GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



221 



Another thing is that word game hog. 

 The man who kills game contrary to the 

 laws should be severely punished. # He is 

 not a good citizen; but this excessive use 

 of the word game hog is not elevating in 

 connection with true sportsmanship and is 

 a slur at the hog family. 



S. T. Stevens, Rifle, Colo. 



SOME GOOD LOADS. 



I am now in my second year as reader 

 of your interesting magazine. I am some- 

 thing of a rifle crank and enjoy your Gun 

 and Ammunition department. Have 

 found many items and hints therein that 

 have proved valuable to me. I use a .32- 

 40 special smokeless, with steel barrel, 

 and think I have the best rifle. I have 

 Ideal loading tools and a Perfection 

 mould, with which I can make bullets of 

 105 to 210 grains. For squirrels and other 

 small game I use 105 grain bullet and 8 

 grains of King's semi-smokeless powder. 

 When I can not hit their heads I let them 

 go. This load is just perfection up to, 

 say, 50 to 75 yards. From that up to 150 

 yards I use 20 grains same powder and 150 

 grain bullets, 1 part tin to 40 lead. For 

 longer range and woodchucks, foxes, etc., 

 I use 40 grain powder and 195 grain bullet, 

 which, with a split point, is all right for 

 larger game. I do not crimp any of my 

 shells, as they work all right in my rifle 

 without, and, I think, improve the shoot- 

 ing. I noticed in one issue of Recre- 

 ation Mr. J. H. Porter condemns the 

 .38-55 because he could not hit a deer at 

 less than 100 yards when he estimated it 

 at 200. He ought to learn to guess closer 

 than that before trying to shoot deer, for 

 fear he might guess it was a deer and it 

 might prove to be a man. I use Lyman 

 Combination front and rear sights, nearly 

 always using the ivory part. They have 

 wonderfully improved my shooting. Am 

 glad to see you give the hogs their due. 

 D. C. Read, Chaumont, N. Y. 



WANTS A NEW SHELL. 



I have been a reader of your magazine 

 since it was first published and have al- 

 ways been much interested in the Gun 

 and Ammunition department, especially 

 the articles in regard to the .30-30. None 

 of your readers seem satisfied with a lead 

 bullet and a small charge of powder. On 

 account of the shell being bottlenecked in 

 shape it is necessary to seat the bullet at 

 the muzzle of the shell. With a small 

 charge of powder for small game or for 

 target work a space is left between the 

 powder and the bullet. Some of your 

 readers say use cotton to fill that space. 

 Others say paper, and another says air. 



I have had in mind for some time a new 

 shell to be used in .30-30 rifles, which I 

 think would be an improvement. It would 

 allow small charges of powder and would 

 seat the bullet in the powder as it should 

 be. I am trying to get some of these 

 shells made, and if they do as well as I 

 think they will I shall buy me one of 

 Charles Daly's 3-barrel hammerless guns 

 with .30-30 rifle barrel. This new shell 

 will be made 1-16 of an inch larger at 

 the base than the regular shell is, which 

 will make the inside of the shell the same 

 diameter throughout the entire length, 

 using 5 grains or 25 grains of powder as 

 desired. That would be an ideal shell for 

 the paper patched bullet. Such shells, of 

 course, could not be worked through the 

 magazine. 



W. E. Corlin, Portland, Me. 



FAVORS THE .30-40. 



I never leave an article in your valuable 

 journal unread. The most interesting de- 

 partment to me is Guns and Ammunition, 

 especially the discussion as to relative 

 power of small and large bore rifles. I 

 agree with many that the .30-30 has been 

 greatly overestimated, yet I think many 

 who favor the large bores never used, and 

 in many cases, probably never saw a small 

 caliber high power rifle used on game. 

 They simply talk to hear themselves talk, 

 not realizing how ridiculous some of their 

 assertions sound to sportsmen who know 

 something about rifles of different calibers. 

 I for one have tried about everything in 

 the rifle line that has been made so far, 

 from .22 caliber to .50 caliber, and my 

 choice of a rifle for hunting purposes 

 would depend largely on the class of game 

 I intended to hunt. My present arm, and, 

 by the way, the best I ever owned, is a 

 .30-40 box magazine Winchester. It is far 

 superior for big and dangerous game to 

 the large black powder rifles, and is as ac- 

 curate as any .22 caliber I ever used. My 

 last 3 shots with it last fall, on the Upper 

 Peninsula, took the heads off 3 ruffed 

 grouse, and all of them were 30 to 40 

 yards away. I agree with Mr. Brewer, of 

 Saratoga, Wyo., that no backwoodsman 

 need suggest to the Winchester Co. how 

 to make rifles. They lead the world in the 

 manufacture of modern rifles. 



M. M. Conlon, Traverse City, Mich. 



SHORT BARREL ACCURATE. 



Would a 32-40 c. f. rifle with a 20 inch 

 barrel compare favorably in range and 

 accuracy with one having a 26 inch barrel? 

 Would the shorter barrel be as effective 

 for small game at comparatively short 

 ranges ? 



I have been told that graphite is good 



