GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



133 



inch, but is .400 iilth, while the 44-4° ball 

 is a little more than .42 caliber. The origi- 

 nal 30-30 had 30 grains of high pressure 

 powder, but now carries about 22 grains of 

 L. & R. Lightning, or 29 grains of Du 

 Pont 30 caliber. 



Years ago, when smooth bores were in 

 vogue, and when they, as well as practical- 

 ly all rifles, used round balls, the gauge of 

 caliber was based on the number of balls 

 to the pound ; a 20 gauge taking 20 bails to 

 the pound, a 50 gauge taking 50 balls, and 

 so on. The 50 gauge would measure about 

 .450 inch, the 20 gauge over .610 inch, and 

 the old fashioned 32 gauge, once a favorite 

 in American hunting rifles, was nearly .530 

 caliber. This same system is still used in 

 numbering shot guns; the 12 gauge being 

 .729 inch bore, a round ball to fit weighing 

 about 580 grains. But as the use of a patch 

 requires the fit to be loose, the bullets are 

 really only about 545 grains in weight. The 

 10 gauge is .775 caliber; the 16 gauge is 

 .662 caliber; the 20 gauge is .615 caliber.— 

 Editor. 



TARGET SHOOTING. 



I wish to call the attention of readers of 

 Recreation to a target which I have used 

 a number of years for rifle and pistol prac- 

 tice. 



Those who shoot at a regular range use 

 one of the standard targets; but many 

 shooters use a home-made target, some- 

 times a bullseye on white paper, and often 

 at a guessed distance. If there should be 

 rings outside the bullseye, they are likely 

 to be out of proportion to it. If such 

 shooters would make a target of regular 

 size and use it at the proper distance, the 

 pleasure of shooting would be greatly in- 

 creased. 



After some experimenting, I found a 

 target which I think is most satisfactory 

 for ordinary practice. It is also good for 

 match shooting. I call it the symmetrical 

 target, because each ring is just the diame- 

 ter of the bullseye larger than the next 

 smaller one. Thus at 25 yards the bullseye 

 is one inch and the rings are 2, 3, 4, 5 and 

 6 inches in diameter The bullseye scores 

 10 and the rings 8, 6, 4, 2, 1. The bullseye 

 is increased one inch every 25 yards ; so at 

 100 yards it is 4 inches in diameter which 

 is the standard size. The largest ring 

 would be 24 inches. This target I use for 

 off-hand shooting. 



For rest shooting, use a target % the 

 regular size with regular sized bullseye. 

 That is, at 100 yards use the 50 yard target, 

 with 100 yard bullseye. The rings score, 

 when shooting this way, I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 

 6 is the center of the bullseye. 



For pistol shooting use the target, regu- 

 lar size, at 2-5 the distance that it is use<J 



for a rifle; that is, the 50 yard target is 

 used at 20 yards. 



In making this target I use an imple- 

 ment which is easy to make. Take a strip 

 of zinc an inch wide and a little over a 

 fjot long. About Yi. inch from one end 

 make a hole large enough for a large pin, 

 or, what is better, a small brad, to pass 

 tnrough easily. 



Then make holes along the center, % 

 inch apart, for l / 2 its length, then ^-inch 

 to the end. They should be large enough 

 for the point of a pencil to pass through. 

 Be careful to get the holes exactly the 

 right distance apart. 



Then take a piece of paper the size you 

 wish your target to be, and mark the cen- 

 ter. Place it on a smooth surface, and put 

 the pinhole over the center. Drive a pin 

 or brad through into the wood underneath. 

 Take a lead pencil and swing the circles 

 that you wish. The bullseyes are better 

 made of black paper and tacked on. Pho- 

 tographer's paper is good- Pasters are 

 easily made and used. Don't use white 

 paper for targets. Yellow, or light gray 

 or brown is better. Always measure your 

 distance 



E. E. W., Old Mystic, Conn. 



THE LUGER AUTOMATIC PISTOL. 



The board appointed by the Ordnance 

 Department to test and recommend a small 

 arm to replace the revolver in the Army 

 and Navy, showed good judgment when 

 it chose the Borchardt-Luger parabellum 

 pistol, commonly known as the Luger au- 

 tomatic. It is one of the greatest weapons 

 ever produced. In efficiency, range, ac- 

 curacy and reliability it is perfect. Its 

 durability can be demonstrated only by time 

 and service. In action and manipulation 

 it is superb. In a trial of the weapon a 

 short time ago, at a distance of 23 yards, 

 the bullet penetrated 9 inches of soft pine, 

 but as the exit was a clear cut hole I am 

 sure the limit of its power was not shown. 



The recoil is scarcely discernible, while 

 the automatic action of the heavy bolt in- 

 cidental on extracting and reloading is 

 unnoticeable either by eye or hand. This 

 seems incredible when one considers the 

 force necessary to work the bolt by hand. 

 After having fired the pistol the automatic 

 action to put it into position to again fire 

 is unnoticed, and one hardly believes that 

 it can be fired again by merely pressing the 

 trigger. 



The discharged shells fly back over the 

 right shoulder about 5 feet. Should your 

 position during firing remain unchanged, 

 you will find them all in a 2-foot circle. 



The target that can be made is sur- 

 prising. Little care is necessary to group 

 your shots in a 2-inch circle; and if your 



