FOREST AND STREAM. 



id tho great Agricultural Hall 24 hour's Walking touVna- 

 meiit last May) trained Mr. Ferrnoy. Many ladies of title 



and members of the aristocracy were present, and the 

 match excited a deal of intcrst." 



One of the most extensive and complete places of amuse- 

 ment in the world, the Alexandra Palace and Park, is ml 

 advertised to be sold at auction on the 81 h of February, 

 under mortgage, foreclosure. 1 Ids immense cstablisment 

 Comprises 000 acres of land and cost the proprietors up 

 wards of one million pounds sterling; The main building 

 occupies an area of seven acres, and the Grand Hall has a 

 capacity for seating 13,000 visitors. Then thelO IB a Con 

 cert Hall with 3,500 seats, a Conservatory, Heading Room, 

 Egyptian and Moorish Villas, and a Theatre with scats for 

 " IQ, Bazaars, Picture Galleries and Diuing Halls are 

 also there. In the park there is a mile race course, with a 

 tripling ring, a cricket ground of ten acres, Japanese vil- 

 ircus, and many more attractions and udvan- 



| luuierous to mention. If the late Geo. Hobbies 



''t)f auetion lenown" was only still in the flesh, how he 

 could have done justice to this sale. 



1 observe that a Pullman Drawing Room Train is now 

 running daily between London and Brighton. I have not. 

 I ried it yet, so cannot say whether the colored "porter," 

 Seems as part and parcel of a Pullman, has been sup 

 planted by a stiff English "guard." The attraction at 

 Brighton is the. Aquarium, which is now in most success- 

 ful operation. Bui people, even if they go to the Aqua- 

 rium, are not compelled to look at fishes alone; there is 

 also something going on, a skating rink, or concert, or 

 something of the kind. The lions at the Westminster 

 Aquariums just now, are three Mississippi Alligators. 



Vaijukho. 



iifie. 



MitiEy's GaijUtbky/.— A Tournament is now in Progress al 

 this Brooklyn Gallery. The following are some of the best 

 scores mades siuce the tournament opened on Jan. 33d: — 



Niima. Totnl i Name. Tolul. 



<:Iki< II. .tr.hr ■iii'.r. \V VVullia II 



i!ot. B. E. Vnli-ntlOB ". W J . J . Twwn. .. ii 



'I'. J. Mct.'ube - t» J. N. linivn 8(1 



tin lau 43 G. D, Bdon S!i 



I'. II. Ilul.ou J-: T. V. lake 88 



C, 11. Johr Ill 



The following made targels ranging from 3(5 lo 38: J. 

 Pi Burns, Geo. Glendeuuiug, Jas. Uonners, E. R. Darvcau, 

 E. B. Oa-luer. 



OahADa, — A match will be shot at Fisherville, Out., to- 

 day between the Amateur rifle team of that place and 

 teams from Selkirk, Cheapside and North Cayuga (Out.), 

 a special prize to go to the oest score. Distance 101 and, 3M) 

 yards. _ 



THE DISTANCE AT WHICH GAME IS 

 KILLED WITH THE RIFLE. 



New Ohleaks, La., Jan. gfJlh, 1877. 



EntTOR FoitEST AND STREAM: — 



In the last number of your interesting paper is an article 

 led "An Old Rifleman on Ride Shooting," which con 

 tarns same statements which call for a correction. The 

 author -G.P. VV.— is right in his remarks about the use- 

 lesstiess of the present Tong-raiige shooting, either for the 

 hunter or the soldier. Firing at 1,000 yards, at a 

 vi iih a rifle with vernier sights, etc., may be a pleasant way 

 to kill time, but it is utterly without, use, as it. neither fits 

 a man to kill game, or to do his duty on the skirmish line. 

 1 must find fault though with one statement of G. P. VV. 

 lie : ays " one seldom shoots at a deer or lutkey over 100 

 yards, and usually within 50 yards." Now had he quale 

 lied this by saying what kind of deer he referred to, and 

 ■what ptirt of the country he meaut, it would have been all 

 right. But as we have several kinds of deer, and aiso the 

 whole United States is not comprised by Florida, to Which 

 1 1 .J refers (as an example of his hunting), or the laud of 

 Yunkeeiayw from which his article is dated, I must em- 

 phatically deny this statement, as far as deer are concerned. 

 in hunting on the plains and in the Rocky Mountain coun 

 try— and ihe best big game hunting tor tllb rifle, is west of 

 tlie Missouri, and not east of the Alleghe.'iics. I have 

 found that 100 yards was a short range compared to most 

 of the distances at which game is killed. I have hunted 

 deQi from the Wind River Mountains in northwestern Wy- 

 oming Territory to the extreme southwestern pari of New 

 Mexico, and my experience has been, that most of the deer 

 1 have shot myself, or seen shot by others, were killed over 

 100 yards, ami many over 200 yards (measured, for always 

 will n 1 can, I pace off the distance). I refer more particu- 

 larly to black-tail deer, as the white-tail deer keep more in 

 the "limber, or in the thickets along the stream bottoms, 

 and are therefore shot, generally at shorter distances, 1 

 mean the black-tail of the hunters in the Rocky Moun- 

 tain country [Vet tin Miicrneii) called by naturalists the mule 

 deer, and not Cervix CoMmbiuniis, the black tail of the na- 

 turalists, which is found farther west than the Rocky 

 Mountains. (By the way, what impertinence and pre- 

 sumption on the part of eastern naturalists lo try and dic- 

 tate lo us about the names of these deer, and to cull the 

 black-tail the mule deer, and the Columbia river deer the 

 only true black-tail. J One of my rifles, which 1 used for 

 hunting in the Far West, a Springfield, 50 cal. resighfed, 

 restocked, etc., by a western gunsmith, is so sighted that 

 its point blank range is over 150 yards, as most, of the 

 game at which 1 used it, especially antelope, were shot 



troni 150 to 300 yards. The farthest I overkilled 



dead, was 400 yards (which I paced). I have seen many 

 hunters on the plains have their rifles so sighled as to have 

 a point blank of nearly 200 yards, thU3 making a very 

 good rifle for antelope or elk. Elevating sights are an 

 abomination and a delusion, on a hunting rifle. I ha*e 

 killed black-tail deer that were twenty miles from the near- 

 mber. You would have had a nice time crawling up 

 wilhiu 50 yards" of them, Mr. G.P. VV. 1 mentioned 

 the foregoing facts so as to show you that your statement 

 as applying to the whole United States (and there's noth- 

 ing to show, in your article, that youi statements are lim- 

 ited to any one pari of the country), is a gross error, and 

 oilier. j 



As a general rule, it, may be said that a rifle made in the 

 oast, is not fit for hunting on the plains lill it has been re- 

 aigbted and made over generally in Ihe west. Theeastern 

 imikers are so stubborn and ignorant about the wants of 

 the hunters, that there are a "number of gunsmiths in the 

 froulj.r towns who make Considerable money by getting 

 From the eastern factories and then resighting 

 them, and fixing them SO they can be used to kill game, in- 

 stead of being ornamental gun , Gl For little else than tar- 

 get Shooting! The rifle shooting element of this country is 

 to be found in Ihe south and in the west. By rifle shoot- 

 ing 1 mean the legitimate use of Ihe rifle, which is for kill- 

 ing tame in huuling, or men in war, aud not fancy Creed- 

 moor target popping. 



The New Enuhoiders, as a people, have always been poor 

 hands at rifle shooting. Bunker Hill was fought mostly 

 with smooth bore ducking aims, and it was not till the 

 Virginian " buck-tails." cauuTup under Washington to the 

 siege of Boston, thai Ihe rifle commenced to plav an im- 

 portant pari in ihe war. Tin se Virginians were not Only 

 a terror to the British, on account of iheir fine shooting, 

 hut. were a cause of wonder and also of jealousy lo the 

 Yankees. The Virginians were hunters and Ihe Yankees 

 fanners, and the ill-will which existed between Ihe two 

 sections (norlh aud soul I,, even as far back as that lime, 

 broke out into n light, which, had it not been stopped by 

 Washington at the outset, might have proved very fatal to 

 Ihe American cause. Afler the Wat was over, 

 and the country was getting settled, and the 

 game driven away, ihe rifle was used less and less in Hew 

 England, until it became to the great mass of the people 

 an unknown weapon. Not so in the south, for there it was 

 the- companion and friend of all. The hunlei and the 

 Frontiersman depended on it, while the planter (who, like 

 ihe English country gentleman, Was used from his boy- 

 hood, to all kinds of manly field spoils), used it for his 

 pleasure. The consequence is, that in the .Southern Slates 

 Ihe rifle is used, and well used for squirrel, turkey, deer, 

 and hear huuling; though in the swampy parts of many of 

 l In: Southern States the deer are run with hounds, and shot 

 from "stands" on lheir "run-ways" with buck shol; 

 yet often flic rifle is used even then, "and it lakes shooting to 

 hit a deer with a rille going full speed amongst, the 'live 

 oaks. In Ihe Far West, and in the Territories, the rille of 

 course is tile weapon, man; of ihe old hunters having Ihe 

 greatest contempt for a shot gun. Howcolaii. 



Cm.'foiixia. — San Francisco claims lo have the finest 

 gallery in the worid, the "Forest," kept by lienlz & Car- 

 son. The gallery is 175 feet long by GO feet wide, divided 

 into three ranges, viz., 300,500, and 1,000 yards, the whole 

 made so as to represent beautiful groves, with blue sky 

 and green swards. Attached arc pallors, reading and 

 Spectators' rooms. The rifles used are Remington .33 cal. 

 Crccdinoor rules are strictly carried out. The shooting 

 done can hardly be excelled. For instance, Mr. E. P. Mi- 

 ners the 01 her day in a match made 48, Mr. Frank Meagher, 

 47, Mr. J. H. Campbell and A. H. Hentz, 40, all off-hand, 

 200 yards reduced to 150 feet. Does thai not compare fa- 

 vorably with the best, on record? At 500 yards, 47 and 48 

 have frequently been made, till Mr. llentz scored a full 

 score, 50, or even better, had it not been for a defective 

 cartridge, which gave him a 3 and 1-1 bullseyes in succes- 

 sion — 73 out of a possible 75. The following are some 

 of the scores made last Saturday lor the weekly gallery 

 medal : — 



Name. Totdi.l Same. Total. 



■' . >■ i.'i'iui.ii. 11 15 Chase I. Breton .13 



John Hoiicrtsou J J '.I. Gallagher 48 



JS. H. WiJIet. lliCopt. It. 11. Orion 43 



Unas. Sash !,, 



And no less than £0 competitors made 43. Should any 

 team wish to shoot for the championship of the United 

 State gallery shooting they can get accommodated. 



%miu ^ng and gfiw. 



GAME IN SEASON IN FEBRUARY. 



Deer, Wild Turkey, WoodcocK, (/uail, Snipe, ami Wild Fowl. 



Caft. Bog-abdtjs in Cacifokxia.— A San Francisco 

 correspondent of prominence, in whom we have every con- 

 fidence, writes to us that Capt. Bogardus is having some 

 trouble in his matches, aud is out in an article in the 

 He says: — 

 "1 witnessed his shooting, and also heard some remarks, 

 which I confess had the effort to turn my sympathies en- 

 tirely in his favor. Calif orniftna chum that their quail are 

 the most difficult birds in the world to shoot on the wing, 

 and say that a man trained to shoot them can beat any 

 eastern gunner, and 1 hey were bound 10 boat the gallant 

 Captain by fair means or foul ." 



fherecord ofCapl Bogardus throughout his profession- 

 al Career, both heie and in England, has been that of such 

 a "square" man lhat the Fact of any misunderstanding 

 in his California matches somewhat surprised 

 us. We observe that in one of his matches he challenged 

 ii bird on the ground of the shoo'ei's gun being above his 

 elbow, and Ihe referee giving a verdict in his favor, bis 



l j iii left the ground and abandoned Ihe match. In a 



"money" match be was perfectly justified in insisting 

 It ict observance of the rules. As for the Califor- 

 nia quail being the most difficult bird in the world to kill 

 on Ihe wing, it is perfect, nonsense- They arc no more 



|j I i kill, if as much so, as our quail, and arc usual- 



,i perfectly open ground, whereas a large pro- 

 I ,,M!', i of our birds are killed in close cover. 



*•♦ 



CHOKE-BORED GUNS. 



r.UL't BE0O3JD, 



Greener urges that woth his system and by regularity of 

 boring he gets over uneven shooting, negativing llie notion 

 ', Caull lies iu the cartridge. Now this is attempt- 

 ing to prove too much; in his hurry to get everyone to 

 patronize St. Mary's Works lo get an even shooting gun, 

 he entird. i ■ h unequally loaded cart- 



ridges produce. Now there cannot be any question lhat 

 there are some methods by which guns cau be bored that 

 belraysiew Ihe result of an improperly loaded cartridge, 



inlessoara 



is taken in the loading. In allusion to the central shoot- 

 ing of the choke-bore, Mr. G. should have mentioned how 

 it renders necessary a higher quality of filed barrel- n i , 

 of course must be an advantage if onlv the encouragement 

 of abetter class of workmanship; four-fifths of the plain 

 guns are entirely unfit for choke-bore through their being 

 pulled together in the center lo make them look bi 

 at the same time making them shoot out at forty yards 

 from six to twelve inches. This I consider is OB 

 reasons thai some iu getting agun choked are woefully dis- 

 appointed in the execution ol their gun after it has'been 

 done. A competent gunmaker should be able 

 whether a pair of barrels are good enough to introduce the 

 choke with success, on else alter Ibem to shoot sti I ghl 

 Theie are many guns which aiemuch belter without being 

 choked from ibis cause alone. Al pace 1:20 Mr, 

 what be considers the difference Scientifically Of. Ihe choke- 

 bores performance and that of open bored guns; be urges 

 that a contraction at the breech has much more Pudency 

 lojamor compress the shot than the same contraction at 

 the muzzle, and this through the necessary displacement 

 of the column of air in ihe barrel. Now this is in my esti- 

 mation an error. This column of air bllfiincts b* 

 too long as a "bogey' in the Gieeuer family, undid] based 

 through some single experiment of a negative kind by Mr. 

 VV. Greener himself. To confute Ibis, I ask anyone to 

 malic ihe following simple experiment: Alter the powder 

 and shot has been loaded, put on lightly the top wad and 

 witness the result after shooting. Not, a mark gives evi- 

 dence that no great, obstacle or pressure has beer. 

 upon the lop wad, aud which it would be impos trie ttl 

 avoid did any great pressure as that suggested ny Greener 

 operate in the barrel. Take some more cartridges and put 

 pressure wilh ihe loader of twenty-live lo lurry 

 upon the top wad; lake the wads of one or two aud see 

 how much they are marked aud then fire I he remainder, 

 and little perceplible difference, if any, will be observed 

 between the filed aud uufired wads, showing 

 columu of air which has been doing scc.i. service iu the 

 gun trade for so many years is of a much more imaginable 

 i haiacler thau actual reality. 



Mr. G. additionally says that the choke bore Ihn 

 of Ihe outside shots into tUe ceuler, . Now, I contend, that 

 the effect produced upon Ihe shot al the muzzle by Ihe 

 contraction, is justlhe same as thai before produced in the 

 old system al llie breech, but at the muzzle it is at a more 

 effective place, combined with Jhe additional advai tagi of 

 preventing the powder wads from distuibing the shot al lei 

 its last cohesion, and here wo have the element of advant- 

 age in the choke-bore. Let me firstly take the old system 

 of boring, when by opening the breech the shot would ne- 

 cessarily occupy snoiter length andgreater in uiamciei than 

 the barrel farther on; iu its cour.-e of progress iliu com- 

 pression which must ensue before the back purl of l he 

 shot cau overcome the inertia of the forward portion, aud 

 additionally the compression through the ssmal er portion 

 of Ihe banel gave certain cohesive "ability between pcl'ct 

 and pellet, which if not disturbed by a loo heat 

 ol powder which would unavoidably disintegivtle it on 

 leaving the muzzle, would proceetl with lair Closeness up 

 to the target. The freeing at the muzzle was done know- 

 ing lhat, as portions of the shol if not m tome eases all 

 would partially separate to lead on to the target pellets which 

 at the first moment of disintegration would be forced out 

 to all sides. The results of This plan of boring are too 

 well known lo require comment. But ictus no. 

 choke-bore. At the starling of the charge the same incilia 

 has to be overcome, therefore its first eoUcsion assisted ai=o 

 by the barrel beiDg a little smaller than inside ol caiindge 

 case. It must not be forgotten lhat all the difference in 

 diameters is not lost in the shot being compressed to lhat, 

 extent, some of ihe difference of diamcler being losl in the 

 surface of the lead being abraded down; iu oilier words, 

 leading being the result. It now comes to the muzzle 

 choke where its final compression takes place, the shot, 

 emerging as a cohesive mass of pellets. Let us trace the 

 exit ot the hindmost waddiug; the force behind il has been 

 powerful enough to force il with its charge ol shot iu front 

 through the choke; it itself comes to the same obstruction, 

 and is retarded iu its exit more than in the old s.v-a.em , 

 however slight, it is enough lo afford the shot going on- 

 wards upon ils own behalf. In vindication ol til 

 lion, I Would draw attention to the tact thai two waduiu-s 

 between the powder aud the shot in being a slid 

 barrier to ils sudden exit afler the shot, gives higher re- 

 sults upon the target. Now, again, Mr. G . puts forward 

 that the advantage in using chilled shot, is, that tln-y sutler 

 less change on the outside pellets, which iu the ! asi ol tl 

 shot are quite mis-shapen in their transit through the 

 barrel, ami carry up better in consequence to the lai 

 1 would like it to be understood that il. is not all the 

 side pellets of the charge that are lost. Mr. Mortimer and 

 myself instituted a series of experiments, and found lhat 

 the front pai l, more particularly the ouiside of that is unac- 

 counted for; indeed the target seems to receive that, 

 pari of the shot which would in appearance represent n 

 truncated or stumpy cone, the cone portion finishing half- 

 way dowu the charge, and this seemed lo be the case ac- 

 cording to llie density or lightness of Ihe front waddiug. 

 Shots that fall before reaching the targels are largely coin 

 posed of other pellets than those Which form lire uUtsitll 

 of the charge,am:lone would judge fiom their appearance of 

 compression that the superficies of shot next the powder 

 wad through their cohesion with the same wad sepal ate 

 Irom the general body of shot. The ouiside pellets will in 

 many cases be picked forty and fifty yards beyond ihe 

 target; the specific gravity of wadding Doing less than 

 we can readily imagine bow that the force imparted in the 

 barrel lo the front wad the iustant it leaves the gin 



in momentum and operates as a retarding ici] lei 



exercises an injurious effect upon the onward progress of 

 llie foremost pellets. So it IS lhat it being imlispeusi 

 lo have a wad on top of shot to keep it ill proper poBJ iun 

 in the cartridge, it is best to have it as light as possible, 

 and which experience tells us is the case, it will be con- 

 tended that as cohesion is thus an element iu choke-bore, 

 how is il that bard shot, less liable to cohesion, gives in 

 some cases better results? It must not be lorgoiien thai ii 

 chilled shot less deterioration of the outside pellet does 

 take place, but still it has bad to go through the el 

 then the difference Of diameter must almost totally 

 been lust iu compressing theshol. intuits smallest diameter; 

 and let anyone lake the chilled shot after firing, nod they 

 will find that though haul, compression manifests itself oil 

 almost all the pellets, the foremost, ones escaping almost 

 scathless. It is upon this part of ihe subject and lt.au 

 pertaining, that Mr. Greener could have exp :m 



