GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



133 



PETERS CARTRIDGES FOR THE 22. 



There are many good things in Recrea- 

 tion, but of all departments that of Guns 

 and Ammunition interests me most. Like 

 Mr. Gambell, 1 am a champion of the 22, 

 and so far as the relative merits of large 

 and small calibers for ordinary hunting are 

 concerned our ideas run parallel. When 

 it comes to ammunition they disagree. 

 Mr. G. has evidently never used Peters' 

 semi-smokeless cartridges, or he would 

 not think black powder cartridges better. 

 During the last 2 years I have fired nearly 

 5,000 22 caliber cartridges, chiefly at tar- 

 gets. I have found the semi-smokeless so 

 far ahead of the black that there is scarcely 

 anv comparison. 



The dirt and grime of the cartridges 

 mentioned by Mr. Gambell are horrible. 

 After shooting a dozen shots with them a 

 gun will become so fouled as to upset the 

 bullets at 25 feet. With the Peters I have 

 fired 100 shots without cleaning and have 

 not been able to detect any difference in 

 the shooting. Moreover, one rag drawn 

 through the gun with a field cleaner would 

 clean it thoroughly. I also find they will 

 hold up 25 to 30 yards farther than the 

 black powder. 



One mistake Mr. Gambell made was tak- 

 ing his rifle indoors with cartridges in the 

 magazine. That should never be done. I 

 think the Winchester repeater the best, but 

 deplore the fact that one gun will not 

 handle both short and long shells. 



W. C. Whittmore, Redlands, Cal. 



A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS. 

 We are expected to believe that low 

 pressure smokeless does not increase either 

 the velocity or penetration of bullets more 

 than black powder. If that is so, why 

 do the manufacturers put a metal patch 

 on bullets loaded with low pressure smoke- 

 less? Is the steel in the barrels of Stevens' 

 Ideal rifles of a quality that would be 

 safe in using 32-40 or 38-55 smokeless 

 shells in them? Is the twist in the above 

 mentioned rifles deep enough to shoot the 

 lubricated grooved bullets? How long 

 would a Stevens Ideal barrel last when 

 shooting 20 32-40 or 38-55 cartridges every 

 day? Does the Remington Arms Co. or 

 the Ithaca Gun Co. make a double barrel 

 hammerless with one barrel full choked and 

 the other cylinder bored? How does the 

 2 5 _ 35 compare with the 30-30 for hunting? 

 Does the No. 3 Remington sporting rifle 

 shoot farther point blank than the Win- 

 chester repeater of the same caliber? When 

 will the Savage rifle be manufactured in 

 another caliber. Amateur, Kelsey, Mich. 



gauge Ithaca hammerless, I wrote the Ith- 

 aca Co. asking if they would fit 16 bore 

 barrels to the stock. They replied they 

 would, and for a reasonable sum 1 received 

 the gun with the new barrels last No- 

 vember. As a [2 it weighs 7 l /> pounds 

 a 16 it weighs 8. The new barrels are 30 

 inch full choked. Both old and new bar- 

 rels fit nicely and the gun balances well. 

 The Ithaca Co. did good work for me and 

 at a moderate charge. The gunners here 

 laughed at the idea of using a 16 bore 

 to shoot sea fowl. Alter seeing the gun 

 used with killing effect none of them said 

 anything against a 16 gauge. One morn- 

 ing I shot 2 loons at a distance said by a 

 veteran gunner to be altogether farther 

 than anything he ever saw killed with a 

 shot gun. My gun shoots well with black 

 or smokeless powder and any size of shot. 

 Eugene F. Midd, 

 Hampton Beach, N. H. 



A HINT TO 'SCOPE MAKERS. 



One drawback in the way of the fitting 

 up of a rifle with telescope sights is the ex- 

 orbitant prices asked for the hangers, which 

 are equal to and in many cases exceed the 

 prices of a first class telescope for same. 

 For instance, the hangers adopted by the 

 United States Government for snapshoot- 

 ing cost $15 to $20 a set, while the glass 

 only costs $18. 



One telescope maker, on being spoken to 

 about this, said he recognized this unrea- 

 sonable condition of affairs and felt it an 

 obstacle to the introduction of telescope 

 sights, but manufacturers are positively un- 

 able to remedy matters. The hanger man- 

 ufacturers are obdurate and will not make 

 concessions. Fitting a first class rifle with 

 these sights costs far more than the rifle 

 itself. Will not some manufacturing 

 reader come to our aid with a first class 

 hanger at a reasonable cost? 



E. E. Stokes, New York City. 



A 16 GAUGE ITHACA. 



Having for some years wanted a 16 gauge 

 gun, and getting a good second hand 12 



SMALL SHOT. 

 I wish to warn your readers against the 

 practice, recommended by some corre- 

 spondents, of using kerosene in cleaning 

 guns and rifles. Kerosene is excessively 

 penetrating, and will enter the pores of gun 

 barrels. No amount of wiping will ever 

 entirely remove it when once used; and 

 therein lies trouble, as it produces rust. 

 To put this idea to the test, swah the in- 

 side of a gun barrel with kerosene, then 

 wipe it out and set the gun away over night. 

 Next morning you will find it difficult to 

 force a tight-fitting dry swab through the 

 barrel, and will, moreover, find the cloth red 

 with rust. I advise the use of 95 per cent, 

 alcohol in cases where nothing but kerosene 

 would seem effective. Still, boiling 

 water is preferable, if proper care is used 



