ADVICE FROM A VETERAN. 237 



am still married to my little .38 Winchester. I can say. that in all 

 these, considerable more than thirty years, I have never run up 

 against a subject but that this little Winchester was equal to the 

 emergency. 



Now I wish to ask, why it is that a hunter cares for a high 

 power gun that will shoot into the next township and kill a man 

 or a horse that the hunter was not aware of existing, when a gun 

 of less power will do just as good execution in deer hunting? 

 The ammunition for the gun of lower power costs much less and 

 there is far less danger in killing a man or beast a mile away. 

 We hear men talk of shooting deer 200 and even 300 yards. In the 

 many years that I have hunted deer, I believe that I have killed 

 two deer at a distance of from 50 to 75 yards, to one a distance 

 of 100 or 150. I believe most deer hunters will agree that there 

 are far more deer killed at a distance of 50 or 60 yards than over 

 that distance. I think that if those hunters who kill deer at a 

 distance of 100 or 200 yards will take the trouble to step off the 

 distance of their long shots, instead of estimating them, they will 

 find that 100 yards in timber is a long ways. Yes, boys, 20 rods 

 through the timber is a long ways to shoot a deer. Why? Be- 

 cause the deer can not often be seen at a greater distance, where 

 there would be any use of shooting at all, and the little .38 will 

 do all of that and more too. 



Perhaps the average beginner at trapping makes his greatest 

 mistake in listening to those who have had more experience in 

 handling the pen than the trap. For instance, someone advised 

 readers to Use a No. 2 or 3 Newhouse trap to catch marten and 

 said that marten frequented marshy places. Now if they had asked 

 the editor of Hunter-Trader-Trapper, he would have told you that 

 the Pine Marten frequented the higher and dry grounds in dark, 

 thick woods and that it was their nature to run on old down 

 trees and to run into hollow stubs, trees, etc., and that these were 

 the places to set your traps. Unless you were in a country where 

 the snow fell very deep, then you should use the shelf set. He 

 would have also told you that the No. 1 and \ l / 2 Newhouse trap 

 was plenty strong enough for the marten, that many use No. 0. 



