TICE, 12, 
1907. | 
FOREST 
595 

THE GUN TRADE. 
Continued from 577. 
| columns, and inquiring what can be done to 
| stop the fall that is evidently going on in the 
j number of British-made firearms. The superi- 
ority of British-made shotguns, as well as rifles 
lof a sporting description is recognized the 
| whole world over, and has been so for nearly 
'a century, and yet we find that the world evi- 
' dently is not buying these superior firearms, 
| but is patronizing makers of inferior guns in 
Belgium and America which are lower in price 
and saleable free of all tariff duty payable to 
their own governments. There can be little 
| doubt that this tariff duty is the weapon that is 
| being used to kill the British gun trade year 
| after year, and to take away employment in gun 
|} making consequently to foreign countries, at 
| any rate in second and third grade guns. That 
| is a process that has been going on for a good 
j) many years, during which the British export 
trade in sporting firearms has been gradually 
|; undermined. The British sportsman who comes 
| most in contact with London gun makers has 
for years been doing his best to keep the home 
trade to the London gun maker in the highest 
grade of sporting weapons. He declines to 
patronize foreign makers at any price. 
But the gun trade of the United Kingdom, 
it must be recognized, does not depend on the 
home demand for high class guns. That is a 
very small proportion of the trade that always 
has been done by British gun makers, who used 
to supply the world with all descriptions of fire- 
arms, and lived and thrived by doing so. 
Sportsmen here are still resolved not to go 
over to the foreigner if they can help it. Even 
the temptation of the prices at which “dumped” 
firearms can be purchased from cosmopolitan 
dealers who are neither patriotic nor skilful in 
manufacture (nor even conscientious enough to 
refuse to sell foreign-made as_ British-manu- 
factured articles) has been, and still is, resisted 
by the cream of British sportsmen. But even 
such customers to the leading makers of high- 
| class guns of late years have been less active in 
purchasing or ordering from the two causes 
mentioned in the report referred to, viz., tight- 
ness of money and the larger outlay than usual 
occasioned by the purchase and upkeep of 
motor cars, which have become so fashionable 
for those with spare cash to.spend. This very 
| desirable class of customers find that they have 
| to economize in something to make up for the 
expense of motoring, and very many of them 
have decided on being economical in their ex- 
; penditure on guns and shooting. The popu- 
| larity of motoring has hit the home gun trade 
; 1n what is its most flourishing branch, and the 
q 
a ES 
— 
—— 
ea A a ee 
necessity for economy caused by motoring ex- 
| pense has led to the adoption of golfing, as a 
; cheap and interesting recreation that can be 
, made to fill up the spare time once entirely de- 
| voted to shooting. These are shortly the rea- 
sons given for the decline of business in the 
| British gun trade in the report referred to, and 
| we agree that the reporters have accurately and 
correctly summed up the situation as it stands. 
The bulk of the export trade in guns has been 
killed by foreign tariffs, which are absolutely 
; prohibitive on British guns, while the home 
| trade suffers from the necessity for economy on 
| the part of its most steadfast supporters, who 
must motor and shoot less to enable them to 
| afford the burden on diminished incomes of do- 
ing so. Both the head and the heart of the 
British gun trade being thus affected, all parts of 
| that body are affected and depressed. The foreigner 
} is year after year stealing away more and more 

upper classes from various causes are tempo- 
rarily unable to support the home demand for 
the highest grade guns as they once did. It is 
a regrettable state of things, but it exists, and 
there is no good end to be served by pretending 
not to see it, or avoiding the subject in ostrich 
fashion. Rather let us with the Chamber of 
Commerce face the matter boldly, and ascer- 
tain, if possible, how and where a remedy can 
be applied. 
We have heard it said that shooting is not so 
popular with this generation as it was with the 


of the export trade in low-priced guns, and the | 

LEFEVER 
“OPTIMUS” 
—— $400 

LEPFPRVER SHOT GUN: LUXURY 
We do not compete, and never have, with machine 
made shot guns which are machined out in large 
quantities and sold at low prices and big discounts. 
Nor do we care for the trade that panders to low price. 
For nearly half a century Lefever Shot Guns have 
catered only to the crack marksman and the genuine 
sportsman who realize that shooting is a luxury 
and that without a luxurious shot gun it is a dull 
business. By luxury we mean not only beautiful 
design and handsome finish, but a gun that is a real 
luxury to use. 
In this limited space we cannot prove to you that 
no foreign or American gunsmith has ever built a shot 
gun that ranks with the present Lefever Hammerless 
makes, but if you will read our catalogue and then 
examine a few Lefevers at any store, you will agree 
that the above statement, though seemingly strong, is 
altogether true. Even though you are not an expert, 
the beauty and the skill and the infinite simplicity of 
Lefever construction will force you to admit the truth 
of the above claim. No expert will deny it. a 
Send for our catalogue before you forget to (it is 
free), and remember this: Every Lefever is a thorough- 
bred. Lefever prices range from $25.00 to $400.00. 
LEFEVER ARMS CO., 23 MALTBIE STREET, 
SYRACUSE, N.Y. 
LEFEWVER HAS Wiis reno lar oc per OvleeG UNS 

PIE RDA 
Another INTER-STATE 
ASSOCIATION HANDICAP 
won with 




And the second amateur average for the two days’ shooting at Denver was won 
by Mr. H.R. Bonser, with The Parker Gun—score of 387 out of 400. The Southern, 
Eastern and Western Handicaps have all been won by The Parker Gun, and the 
greatest event of the season so far—the professional championship of the United 

A 
The Parker Gun 
Tom Graham, with a score of 99 out 
of 100, shooting The Parker Gun from 
the 19-yard mark, won the Western 
Handicap, at Denver, August 21, 1907, 

States—was won by The Parker Gun, and second place in this same great event was won by I'he Parker Gun. 
Send for catalogue. 
PARKER BROTHERS, ‘0 yon Stlesrooms, 32 Warren St. 
AT SPOKANE, 


WASHINGTON 
September 10-12, 1907 
High General Average 

AT THE 

PACIFIC COAST HANDICAP 
WAS WON BY 
AN AMATEUR 
MR. H. G. TAYLOR, of Meckling, S. 
who. used 
“NEW E. C. 
D., who broke 363 out of. 380, and 
(Improved)” 
E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS POWDER CO. 
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE 

