358 



RECREATION 



Can Drive Tacks 



Editor Recreation: 



Although I am not an old subscriber to your 

 interesting magazine and do not profess to be a 

 "pistol crank" any more than a rifle or shot-gun 

 crank, for I enjoy shooting all three, I should like 

 to ask Mr. Stuart Johnston, of Macon, Ga. (his 

 article was in the February Recreation), if he is 

 able by "quick firing" to hit a tack head or an 

 empty twenty-two (.22) cartridge shell at ten (10) 

 yards. If he is able to do this, say once out of three 

 shots, then "rapid firing" for "target shooting" 

 with a pistol at arm's length is all right. 



I agree that "rapid firing" with a revolver 

 should be the only way to use one, but I hold that 

 a pistol is more for target work than otherwise. 



Perhaps I am wrong, as my pistol shooting has 

 been of only about six (6) months' duration, but 

 I could enumerate some very remarkable shots 

 that I and a fellow enthusiast have made with my 

 "Conlin Model Stevens." The finest shot was at 

 a common pin, twenty-five (25) feet distant, hit- 

 ting it on the head and bending it nearly in the 

 middle, driving the head into the wood in which 

 the pin was stuck. This, of course, was a "luck 

 shot," although I shot for it at my fellow-shooter's 

 request. 



This kind of shooting, it seems to me, requires 

 pretty steady "holding" and "pulling." 



I have also made fair scores at fifty (50) yards 

 (same method), getting eight (8) and nine ,(9) 

 "bull's-eyes" out of ten (10) shots, "Standard 

 American Target No. 1." 



Hoping I may have more light as to which is 

 the better way to shoot, John Lyman Ladd. 

 Needham,Mass. 



The .32 Automatic Colt 



Editor Recreation: 



The most interesting part to me of your mag- 

 azine is the part relating to guns and ammunition. 



Of late I have seen a good deal in regard to 

 revolver shooting, but have noticed the scarcity of 

 "boosts" for the automatic pistol. 



I have one of them, of .3 2 -calibre Colt's, and like 

 it very much. It is a handy, reliable and very ac- 

 curate, hard shooting gun. With the soft-nose 

 bullet it will kill almost anything up to a wolf and 

 is fine for squirrel and rabbits. 



The arm is very simple compared to other auto- 

 matic guns, and I do not think it liable to get out 

 of order with proper care. I would recommend it 

 to sportsmen wanting a small, light pistol to carry 

 on hunting trips. 



Should like to have some fellow-sportsman, who 

 objects to them, give it a trial and see how it stacks 

 up with any of the other guns of equal size and 

 weight. H. C. Russell. 



Madison, Wis. 



A Target Load 



Editor Recreation: 



I notice in your January issue an inquiry from 

 Mr. Van Allen Lyman as to a light load for Smith 

 & Wesson Special, and if he shoots a Smith & 

 Wesson 38-Special revolver, fitted with Smith & 

 Wesson target sight, I will suggest a load that I have 



shot thousands of times by the number of prim- 

 ers I have used and up to thirty yards. It is a 

 most uniform and dependable load. I load with the 

 regular Smith & Wesson reloading tools, using 

 seven grains of Laflin &Rand F. F. G. black pow- 

 der and raising the rear sight five half turns. 



The ball I use is a round ball cast in Smith & 

 Wesson bullet mould, one to twenty, driven hard 

 home by their tools. If one cannot do excellent 

 work with this load it is not d,ue to the cartridge. 



William S. Bellis. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 



No Double Action in His 



Editor Recreation: 



As a gun crank I have been much interested in 

 reading Mr. Haines' article on the proposed new 

 type of revolver, as well as other comments on the 

 same. I would like to ask, through Recreation, 

 of some or all of the double-action pistol cranks, 

 what they would do (with any make of double- 

 action pistol) in case of emergency, where it stands 

 for life or death, if it should happen that their 

 trigger springs or main springs should break, after 

 they had one shot and missed, and another shot 

 would do the work. 



Convince me, and I will be a double-action 

 crank, too. 



I agree with Mr. Haines, and will buy a pair of 

 the new type guns as soon as they are put on the 

 market. T. M. Houdlette. 



Little Rock, Ark. 



Quite Satisfied 



Editor Recreation: 



I was very glad Mark Reddy said a good word 

 for his Smith gun, in December Recreation. 

 I, also, am a Smith gun enthusiast, but I have gone 

 Mr. Reddy one better and had my gun equipped 

 with the Hunter One-Trigger. During the past 

 season I have fired over two thousand shots, and, 

 without one single exception, I have found the 

 One-Trigger absolutely perfect. 



I believe the Smith Automatic Ejector, equipped 

 with the Hunter One-Trigger, is the most advanced 

 type of shotgun in the world to-day, and I never 

 lose an opportunity of urging every true sportsman 

 to become the satisfied owner of one of these 

 perfect arms. 



Alex. Montgomery, Jr. 



Natick, Mass. 



To Start a Club 



Editor Recreation: 



I have been a reader of Recreation for a num- 

 ber of years, and think it is better now than it used 

 to be. 



I would like to ask you where I could get rules 

 for a rifle club, and where I could get targets. 



Chas. H. Pool. 



Antigo, Wis. 



If you will write to the Stevens Arm Company, 

 Chicopee Falls,, Mass., and ask them for their 

 Rifleman's Encyclopedia, mentioning Recrea- 

 tion, you will find rules and regulations suitable 

 to a rifle club. Price 10 cents. 



Standard American targets are for sale, but a 



