1 6 SPOR TING A D ] 7:,V TURKS 



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 animals 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 fastened 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 cannot always be relied 

 upon to explode when wanted, and they are sometimes rather 

 dangerous to the carrier. AVhen well made, however, and not 

 so sensitive as to explode on merely touching the animal, they 

 are not only comparatively 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 favour of the hollow 

 bullets, as they are certainly superior to the solid in making 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 possess decided advantages 

 over the conical ball at short ranges is undoubted; hence those 

 who do not care to try long shots would find them very effec- 

 tive, and would lose less game with them than they would with 

 the conical bullet fired with ninety-five grains of powder. 



