GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



299 



WANTS INFORMATION. 



I have a new .25-20 Winchester rifle. Can 

 r load with about l / 2 the factory charge? 

 Will Dupont's black, shotgun powder do as 

 well in the rifle as in shotguns? What 

 primer must I use? In loading this charge, 

 can I fill the space between the bullet and 

 powder with cotton? Also can I buy bul- 

 lets for the .25-20 from the W. R. A. Co. 

 or others. 



F. L. Bringhurst, Alexandria, La. 



The charge of powder in .25-20 may be 

 reduced at pleasure. If from 12 grains up- 

 ward is used, Dupont's F.F.G. should 

 prove satisfactory. If the charge is 6 to 10 

 grains a finer grain should be used — 

 F. F.F.G. The space may be filled with a 

 wad of cotton put in and tamped down 

 lightly, or the space can be left unfilled. It 

 is rather better with the small loads of fine 

 grain po,wder not to fill up the space. With 

 reduced powder charges better results will 

 be gotten from the yy or 65 grain bullet than 

 from the 86. Any of these bullets may be 

 bought from the factories. I do not know 

 what shell you use, so cannot tell what 

 primer you should use. You will find it 

 stated on the box in which the shells come. 

 If by shotgun powder you refer to such as 

 Dupont's diamond grain, it is not so good 

 for ordinary purposes as their rifle powders. 

 The rate of combustion of diamond grain 

 is much more rapid than rifle powders; it 

 does not stand compression so well and is 

 apt by its higher initial pressure to cause 

 irregular shooting. 



THE 



•25 



STEVENS. 



THE ALL AROUND GUN 

 Many efforts have been made to supply 

 shooters with an arm suitable for all ordi- 

 nary uses, and which would use cheap am- 

 munition. Mr. A. M. Wright, of Ellens- 

 burg, Wash., has well nigh solved the prob- 

 lem of an all around rifle. He conceived 

 the idea of making a chamber bushing the 

 same size and shape as the .30-30 shell. The 

 'caliber through the bushing is the same as 

 that of the gun, except that it is chambered 

 to take the regular .32 caliber c.f. pistol 

 cartridge. The gun, after being discharged, 

 extracts the bushing as it would an empty 

 shell; the shooter puts a new cartridge into 

 it and reinserts it in the barrel as he would 

 in a single loader. The .32 cartridge is 

 much cheaper than the .30-30, and just as 

 accurate for target and small game shoot- 

 ing. Mr. Wright, using this bushing in a 

 .30 caliber. '94 model Winchester, put 6 

 consecutive shots in a postage stamp at 40 

 yards, and 5 of the 6 could have been cov- 

 ered with a 10 cent piece. Many have shot 

 the gun at our matches, and all pronounce 

 the invention a success. This form of bush- 

 ing can be applied to other rifles using 

 bottle necked shell. 



W. A. Rice, Ellensburg, Wash. 



In reply to inquiries in Recreation, I 

 would like to say a word regarding the .25 

 caliber Stevens' favorite rirle. I own one 

 of these little guns, and find it just the thing 

 for ducks, rabbits, squirrels, woodchucks, 

 etc. Its accuracy at 50 yards is really sur- 

 prising. At longer ranges I have not used 

 it, but it is guaranteed accurate at 200 yards. 

 My rifle has 22 inch barrels, and Lyman 

 sights. I would not advise anyone to get 

 the bicycle rifle; it has too short a barrel. 

 I cannot understand why the .25 calibre 

 cartridge has not become more popular. 

 It is cheap, perfectly proportioned and vast- 

 ly superior to any .22. I do not claim for 

 it the title of " all round " cartridge. The 

 .32-40 is my ideal for such use. I also own 

 a .22 repeater and would not part with it 

 for any other arm of like caliber. 



E. F. Fielder, Albany, N. Y. 



ANOTHER NEW BULLET. 



The Ideal Manufacturing Co., New Ha- 

 ven, Ct, is now ready to supply moulds 

 for a new bullet. The points of its superior- 

 ity will be readily recognized by those who 

 shoot at target, or expert riflemen, desirous 

 of securing the highest score at the range. 

 It is designed for rifles using the .38-55 

 Marlin and Winchester ammunition. The 

 size of the bullet as cast is a trifle above 

 standard, so that it can be sized after being 

 lubricated to .375 in diameter. The shape 

 of the point from the first band or crimp- 

 ing shoulder is identical with the .38-330 

 Marlin, which is shorter than the standard 

 .38-55-255 Marlin. The bands are narrower 

 than in the regular 255 grain bullet. The 

 grooves are also narrower and are cut 

 square and deeper, thus holding the lubri- 

 cant better, and more of it. These smaller 

 divisions of the bearing permit of a better 

 distribution of the lubricant in the barrel, 

 which prevents leading. It also enables the 

 bullet to be inserted into the barrel with 

 much less pressure, while the extra width 

 oi the base band following the lubricant 

 prevents gas cutting which deforms the base 

 of bullet, thus deflecting its flight. The 

 broad base band also presents a stronger 

 bearing to hold on to the rifling firmly, all 

 of which is beneficial to regularity and ac- 

 curacy in the shooting. The company is 

 also prepared to furnish its perfection ad- 

 justable moulds for this bullet, which will 

 enible the user to cast the whole variety 

 of lighter weights of this new bullet. They 

 will also make single moulds for the differ- 

 ent weight bullets that may be ordered. The 

 lighter ones are said to be good for light 

 charges, short range target work and small 

 game. 



If interested, correspond with the com- 

 pany, mentioning Recreation. 



