Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-12-29
Mistsllaneu,ls 2eaaina.
NEW MODELS IN sHoTeUNs.
sportsmsh Divided Over the Automatic

sPortsmen Divided Over the Automatic
= Model.
This Is the time of year when the
man who likes to hunt is getting UP
gun lore, II he has the means to buy
new guns. or else Is furnishing the
shootings irons he already owns. The
manufacturers of guns are in their
rush season, If one part Of the year
can be called buster than another for
them. Guns and rifles are in demand
all the time, but in the fall the de-
mand is greatest.
The enthusiastic sportsman is not
satisfied with one or two guns. He
must have several. Many gunners
own so many that their homes look
like arsenals.
OF course this sort Of hunting en-
thusiast must have money. for guns
are costly. He Is always certain to
have the latest model of the particular
make he fancies. Maybe he has guns
Of various makes. He Is certain to
have a strong aversion to some guns,
just as he will praise others highly.
Dealers In shooting arms say the en-
thusiastic gunner is a hard man to
please. He has many likes and dis
likes. and once he becomes imbued
with the idea that a certain make Of
gun Is the best nothing will change his
opinion. Dealers humor this kind of
hunter. for he Is the mainstay Of the
gun trade.
An experienced sportsman will tell
you that there is lot in having the
right kind Of gun II you want to bring
down any sort of game. Unless a gun
fits It's user, he is badly armed and
liable to miss what he shoots at. The
thoroughbred sportsman will spend
more time IN selecting a gun and hav-
ing 1t fit than he would in selecting
a new suit of clothes.
81 would not let a man go out Of this
store unless was quite sure that his
gun fitted" said a large dealer. "By
the fit mean that the gun ought to be
the right length and weight and have
nroper drop.
1.-The drop of gun Is the distance
from the level or the rib Of the barrel
to the top end of the gun. The drop
Of the gun is all the way from one and
seven eighths inches to three or four
inches. Every third man you meet re-
nriroa .. difFarant dron
Then again the length Of the stock
Is another important matter in the Mt
OF a gun. A thin man wants a big
drop and long stock to his gun while
the fat sportsman wants a small drop
and a short stock to his shooting arm.
IF the gun doesn't fit against the
shooters shoulder the way 1t should, he
Is apt to sight poorly when shooting
and the result is that he either shoots
high over the game or too low.
when a hunter does this he Is bad
ly fitted with gun. but IL he is a green
hand at the game he won't know 1t
unless some experienced brother puts
him wise. Many a would-be hunter
wonders, why. ne always misses what
he shoots at. The chances are that
the fault lies in the fit Of the gun and
not with himself"
Gunmakers are always trying to
make their product more nearly per-
feet. Just at present the automatic
gun Is the one that Is attracting the
most attention.
It has met with opposition from
some sportsmen who declare that it is
only fit for pot hunters and persons
who want a big bag and who don't
care how they get 1t. At recent meet
ing of the New York association for
the Protection Of Fish and Game. this
organization passed the following res
olution:
Resolved. That the New York Asso-
ciation for the Protection Of Fish and
Game emphatically condemns and pro-
tests against the introduction and use
of the so-cal!ed automatic shotgun In
the hunting of birds or other game,
and we respectfully request the New
York legislature to enact law prohi-
biting the use Of such weapons In the
hunting of birds or game.
Some mighty hunters are members
Of this organization, including Grover
Cleveland Warner Miller and Robert
B. Roosevelt Nevertheless, II the as
ISOLATION, which Is one Of the Oldest
game protective associations In the
United States, succeeds In having
such a bill as 1t suggests introduced
into the legislature. 1t will meet with
stanch opposition.
The automatic shotgun has many
friends, and 1t Is making more every
day. The chief ground Of objection to
II Is that II can be fired so rapidly that
the game shot at has little chance. This
same cry was raised against the pump
gun, or repeater but that has held Its
own and every year the number Of men
who use it increases.
The automatic gun has been on the
market for several years 1t Is the in
vention of John M. Browning an
American. 1t was first manufactured
in England, and most of the output was
sold in this country.
In the western states, 1t had large
sales. In California an effort was made
to prevent the sale of the gun by leg
islation, for the same reason that the
New York association for the Pro-
lection of Fish and Game objects to II
here The effort was a failure in Cali
fornia, just as the men who favor the
gun say it will be here.
1T would be unconstitutional to tel
man what kind Of gun he must OF
must not USE" said lawyer sportsman
who uses an automatic gun. 1T would
be just as ridiculous to tell man thai
he must use a certain make Of powder
II he wants to shoot certain kinds OF
game.
Because the automatic gun Is quick
acting Is not sufficient reason for any
legislative body to tell hunters they
must not use it. Such law would be
manifestly unfair and unjust. the
same cry might be raised against