GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



Anybody can shoot all day, but a gentleman will quit when he gets enough 

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THE 30-30 WINCHESTER 

 About 6 years ago my old 44-40 was 

 consigned to the scrap heap and I bought 

 a 30-30 Winchester. It came equipped 

 with Lyman sights, as all hunting rifles 

 should, and its first 10 shots at 100 .yards 

 were put in a 2 inch circle. Six years' ex- 

 perience hunting and exploring in the most 

 remote corners of North America have not 

 shaken my faith in it.. Some men shoot a 

 rifle at a deer or 2, note the effect of the 

 bullet and then rush into print for or 

 against the arm. That is not a fair trial ; 

 and for this reason I have not told of 

 the first buck killed in its tracks with a 

 shot far back, at 100 yards, but have waited 

 until the notches in my stock number 

 well into the 30's. Of big. game shot with 

 this gun not an animal has escaped to die 

 a lingering death. True, I have had one 

 or 2 long trails to follow ; but who, 

 of those who have held sights on much 

 big game, has not? A sportsman will 

 frequently condemn a gun when a deer 

 shot with it through the heart runs 100 

 yards or so before dropping. I have only 

 seen or heard of 2 deer, in at least 500 

 known cases, which dropped to a heart 

 shot when the shoulders were not broken. 

 I well remember one wintry morning in 

 November when I, turned the 30-30 loose 

 on a big mule deer buck. It was in a little 

 muskeag swamp on what is known as the 

 Ground Hog range, near the headwaters 

 of the Skeena river in British Columbia, 

 that I jumped the buck. He ran up the 

 side of a grassy knoll to the right, offering 

 a splendid shot, but did not drop until the 

 fourth shot. All those 4 shots could be 

 covered by my hand, just back of the left 

 shoulder. The heart was gone completely. 

 Earlier in the same season I accounted 

 for 3 deer and a white goat with one shot 

 each. The shot which killed the goat was 

 especially remarkable. I saw him about 

 500 yards off and proceeded to stalk him. 

 When I next caught sight of him he was on 

 the side of a steep bluff, 74 yards above 

 me. At the first shot Billy toppled over 

 and landed within 2 feet of me, without 

 a quiver. The bullet entered underneath the 

 stomach and passed out at the back with- 

 out striking a bone, yet had killed instantly. 

 Many such experiences, from Maine to the 

 Pacific, have convinced me that the rifle 

 possesses sufficient accuracy and killing 

 power for any American sportsman,. 



This rifle should be sighted point blank 

 at 50 yards to enable one to cut off the 

 heads of geese, etc. As sent from the fac- 



tory with plain open sights they are usual- 

 ly sighted at a 200 yard target, and will 

 shoot 5 inches high at 100 yards, with the 

 rear sight down. When sighted for 50 

 yards no change will be necessary up to 125 

 yards. For 200 yards, raise the Lyman 

 sight one degree above the 50 yard mark 

 on the stem. 



The only low power load I have been 

 able to use with complete success is as 

 follows: Kephart's Ideal bullet No. 308,- 

 206, 125 grains, cast 1 to 10 and lubricated 

 with Leopold's Ideal Banana lubricant ; 20 

 grains Du Pont No.i or No. 2 smokeless 

 rifle powder or 12 grains, black powder 

 measure, Laflin & Rand Sporting Rifle 

 smokeless; Winchester No. 2^2 primer. 

 Powder loaded loose in the shell.. Bullet 

 unsized. This bullet is too large to fit the 

 expanded shell. The neck of the shell 

 must be reamed out with a 5-16 inch ream- 

 er and the sharp corner left by the reamer 

 champered off with an old pocket knife. 

 The bullet is then seated to just cove/ the 

 broad groove. The dirt escaping groove of 

 the bullet should be filled with lubricant. 

 This exposure of lubricant outside the 

 shell will give the rifleman the impression 

 that the shell is no good for hunting pur- 

 poses on account of dirt, etc. ; but I have 

 carried cartridges thus loaded in a web 

 cartridge belt 5 months in the mountains 

 and they were as accurate when fired as 

 those freshly loaded. Do not attempt to 

 size the bullet to fit in the shell, for when 

 sized to .305, which the manufacturers give 

 as correct for this rifle, gas cutting will 

 occur and the bullets will scatter all over 

 the target. 



Loaded as described this load will keep 

 its shots under a silver dollar at 50 yards. 

 It will not mangle grouse; does not wear 

 the barrel ; is inexpensive, and is a little 

 stronger than the 32-20 cartridge. At 50 

 yards it requires an elevation of 3^2 points 

 above the 50 yard point blank elevation for 

 the full power load. 



If you fire high power cartridges through 

 your barrel always clean before using low 

 power. Otherwise the gun will lead badly. 



Cleaning high power guns seems a 

 stumbling block to most riflemen ; hundreds 

 of high power rifles have 'been ruined by 

 ignorance in this matter. Old black pow- 

 der methods will not do,. High pressure 

 nitro powders leave an intensely acid resi- 

 due, which, if not removed soon after 

 firing, and neutralized, will rust and pit 

 the barrel badly. This residue is in the 

 form of a thin, gummy coating which can 



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