55° 



RECREATION 



whore the Chicago hold-up man expects it to 

 be, and in case one is ordered to "fish for the 

 stars," he can do so; but on the way up un- 

 limber his gun and, with some practice, I think 

 it very probable Mr. Hold-Up Man would 

 "get his' 1 before he realized you're not after 

 your wallet. 



Some of our double-action boomers, if they 

 want to see fast and accurate shooting, should 

 ask one of our old Texas Rangers to show 

 them how to "fan" a six-shooter. I will bet a 

 good saddle that the ranger could put six .45's 

 in six seconds into a tall hat at 25 paces, and 

 never look at his gun, either. This could not 

 be done with the best double-action gun on 

 the market, owing to its flip up and side jerk. 



I have had excellent results with smokeless 

 pow 7 der in my Colt .45, and shall continue to 

 use it, as it is much cleaner and gives less re- 

 coil with the same penetration. 



Do any of the brethren favor the Bisley 

 model ? I am surely for it, as I think it comes 

 up better and has a finer balance. I should 

 like to hear from others as to their opinions on 

 this and kindred topics. John J. Stewart. 



Chicago, 111. 



Ball and Shot Guns 



It appears to me that our manufacturers are 

 making a mistake when they refuse to recog- 

 nize the ball and shot gun such as is manu- 

 factured so largely in Europe. A gun can 

 never rival in accuracy, velocity and compact- 

 ness a good hunting rifle, but, under certain 

 conditions, it has many advantages over the 

 best rifle. One gun then serves for all kinds of 

 game, and the man who uses but one gun is the 

 dangerous man all the world over. Recently 

 great improvements have been introduced in 

 the projectiles used. The firm of Westley 

 Richards, one of the oldest in the British gun 

 trade, has perfected a bullet that shoots 

 with great accuracy up to 300 yards. Of 

 course the trajectory is high; this follows from 

 the fact that a gun, to be suitable for wing 

 shooting, is thought, by English shooters, to be 

 worthless if it exceeds seven pounds in weight. 

 I do not think Americans would object to 

 another pound, which would allow a larger 

 charge of powder and greater velocity. 



Moreover, the foreign sportsmen choose the 

 12-bore, while for our ordinary forest game a 

 20-bore would be more suitable, and I will 

 venture to predict that a manufacturer bringing 

 out a good, well-balanced 20-bore, weighing 

 not over seven pounds and shooting both ball 

 and shot, will soon find buyers among practical 

 men. Hunters, prospectors, lumber cruisers 

 and many sportsmen will be quick to discover 

 a weapon that should fill a long-felt want. 



Shot and ball guns are made according to 

 three different principles. The first has a deep 

 muzzle choke, and the rifling is confined to the 

 choke. For this the ratchet system of rifling 

 is generally adopted. A second system has 

 straight grooves up to within six inches of the 

 muzzle, when the rifling becomes spiral. The 

 remaining system depends on grooves of uni- 

 form twist from end to end of the barrel, such 

 grooves being extremely shallow. 



The Westley Richards bullet weighs 750 

 grains, and has a velocity of 1,200 feet when 

 fired with a charge of powder giving a chamber 

 pressure of fifteen tons. It is not unpleasant to 

 shoot such a charge from a 7-pound gun. The 

 accurate range of this bullet is 300 yards, 

 though, on account of the difficulty of judging 

 distance with the nicety that would be required 

 with a bullet of such low velocity, it is better 

 calculated for ranges not exceeding 150 yards. 



The same gun from which this bullet is fired 

 makes an average pattern of 130 with i| 

 ounces of shot running 270 to the ounce. 



Beyond doubt the weapon that you can use 

 on birds as well as upon big game will be one 

 that you will thoroughly master the use of. 

 Moreover, you won't have the wrong one in 

 your hand when a fat mallard springs from 

 the rushes or a big buck gazes contemplatively 

 at you from the bank. 



My idea is that a 20-bore, loaded to give at 

 least 1,400 feet muzzle velocity to the bullet, 

 would be the gun for the American market. 

 I should like to hear from others. 



Bay City, Mich. Samuel Rogers. 



Advocates Moderation 



I have been perusing the last edition of 

 Recreation, and want to say on the revolver 

 subject that I think any man can find just what 

 he wants from the already numerous different 

 models made both by the Colt and the Smith 

 & Wesson factories. There isn't a better fire- 

 arm made, of its kind, than the Smith & Wesson 

 .38 Special. I think any one who knows a good 

 firearm when he sees it can't help corroborating 

 me. As to the double action, I wouldn't have a 

 revolver that wasn't so. 



What good is a single-action as a weapon of 

 defense? As to the load for the .38 Special, I 

 am satisfied to let well enough alone and use the 

 factory loads, and I think if many others did the 

 same there would be fewer accidents. 



One thing more: I have noticed a great many 

 that never could get enough powder in their 

 guns. They keep cramming in more and more 

 till there is a job for the coroner. Now, this 

 heavy loading craze, for such it is, is not neces- 

 sary, nor can one gain any by it. I know from 



