Nov. 26, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
869 
■ditions for trapshooting were almost ideal, the light 
being good, with very little wind to affect the flight of 
"the targets, but the traps being keyed up to throw the 
targets about 65yds., played havoc with the scores in 
■general. 
Billy O’Brien and Lou Schorty divided high gun 
honors for the day with 81 per cent., while D. D. Engle 
:gave them a good race for the honor, but failed by one 
point, and finished with an average of 80. 
For the benefit of our club members that have not at¬ 
tended the club shoots very regularly in the past few 
months, we wish to announce that we are about to start 
■a series of prize shoots, and would earnestly request their 
attendance at our next shoot on Dec. 4, so that we can 
arrange their handicaps for the coming series. 
Everybody that can handle a gun is welcome to shoot 
along with us, and if they care to become members of 
the Hudson Gun Club, the secretary 
job to accept their application. 
will be 
right 
on 
the 
Events: 
i 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
Targets: 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
W O’Brien . 
19 
22 
22 
21 
23 
17 
D D Engle. 
19 
24 
21 
16 
21 
T H Williams. 
19 
16 
16 
14 
16 
Dr Roller . 
8 
10 
10 
11 
9 
L Schorty . 
21 
24 
19 
20 
18 
20 
W Raymond . 
13 
14 
18 
17 
J De Freitas . 
16 
15 
14 
16 
it 
} Pape . 
IS 
15 
10 
14 
T H Kelly. 
15 
IS 
18 
19 
J Whitley . 
17 
18 
16 
IS 
W Emmons . 
18 
19 
20 
i? 
The Choice of a Gun. 
OF THE SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS OF GUN-STOCKS. 
There is no definite authority for the prevailing fashion 
in gun-stocks, and the dimensions and shape of this part 
of the gun have given rise to more frequent discussion 
among gun-makers and sportsmen than anything else 
connected with shooting. 
The measures of the gun-stock include the bend, length 
and cast-off. These are of great importance to the user 
of the gun, and must suit his particular method of 
handling the gun, as well as the stock being of such 
dimensions as the shooter’s build— i. e ., length of arm, 
breadth of chest, etc.—may determine. 
The measures of the gun-stock may be ascertained as 
follows: 
Take a piece of wood or iron, with a perfectly straight 
edge, sufficiently long to reach from the sight on the 
muzzle to the extremity of the butt; lay this straight¬ 
edge along the rib, and measure the distance to heel 
and to comb. This is the bend. The lengths 
required, will be from the center of the fore or right- 
hand trigger to the heel, center and toe respectively, 
and the depth from the heel to the toe. The circumfer¬ 
ence of the hand may be obtained by passing a string 
round it immediately behind the trigger-guard, and meas¬ 
uring the string. In taking the length, measure to the 
extreme length, and not to the edge of the heel-plate. 
The dimensions given below are in due proportion, and 
as usually made for English and American sportsmen 
respectively. 
Cast-off is the amount the stock is thrown out of truth 
with the barrels in a lateral direction. Most gun-stocks 
are twisted over—that is, the toe of the butt is more 
“cast-off” than the heel—the usual “cast-off” is 3-16 for 
heel and % for toe. 
Balance.—This is always to be measured from the 
breech-ends of the barrels. It is best to balance the 
gun on thin string. 
A 12-bore with 30in. barrels, weighing 71bs. or over, 
should balance at about 3in. from the breech; if with 
27in. or 28in. barrels and 5%lbs. to 61bs., about 2%in. 
from the breech would be considered a good balance. 
The measures of the English gun-stock are the dimen¬ 
sions usually adhered to by gun-makers in this country, 
and guns so built are found to suit quite 80 per cent, of 
British sportsmen. 
Americans use guns with stocks much more crooked, 
as, when shooting, they keep the head erect, and many 
English colonists follow this rule, the crooked gun-stock 
being quite common in South Africa and Australia. 
The lengths of the gun-stock from fore-trigger to toe 
and heel will regulate the angle of the butt, and the cast¬ 
off will throw the butt over a little, so that unless the 
butt were rounded or chamfered, its edge only would 
touch against the shoulder. The amount of chamfer re¬ 
quired will depend upon the amount of “cast-off” and 
the build of the person for whom the gun is intended. 
Dr. W. F. Carver always shot with a heel-plate, not only 
much hollowed— i. e ., very much shorter to center than 
to extremities—but also chamfered so as to fit squarely 
against the muscles of his shoulder. Many shooters will 
find it more comfortable to shoot with a gun having the 
butt so rounded, or sloped, than with the usual butt, 
which is of equal length to either edge. 
Guns with stocks from 14in. to 14%in. long, measuring 
from the fore-trigger to the center of heel-plate and the 
regular “cast-off” (3-16in. at heel and %in. at toe), will 
be found in most gun-makers’ shops. A sportsman 
above the average height should take a gun-stock longer 
than usual, and also one slightly more bent. The long- 
cst stock the author has made is 17in., the greatest bend 
4/4 ln ., and the straightest, a stock “set up” above the 
level of the rib. It rarely happens that stocks shorter 
than 13%in. are required. A shooter with sloping shoul¬ 
ders will find that a stock about 2%in. bend at heel and 
l%in. at comb will probably suit him best. 
The gun-stock must be so fashioned that the heel-plate 
shall be at right angle, or nearly so, to the barrels, and 
the gun will stand with the barrels almost perpendicu¬ 
lar. Some, however, prefer that the gun when stood 
upright shall be such that the sight and the center of 
the butt shall be in a plumbdine. 
A thin man requires but little cast-off to his gun, while 
a stout man with broad shoulders may need a gun much 
cast off. 
The pistol-hand gun-stock is the common form through- 
rf> 
.401 CALIBER 
Model 1910 Self-Loading Rifle 
This repeater, which is the latest Winchester product, 
has speed and power plus. It's speedy because, being 
reloaded by the recoil of the fired cartridge, it can be shot 
as fast as the trigger can be pulled. It’s powerful because 
it handles a cartridge of the most modern type — one that 
strikes a blow of 2038 foot pounds. The knock-down, 
shocking power of this cartridge, with its heavy bullet of 
large diameter, driven with high velocity, is tremendous; 
and the combination of such power with the rapidity of 
fire which this rifle is capable of, makes it unusually 
desirable for hunting the biggest of big game. There 
is no rifle made which will deliver five as powerful 
blows in as few seconds as the Winchester Model 1910. 
Ask your dealer to show you one, or 
send for circular fully describing this riSe. 
WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. t 
NEW HAVEN. CONN 
out Canada and the United States, and is also widely 
used by the sportsmen of Australia and South Africa. 
Among English sportsmen the use of the pistol-grip 
is confined chiefly to double rifles and large bore guns; 
it permits of a firmer grip than the straight hand stock, 
but is not so convenient for pulling the left trigger in 
quick succession to the right. With the straight grip 
the hand may slide backward, but with the pistol-grip it 
is necessary to bend the trigger finger more to fire the 
second barrel rapidly. Some sportsmen, whether using 
straight or pistol-hand stocks, find it more convenient to 
pull the near trigger first and move the hand forward to 
fire a rapid second. 
There are other shapes of stocks, with which many 
sportsmen are acquainted, but to others they will be 
novel, and offer certain advantages. First, there is the 
horn grip guard, equivalent to the scroll guard of the 
old-fashioned English rifle. This guard is supposed to 
allow a better and firmer grip of the gun to be ob¬ 
tained with the right hand—the same advantage as 
claimed for the pistol-hand stock, and it moreover pre¬ 
vents the second finger of the right hand from being 
bruised by the back of the trigger-guard. 
The horn guard is much used by some Continental 
sportsmen, and the German gun-makers particularly fash¬ 
ion it into an ornamental fitting for either the shotgun 
or rifle. Another Continental form is the shield guard, 
or horn before guard. W’ith this style of stock, the gun 
is grasped just in front of the trigger-guard by the thumb 
and forefinger of the left hand, the palm of the left hand 
and the remaining fingers being firmly pressed against 
the guard. This style of holding the gun is not to be 
commended, but it must be admitted that many fine 
shots are to be found who never hold their gun differ¬ 
ently. 
The rational gun-stock was introduced by the author 
some time ago, and it embodies qualities long sought in 
pistol-grip guns, and the undeniable advantage of the 
straight stock. 
In this stock there is more than the usual bend at the 
bump or heel, and that the comb is not straight, but 
arched slightly; and as the cheek touches the stock about 
midway between the heel and the thumb, it is there, and 
there only, that the stock need be straight. 
With the usual English gun-stock, put up in the usual 
manner, it will be found that about one-quarter of the butt 
