re- 

 peater, buy the former for the sake of its 

 superior cartridge. Both Winchester and 

 Stevens single shot 25-20 rifles are splen- 

 did guns for ordinary shooting. I prefer a 

 Winchester. I have owned 10 and never 

 found the slightest fault with any of them. 



D. P. Page, 

 Newburyport, Mass. 



Answering H. F. L. about 25-20, 22 long 

 rifle and 32 W. C. F., the 25-20 is the 

 most accurate of the lot, and has good 

 killing power on small game. I have a 

 friend who owns a 25-20, and he says it is 

 a good rifle for squirrels and rabbits. Du 

 Pont's is the best black powder for re- 

 loading. Charlie Linkhart, 



Port William, Ohio. 



ELBOW GREASE AS A GUN CLEANER. 



In November Recreation Harry Crans- 

 ton says he can not keep rust out of his 

 rifle. The trouble is due to the fact that 

 he. does not use enough elbow grease. It 

 does no good to clean a gun until it is as 

 bright as a dollar. Unless in absolutely 

 perfect condition the bore will look bright- 

 er when half cleaned than when entirely 

 free from powder, dirt and grease. You 

 must keep at it with dry rags, wet rags, 

 oiled rags, and again dry ones, until a rag 



can be run through without being discol- 

 ored. Then oil the bore, and, if you've 

 done the job well," no rust will be found 

 when you pick the gun up to show your 

 friend how you do it. I use a Tomlinson 

 cleaner on my shot gun and it saves work; 

 but there is no such thing made for rifles. 

 In every issue of Recreation there are 

 accounts of especially close-shooting guns 

 and loads. I bought a standard Winches- 

 ter take down gun a year ago. With it I 

 killed a few ducks at extremely long range. 

 With it, also, I missed or feathered many 

 at 30 to 45 yards. Evidently I was one of 

 the 9 out of every 10 men who use guns 

 too good for their eyes, so I sold that gun, 

 and have just received a new cylinder bore. 

 I think I now have the best gun for game 

 shooting. It will be just the thing for buck 

 shot or ball cartridges if I ever want to 

 use them. I put 5 No. 5 shot in the first 

 duck I fired at, and killed the bird instant- 

 ly. For an all-around gun, give me a cyl- 

 inder bore Winchester. I use Laflin & 

 Rand smokeless when I can get it. After 

 that I'll take Dupont. 



C. R. R., Marengo, 111. 



AN EXPLANATION. 



I was pleased to see Dr. Keenan's criti- 

 cism in July issue of my exploits with the 

 30 Winchester. My article was intended as 

 a satire on some letters appearing in the gun 

 and ammunition department of Recreation ; 

 such, for instance, as deer running away 

 with hearts shattered or falling dead at the 

 mere report of the rifle, etc. Had Recrea- 

 tion inserted it as written its object would 

 have been apparent, but unfortunately the 

 editor strove to vest it with an air of 

 probability. It contained, however, a little 

 truth. I have used, as I stated in my 

 article, a .303 Winchester, not 30-30, model 

 '95, not '98, for 2 or 3 years, and find it a 

 weapon of perfect accuracy, and, with the 

 metal jacket bullet, of terrible energy. The 

 larger caliber rifles may be more deadly, 

 but if so are certainly, for ordinary game, 

 unnecessarily so. Dr. Keenan may deem 

 me romancing, but it is true nevertheless, 

 when I state that at 65 yards I put a bullet 

 into the nostril of a deer without lacerating 

 it in a perceptible degree; but it smashed 

 the jaws and cheek to pieces and tore a 

 great hole at point of egress behind the 

 ear. Nor was my account of severing the 

 buck's antler at Monroe lake a fable ; but 

 the rest was an effort of the imagination. 

 I yield to none in admiration of Recreation 

 and its teachings, and should be ashamed 

 to send a deliberate falsehood to its editor. 

 Even Grizzly Pete was taken seriously by 

 many, so I am not singular in being not 

 understood. 



N. O. L. I., Swansea, B. C 



