us home, calling us to the wilderness, our old, old 

 home, the original homestead of the human race, 

 antedating the pyramids and designed and con- 

 structed for us by the Divine Architect himself ! 



It is the soul-stirring call of man primeval now 

 ringing in our ears, and it causes us to become 

 restive, to stretch our necks like captive wild geese 

 w^hen they see the flying vv^edge of their free 

 brothers clearing the misty morning air, 

 and hear the honk of the wise old leading 

 gander as he bids them come! 



This book is an answer to " the call of the 

 wild, " and it is our sincere wish that the very prac- 

 tical hints and advice here given may be of service 

 to the novice and not altogether unwelcome to the 

 veteran. 



Our own experience teaches us that no matter 

 how often we visit the woods we always find some- 

 thing new to learn and no one man knows it all. 



Especially do we wish this book to be of service 

 to the youth of this country, to those healthy, whole- 

 some American lads whose normal minds give them 

 a natural desire to spend their vacation in the open 

 with their trusty Stevens on their shoulders. 



For their benefit we suggest that they organ- 

 ize Stevens Rifle clubs 





