378 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Mat 80, 1889. 



THE "FOREST AND STREAM" GUN TEST. 



PATTERN AND PENETRATION. 

 No. 1 Remington 1 6-Gaugre Hammer Gun. 



THE test of the various makes of gune now on the 

 American market, which has been undertaken by 

 Forest and Stream, has made sufficient progress to 

 show that just such a trial is greatly needed. It is not to 

 be a grand tournament test, in which each manufacturer 

 will bring out his crack gun carefully made and bored 

 for fine targeting, but it is to be a continuous trial, with 

 appliances ready at any time to be utilized in trying one 

 or another of the myriad questions which are popping up 

 in gun practice. 



Already several weapons have made their mark, and 

 the makers of the more popular styles of aims are 

 specially anxious to have their wares put through the trial. 

 The fashion of testing is very simple. At Claremont, 

 on the convenient range of the Suburban Shooting 

 Grounds Association, Forest and Stream had erected 



REM. 16-GAUGE, SCHULTZE POWDER, RIGHT BARREL, KflfJ PELLETS. 



for its use a stout screen. It is not put up for a day or a 

 season, but for many seasons, and is ready to withstand 

 the peppering which the testing of a thousand guns would 

 subject it to. The gun to be tested has its pedigree taken, 

 what its shop number is, what length of barrel, what 

 weight, what make, etc., etc. Tben the conditions of 

 the weather are noted, and then with five shots from each 

 barrel taken at once for pattern at a fixed 30-inch circle, 

 and for penetration at a pad of Dennison paper, a good 

 average may be reached. To get the maximum effort of 

 the gun, three shots at large sheets are taken with each 

 barrel, and the 30-inch circle struck where the pellets lie 

 thickest. All this is done at 40yds. and again at 60yds., 

 and then with three cartridges for examination at the 

 office the performances of the gun in its entirety may be 

 veiy well judged. 



This is the programme for each and every gun, and it 

 was this which a neat Remington, gauge 16, of the origi- 

 nal Ilion output, went through on May 17. E. A. Sum- 

 mers was the owner of the handy little weapon, and he 

 fired it himself over the fixed rests provided. He knew 

 the gun was a long and hard hitter, for in company with 

 Mr, Lorillard he had enjoyed capital sport with it. He 

 was particularly desiious of trying it with his favorite 

 Schultze powder as against the best black powder, and so 

 the double trial was made under the same weather con- 

 ditions, giving not only a basis for judging the gun, but 

 the comparative merits of the two powders as well. The 

 Schultze cartridges were loaded by Mr. Summers, while 

 the black powder charges were made up by Von Lengerke 

 & Detmold, without any knowledge that they were to be 

 used in any formal test. 



The trial passed off without incident, and the detailed 

 formal report annexed will show just what the two vary- 

 ing charges of powder did under the careful aiming of 

 the gun owner. In estimating for pattern performance, 

 attention should be paid to the analysis of the cartridge, 



REM. 18-GAUGK, SCHULTZE POWDER, LEFT BARREL. 



since this shows the average charge of shot used, and of 

 course the percentage reaching the 30 inch circle is the 

 proper criterion of performance. In the same way the 

 sort of shot used in connection with the kind and quan- 

 tity of powder must be regarded in judging of the pene- 

 tration showing. 



The cuts show the distribution of the pellets on the 

 circle, A being the point of aim and C the center of the 

 struck circle. In one case the best showing of one of 

 the barrels was upon one of the fixed circles. It would 



be ea<»y to generalize upon the first exhibit of a gun in 

 the Forest and Stream series, but it will be safer and 

 more satisfactory to draw conclusions after a hundred or 

 more weapons have been tested, and this we hope soon to 

 make. The present published report is interesting as 

 showing what a small-gauge gun can do, and in this 

 time of tendency toward smaller caliber in rifles it is 

 only fair to ask whether there is not too much heft of 

 metal carried and too heavy charges used in the great 



REM. 16-GAUGE, DEAD SHOT POWDER, RIGHT BARREL 268, PELLETS. 



bulk of shotgun work. In taking the centei's for the 

 maximum effort circles, the distances between the cen- 

 ters fired at and the centers used in striking the circles 

 are carefully noted, as they go to show what may be 

 termed the average aberration of the weapon. In this 

 test they ran as follows: 



BJar-k Powder. Schultze Powder. 



40 Yds. 60 Yds. 40 Yds. 60 Yds. 



Right Left Right Left 



Barrel. Barrel. Barrel. Barrel. 



J.. 8 in. 5>£in. 7 in. 4 in. 



2.. 4^in. 5 in. 9 in. 8 in. 



3.. i% ; n. 3 in. 7 in. 6^iu. 



Right Left Right Left 



Barrel. Barrel. Barrel. Barrel. 



~%ln. 6 in. 8 in. 7}£m. 



4j2in. 4 in. 4^£in. 7 in. 



6 in. 4}#n. S in. SJ^in. 



Av.4J^in. 4%in. 7^in. 6 in. Av. i)4m. 5 in. 6 in. 7}^in. 

 The figures of the. Remington test stand: 



Claremont, N. J., May 17, 1889. 



TEST MADE AT FOREST AND STREAM GUN-TESTING SCREEN. 

 Ghi/rb— Remington., Damascus steel barrels. Cost, $60.00. 

 No. of gun, 22,354. Weight, 7%lbs. Length of barrels, 

 32iu. Gauge, 16. Right barrel, full choke. Left barrel, 

 full choke. 



Weather— Clear, Direction of wind, 11 o'clock. Force of 

 wind, 4 miles per hour. Thermometer, dry, 72° . Do., 

 wet, 65° . Humidity, 65° . Barometer, 30.02m. 



( TwirflfC, us given by holder of gun : 



BOTH BARRELS. 



Shell— U. S. Co. 



P6 WdeTj Brand — Schultze. 



PmO^CT, Quantiti/—* drs. 



i Make— Soft. 

 Shol - Quantity—I oz. 



( Size— 8. 



REM. 16-GAUGE, DEAD SHOT POWDER, LEFT BARREL, 232 PELLETS. 



CARTRIDGE ANALYSIS. 

 Three Cartridges Taken at. Random. 



BOTH BARRELS. 

 .Loading. Powder. 

 Card and two pink-il... 40 grs. 

 edge wads over pow-- 2. . . 35 grs. 

 der; card over shot. (3... 38 grs. 



Shot. 



508 grs. 502 pellets. 

 471 grs. 465 pellets. 

 507 grs. 502 pellets. 



Average 37 grs. 492 grs. 489 pellets. 



* Three wads in. 



TEST AT 40 YARDS. 



Fire Shots pe r Bar rel f rom rest at fixed 80-inch Circle. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



Pattern. Penetration, 3 pellets. Pattern. Penetration, s pellets. 



1. 265 pellets. 



2. 173 pellets. 



3. 185 pellets. 



4. 220 pellets. 



5. 251 pellets. 



8 sheets. 

 10 sheets. 

 10 sheets. 

 10 sheets. 

 10 sheets. 



1. 212 pellets. 



2. 233 pellets. 



3. 240 pellets. 



4. 278 pellets. 



5. 234 pellets. 



10 sheets. 

 14 sheets. 

 10 sheets. 

 8 sheets. 

 12 sheets. 



Av. 219 pellets. 10 sheets. Av. 239 pellets. 11 sheets. 



Three shots at 4-foot square: SO inch Circle selected from 

 best pattern. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



1. 270 pellets. 1 175 pellets. 



2 271 pellets. 2 326 pellets. 



3 293 pellets. 3 303 pellets. 



Average 278 pellets. 



Average 268 pellets. 



TEST AT 60 YARDS. 



Five Sh»ts per Barrel from, rest at fixed 30-inch Circle. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



Pattern. Penetration, 1 pellet. Pattern. Penetration, 1 pellet. 



7 sheets. 1. 108 pellets. 4 sheets. 



3 sheets. 2. 63 pellets. 4 sheets. 



3 sheets. 3. 155 pellets. 5 sheets. 



5 sheets. 4. 58 pellets. ..sheets. 



.. sheets. 5. 41 pellets. 3 sheets. 



1. 87 pellets. 



2. 74 pellets. 



3. 101 pellets. 



4. 115 pellets. 



5. 39 pellets. 



Av. 83 pellets. 4 sheets. Av. 85 pellets. 4 sheets. 



Three shots at 4-foot square; 80-inch Circle selected from 

 best pattern. 

 RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



1 132 pellets. 1 68 pellets. 



2 67 pellets. 2 129 pellets. 



3 108 pellets. 3 104 pellets. 



Average 102 pellets. 



Average 100 pellets. 



Claremont, N. J., May 17, 1889. 



TEST MADE AT FOREST AND STREAM GUN-TESTING SCREEN. 



Chin— Remington, Damascus steel barrels. Cost, $60.00. 

 No. of gun. 22,354. Weight, 7%ttss. Length of barrels, 

 32in. Gauge, 16. Right barrel, full choke. Left barrel, 

 full choke. 



Weather— Clear. Direction of Wind, 11 o'clock. Force of 

 wind, 4 miles per hour. Thermometer, dry, 72° . Do., 

 wet, 65°. Humidity, 65°. Barometer, 30.02in, 



Charge, as given by holder of gun: 



BOTH BARRELS. 



Shell— U. M. C. "Club." 

 Powder, Brand— Bend Shot. 

 Powder, Quantity— 2% drs. 



( itf«.7ce— LeRov Chilled. 

 Shot< Quantity— 1 oz. 

 I bize—8. 



CARTRIDGE ANALYSIS. 

 Th/ree Cartridges Tefken at Random. 



BOTH BARRELS. 



Loading. Powder. Shot. 



1 black and 1 pink-edge ( 1 . . . 71 grs. 415 grs. 362 pellets, 



and card over pow--; 2. . . 72 grs. 421 grs. 364 pellets, 



der, 1 card over shot. ( 3. . . 71 grs. 432 grs. 376 pellets. 



Average 71 grs. 423 grs. 367 pellets. 



TEST AT 40 YARDS. 



Five Shots per Barrel from rest at fixed 30-inch Circle. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



Pattern. Penetration, 3 pellets. Pattern. Penetration, 3 pellets. 



1. 209 pellets. 



2. 225 pellets. 



3. 206 pellets. 



4. 189 pellets. 



5. 140 pellets. 



25 sheets. 

 19 sheets. 

 23 sheets. 

 32 sheets. 

 12 sheets. 



1. 232 pellets. 



2. 169 pellets. 



3. 188 pellets. 



4. 169 pellets. 



5. 134 pellets. 



27 sheets, 

 18 sheets. 



16 sheets. 

 15 sheets. 



17 sheets. 



Av. 194 pellets. 22 sheets. Av. 178 pellets. 19 sheets. 



Three Shots at 4-foot square; SO inch Circle selected from 

 best pattern. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



1 212 pellets. 1 208 pellets. 



2 242 pellets. 2 197 pellets. 



3 268 pellets. 8 211 pellets. 



Average 240 pellets. 



Average 205 pellets. 



TEST AT 60 YARDS. 

 Five Shots per Barrel from rest at fixed 30-inch Circle. 



1. 70 pellets. 



2. 76 pellets. 



3. 91 pellets. 



4. 85 pellets. 



5. 89 pellets. 



. pellet. 



8 sheets. 

 6 sheets. 

 8 sheets. 



8 sheets. 



9 sheets. 



LEFT BARREL. 

 Pattern. Penetration, i pellet. 



1. 67 pellets. 



2. 85 pellets. 



3. 97 pellets. 



4. 80 pellets. 



5. 89 pellets. 



2 sheets. 

 4 sheets. 

 H sheets. 

 8 sheets. 

 7 sheets. 



Av. 82 pellets. 8 sheets. Av. 84 pellets. 7 sheets. 

 Thny Shots at 4-foot square; 30-inch Circle selected from 

 best pattern. 

 RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



1 113' pellets. 1 106 pellets. 



2 94 pellets. 2 98 pellets. 



3 110 pellets. 3 79 pellets. 



Average 105 pellets. 



Average 94 pellets. 



CHOICE OF RIFLES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The .25cal. rifle is called for. I rise to second the 

 motion. I am now "on the fence" between getting a rifle 

 ef .22cal. or one of .32. Neither exactly suits me. The 

 .22 gets foul easily and is so difficult to clean, and w r orse 

 still, allows so much well-hit game to escape to a linger- 

 ing death, that its most ardent admirers must admit its 

 defects. The last is a serious matter here, where one 

 may find unexpectedly a deer, coyote or turkey. But 

 the ,32cal tears a destructive hole in birds, and sends a 

 dangerously large slug of lead through pastures and 

 fields where may be people or stock. Now that the small- 

 bore agitation is lively, let some enterprising firm bring 

 out a .25cal. Why not? Azteo. 

 Mexico, May 15. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



"Happie Go Luckie," a letter from whom appears in 

 your issue of Feb. 7, has been my chosen companion in 

 many a shooting expedition in which the amount of 

 game bagged has been small, very small, in comparison 

 with the amount of work done. But what would you? 

 We had a good as well as fast rowing boat under us, the 

 to me unequalled beauties and glories of Long Island 

 Sound, ever changing but always attractive to look upon, 

 a multiplicity of old wives, etc. , to cause consumption of 

 a great quantity of ammunition, a pleasant home to 

 return to when tired, and I think we were fortunate. 



In my opinion the Winchester single-shot rifle, with its 

 .22-15-45 cartridge, seems to be slightly ahead of the 

 many other .22cal. rifles I have seen used. Of course, if 

 you have more than one barrel you practically have more 

 than one rifle. I am speaking entirely of outdoor shoot- 

 ing, most of mine having been done upon the water, or 

 at least at objects upon the water. The distances were 

 in many instances, in fact generally, bevond what would 

 be considered possible with the "short," which we gen- 

 erally used at that time. Then Came the U. M. C. long 

 rifle cartridge, and though there was an increase in pene- 

 tration and range, there was also an increase in the re- 

 port; and there is much to be said in favor of the short 

 cartridge on that account. 



If you are shooting on the water, as a rule, the less 

 noise you make the better, and if you can also reduce the 



