226 



RECREATION 



even with light loads the penetration is 

 sufficient to kill all game that should be 

 taken with a shot gun. Mr. Greener, speak- 

 ing of the 20 gauge, writes: "A frequent 

 error, and one which is of importance, is 

 the overloading of small bore guns, for 

 sportsmen overlook the point that the gun 

 does not fail to kill owing to lack of pene- 

 trative force, but because the pattern is not 

 sufficiently close." I contend that the pat- 

 tern of the 16 gauge is sufficiently close, 

 and that even at' 60 yards- it holds its own 

 with the 12 gauge. 



I do not comment on the neater appear- 

 ance of the smaller size; that may be of 

 little importance, but I, for my part, prefer 

 a neat appearing, easy to handle, light gun, 

 to the heavier and clumsier one. I load my 

 own ammunition, and the great saying in 

 expensive powders and shot is an item to 

 be considered. The seller of ammunition, 

 of course, has his preference, and it is cer- 

 tainly not for the size on which he will 

 realize the least. 



No one who has ever used a 16 bore gun 

 with No. 4 shot will claim that it has not 

 sufficient penetrative force and that, too, 

 with as good a pattern as can - ordinarily be 

 made with a 12. It would be a surprise to 

 a g*rat many to note the performance of 

 such a gun and charge at 75 yards. 



Samuel E. Tatem, Washington, D. C. 



mind to buy a Baker. Will some of the 

 readers of Recreation tell me what gauge 

 to buy for bird shooting? How should bar- 

 rels be bored and what length for different 



gauge guns 



SHALL IT BE 12 OR 16? 



I am of Mr. Campbell's opinion, that if 

 the readers of Recreation would relate 

 their experiences with the different gauge 

 guns it would be interesting to most of us. 

 What I should like to know is : Will a 16 

 gauge gun loaded with, say, 2 l / 2 drams of 

 powder with proportionate charge of shot, 

 shoot as hard as a 12 gauge with 3 drams 

 of powder and proportionate charge of 

 same size shot? We will assume that both 

 guns are of same length and are bored 

 alike. Of course, you can hit a flying bird 

 with more ease with a 12 gauge, as it makes 

 a larger target, but what I want is a gun 

 that will not tire me to carry it all day, 

 will not kick too hard, and which at the 

 same time will give good service. Another 

 thing in favor of the 16 gauge, in addition 

 to its light weight, is the weight of the am- 

 munition when I am loaded down with 

 shells for an all day's hunt. I have 2 Itha- 

 cas and one Syracuse, all hammerless. One 

 of the Ithacas is a 16 gauge. The next 

 gun I buy will be a Baker hammerless, as 

 it is said to be absolutely safe from be- 

 ing discharged accidentally, and that is a 

 feature worth considering. A few days ago 

 I fired the right barrel of my 16 gauge at 

 a bird and the left barrel went off at the 

 same time. Since that I have made up my 



G. E. Cecil, Flatlick, Ky. 



. These questions have all been answered 

 in Recreation time and again ; but this sub- 

 ject is, like a pretty girl, always interesting, 

 and so I shall be glad to have my readers 

 take another shy at it. — Editor. 



PASSENGER PIGEON OR BAND- 

 TAIL? 



While teaching at Glenlea, Man., 18 miles 

 South of Winnipeg, in 1896-7-8, I frequently 

 saw wild pigeons, usually in pairs, but oc- 

 casionally 4, 5 or 6 together. In the sum- 

 mer of '98 I came to Qu' Appelle. Have 

 seen these birds here every year, but pre- 

 vious to this year do not recollect seeing 

 more than 4 at a time. This year have 

 seen as many as 10 or 12 together. They 

 were daily on the street near my home ; 

 also in my garden. Have never found 

 their nests. The past 2 or 3 weeks they 

 have disappeared, presumably having gone 

 South for the winter. The birds I have 

 seen are slimmer than the domestic pigeon 

 and, apparently, with a predominance of 

 bluish-grey tints ; but I have never killed 

 one nor been able to get close enough to 

 study coloring minutely. 



E. E. Law, Qu' Appelle, Can. 



I am deeply interested in your report as 

 to wild pigeons, and while I am exceed- 

 ingly anxious that the few of these birds 

 remaining should be carefully protected, I 

 regret you or some one else did not kill 

 one specimen, in the interest of science. 

 There is still a question in my mind as to 

 the identity of the birds you saw. As you 

 doubtless know, the bandtail pigeon is 

 quite numerous in the Puget sound country 

 and in parts of Oregon and Northern Cali- 

 fornia. It is possible these birds may have 

 crossed the Cascades and the Rocky Moun- 

 tains and invaded your Province. If any 

 of them return in the spring I trust 

 you may be able to secure one, skin it 

 carefully, stuff the skin with cotton and 

 send it to me. If, however, you are fa- 

 miliar with the passenger pigeon, you could 

 readily distinguish it from the bandtail 

 by the fact that the former has a 

 long tail and flies with it folded and sharp 

 pointed, while the bandtail has a shorter 

 tail and flies with is spread out, as the do- 

 mestic pigeon or dove does. Were you near 

 enough to any of the pigeons you saw to 

 identify them in this particular? — Editor. 



ANSWER. 



Yours to hand. I am still of belief that 

 the birds are passenger pigeons, though I 



