268 



RECREATION 



A QUESTION. 



Editor Recreation: 



There is a point connected with the beha- 

 vior of bullets that I should like to see dis- 

 cussed in your columns. 



It is very easy to figure from the velocity 

 and weight of a bullet its energy. Practical 

 men find, however, that there is quite a dif- 

 ference between the calculated effect of a bul- 

 let and the real work it does. Here in Brit- 

 ish Columbia and Alaska there have been a 

 good many Mannlicher rifles brought into the 

 country by visiting sportsmen, and their ef- 

 fect upon game has been carefully observed. 

 I was away with a German sportsman in 

 Cassiar and he shot an 8-m Mannlicher (.315 

 inch) and we were not satisfied with the 

 way it killed big bears. On the other hand, 

 I have been away with English sportsmen 

 who have used the 6.5 m. Mannlicher (.256 

 inch) and one shot was often sufficient for a 

 very large bear. 



Now, let us compare these rifles. The 8 m. 

 fires a bullet weighing 240 gr. ; its velocity 

 is 2,030 feet and its striking energy 2,199 foot 

 pounds. The 6.5 m. fires a bullet of 156 gr., 

 has a velocity of 2,400 feet and a striking 

 energy of 1,993 foot pounds. So, in theory, 

 the 8 m. should be the more powerful rifle, 

 yet it fails to kill as well as the smaller bore. 

 The only way I can account for this is that, 

 owing to its enormous velocity, the lighter 

 bullet becomes deformed sooner, and, as its 

 penetration is greater, it creates a more par- 

 alyzing wound. I should be glad to hear from 

 some of your more scientific readers what 

 they think about this. 



Edward Rawlings, 

 Texada Island, B. C. 



ANOTHER "PHENOM," 



Editor Recreation : 



On reading the letters in your May, June 

 and July numbers, "Phenomenal Shots," 

 makes me think of shots of that kind I made 

 last year. 



One of my friends gave me a small .22 cal- 

 iber rifle of the Winchester make, 



While out hunting gophers one afternoon 

 with it, I saw one about a hundred yards 

 away, I had shot at the same one the day 

 before. I could tell it by the scratches on its 

 body, My sister was with me, and I told her 

 that I was getting mad at him. As he was 

 running along, I fired at him without hardly 

 aiming. I walked up to where the bullet land- 

 ed and found the gopher cut in two, 



Another of my shots killed a gopher when 

 I thought it didn't. I was walking along and 

 saw the head of a gopher sticking out of its 

 hole, I shot at him and thought I missed 

 him, as I saw the bullet drop on the ground 

 beyond where the gopher was. In a second 



the gopher leaped up in the air and toppled 

 over dead. The bullet went clear through his 

 head. 



As I was hunting last fall I shot at a 

 gopher and killed a snow-bird which was be- 

 yond the gopher. 



_ I am twelve years old and like your maga- 

 zine very much. 



Percy Rowles, Sunnyside, Mich. 



A LONG SHOT. 



Editor Recreation : 



In April, 1905, I was fishing for bass on a 

 small stream close to the river. Having a 

 No. 12 Remington hammerless along, and 

 seeing half a dozen pigeons alight in "a field 

 a quarter of a mile away, I walked toward 

 them thinking to get a shot. They arose very 

 wildly. Merely for diversion I fired at a 

 curiously pied bird and brought' it to the 

 ground with a disabled wing. The distance 

 was 115 yards and the ammunition a Club 

 shell loaded with 3 drams black powder and 

 1 ounce No. 5 shot factory load. 



D. R. Brengle, Perth, Kans. 



BULLETS IN COLLISION. 



Editor Recreation : 



I send you herewith two telescoped bullets 

 that have had a strange history. 



Our party was kangaroo hunting near here, 

 when one of the sportsmen 

 fired a shot into a kanga- 

 roo. The bullet did not 

 make a fatal wound, and 

 The kangaroo j u m p e d 

 around until another shot 

 was fired at him, hitting 

 him on the opposite side 

 of the body. This shot 

 killed him. When we cut 

 him open we found that the second bullet 

 had struck the first, telescoping it, as shown 

 by the original bullets that I am sending. 



This strikes me as a most interesting inci- 

 dent, and one worthy of describing and il- 

 lustrating. 



The bullets were ,44 W. C. F. 



F, L. Dow, 

 Esperance, West Australia. 



44 CAL. BULLETS 

 TELESCOPED, 



A WICKED LITTLE GUN. 

 Editor Recreation ; 



Please let me know what you think about 

 a .30-30 Winchester carbine for deer and 

 large game. 



I want to get a gun that I know is gojng 

 to throw a bullet as far as I want it to, 

 when I shoot. 



E. C. Beeching. 

 So. Edmeston. N. Y. 



