GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



45 



gauge of about 7}i pounds, with 30 inch 

 barrels, and bored to suit the skill of the 

 shooter. Lefever, Hughesville, Pa. 



A SHOT GUN THAT BEATS A RIFLE. 

 Where water fowl abound is where the 

 true merit of a shot gun is proven. Most 

 any gun will kill pigeons, quail or grouse. 

 When it comes to downright hard shooting 

 qualities of a gun, try it on a canvasback 

 duck or a goose at 60 yards, and if you 

 kill you can say you have a good gun. 



Two years ago I was a rifle crank and 

 looked upon shot guns as clay target break- 

 ers. I had a high priced 12 gauge gun of 

 noted make that would do good work at 

 the traps, but when I tried it shooting 

 ducks, it crippled so many and wasted so 

 much ammunition that I laid it away, con- 

 sidering it criminal to use such a weapon. 

 I have used several shot guns of standard 

 makes, but none came up to my idea of 

 what a shot gun should do. 



Two years ago I wanted a light gun for 

 my wife, and after examining many guns 

 I selected a 16 gauge Ithaca. I liked the 

 gradual slope of the barrels and the entire 

 piece had a business-like look that appealed 

 to me. 



Three days later my judgment was veri- 

 fied by the killing by the little gun of a 

 4-point buck at 62 yards, with No. 4 

 chilled shot and 2^ drams nitro powder. 

 With two companions I was in the timber 

 hunting cattle. Turning a bend in the 

 trail we came on 2 bucks. I naturally raised 

 my piece to draw a bead on the nearest 

 one, with no intention of firing; I would 

 have had more confidence in a club. But 

 when one of my friends said, "Let him 

 have it," I pushed the safety forward and 

 fired. Both deer jumped at the report; 

 one kept going but the one I aimed at made 

 his last jump and dropped dead. We 

 found 17 shot had penetrated the heart. I 

 then realized that all shot guns are not 

 alike. 



Some time previous to this incident I 

 used both barrels of my other gun on a 

 deer at 35. yards with no more effect than 

 to penetrate the hide, causing it to bleed. 

 Not knowing how badly the animal was 

 wounded and not wishing to have it go 

 into the brush to die, I put the dog on its 

 track and finally killed it with my rifle. 

 That shot gun cost 3 times as much as 

 my Ithaca and had wasted more than its 

 price, in ammunition. The Ithaca nearly 

 paid for itself with the first shot. Since 

 then I have killed many deer at various 

 ranges with my Ithaca and prefer it as an 

 all round weapon, to a rifle. I have never 

 lost a deer in the densest underbrush. 

 . I have shot and killed hawks, grouse and 

 pheasants out of the highest trees, ?r?<? 



some of our trees are over 300 feet high. 

 Last fall I shot a large black bear with 

 No. 4 chilled shot at 54 yards, killing him 

 almost instantly. There are many instances 

 I cou ? d speak of, all of which can be veri- 

 fied by reliable witnesses, in which my 16 

 gauge Ithaca has done remarkably hard 

 shooting. I have no difficulty in killing a 

 canvasback dtick at 75 yards. This is a 

 game country and we carry a gun all the 

 time, for we do not know at what mo- 

 ment we may see a panther, wild cat or 

 bear, and my Ithaca is good for them all 

 at any reasonable range. 



J. D. Magee, Templeton, Ore. 



SOME FACTS ABOUT THE .25-35. 



Can .25-.35 Winchester shells, factory 

 loaded with high pressure powder, be safe- 

 ly reloaded with black or semi-smokeless 

 powder ? 



I have an Ideal bullet sizer, .25-. 20. Can 

 that be used to resize for the .25-^5 ? 



What is the trajectory, velocity and pen- 

 etration of the .25-.35? 



I am with you against the automatic 

 shot gun. 



George Bingel, Del Monte, Colo. 



ANSWER. 



The .25-.35 factory ' loaded shells can be 

 reloaded even if they have originally con- 

 tained high power powder. The principal 

 danger about reloading smokeless ammuni- 

 tion is the fact that an unusually strong 

 primer is used to explode the smokeless 

 powder, and this primer contains more 

 fulminate of mercury than the ordinary 

 black powder primers. Fulminate of mer- 

 cury has a great affinity for the zinc or 

 spelter contained in the composition of the 

 brass shell, and if the shells after being 

 fired with smokeless powder are not 

 quickly cleansed a decomposition sets in 

 which makes the shell brittle. 



I do not consider it wise for any one 

 to reload smokeless ammunition for big 

 game, unless he is in the woods and has 

 to do so. In other words, it is taking an 

 unnecessary risk. For target work it is, 

 of course, not so objectionable, for if a shell 

 splits or even bursts in 2, there will be no 

 danger of losing game, and with a good 

 shell extractor the parted shells can readily 

 be withdrawn from the breech. 



The .25-.20 bullet Ideal sizer can be used 

 to resize bullets for the .25-. 35 charge. The 

 diameter of the bullet on all .25 central fire 

 calibers is .257. The velocity of the .25 is 

 close to 1,945 feet. The trajectory is : 100 

 yard range ; height of bullet at 50 yards 

 1.30 inches. 200 yard range; height of Bul- 

 let at 100 yards 6.14 inches. The No. 1 

 bullet penetrates about 40 inches in dry 

 ^ine ; the No. 2, about 10 inches. — Editor, 



