GUNS AND AMMUNITION. 



Anybody can shoot all day but a gentleman always quits when he gets enough. 



AMMUNITION FOR THE OLD COLT. 



In answer to W. O. Brown, Youngs- 

 town, Ohio, whose letter appeared iri'^your 

 June number: if possible, he should ob- 

 tain the old fashioned combustible envelope 

 cartridges for his powder and ball Colt 

 revolver, which, according to his state- 

 ment of caliber and length of barrel (.36 

 caliber, 7 l / 2 inch), was known as the navy 

 or belt pistol. The No. 10 U. M. C. per- 

 cussion cap will fit the nipples, but those 

 made by Ely Bros., London, are better. 



To load such a pistol proceed thus: 

 Half cock the arm,* press the cap on the 

 nipples in the cylinder, seeing that they 

 are pushed all the way down. If they are 

 not firmly seated the cylinder will jam in 

 revolving. Having capped the pistol drop 

 a cartridge into a chamber and ram it 

 down with the ramrod attached to the 

 barrel. Let the ramrod remain in the 

 loaded chamber until the next cartridge is 

 dropped into the adjoining chamber, when 

 it must be withdrawn. Then turn the 

 cylinder and ram down the second cart- 

 ridge, as before. Repeat this operation 

 until each chamber contains a cartridge, 

 when the weapon is ready for use. 



If these cartridges can not be obtained 

 bullets must be either bought or made for 

 the arm. A powder flask with a charger 

 that will carry at each filling the proper 

 charge for a .38 short Colt metallic cart- 

 ridge is also required. Cap the arm as 

 before and then put a charge of about 15 

 grains' weight in each chamber. This is 

 right for the long bullet, but 10 grains is 

 best for a round ball. The bullets must 

 be a little large for the chambers so that 

 some force will be required to ram them 

 in position. They can not then slip for- 

 ward and prevent the revolution of the 

 cylinder, nor can one cylinder be accident- 

 ally discharged by the flame from its 

 neighbor. 



I have found it possible to buy the old 

 style Colt double bullet moulds in second 

 hand stores or junk shops here in 

 Baltimore and presume they can be 

 found in similar places in other cities. A 

 few gun dealers also have them. The 

 only sizes I have seen are .265, .31, .36 and 

 .44 caliber. Each will cast a conical and 

 a round bullet. The cartridges are lubri- 

 cated, but these homemade bullets should 

 be dipped in melted tallow before being 

 used. 



*It is much better and safer to load first 

 and put the caps on afterward. Many a man 

 has died with his boots on because he put the 

 cap on first. — Editor. 



F. F. G. black powder should be used 

 for a .36 caliber pistol. Never use smoke- 

 less powder in any weapon not originally 

 intended for it. 



As for accuracy Mr. Brown will find the 

 round bullet more satisfactory than the 

 other, but I believe the cartridges were 

 all made with long bullets. Some of these 

 old pistols are accurate and strong 

 shooters. It is possible for an expert to 

 make as good targets with them as with 

 a modern weapon of the same make. The 

 old pistols are made with a gain twist, 

 which may have something to do with their 

 steadiness when fired, although their weight 

 also contributes to this stability. If the 

 barrel and cylinder are removed from the 

 frame and cleaned after shooting, one of 

 those old pistols will last a long time and 

 give its possessor much pleasure. 



Revolver, Baltimore, Md. 



In June Recreation W. O. Brown re- 

 quests information as to loading the old 

 style Colt powder and ball pistol. The 

 arm he speaks of, 36 caliber, is the navy 

 pattern ; the old Colt army was 44 caliber. 

 For ranges up to 20 yards use round ball 

 and not to exceed 15 grains F. F. G. pow- 

 der. For ranges up to 50 yards use conical 

 ball and 13% grains of powder. Use Ely 

 Bros. Colt pistol caps, and in using conical 

 balls always grease them. Do not use any 

 smokeless powder in this arm if you want 

 to remain on earth. 



I have shot many Colt cap and ball guns. 

 They shoot where held up to 40 yards, but 

 as the sights on them are po'or, I could 

 never do much beyond that distance. With 

 good sights either the Army or Navy pat- 

 tern should be good for an 8 inch bull's 

 eye at 85 yards, and that, in my opinion, is 

 the limit of the arm. 



Has any reader of Recreation ever tried 

 the Colt automatic pistol, either 32 or 38 

 caliber, rimless smokeless cartridges? Are 

 they sure fire, accurate and certain to eject 

 shell? What pentration do they give, and 

 are they liable to get out of order easily? 



I often wonder why Recreation readers 

 do not write more about the capabilities of 

 different arms and cover all points inter- 

 esting to users of rifles, guns and re- 

 volvers. We all have our opinions of arms 

 we use. Why not give them and our 

 reasons therefore? 



W. M. Pugh, Baltimore, Md. 



Answering W. O. Brown I have used 

 many Colt cap and ball pistols. They are 

 good shooting irons when the right man 

 is behind them. Load them with any good 



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