4 6 



RECREATION. 



rain to cease falling, or to recover from a 

 nervous attack. 



I never saw anyone win a prize at a 

 match at either 60 yards offhand or 100 

 I yards rest with more than a one inch string. 

 Nor have I ever seen any one do better 

 shooting than that at 60 or 100 yards with 

 any modern rifle. 

 I About i860 Gen. Morgan James made a 

 rifle with a hexagonal bore and without 

 ' grooves, the angles of the hexagon repre- 

 senting the grooves in the old rifles. This 

 gun had a muzzle piece, loaded with a con- 

 ical, needle pointed ball, linen patched, and 

 was capable of making fine scores at 100 

 yards. 



These old fashioned muzzle loaders, even 

 if sighted for 300 yards, had low killing 

 power at that distance, as the powder was 

 not strong enough. 



In 1858 I bought a Marsden breech load- 

 ing single shot rifle. The ball was conical 

 and the caliber about 38. It used a paste- 

 board cartridge with leather bottom, per- 

 forated, combustible substance in hole, and 

 was fired by percussion cap. I, tried the 

 rifle at 35 yards and was disgusted with it. 

 In fact, I have not got over the feeling to 

 this day, though I have tried nearly every 

 make of rifle on the market. 



I had a gunsmith make me a pair of bul- 

 let moulds to cast a round ball, using a thin 

 linen patch, and killed many kinds of game. 

 With that ball the game was anything from 

 a wild pigeon to a buffalo. While on the 

 plains from 1859 to 1866 I never refused a 

 match at 35 yards. 



J. H. Kauffman, M.D., Minersville, Pa. 



THE AUTOMATIC PISTOL IS DIFFERENT. 



Answering W. M. Pugh's inquiry in your 

 September issue, I have a Colt automatic 

 pistol, .38 caliber, and in my judgment it 

 is far superior to the revolver in accuracy, 

 range and penetration, these being the es- 

 sential points to be considered. The ord- 

 nance experts of the U. S. Army have also 

 reported that the pistol is as durable as the 

 service revolver and not more liable to get 

 out of order. 



In the automatic there is no leakage of 

 powder gases between the cylinder and the 

 barrel, as there is in the revolver. The 

 cartridge is chambered the same as for a 

 rifle, and this gives the bullet greater ve- 

 locity, about 1,250 feet a second. In the 

 service revolver the velocity of the bullet 

 is but a little over 700 feet. 



With the .38 automatic I have shot 

 through 9 pine boards, % inch thick, placed 

 6 inches apart, the first one about 10 feet 

 from the muzzle. The Colt people put the 

 killing range at 500 yards. This pistol has 

 little recoil and for this reason better shoot- 

 ing can be done with it than with the re- 



volver of heavy caliber. I am not much of 

 a shot, but have made some fair scores 

 with the Colt. 



I owned a revolver of one of the best 

 makes, using the 44 W. C. F. cartridge; 

 but owing to the heavy recoil it was diffi- 

 cult for me to hit what I aimed at. In such 

 a revolver the recoil causes the barrel to be 

 thrown upward and in order to overcome 

 this in shooting, the front sight is made 

 high to make the barrel point below the ob- 

 ject aimed at. Then, as the barrel is re- 

 coifing up past the mark, the bullet leaves 

 the muzzle. This makes the revolver re- 

 quire exact uniformity in holding, because 

 if the gun is held tightly it will shoot low, 

 while if held loosely it will shoot high. In 

 the automatic, owing to the absence of re- 

 coil, the- tightness of the grasp makes but 

 little difference in the shooting. 



In my opinion the Colt automatic is far 

 superior to the Luger and the Mauser for 

 hunting purposes, as its larger caliber and 

 heavier bullet give it far more shocking 

 power. In the hands of a good shot the 

 automatic pistol possesses great possibili- 

 ties, and it was reported in a recent issue 

 of Recreation that a man was doing good 

 work with it killing mountain sheep, in 

 Alaska, at comparatively long ranges. 



The Colt automatic pistol is not compli- 

 cated. It is composed of few parts, and 

 for that reason is not liable to get out of 

 order. I have fired a good many shots with 

 mine, and it has never missed fire nor failed 

 to extract the empty shell. 



This pistol yill never fail to work if 

 given reasonable care. The slide should be 

 kept slightly oiled with a not too heavy oil, 

 which should be used sparingly in cold 

 weather. On account of the absence of re- 

 coil the arm is pleasant to shoot, and clean- 

 ing it is a pleasure as compared with clean- 

 ing the revolver. A few strokes of the 

 cleaner through the barrel and there you 

 are. 



To clean a revolver properly it is nec- 

 essary to remove the cylinder, as the leak- 

 age of powder gases fouls the frame badly. 

 Then the barrel, cylinder and frame must 

 be thoroughly cleaned, which I have found 

 quite a task. The automatic can be thor- 

 oughly cleaned and oiled in less than a 

 minute. 



The Colt automatic is safer than the re- 

 volver, as it is fitted with a safetv device 

 so that it requires the full blow of the ham- 

 mer to explode the cartridge. Should the 

 arm be dropped with a cartridge in the 

 chamber, in such a manner as to strike on 

 the hammer, it would not explode the cart- 

 ridge. The Colt is also lighter than any 

 of the large caliber revolvers, surpasses 

 them all in range and power, and is far 

 more accurate. 



To those who are used to the revolver 



