GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



379 



terials here that is the best I can do. Pow- 

 der costs me $1.50 a can, one pound. 

 Chas. E. Fulstone, Carson City, Neb. 



velocity, and whether the shells, loaded 

 with smokeless, are as good as black pow- 

 der loads ? 



M. G. Burns, Scofield, Utah. 



WISHES INFORMATION. 



I have an Ideal Stevens rifle, 25-25, 26 

 inch barrel, rifled with a 12 inch twist and 

 chambered for the 96 grain bullet. I also 

 use the 77 grain bullet with 13 grains pow- 

 der for light hunting. I cast the 96 grain 

 bullet 1 to 40 and the 77 grain bullet 1 to 

 50, but have not had opportunity to do all 

 the experimenting I wish and am not sure 

 that my bullets are properly tempered. 

 If any of your readers have had experience 

 with the 25 caliber and 12 inch twist, I 

 would appreciate it if they will write me 

 fully or have their experience published 

 in your valuable journal. I use semi- 

 smokeless mostly; fg grain for full 

 charge and ffg for reduced charges. Has 

 any one tried fffg or ffffg for reduced 

 charge in this caliber and twist? I no- 

 tice the Winchester Co. in their 32-40 

 Marlin & Ballard cartridge temper the bul- 

 let 1 to 40 for full charge of 40 grains 

 powder, but in the short range load they 

 temper the bullet 1 to 20 and only use 13 

 grains powder. The Stevens Arms Co. 

 recommend for their 22-15-60, with 12 inch 

 twist, bullets tempered 1 to 75, and 1 to 

 60 for full charge, and a pure lead bullet 

 for reduced charge. Let some philosopher 

 or gun crank explain all this and help us 

 would be cranks out of the fog. 



T. J. Wilbourn, Gail, Tex. 



NOT VAN DYKES. 



Last winter a 3 year old cow stampeded 

 from our slaughter yard and for 3 days 

 we tried without success to get her back 

 again. After failing to head her on horse- 

 back, I became angry and dismounted to 

 take a shot, just for revenge. I had with 

 me a 22 caliber Winchester, 1900 model. 

 The cow stood with side toward me. I 

 aimed for the middle of her ear and fired. 

 She went down and stayed down, though 

 the butcher, who came up immediately, 

 would not cut her throat until he had put 

 a larger bullet through her head. 



A friend bent the barrel of a 22 Marlin 

 by hitting his horse across the rump with 

 it. He then took the action out and struck 

 the barrel the other way across a bank 2 

 or 3 times. When put together again the 

 rifle shot as well as ever. 



These stories are not an infringement 

 of the Van Dyke copyright, because they 

 are true. 



I recently bought a 22 Winchester, sin- 

 gle shot, center fire, for hunting coyotes 

 on the snow. Will some one tell me its 



SMALL SHOT. 



In October Recreation G. L. Watkyns 

 mentions the 30-40 Winchester, '95 model, 

 as "an all purpose gun." I protest against 

 that dictum. In the first place, the killing 

 of large game, except at the long range 

 required for goats and sheep, is best ac- 

 complished by the bullet having the great- 

 est force of impact. The old 45-90 and 

 the 40-82 are the best guns for this coun- 

 try. I have tried the 30-40 at different 

 times during the past 4 years, and shall not 

 use it again. It is not a reliable gun. 

 Its light barrel and tremendous inital ve- 

 locity give the ball a lateral swerve. The 

 inland Indians, among whom I have just 

 made a trip of over 600 miles, use the old 

 44-40 Winchester almost exclusively. They 

 find it does all the work they require. That 

 it does so, the bear, moose, lynx, deer and 

 wolf pelts I saw abundantly testify. The 

 ideal gun is still a dream, but stick to the 

 black powder rifle unless extremely long 

 range is desired. 



Douglas Brown, M. D., Mattawa, Ont. 



Which is the best for target shooting 

 and all around use, a Colt's new Police re- 

 volver, chambered for the 32 Colt new Po- 

 lice cartridge, with 6-inch barrel, or a 

 Smith & Wesson hand ejector revolver, 

 chambered for the 32 S. & W. long, with 

 6-inch barrel? Also which has the strong- 

 est and best action ? 



W. D., Stamford, Conn. 



ANSWER. 



The 2 revolvers you refer to are nearly 

 identical in action, accuracy and power. 

 The principal difference in the models is in 

 the shape of the handle. With 6-inch bar- 

 rels, both these arms are capable of shoot- 

 ing groups of 10 shots so as to touch a 

 3-inch circle at 50 yards with the regula- 

 tion full charge ammunition. Any indi- 

 vidual preference for one or the other of 

 the arms would be based on the slight dif- 

 ference in the shape of the handle. — 

 Editor. 



I should like to hear from those 

 using the 22-7-45, '9° model, Winchester. 

 I bought one a few weeks ago, fitted with 

 Lyman sights. It is a powerful little gun. 

 I soon found that U. M. C. cartridges 

 would not work in it. The points were 

 too sharp and flattened in the magazine, 

 making the cartridges too short. This was 

 especially the case with cartridges that had 

 been worked through action more than 



