54 



RECREA TION. 



through and had there flattened out " on the 

 neck of the same animal. If that moose 

 had not been killed by our friend's rifle, he 

 could have lived but a short time in a coun- 

 try containing such " mud-holes." as the 

 enormous weight of iron and lead in his sys- 

 tem, would surely have caused his death by 

 drowning. L. D. von IfHand. 



A CALIFORXl. \VS OPINION. 



Redding, Cai. 



Editor Recreation: As a constant 

 reader of Recreation taking a keen inter- 

 est in hunting and fishing, I desire to add 

 my testimony in favor of the Winchester 

 -30-30. 



I noticed with considerable amusement 

 what Grizzly Pete, of Buffalo river, had to 

 say in favor of the .45-70 (an entirely ob- 

 solete arm) as against all small bores and 

 particularly the .30-30 and .30-40. All 

 through Pete's letter he condemns small 

 bore guns, yet fails to say whether or not he 

 ever tried them on big game. I take it he is 

 guessing at what the .30-30 is capable of, and 

 that the only gun of which he can speak 

 from actual experience, is the old .45-70. 



About 2 months ago, I left this place for a 

 hunting and prospecting trip, and with my 

 wife, pitched camp at the foot of the Gray 

 rocks, in Northern Shasta county, 30 miles 

 Southwest of Mt. Shasta. Next morning I 

 rose early thinking to get a shot at a deer, 

 and made my way through brush and vines 

 and over huge granite bowlders up the 

 mountain side until I reached clear ground 

 near the summit. Becoming tired, I sat 

 down to rest, and had been in that position 

 perhaps 10 minutes, when I saw below me, a 

 big cinnamon bear walking along through 

 a clump of scattering firs. 



He came into an opening and placing his 

 front feet on a fallen tree, threw his nose up 

 as if scenting me. He had but a moment to 

 wait, for just then I sent a soft point, metal- 

 jacketed ball into him, and he rolled down 

 the mountain about 300 feet. There he came 

 up against a big rock, and gave up the 

 ghost: dying in less than 5 minutes after 

 the ball struck him. The distance was just 

 100 yards, and he was the largest bear I 

 ever saw, weighing, I should judge, 500 

 pounds. 



He was standing almost facing me. The 

 ball entered near the left ear, going down 

 through his throat into and shattering his 

 right shoulder. Thence it was deflected up- 

 ward breaking 3 ribs, then on through his 

 hind quarter. In skinning I took the bullet 

 from just under the skin within 3 inches of 

 the root of the tail. 



He was literally cut to pieces inside, and 

 no ordinary big bore gun would have done 

 the same work. I also took from his left 

 shoulder an old muzzle loading rifle ball, 

 which no doubt he had carried for years. It 

 had merely gone through the skin and stuck 



there against the shoulder blade, giving him 

 no inconvenience at all. 



On my trip I killed 5 fine bucks, and they 

 all laid right down after the report of the 

 .30-30. It seems to simply paralyze any- 

 thing it striken Last year I used a .45-90, 

 single shot Winchester in the same locality 

 on both bear and deer, yet good as every- 

 body knows that gun to be. nothing would 

 induce me to lay down the .30-30 for it. The 

 little one holds up farther than the big cali- 

 bre guns, shoots just as accurately and is 

 lighter to carry. 



I am done with big calibre guns, yet I 

 cheerfully recommend them to Grizzly Pete, 

 and to " all other first-class hunters " like 

 him. Horace W. Brooks. 



BOYS' GUNS AND BICYCLE GUNS. 



Newport, Ky. 



Editor Recreation: I notice an article by 

 L. A. F., on " Guns for boys." He thinks a 

 boy of nervous temperament should have a 

 gun longer and heavier than he cares to 

 carry on an extended tramp, and that a 

 heavy, slow boy can better use a lighter arm. 



I protest against L. A. F.'s conclusions. 

 A nervous boy is not necessarily reckless, 

 and his gun need not be so heavy and long 

 as to compel him to " pot shot " all his 

 game. Give him a suitable gun; then if he 

 must be handicapped, use the ball and chain, 

 or hobble him. 



A gun weighing over 7 pounds is too 

 heavy for me to carry on a day's tramp. I 

 once, to my sorrow, experimented on a full 

 choke Ithaca hammerless. I wanted to use 

 it for quail shooting, and had one barrel re- 

 bored to a cylinder. Noting the work of 

 each barrel, I found I made twice as many 

 kills with the choke. Am now an advocate 

 of full choke for both barrels, for any kind 

 of shooting. 



I was surprised at L. A. F.'s remarks in 

 regard to the cylinder having more penetra- 

 tion than the choke. I had always supposed 

 that close pattern and good penetration were 

 concomitant. As more pellets of shot strike 

 the game from the choke, and consequently 

 with greater killing power, I may have mis- 

 taken concentration for penetration. I 

 know by experiment that an increase of shot 

 over standard charge does not improve the 

 pattern of a cylinder. Will some one who 

 has made actual test, kindly give results? 



Would say in reply to O. R. Hartwell, 

 that the .22 long rifle and the .25 Stevens rim 

 fire are the best small calibre cartridges I 

 ever used. They are both comparatively 

 cheap. The .22 short may also be used with 

 good results. The killing power of the long 

 rifle will be sufficient for birds and small an- 

 imals up to and including a squirrel. How- 

 ever, for squirrels I prefer a .25, since the .22 

 will not stop them unless they are hit in the 

 head or shoulder. 



While I prefer the .21 as a small game 



