24 



Guide to Taxidermy 



or geese^ but unless you are in a locality where you 

 can reasonably expect to see them, it is useless to 

 carry such shells with you. 



Of course it goes without saying that any brand 

 of smokeless powder is far superior to black. It 

 shoots stronger, makes much less noise and very 

 little smoke, qualities that would induce anyone to 

 pay the few cents difference in price for a box of 

 shells. 



Except on rare occasions, a rifle is of little use 

 for hunting birds. Any bird that you could get 

 with the rifle, you could probably get with your 

 shot gun and the chances are usually a hundred to 

 one in favor of the latter, to say nothing of the 

 much better condition in which it leaves specimens 

 for mounting. Still, we believe that everyone 

 should know how to handle and effectively use a 

 rifle, and for practice or shooting at squirrels in 

 most localities no arm is better than a .22 long, 

 either single shot or repeater, though we much pre- 

 fer the latter. Probably the best rifle for a careful 

 and expert collector is the 25-20 repeater. It is a 

 very powerful small arm, and should not be in 

 the hands of inexperienced persons for it carries a 

 long ways; it is very effective for large birds and 



