XXXV111 



RECREATION. 



A TEST OF THE MAUSER. 



In a recent number of Recreation I saw 

 a comparison made between an old 7 m-m 

 Mauser and a new Savage and a new Lee. 

 In that test the Mauser, it seems, was 

 worsted, but the writer admitted that the 

 rifling of the gun was worn badly. 



I compared the shooting qualities of the 

 7 m-m Mauser, the .303 Savage, the 30-40 

 Winchester and the Lee on one occasion 

 at the same targets and with factory- 

 gauged sights, with these results : At 500 

 yards, with 5 successive shots, I found the 

 Savage made the best average, with the 

 Winchester close behind and the Lee next. 

 With 5 shots at an 800-yard target the 

 Mauser made a far better average than the 

 others, and at even greater distances was 

 unequaled and accurate. All these rifles 

 were of the latest model, and apparently in 

 the best of condition, and were shot from 

 a rest by the same man. 



The kick against the Mauser comes, I 

 think, from the fact that 4 out of 5 of them 

 obtained in this country are in a badly 

 worn condition. A new one will prove its 

 merits at long range. 



Another point used as a strong argument 

 for certain rifles is their ability to drop 

 large game "on the spot," as it is generally 

 put. The point seems a question of caliber 

 in the average case. While that may have 

 some influence, it is more a question 

 of velocity and position. The caliber 

 is a secondary factor at best. If a 

 grizzly is hit between the ear and eye with 

 sufficient force to enter the cranial cavity, 

 he will drop just as quickly for a 22-caliber 

 revolver as for a Savage or a Mauser rifle. 

 If he is hit in the abdomen neither will 

 drop him. But there are portions of an 

 animal's body where the bullet will para- 

 lyze the muscles used in locomotion and 

 the animal will drop. Now while .a large 

 caliber rifle involves a greater destruction 

 of tissue, it has been shown that the 

 greater velocity of the small bore causes 

 the greater shock. 



As to shot guns, I am unprejudiced, al- 

 though I shoot a hammerless Remington. 

 I think a gun can best be judged by its 

 performance at the trap, both as to pat- 

 tern and mechanism, if not as to penetra- 

 tion. The trap shooter uses the best gun 

 he can find for strong shooting, mechanism 

 and pattern, and most trap shooters use 

 Parker guns. The Greener has probably the 

 best mechanism of any gun made, but to 

 obtain one you have to reach deep in your 

 pocket. It is for that reason they ,are not 

 better known in America. The following 

 are some of our best guns : Daly, Parker, 

 Remington and Winchester repeater. 



H. R. Biggar, Burlington, Vt. 



IF YOU WOULD LIVE NEXT TO NA- 

 TURE, READ RECREATION. 



A PISTOL AND A DEER. 



_ In my experience of 28 years among the 

 pines of the upper peninsula of Michigan 

 I have discovered that the caliber does not 

 make much difference if the rifle is held 

 right. I have usually shot Winchesters, 

 for they are reliable and close, hard 

 shooters. The past 3 years I have used 

 a 30-30 with soft nosed cartridge. Have 

 had excellent success with it, not losing a 

 deer fired at, and few of them ran more 

 than 20 rods. 



With Chas. T. Kruse and Paul D. Swift 

 I was hunting deer at my camp 18 miles 

 South of Ishpeming. I had killed a fine 

 8-pronged buck with my 30-30 and bled 

 him, and was on the way back from camp 

 to which I had gone for a rope to drag my 

 game across a frozen lake. I had with 

 me a light ax and a Stevens target 

 pistol which I was in the habit of 

 carrying to shoot grouse. As I neared the 

 spot where the buck was lying I heard 

 something walking on the snow crust in 

 thicker woods on my right. Soon a spike 

 buck came in view about 30 yards distant. 

 The Stevens was loaded with a long rifle 

 cartridge. I aimed between the eyes as 

 he stood facing me, and pulled. The 

 deer bounded up and came down in his 

 tracks. I bled him and there were 2 

 deer to transport across the lake. Of 

 course some of the big caliber fellows 

 will want to know why I didn't use the ax 

 instead of the Stevens, but I have seen 

 deer missed with big guns at even shorter 

 range. Iron Ore, Ishpeming, Mich. 



I see in Recreation a statement that 23 

 hunters were killed in the Adirondacks and 

 in Maine, and that someone wishes a bullet- 

 proof armor for hunters. Mr. Stonebridge 

 seems to have discovered the right thing, 

 as he says he killed a moose and found 

 several 30 caliber bullets sticking in its 

 hide. If those 23 men »had only worn 

 moose hide coats or shirts what a lot of 

 suffering it would have prevented. Mr. 

 Stonebridge ought to make " moose hide 

 coats and get the army to adopt them. 

 Yes, and even the navy, for if one moose 

 hide will withstand a ball fired from the 

 modern 30 caliber rifle, 7 or 8 ought to 

 be sufficient to withstand a projectile from 

 the modern battleship. However, judging 

 from my experience with the 30 caliber 

 rifle those bullets must have gone through 

 perhaps one moose and fallen to ,the ground 

 and that other moose came along and hap- 

 pened to lie down on them and they stuck 

 to his hide. 



James Clemens, Nemo, S. Dak. 



Aunt: Well, Ethel, how do you like 

 your new little brother? 



Ethel (aged 4): I don't like him at 

 all. He can't even speak English. — Pitts- 

 burg Bulletin. 



