GUNS AND AMMUNITION 



53 



cartridge to be shortened. The length, 

 from the inside of one bent end to the out- 

 side of the other, is that of the shell. Such 

 a piece can be forged approximately to di- 

 mensions and finished with a file in a few 

 minutes. 



For use it is clamped in a vise, with the 

 slot in the bent end at one side, and the shell 

 set in as shown in the drawing. Then, hold- 

 ing the shell with the thumb and 2 fingers 

 of the left hand, file off the shell muzzle pro- 

 jecting above the iron. 



Using this or any other suitable tool as a 

 length guage on a lot of shells which have 

 been fired many times, you will probably be 

 surprised to note the stretch which has 

 taken place, and this stretch will be found 

 to vary greatly. This is due to several 

 causes. Some shells -are used more than 

 others. The temper of the 

 brass varies in different 

 shells, and sometimes even 

 as they leave the factory 

 they will vary slightly in 

 length, particularly between 

 different makes of the same 

 grade of shell. 



This varying strength is 

 almost certain to make ir- 

 regular shooting, for it 

 causes the crimp to vary ac- 

 cording as the shell has 

 stretched or not. 



Crimped shells in rifle 

 cartridges are seemingly a 

 necessary evil, but an evil which can be miti- 

 gated to a considerable degree. They are a 

 necessity in repeating rifles using tubular 

 magazines, and to simplify matters the fac- 

 tories turn but ammunition suitable for 

 these, almost entirely. In single shot rifles 

 there is no necessity for crimped shells. 

 Better and more regular shooting can be 

 done by simply seating the bullet friction 

 tight. 



Should one not care to incur the expense 

 of another reloading tool, or to remove the 

 crimping shoulder from the tool now on the 

 market, the same result may be reached by 

 cutting off about 1-64 of an inch from the 

 muzzle of standard length shells, or more, 

 as needed. The tool above described will be 

 useful for this. 



If crimped shells are used see that they are 

 all crimped alike. This cannot be if they 

 vary from standard length. 



WORK OF THE .30-40 SMOKELESS. 



Cowansville, P. Q. 

 Editor Recreation: I have always been 

 an advocate of the .40 calibre, believing that 

 a bullet of this size, driven by a heavy pow- 

 der charge, produced more shock, was 

 more accurate and had a flatter trajectory 

 than .45 and .50. My experience confirms 

 this theory. With a heavy charge of nitro 

 powder my .40-82 Winchester would drive a 



full copper-patched bullet through 30 inches 

 of seasoned pine, or 26 of green cedar. 



Last fall I was unfortunate enough to 

 break my old rifle, and bought a .30-40 Win- 

 chester. The gun is light, strong, accurate, 

 and a sure killer. The front sight seemed a 

 trifle coarse, so I filed a small " caterpillar " 

 head on it, which I find an improvement. 

 I use a Lyman rear sight No. 21 and 

 ask for no better. The killing power of the 

 .30-40 is all that can be desired. 



I fired 3 shots at cats and 3 at deer, with 

 the following results: 



1. Cat looking at me, about 50 yards away. 

 The soft-nosed bullet grazed the mouth, 

 went through the neck and ripped the skin 

 off all along the back, making a wound 2 

 inches wide. 



2. At same cat's body. Bullet entered 

 centre of breast and tore the cat open from 

 shoulders to tail. 



3. Cat lying in the snow, facing me. Bul- 

 let must have struck the head, as nothing 

 but the legs and a small part of the rump 

 was left. 



4. Missed a deer in thick timber. 



5., Buck, about 75 yards away, shot 

 through fleshy part of neck; made one 

 bound, turned partly toward me and fell 

 over on his back. My guide put a .32-40 

 bullet through him, but it was unnecessary. 

 This deer was a beautiful specimen, and 

 weighed 164 pounds. As the bullet struck 

 no bones, it did not tear badly, yet made a 

 larger wound than a .50 solid bullet would 

 have done. 



6. A 2 year old doe, running broadside to 

 me, about 40 yards distant, was shot through 

 the back near the quarters. The back-bone 

 was smashed to atoms and a big hole torn 

 through the opposite side. 



These soft-nose bullets tear a larger hole 

 in pine boards than any .50 calibre, and their 

 penetration is 13 or 14 inches of seasoned 

 timber. The .40-82 with soft-nose bullet and 

 50 grains (measured) .450 Rifleite, made a 

 larger hole, but had less penetration than 

 the .30-40. 



In face of these facts, there is room for 

 speculation as to the moose shot by Mr. 

 C. H. Stonebridge, against whose adaman- 

 tine anatomy the .30-220 bullet " curled up " 

 and penetrated not. Possibly this was a 

 " metal-patched " moose, with " soft 

 points " of course, or the .40-260 bullets 

 would never have pierced his hide. Perhaps 

 the animal had spent the summer in train- 

 ing, and had hardened his muscles by copi- 

 ous draughts from an iron spring. In any 

 case he must have been a pretty tough old 

 fellow, for one metal-patched bullet did not 

 even pass through the skin of his neck. 



Can any reader swallow these statements; 

 viz., A steel-patched bullet, driven by suffi- 

 cient force to cause it to mushroom, passes 

 through the skin of a moose and " flattens 

 out on the muscles of the hind leg." The 

 same kind of bullet " had gone partly 



