GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



53 



friends in reality, instead of being made 

 targets of in the name of sport. 



James Huntington, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



WE DONT ALL THINK ALIKE. 



I have a .44-40, 24-inch repeater, and 

 have found it reliable. Had I known 

 then what I know now I should have 

 purchased a .32-40 or a .38-55, because 

 they are much more accurate. I have 

 pumped the magazine nearly dry at run- 

 ning rabbits and have never had it balk. 

 From my experience with it and others I 

 am of opinion that when a repeater of a 

 good make balks it is because it has not 

 been properly used. Such a gun will not 

 balk unless the action is worn out, if it is 

 kept clean and the lever worked correctly. 

 I have killed 15 or 20 woodchucks and lots 

 of other small game with my .44, and was 

 perfectly satisfied with it. 



But last April I sent for a .32-40 Stevens 

 Ideal rifle, No. 44. Like my .44-40, it has 

 Lyman sights, and is a beauty. In May 

 Recreation the author of the article 

 "Rifles, Woodcocks and Boys" says, 

 "The Stevens is as accurate as a gun can 

 be, but the finish of the No. 44 is shock- 

 ing." I find the finish all that could be 

 expected. The receiver edges are not 

 round, but are beveled and not sharp. 

 The stock fits, and the bluing is as good 

 as on my $25 repeater. It i* well balanced, 

 strong, has a reversible link, which pro- 

 vides either a half-cock target or a firll- 

 cock hunting action, and it is take down. 

 What more does one want? He wants to 

 learn to shoot straight, and then he will 

 not need a repeater to kill deer. The arti- 

 cle also says that "a new model Hepburn 

 is preferable as regards finish." Perhaps; 

 but it ought to be a little better, as it lists 

 at $15 and the Stevens at $10. 



I use Ideal loading tools for shot gun 

 and rifle and find them first class. I find 

 the new 184-grain Ideal bullet. No. 319. 201, 

 accurate up to 600 yards. The 82-grain 

 sharp point, with 15 grains of powder, 

 makes a nice light load and does not teai. 

 A. B. C, Sprout Brook, N. Y. 



TRY THE REPEATER. 



Worcester, Mass. 

 Will you give place in your columns to 

 a brief rejoinder to a number of recent 

 criticisms on the Winchester repeating 

 shot gun? To begin with, I believe almost 

 all adverse reports about this arm come 

 from men who have long accustomed 

 themselves to the balance and the action 

 of the common double-barrel shotgun. 

 They take up the Winchester, give it a 

 brief trial and condemn it, not being con- 

 tent to thoroughly familiarize themselves 



with the individual peculiarities which have 

 made it the gun it is. It has a balance or 

 "hang" of its own, and its action which 

 troubles the critics most, is its greatest 

 feature once mastered. To see a master 

 of this weapon holding the edge of an 

 alder run, to see 3 grouse break cover al- 

 most together and then to see them all 

 stretched out on the ground within 3 

 seconds is to realize what a gun it is. 

 You are forced to admit no double barrel 

 could do it. Have you ever fired both 

 barrels of your gun at a fleeing bird, bro- 

 ken the gun open to take out shells, and had 

 another brace of birds break into view and 

 offer the best opportunity of the day when 

 you were, least prepared for it? If you're 

 a hunter, of course you have; but you 

 never had it happen with a Winchester in 

 your hands. 



It is a great gun for a little money; it 

 can't be beaten for the close, hard shoot- 

 ing one needs in duck and wild fowl hunt- 

 ing, and the take down brush gun with 

 a short barrel is all one needs for grouse, 

 quails, etc. Don't drop it after a few trials ; 

 take it to the trap, get acquainted with it, 

 and I don't believe you'll go back on the 

 pump gun. 



Pemigewasset. 



IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE IN RECREATION 



It always pleases me to read an item 

 like one in April Recreation wherein Mr. 

 H. E. Scott tells how he asked through 

 this magazine concerning a duck call, and 

 how several dozen persons wrote him, 

 kindly suggesting various makes which 

 they considered the best. Sportsmen are 

 pleasant, large hearted gentlemen, always 

 ready to extend a helping hand whenever 

 needed. This item also shows that Recre- 

 ation is read by the masses, for it is safe 

 to say that for every one who saw Mr. 

 Scott's note and answered it there were 

 hundreds who read and paid no further at- 

 tention to it. 



I have often wondered why the Marlin 

 people do not advertise in Recreation. 

 I can't see why they are so blind to their 

 own interests that they do not advertise 

 in a magazine which is widely read by 

 those who use guns. Besides, Recrea- 

 tion is, in reality, backing up all the man- 

 ufacturers of guns. Were nothing done 

 to protect the game, the time would 

 speedily come when there would be no 

 use for a shot gun or a rifle except at the 

 trap or in war. In that event the gun 

 trade would languish. The makers of fire- 

 arms, if they wished to continue a profita- 

 ble business, would be compelled to form 

 a big syndicate and set about restocking 

 the country with game. 



A. L. Vermilya, Columbiaville, Mich. 



