My favourite FN 1900 will shoot 2" groups at 100 yards easily off of a rest. It is said that it is timed so that the bullet leaves the barrel before the whole thing chunks back into the receiver. Perfect for Deer! Which is what they were designed for as a short range bush rifle. The .30, .32 and .35 Rem will knock down a deer out to 125+ yards if you do your part. The 117 gr. .25 Rem will do the same at perhaps up to 100 yards. I don't know of anyone in South Eastern Ontario that shoots anywhere near that far in the bush. All the stands at our camp have lines of sight that peter out at about 75 yards maximum.
There was a prototype submitted for military use with full wood surrounding the fat barrel jacket, but it was not accepted. They were also used in WWI by the French, along with their competitors (Winchester 1907, 1910), for use by their airmen before the planes had their own guns mounted on them. They were small enough to pack and use in the biplanes.
Cheers,
Ian
x2. A lot of people nowadays seem to be obsessed with power and long range instead of woodcraft. The old rigs are more than adequate for woods deer hunting and they still work well.




















































