GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



303 



loading same it is used as any high grade 

 black powder is, bulk for bulk, using the 

 black powder primer: There is nothing 

 of a nitro nature in its composition. 



The Peters Cartridge Co. is now work- 

 ing on a 22-7-45 cartridge, which i: is in- 

 tended shall be of specially fine quality. 

 It is loaded with King's semi-smokeless 

 powder, and is expected to shoot as accur- 

 ately as and somewhat more strongly than 

 the 22 long rifle. — Editor. 



benefit of the expanding gas. Let us hear 

 from others on this subject. 



F. W. K., Shamokin, Pa. 



DEFENDS THE 45-70. 

 When will the small bore cranks let up 

 and take a breathing spell? When will 

 they ring off and give us a rest? Grizzly 

 Pete is being hammered by them on all 

 sides for his praise of the .45-70 Winches- 

 ter, the most reliable hunting rifle ever 

 made. It is amusing to read the remarks 

 of these fellows, some of whom have per- 

 haps never shot a .45 in their lives. Old 

 pumpkin-slinger, obsolete weapon, anti- 

 quated old arm, dime museum relic, back 

 number gun and old blunderbuss are some 

 of the gaudy epithets showered on the .45. 

 Pete is as much entitled to his opinion as 

 anyone else. I admit that his long shots 

 into the herd of elk were unsportsmanlike 

 and brutal, but probably no more so than 

 some small bore advocates would be if 

 they had the chance. E. E. Jones is par- 

 ticularly warm in praise of the .303. He 

 says he can shoot through a grizzly bear 

 endwise with his Savage. Perhaps he 

 could if he kept at it long enough. But 

 I'll wager I can knock more of a bear's 

 head away with one shot from a .45 than 

 he can with one from a .303. 

 F. W. Hambledon, Tres Piedras, N. M. 



EFFECT OF LONG BARRELS. 



I notice several inquiries in your valua- 

 ble magazine regarding the difference in 

 penetration between the Winchester .25- 

 20 single shot and the repeater. 



The .25-20, model '92, 24 inch barrel, 

 penetrates g l / 2 boards; the .25-20, single 

 shot, 28 inch barrel, penetrates 6^4 boards. 



I notice the longer barrel has the less 

 penetration. This difference in penetra- 

 tion seems to be caused by the compression 

 of air in front of the bullet as it passes 

 out of the barrel. It only takes the bullet 

 the merest fraction of a second to pass 

 through the barrel, hence, the air in the 

 bore being forced back on itself so 

 quickly, becomes more and more com- 

 pressed as it nears the muzzle of the gun. 

 The longer the barrel the more air the ball 

 must force out of it. The greater the 

 compression of this air near the muzzle 

 the less will be the penetration. However, 

 the barrel should be long enough to burn 

 the powder and give the bullet the full 



SMALL SHOT. 



I have read with interest the criticism of 

 the .30-30 Winchester in Recreation and 

 have been amused by the statements of 

 those who have evidently never used a .30- 

 30. I have hunted deer and done target 

 practice side by side with the .38-55, the 

 .44, the .40-60 and the .45-90, and I have 

 never seen a more accurate rifle or one 

 which would knock a deer down quicker 

 than my .30-30. One of our party 2 years 

 ago shot a large doe. The ball passed 

 through in front of the hip, below the 

 backbone, and back of the last rib. In 

 fact, it did not touch a bone, but the deer 

 fell within 30 feet of the place where shot. 

 The hole was small where the ball en- 

 tered, but I could easily insert 2 fingers 

 where it came out. 



I would not exchange the .30-30 for anv 

 other gun I ever saw. 



I should like to correspond with anyone 

 living near Lake Nipissing, Ontario. 



M. L. Evens, South Butler, Mich. 



The exchange of opinions by users of 

 guns and ammunition is interesting and 

 instructive. In the article under that 

 head signed by H. A. Stillwell I was in- 

 terested in the paragraph in which he 

 speaks of shells, when being reloaded 

 with high pressure smokeless powder, 

 splitting at the muzzle and "occasionally 

 parting in the middle, leaving the forward 

 end in the chamber." I have known of a 

 number of such cases; and as it is difficult 

 to extract the remaining piece of the shell, 

 I should be pleased to hear from Mr. Still- 

 well as to his method of withdrawing the 

 broken shell, or from any other readers 

 of Recreation who have had experience 

 along that line. 



.30 Caliber, New Haven, Conn. 



A full discussion of this question would 

 interest hundreds of readers. — Editor. 



I have a Savage rifle, and it is the most 

 perfect weapon I ever handled. Have 

 killed every deer I have shot at, and they 

 drop at the report. No running after the 

 bullet strikes. I gave the Savage a good 

 test August 16th. Shot a black bear that 

 would weigh at least 500 pounds. Hit him 

 behind the shoulder on purpose to test 

 penetration, and the bullet went clear 

 through him, cutting off 2 ribs where it 

 went in and 3 where it came out. He quit 

 instantly. Why is the Savage so hard to 

 clean after shooting? That is the only 

 fault. Yet all the smokeless rifles are the 

 rame in that respect. 



