1IINTS TO SPORTSMEN. 33 



mountain- sheep, wild goat, and buffalo, which are some- 

 times rather difficult of near approach, and such denizens 

 of the woods and coppices as the moose, elk, .deer, black 

 bear, and cougar. 



The most effective weapon that I ever used was a fifty- 

 calibre Springfield rifle, which was resighted so that its 

 point-blank range was one hundred and fifty yards. This 

 was almost as accurate at three hundred yards as it was at 

 half the distance, and I have killed a wolf with it nearly 

 four hundred yards away. As the greater number of ani- 

 mals are killed within three hundred yards, a rifle that can 

 be depended upon up to that distance is good enough for 

 all practical purposes; but it should have no rear sights. 

 Some hunters west of the Rocky Mountains use a "buck- 

 horn " or an ivory sight ; but I have found that an ordinary 

 sight, nickel-plated at the inner tip, was equally as good, 

 and was less liable to injury if made rather long, and fast- 

 ened well. 



Explosive bullets are now used by some sportsmen in 

 their encounters with bears, cougars, buffaloes, and the 

 larger species of deer ; but, as at present made, they can- 

 not always be relied upon to explode when wanted, and 

 they are sometimes rather dangerous to the carrier. When 

 well made, however, and not so sensitive as to explode on 

 merely touching the animal, they are not only compara- 

 tively safe, but the most merciful and effective missiles 

 known for killing heavy game, as they destroy them at 

 once. Yet I would not recommend them. 



A very good word may be said in favor of the hollow 

 bullets, as they are certainly superior to the solid in mak- 

 ing a large wound and in paralyzing the game; but they 

 have the fault of want of very deep penetration unless they 

 are fired at short range and with high charges of powder, 

 one hundred and twenty grains at least being required to 

 give them force enough to kill large animals at a distance 

 of one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards. Like the 

 explosive shells, they are also difficult to procure in the Far 

 West, and this forces one to cast them himself. That they 



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