In the United States we have eliminated the swivel guns, the punt guns and the very-big-bore guns.  Among the real sportsmen the tendency is steadily toward shot-guns of small calibre, especially under 12-gauge.  But, outside the ranks of sportsmen, we are now face to face with two automatic and five “pump” shotguns of deadly efficiency.  Of these, more than one hundred thousand are being made and sold annually by the five companies that produce them.  Recently the annual output has been carefully estimated from known facts to be about as follows: 

Winchester Arms Co., New Haven, Conn.
  (1 Automatic and 1 Pump-gun) 50,000 guns. 
Remington Arms Co., Ilion, N.Y.
  (1 Automatic and 1 Pump-gun) 25,000 "
Marlin Fire Arms Co., New Haven, Conn. 1 Pump-gun 12,000 "
Stevens Arms Co., Chicopee Falls, Mass. 1 Pump-gun 10,000 "
Union Fire Arms Co., 1 Pump-gun 5,000 "
          
                                              ------------
          
                                              103,000 guns

[Illustration:  FOUR OF THE SEVEN MACHINE GUNS

STEVENS PUMP GUN, 6 SHOTS IN 6 SECONDS.

WINCHESTER PUMP GUN, 6 SHOTS IN 6 SECONDS.

REMINGTON AUTOMATIC, 5 SHOTS IN 4 SECONDS. 
Loaded and cocked by its own recoil.

WINCHESTER AUTOLOADING. 5 SHOTS IN 4 SECONDS
Loaded and cocked by its own recoil.]

THE ETHICS OF SHOOTING AND SHOT-GUNS.—­Are the American people willing that their wild birds shall be shot by machinery?

In the ethics of sportsmanship, the anglers of America are miles ahead of the men who handle the rifle and shot-gun in the hunting field.  Will the hunters ever catch up?

The anglers have steadily diminished the weight of the rod and the size of the line; and they have prohibited the use of gang hooks and nets.  In this respect the initiative of the Tuna Club of Santa Catalina is worthy of the highest admiration.  Even though the leaping tuna, the jewfish and the sword-fish are big and powerful, the club has elected to raise the standard of sportsmanship by making captures more difficult than ever before.  A higher degree of skill, and nerve and judgment, is required in the angler who would make good on a big fish; and, incidentally, the fish has about double “the show” that it had fifteen years ago.

That is Sportsmanship!

But how is it with the men who handle the shot-gun?

By them, the Tuna Club’s high-class principle has been exactly reversed!  In the making of fishing-rods, commercialism plays small part; but in about forty cases out of every fifty the making of guns is solely a matter of dollars and profits.