One of Col. Askins’ 3-mon test teaw here pull for weight and feel, tries fre trigger I arbitrarily gave each a test number: My No. 1 hailed from Pennsylvania, bad shot and hunted for 20 years; No. 2 was a comparative recruit with only four years of rabbit shooting under his belt; he came from Chicago. No. 3 was an Ohio boy with 15 years experience; No. 4 was a West Texan with some 20 years of hunting to book back upon, a shooting-go-round that hed taken hini from bis native sage to the Black Forest of Germany, thence to Korean rice paddies, and a Jengthy sojourn in the Australian bah. Finally, No. 5 has been banging away for 14 years down around ee South Caroling way. Before the firing began I painted out the manufacturers’ names on the shotguns and assigned each an identification number, pasted to the buttstock. My panel was instructed not to attempt to identify the weapons but simply to judge each on its appearance, operation and general performance. Each member of the group——we were on an extended field problem and so were miles from any distractions——was permitted to examine all the gume as longas he'liked. He was urged to try the balance, get the feel of the pjece, see drove if. pointed and how it swung; try the trigger pull, examine the finish, test the safety, load and unload, and Snpgliy aroot In testing the crop of new autoloaders [ had more than a little suspicion that | might possibly be living too close to the brutes, might be arriving at conclusions that necesaarily wouldn’t reflect in the eyes and opinion of Mr. John Average Shot. This decided, | cast about and found within my own organization a typical group of sportsmen. These fellows, five in all, were not experts. But they most decidedly represented Mr. Wingshot. The sum total of their hunting years ranged up to a full three-quarters of a century, and none were old men either. This 5-man panel consisted of senior noncoms of mine. All save one had hunted on three continents, North America, Europe and Asia. The last had added a fourth, Australia. all he liked. This each did. As every man had to handie each weapon over and over again it can be appreciated that this was a very time-consuming chore. However, in the accomplishment of the tests | had in. mind it wae vital that each panel member be completely familiar with all the hardware. The test teed off with a numberof essential questions: ; No. 1-—Question: Which gun is heaviest? Answer: Four cited the Winchester (8 Ibs. 614 o2.). One put the finger on the J. C. Higgins (8 tbs. 5 oz.). No. 2—Question: Which shotgun is lightest? Answer: All unerringly selected the Browning Double Auto, weighing 6 lbs. 111% oz.. * No, 3—Question: Which gun is the best locking? Answer: Three of the panel selected the Browning. The.