GUNS AND AMMUNITION 



357 



have no fixed value in giving elevation. This will 

 depend upon the distance between sights, and 

 upon the velocity, weight, and shape of the bullet. 

 — Editor. 



cartridges out this way cost $3 per hundred, bul 

 both are worth the price. 



J. C. Brodie. 

 Flagstaff, Ariz. 



Another Kind 



One sees some remarkable statements in print. 

 Only recently the worthy editor of a contemporary 

 magazine made an astounding statement. He 

 said: "The point blank range of a rifle means that 

 if you hold a rifle perfectly horizontal, the bullet 

 will travel in a true horizontal line up to a certain 

 distance, and after this distance the bullet will 

 certainly drop toward the earth as it cannot re- 

 main in the air." 



Now, with all due deference to this authority, 

 we are willing to confess that he has not convinced 

 us that a bullet which has such extraordinary 

 independence of action, as to travel in a true hori- 

 zontal line even for a short distance, cannot re- 

 main in the air as long as it sees fit. The ordinary 

 every-day bullet unfortunately finds it necessary 

 to fall from the very moment that the support of 

 the barrel fails it. 



Another statement made by the same gentleman 

 was: "A bullet falls at the rate of 15 feet per sec- 

 ond per hundred yards coming out of a rifle." 

 We had an impression that gravity, acting at sea- 

 level, caused the bullet to fall 16 feet in the first 

 second, the fall increasing from o to 32 feet by the 

 end of the second. Hence it would follow that 

 whatever distance is covered by the bullet in one 

 second will be the range in which the bullet will 

 drop 16 feet. 



The Luger for Him 



Editor Recreation: 



Apropos of the current discussion in Recrea- 

 tion on the merits of different "belt guns," allow 

 me to say a few words on the merits of the Luger 

 Automatic. In my work as a ranger in the forest 

 service and my many hunting trips during the past 

 seven years, I have used almost every kind of pistol 

 or revolver and have discarded them all for the 

 Luger. The one I have is the Military model, .30 

 calibre, eight shots, five-inch barrel. In range and 

 penetration this gun excelled anything I have ever 

 seen, doubling that of thej.45 Frontier Colt and far 

 exceeding any of the .32 specials. Its accuracy is 

 remarkable, shoots like a rifle, with practically no 

 recoil. I have repeatedly killed quail with steel 

 balls at 50 yards and brought squirrels out of high 

 pine trees. In riding on the Pinal mountains re- 

 serve the past summer, where rattlesnakes were 

 numerous, it was my common practice to shoot 

 their heads off from the saddle with the expansive 

 balls. I have made good targets at 150 yards, the 

 ball seeming to drop very little at that distance. 

 The steel balls will drill a hole through an 8-inch 

 seasoned railroad tie at twenty yards. In rapidity 

 of fire it is unsurpassed by any of them. Weighing 

 but 23 ounces is another point in its favor. As one 

 of the two safety devices is always "on" when the 

 handle is not in one's grasp, accidental discharge 

 is impossible. I use the German make of cartridges 

 exclusively, as others arc not satisfactory. 



The Luger is rather an expensive arm and the 



Most Revolvers Too Light 



Editor Recreation: 



By reading the ideas of different writers on the 

 revolver question, I have been prompted to put in 

 my say. Whatever manufacturer undertakes the 

 job of supplying a belt revolver for all kinds of 

 shooting, he should give a six-inch barrel at least, 

 and plenty of good metal in it to keep it down. 

 Smith & Wesson revolvers have always been my 

 favorite, but they are too light in weight. I have 

 one now, .32 calibre double action, with six-inch 

 barrel, but it is so light I have to hold it with both 

 hands to keep it from jumping over my head. By 

 holding the end of the barrel with one hand and 

 pulling the trigger with the other I can do as good 

 shooting as with many rifles. 



Thirty-five years ago, when I was a boy, my 

 father had one of Smith & Wesson's first .22- 

 calibre revolvers. The barrel was 3! inches and 

 almost as large as the .22-calibre rifles made to-day. 

 I practised with that revolver for years, and could 

 do almost as good shooting as with a rifle at dis- 

 tances from twenty-five to fifty yards. I hardly 

 ever wanted more than one shot to bring a red 

 squirrel out of any tree while riding along our 

 country roads. Since then all other revolvers have 

 been too light for their calibre to suit me. 



E. Kelly. 



Arkville, N. Y. 



Also Uses a .22 Pistol 

 Editor Recreation: 



I agree with Josh Bill that for small game 

 around camp, such as porcupines and grouse, a 

 pistol is better than a heavy calibre revolver. For 

 this use the Smith & Wesson single shot pistol, 

 chambered for the". 2 2 long rifle cartridge, seems to 

 me to be best. With a six-inch barrel it weighs a 

 bit over twenty ounces. If one wants a light 

 revolver, I would advise him to get a .32 Colt's 

 New Police with a six-inch barrel. The weight is 

 about the same as the pistol. Be careful when 

 using a smokeless powder. 



I once had a long .44 powder and ball old- 

 fashioned revolver. Loaded with bullets of my 

 own mold, I used to have great fun with the arm. 

 One day I loaded her with a mixture of black and 

 Dupont Shotgun Smokeless. At the first shot a 

 large piece of the cylinder blew out and narrowly 

 missed a friend standing to one side. Of course, 

 this arm was not meant for smokeless powder, and 

 the mixture was probably doubly dangerous. 



Do chipmunks as a rule eat meat ? While walk- 

 ing in some wood in the Adirondacks last fall I 

 saw a chipmunk with something in his mouth. 

 He stopped and nibbled at it. I frightened him 

 away and found a bat, wings and all, with its body 

 half eaten. I would like to hear from the rest of 

 your readers about the two arms mentioned. 



Kenneth S. Alling. 



Montclair, N. J. 



