546 



RECREATION 



true shooting weapon I think the maker is 

 entitled to full credit. 



I have a shotgun butt, half octagon bar- 

 rel, half magazine and 25-inch barrel. Many 

 of our best guides use the carbine, and for 

 knocking around in a canoe it is a verv 

 handy gun; but it is not quite so easy to 

 shoot with as the rifle with a 4-inch longer 

 barrel. I never use the ordinary rear sight, 

 as I am a good judge of distance and my 

 eyesight is perfect. I put on a .22 calibre 

 rear sight, as made by the Marlin Company, 

 and a Rocky Mountain front sight, and this 

 combination suits me for either quick or 

 slow shooting. I have plenty of practice 

 with the rifle and generally know just about 

 how much to hold over the game in order 

 to fetch it. Fancy sights with, elevating de- 

 vices are all very well for the target, but 

 in the bush the simpler everything is the 

 better, and if a man has enough practice 

 he will soon learn where to hold at any 

 distance with one fixed rear sight. 



J. M. K., Bangor, Me. 



PLEASED WITH HIS MABLIN 

 Editor Recreation : 



I have a Marlin shotgun and I find that 

 it is a very close shooting and accurate gun. 

 It puts almost 80 per cent, of its load on the 

 30-inch circle at forty yards. This is about 

 as full a choke as I ever -saw. The Marlin 

 factory never seems to turn out a bad gun, 

 and I can recommend anyone who wants 

 to kill duck at long range, and to kill them 

 cleanly, to use a Marlin shotgun ; loading 

 with about 3 drachms Du Pont Smokeless 

 and 1 1-8 ounce No. 5 shot. 



This will pull a duck down from a 

 tremendous height and is just the thing to 

 catch them when they are flying to the 

 slough at sundown. Robert Thayer, 



Paris, Ky. 



THE FOX GUN 

 Editor Recreation : 



Some years ago I was the owner of a Fox 

 Gun that, instead of tipping up at the breech, 

 moved sideways when a button was pressed 

 at the top of the stock. I never could under- 

 stand how it was that this model did not 

 seem to become popular, as to my mind it 

 was a very considerable improvement on the 

 ordinary gun. It enabled a very long action 

 to be used, and was much more solid than 

 the action usually found. In fact, it was so 

 solid that there would have been no need 

 of a top connection even if one could have 

 been put on. However, this gun, as a result 

 of hard shooting, gave out in the end, and 

 last year I bought a grade "A," A. H. Fox 

 Gun of the newer model. The list price of 

 this gun was $50, and I have found it very 

 good value for the money ; but I am going to 

 dispose of it and buy a better gun by the 



same maker. I shall probably choose a 

 grade "C," list price of which _ is $100, with 

 genuine Krupp barrels, 30-inch barrels, 

 weight about 7^4 pounds. 



There is a certain point up to which it pays 

 to go in buying a gun for rough sport, but 

 I do not believe in going beyond about $100 

 unless you require the gun merely for up- 

 land shooting in fine weather. Life in a duck 

 blind or a sneak boat is pretty hard on a 

 gun, and it breaks a .fellow's heart to see a 

 really costly weapon rust, and become dented 

 and battered. Then again, if you want a 

 very light gun you must pay a long price, but 

 for duck shooting a heavy gun is better in 

 every way, and you can buy a good heavy 

 gun much cheaper than you can buy a good 

 light gun, as it does not need the same care 

 in manufacture and material. 



These few reflections may or may not be 

 interesting to your readers, but such as they 

 are you are welcome to them. 



Z. Cratha, Bridgeport, Conn. 



LOYAL TO GREENER 



Editor Recreation : 



I have been shooting Greener Guns fo^ 

 twenty-five years, and as far as I am con- 

 cerned I never expect to use any other make. 

 Mr. Greener's agent in this country is H. C. 

 Squires, and he will sell you a Greener cost- 

 ing as much as $1,000, but mine have never 

 cost me quite so large a sum. The cheapest 

 Greener I ever used was a $75 Hammer Duck 

 Gun. This was a first-rate weapon in every 

 respect, but I would not use a hammer gun 

 today, as I have been educated up to the 

 hammerless, which is, in every way, an im- 

 provement. Greener was practically the man 

 who introduced the choke bore, and I think 

 today his method of choking is superior to 

 that of anv other maker. 



T. M. Long, New York City. 



THE 25-35 SINGLE SHOT 

 Editor Recreation : 



I note in November Recreation- that 

 Robert McLaury, of Brooklyn, asks about the 

 25-35 high-pressure rifle for woodchucks, and 

 as I bought my gun of that calibre for this 

 especial purpose, would like to give the fol- 

 lowing points about it : 



I obtained a Winchester single shot spe- 

 cial, 25-35 calibre, weight about 10 pounds, 

 single set trigger, Swiss butt plate, pistol 

 grip, Lyman combination, and ivory bead 

 sights. I have the loading tool and bullet 

 mold for Ideal 257231 bullet, made in Dr. 

 Lludson's alloy, 10-10-80. For the full high- 

 pressure load and jacketed bullet, I weigh 

 the powder — Laflin & Rand Lightning, 19 

 grains — and have very regular and strong re- 

 sults, and entirely at variance to the regular- 

 ly advanced statement that high pressure 

 shells cannot be reloaded with any degree of 



