3 88 



RECREATION. 



300, 500, 600 and 1,000 yards ; and in 1903 

 he won the Spencer Match at 800 and 1,000 

 yards, as well as the Hayes Match, 500 and 

 600 yards. All this with reloaded high 

 power ammunition. Dr. Cook states that 

 his shells were the Frankford, as were the 

 primers, and that they were reloaded Febru- 

 ary, 1903, without being cleaned ; the bullet 

 was U. M. C. Thomas, charge 37 grs. W.A. 

 30 caliber. Still these cartridges showed no 

 deterioration when being fired in September, 

 1903, after being loaded over one year and 

 a half. 



At Sea Girt this year, Howard Gensch, 

 private of Company A, First Regiment, 

 N. J. N. G., Newark, won the President's 

 Match, 7 shots at each range, 200, 300, 500, 

 6co, 800 and 1,000 yards, 50 competitors, 

 among whom were some of the most expert 

 marksmen in the country. 



He was the recipient of a special message 

 of congratulation from President Roosevelt. 

 He used only reloaded ammunition^ Frank- 

 ford shells, 220 grains H. H. 'bullets, 

 and 36 grains of W. A. 30 caliber powder. 

 Among those who reload their own shells 

 are the leading riflemen of the country, such 

 as Capt. W. G. Hudson, Lieut. K. K. V. 

 Casey, Captain Corwin, William Hayes and 

 others. 



At Ft. Riley, the New York State team 

 won over all competitors from the United 

 States Army, United States Navv, United 

 States Marine Corps, United States Cavalry 

 and -Militia of all other States that sent 

 teams. The New York team was selected 

 almost wholly from regiments located in the 

 cities of New York and Brooklyn, 7th, 8th, 

 9th, 13th, 23d regiments and others, all of 

 whom have complete outfits in their ar- 

 mories for reloading shells, and during the 

 last 6 months have reloaded in each of these 

 various armories 25,000 to 60,000 rounds of 

 ammunition for indoor and field practice. 

 This practice caused the efficiency which 

 won for the New York State. 



Practice makes perfect, and to attain per- 

 fection or proficiency in rifle shooting re- 

 quires plenty of ammunition. In no State 

 in the Union has the reloading of shells 

 been so general as among the militiamen of 

 New York, and in no part of that State 

 as in the City of New York. What these 

 men have done, others may do. Relative to 

 cost, another quotation from the Army and 

 Navy Register of September 10, 1904, is 

 made : 



"As to expense, it is possible to get the 

 cost of full service loaded cartridges, with 

 jacketed bullets, using the shells again, 

 as low as $14 to $16 a thousand. The 

 regular factory full service ammunition 

 30-40 Krag costs over $40. Cartridges that 

 are loaded with cast bullets made from re- 

 covered alloy can be made for $2.75 to $3.25 

 a thousand. Is not the ammunition question 



worth a little study, in view of this immense 

 saving ?" 



The later production of the 30-40 Krag- 

 full power ammunition is certainly far su- 

 perior to the earlier product. For the per- 

 fection of the shell and primer thanks are 

 due the U. S. officers at Frankford Ar- 

 senal ; and the Laflin & Rand Powder Co. 

 is entitled to credit for the W. A. 30 caliber 

 powder. For the perfection of the bullet, 

 credit must be given expert riflemen, 

 such as William Hayes, W. G. Hudson, and 

 others. The first move in that direction re- 

 sulted in the Thomas bullet. The next was 

 the Hayes & Hudson bullet ; then the Ideal 

 cast bullet, 308,268, for short and medium 

 range, all of which are embodiments of old 

 and well known laws of ballistics and tend 

 to verify the saying of Solomon the Wise, 

 "There is nothing new under the sun." 



From observation along the firing line at 

 the late military shoots, the following may 

 be deduced : 



1st. The accuracy of the 30-40 Krag 

 has improved greatly, due largely to the im- 

 proved form of the bullet. 



2nd. Reloaded ammunition is good and 

 accurate. 



3rd. Frankford shells and H. 48 primers 

 are preferred by those who reload. 



4th. Reloading is an economy that all 

 can practice. 



5th. The Frankford 30-40 Krag shell with 

 H. 48 primer and 36 grains of W. A. 30 

 caliber powder, with the W. H. bullet, is 

 the best combination in the world for the 

 full high power cartridge. 



6th. When the manufacturers all make 

 as good shells and primers as Frankford 

 Arsenal makes and when they all use 

 the W. H. bullet, there will be no military 

 or sporting ammunition in the world to 

 beat them. 



FORT RILEY AND SEA GIRT. 



Those present at Fort Riley and Sea Girt 

 camps of instruction in small arms prac- 

 tice have returned and are relating their re- 

 cent experiences to friends at home. All 

 this gossip is interesting and much of it 

 instructive. The lessons taught have been 

 valued and all unite in saying there is much 

 yet to be learned. While the instructions 

 dealt chiefly with the handling of strictly 

 military arms, the fact that these a'rms were 

 loaded with smokeless powder in most 

 matches entitles all the now proved theories 

 about smokeless ammunition to receive due 

 consideration from the thousands who use 

 it in arms other than military. The sports- 

 men in the field, the woods or the moun- 

 tains may benefit by these recent lessons ; 

 likewise the many who shoot at short and 

 mid range with the new high power ammu- 

 nition. 



