486 



RECREATION. 



interesting of all to me. In the last 3 years 

 I have been using a 7-pound Baker ham- 

 merless, 28 inch, 12 bore. It is the best 

 shooter I ever owned, besides being really 

 safe to handle. The so called safety on 

 the tang of most guns merely prevents the 

 trigger from being pulled ; even with the 

 safety on, a heavy jar will discharge the 

 gun. The Baker safety is automatic, and is 

 all the time between the firing pin and the 

 hammer except when the trigger is pulled. 

 No matter what happens to the gun when 

 loaded it will not go off unless the trigger 

 is pulled. If you want the gun safer still, 

 slip the top safe down and the triggers are 

 blocked as well as the firing pins. 



Daniel T. Tuthill, Orient Point, N. Y. 



A great many fellows seem to think 

 Recreation is a hat by the way they talk 

 through it. Mr. Knowles wants us all to 

 give up shot guns and use only rifles. I 

 will wager I can take the gentleman to my 

 favorite snipe pasture and make him and 

 his rifle look like 30 cents. The shot gun 

 is good for something after all, and there 

 are places where a rifle does not amount 

 to much. I judge the gentleman never 

 owned a shot gun; at least a close shooter. 

 I want to put in my word for DuPont's 

 smokeless. I have used that powder near- 

 ly 3 years, and have* tried almost all the 

 nitros. My experience has been that Du- 

 Pont smokeless is the* best powder made. 

 I load my shells exclusively, and so know 

 what I am getting. 



C. L. Hedderly, Los Angeles, Cal. 



In June Recreation Jav Hawker says, 

 "Factory ammunition is 100 per cent, bet- 

 ter than you or I could load." I do not 

 agree with him. I have used various rifles 

 since I was a child. The best score I 

 ever 'made was with ammunition loaded 

 by myself. Targets were home made, with 

 rings I/2, 1 V2 and 3 inches in diameter. On 

 February 6th, '98, at Ellinwood, Kan., I 

 placed 8 shots in 1^2 inch ring, 1 in 3 inch 

 ring, and 1 on edge of outer line; distance, 

 100 yards; Lyman sights; shot from rest. 

 Load, no grain bullet, 1 part tin, 14 lead; 

 20 grains smokeless shot gun powder. 

 Rifle used was a Marlin .25-36. Since then 

 I have disposed of that gun, as it would 

 not handle cartridges in a manner calcu- 

 lated to keep me from breaking the third 

 commandment. 



G. W. Harris, Kansas City, Mo. 



How you have improved the royal road 

 to health, or Recreation, since I took No. 

 1, Vol. 1 ! I notice the Marlin ad is still 

 out. No one is any worse off except them- 

 selves. You remember the rifle I bought 



from them that you had some correspond- 

 ence over? It would never clear itself. 

 The action is not good. I gave it away 

 after missing a bear I had wounded, and 

 having to run. I have a Winchester, 30-30, 

 now, and it puts the lead just where it is 

 wanted. 



I notice D. Harper, Alto, Wash., wants 

 to know about Babbitt for bullets. If he 

 will take my advice he will leave it alone. 

 It injures the rifling and the bullets keyhole 

 more or less ; for what reason, I can't say ; 

 but that is the experience of a friend of 

 mine who wanted to play sharp. 



A. W. Palmer, Field, B. C. 



That the best ammunition is always the 

 cheapest in the end is the conclusion to 

 which I come after 12 years' experience 

 in using King's smokeless powder. I have 

 used most brands of powder known to the 

 trade and I find King's best as to pattern, 

 penetration, and quickness. The load I 

 use for targets and live birds at the trap is 

 3X drams powder and 1*4 ounces No. 7 

 chilled shot; loaded in the New Victor 

 shell by the Peters Cartridge Co. For 

 quail and snipe I use 3 drams powder and 

 i T A ounces No. 7^ chilled shot. These 

 loads are both effective and pleasant to 

 shoot. 



New Victor, Auburn, Ind. 



During the fall of 1899 I had the good 

 fortune to be able to try a 30-40 Winches- 

 ter, with soft pointed ball, on a large fe- 

 male grizzly. I had started her from her 

 bed, and when first observed she was about 

 50 feet distant, coming toward me. This 

 presented the face for a target, and because 

 of the fact that she was coming up a steep 

 incline the ball struck lower than I in- 

 tended. Nevertheless, the result was highly 

 satisfactory. She rolled to the bottom of 

 the canyon, dead as a stone. 



I have used the 45-90, 45-70 and other 

 large caliber rifles, but I can not believe 

 any of them would have done quite so 

 well in this case as the one used. 



B. M. Webster, Omaha, Neb. 



Pending the settlement of the 30-30 

 question, I offer a suggestion concerning 

 a lighter arm. Among the numerous rifles 

 made in small calibers it seems strange 

 there is no repeater taking the 25-10-65 

 rim fire. This cartridge is the ideal load 

 for squirrels, rabbits and similar game, 

 and I think a rifle like the Winchester, 

 '92 model, that handled it, would soon be- 

 come popular. The 25 is at present a little 

 more expensive than most rim fire am- 

 munition, but would doubtless become 

 cheaper as the demand for it increased. As 

 big game hunting, with the heavy expense 



