GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



38i 



by actual use that this little tool, taken 

 in combination, is the best implement in 

 the market for its purpose, and that re- 

 loaded shells are as sure fire as new ones 

 after coming from this machine. Another 

 little tool, not yet mentioned in Recrea- 

 tion, that I highly appreciate, is a re- 

 sizing die for paper and brass shot shells. 

 The thousands of shells now thrown away 

 after the first fire at the trap may be re- 

 sized with this die and reloaded a number 

 of times to advantage. So reloaded, they 

 are just as good as at first. I have been 

 experimenting in reloading shells since 

 1898 and could tell many ways of reducing 

 the cost of ammunition without impairing 

 its effectiveness. 



S. L. Warner, Still River, Conn. 



I can tell J. S. Miller, Jr., something 

 about the Parker gun. I never used a 

 16 gauge, but the 10 and 12 gauges are all 

 right for shooting qualities, durability and 

 workmanship. For penetration they can 

 not be beaten by any gun. I have owned 

 14 different makes of guns and I consider 

 the Parker the best of all. I used a 10 

 gauge $75 grade Parker 6 years and made 

 some exceedingly long shots with it. 

 Then I bought a $100 grade hammerless, 12 

 gauge, 8 pound, full choke, and am now 

 using it in the field and at the trap. I use 

 U. M. C. Club shells with 3X drams Orange 

 extra No. 3 F. G. , 1 card and 2 thick felt 

 wads, i}4 ounces chilled shot No. 6, and 

 card wad on top well crimped. If Mr. 

 Miller bu}rs a Parker of any gauge he will 

 be more than well pleased with it. 

 Humphrey Groesbeck, 



Hoosick Falls, N. Y. 



Mr. Miller, who writes in December 

 Recreation, will make no mistake if he 

 decides to buy a 1 6 gauge Parker hammer- 

 less. Of all the guns I have used, and 

 they are many, none suits me so well as 

 my little Parker. For duck shooting 

 it has always proved as effective as the 

 10 and 12 bores of my companions. For 

 field and brush shooting nothing is nearer 

 perfection than a 6)4 pound, 28 inch barrel, 

 16 gauge Parker, loaded with 2 or 2)4 

 drams of powder and one ounce of shot. 

 The gun is a marvel of workmanship and 

 durability. Try one, and in spite of the 

 birds you may at first lose through lack 

 of confidence in the little weapon, you 

 will be convinced that there is nothing 

 better. B. F. Cogswell, Jr., Flatbush, N.Y. 



I recently tested my gun, a Richards 

 double barrel, with different kinds of pow- 

 der. I fired 3 shells loaded with DuPont 

 smokeless powder, 3 with Nitro Club, 3 with 

 Winchester powder and 3 with LafTin & 

 Rand smokeless. The first 3 trios 

 were factory loaded shells, 3 drams 



powder, t ounce No. 8 shot. The last 

 were loaded by myself with 2 drams 

 Laflin & Rand smokeless and 1 ounce 

 No. 7 shot. That load put 14 more 

 shot in a 12 -inch square at 35 yards than 

 did any of the other loads. At the same 

 time it drove them deeper. Have been 

 using Laflin & Rand a number of years 

 and in different guns. It has always 

 given the best satisfaction and is the most 

 cleanly powder made. 



Geo. F. Kunkel, Nazareth, Pa. 



I recently saw an inquiry in Recrea- 

 tion in regard to Laflin & Rand powder 

 for small charges in the 30-30. I have a 

 30 Winchester carbine and use a charge of 

 1 2 grains Laflin & Rand sporting smokeless 

 rifle powder and the 157 grain Ideal 

 bullet, 9 parts lead to one of tin. This 

 charge has given the most satisfactory 

 results on target at 50 to 200 yards and I 

 find it extremely accurate on small game 

 up to 500 yards. It was first used by 

 Paul Becker, the well known rifle and 

 revolver shot of San Francisco, Cal. 

 With it and a Winchester carbine he won 

 the military medal of the Columbia pistol 

 and rifle club in 1900. Mr. Becker in- 

 vented and uses a copper front sight with 

 a Lyman combination rear, which I have 

 found a most excellent thing. 

 Walter Wuerschmidt, Las Cruces, N. M. 



I have a few words to say for the bene- 

 fit of the readers of Recreation in regard 

 to the Peters ammunition. I think it is 

 about 30 minutes behind time. I was out 

 quail shooting the other day and never 

 made so many misses. I was using Peters 

 semi-smokeless and Peters smokeless, and 

 several missed fire, you can imagine how 

 I felt toward the Peters people when I 

 had it dead on a quail and had the shell 

 miss. 



If they can't make shells that can be 



relied on, they would better not make any. 



I shall never buy any more of them, 



if they sell them for 20 cents 1 a hundred 



Perry R. Mills, Middletown, N. Y. 



There is no better ammunition than U. 

 M. C. Our gun club uses their cartridges 

 exclusively. I broke 29 Blue Rocks out of 

 36 last week. We shot 24 first and I broke 

 17. Then we shot 12. I broke the 12 

 straight and I don't know how many more 

 I could have broken. I used U. M. C. 

 Club shells loaded with Orange Extra pow- 

 der, 3 drams, 1 ounce of number 6 shot, and 

 I did this work with a $50 Parker ham- 

 merless. We recently had a contest, 8 men 

 on a side. All of us except one used U. 

 M. C. Club shells. The 8 men broke 172 

 Blue Rocks out of 200. 



L. H. Kimmel, West Point, 111. 



