a.tbu, b, tm,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



187 



THE TYRO'S FIRST "PARTRIDGE." "Great Heavens, Charley! What Was That?" 



[Dha-wn i-oic tub "Forest aso Strkam" nv W. H. MoPOBQALt.n 



is SO Close, C. tried 

 ititled to one of the 

 n make the couees. 

 trial, alleging as a 



thev. and had, of 

 . To this '•the [neiitenaut-Genern] 

 our correspondent— replied thai if 

 him, his score, instead of being 



u [i:ir:- !«n, I'ully twenty-two (Hid a 

 two rivals met again not Jong aPtfo - 

 f the day T. hud eighteen and C. 

 satisfied, "and the gauntlet is down 



When it appeared tliat the contest 

 bard i- i rravinti Tom that he was nc 

 birds -.-. liiri be i laimefl, but he refusi 

 siou Cricket 1 challenged to anotl 



thai we found more birds th 



eourse, a better chance. To this "t 



to I lie Karl of Mar"— v 



lie had bad Tom with 



fifteen and a half, wool 



hall'. Nevertheless the 



■ward, and at the end C 



twelve. Still he is not 



again. 



\nw, Messrs. JCditors, and especially the presiding genius 

 over the dog department, of the Forks! and Sthkam, I 

 bog to ask a (judBUoin My dog Branch, a thick-set, while 

 and leninn setter, 



"Wlio^ 1 ^uTveie tail. \vi upward curl, 

 Ftaiigs o'er Ins Snirdies wi a swirl." 



0.1 lb" ganiii. si little fellow, you ever saw. He. is as 



aelivi as an antelope — 1 never saw one, hut am told they 

 arc "some" in the use of the legs — a splendid ranger, stanch 

 as a. dog OUglll to be, tin excellent retriever, but he 



find* 



when hu.iti.i- 

 tlCting I he part 

 his ifisUhgnisl 

 choice a- ■<■_■. i i 

 usual diet, ■■•• 

 ■ watehc,, with 

 left, an-; f He 

 looks as if he ! 

 I i.sls? T< 





He is lack! 

 niftier do© seel 



5cndflddier ! 



V of his food. ' 



I,:;:,:,., .!,.,■,- 



siou, to set- if 

 r.ns. If so, be 

 half satisfied. 



-lf-reliai 

 be conLe 

 appetite is out 

 p. has no spe 



ad 

 il with 



:orn bread 



large piece, lie 



f the others have 



terns it. up, and the 



d of 



thai his 



WI 



s hot. 



ad tlnl 



incs 



ot tint! 

 unless 

 •c that 



lc rulit i t li! 

 physical disorij 



aoviees." il is 

 ieal" rifleman 

 lino- broadside 

 I I he ■ at Hit v of 

 r ffOUld differ 



THE HUNTING RIFLE. 



TN offering some remarks on this fruitful theme. T wish to 

 he understood as referring strictly to the hunting rifle: 

 and if I refrain from offering anv 

 because Hi.il when 1 see a first-eh 

 miss a 71111-pound moose at eighty 

 on. it lute a remarkably depressiil 

 said "hints." And again, if I. ga 

 so radically from those in the excellent series of articles hy 

 Mr. Van Dyke. "The Rifle on Running Game," that the 

 bewildered novice would either lay down bis rifle in despair, 

 or take it up with a firm determination to trust in his own 

 capabilities alone, which last is the correct thing to do any- 

 way. 



lnthc course of my hunting experiences, I have alio* a 

 good many deer on the run with the rifle; hut I certainly 

 never aimed ahead of any one of them. Neither do I know 

 of a hunter in these parts who claims 

 one in that manner, and 1 doubt if such 

 If the animal's flight was continuous 

 system of aiming ahead might answer; 

 if every leap, to ail 



dead hall al tin. 

 point and pu 



I eonfes 



ot for bjtsdu 



m of adn 





have ever killed 

 i one can be found, 

 like a bird's, the 

 but as it conies I o a. 

 i iust ahead of that 

 :ii-ilci,rtaintv 

 for Major Merrill's 



ill. IT 

 list fdo to reduce his temperature* - * Is 



prion? Is a hot nose evidence of such 

 impairs his. sense of smell!; Can the 



is. E ■ i 1 1 v QOg Trim" answer this question of nosology: 



With wind up of this medley 1 shall cease to trespass, until 

 the hrr.* xrribciith, again seizes me with its deadly fangs. 

 When it does, your readers may get ready for another iiitiie- 

 Liou. and be prepared to read or skip some observations 

 'i "i [saw, heard and fell in other efforts to distin- 

 guish ni\ self as a respectable, disciple of Nimrod. Weu.s. 

 ... ...RAjr, X, 0. . March. 27, ISM. 



| A hot nose is, generally to he accepted as evidence, that 



the dog is out of condition. It is also the general rule that 



i. ... . :ihii poor nose cannot, have a sharp scent. We 



i , . . i in.;., il ."..eeplious tO this, till:'. | 



for the muzzle-loadei 

 a hunting rifle. The latter is so in 

 everything that makes up the couvei 

 that the battle is a hopeless one N 

 my large game have been killed witl 

 So I speak from long experience; a 

 of which was to shoulder my empty 

 gh sheer inability to reload 



l brt 



ch- 



it pc 



tees of a bunting arm, 



teen-twentieths of all 

 muzzle-loading rifles 

 it the most bitter part 

 lie and si art. for camp, 

 fingers frosted from 



.'.NY.. March 88.— Several flocks of wild ge?se 

 have recently heen seen flying north jjjej over oin*citv. — 

 M. E. U, ' 



contact with the bljstcrine steel barrel, lite aaine KlaiiililiL'in 

 full sight, and the thermometer —42 . 



That the muzzle-loader is a little more accurate arm, I 

 believe ; but it is lobe borne in mind that this superior ac- 

 curacy depends On the proper use of the loading-muzzle, 

 the guide starter, the swage and the balaneesr; none of these 

 ,i ' "Me in the hunting rifle, and so the superiority 

 vanishes. When using the 'elongated bullet and loading the 

 muzzle-loader in the woods with a common pocket, starter, 

 the chances of placing the. axis of the bullet true with the 

 line of flight, are dec ii.ledly in favor of the breech loader; 

 the greater range and force of the muzzle-loader T believe to 

 be "holly due to the greater amount of powder used, in 

 proportion to the size of bore, and not at all owing to the 

 i,. 1 believe our gun-ma.kei'si make a eiave i in- 

 take, when tliev enlarge lh» bore of our hunting rifles, in 

 Stead of lengthening t lie bullet, and increasing the chttrg. 

 of powder in the shell. In regard to the two targets shown 

 by Maj. Merrill, as the difference niigbl. easily have been in 

 the marksmen Instead of the guns, they prove nothing, 

 and again, ii Lssafj ■ " I the muzzle- 



loader were to make half a dozen targets with the same 



gun. over the same range, the difference between any two 

 of them would undoubtedly be greater than that bel ween 

 the breech and the muzzle-loader; so that from the hunter's 

 point of view it is merely accidental. 



For a hunting rifle the Winchester has, until quite re- 

 cently, been in my estimation a long way ahead. Its many 

 merits, and its one defect, are tretting to he pretty well under- 

 stood among practical hunters; of the former arc its shapely 

 outline, its nice balance, evcelleuce of workmanship, rapid- 

 ity of tire, ease of manipulation, the beautiful working of 

 the carrier-block being unapproachable by any other arm. 

 and great accuracy within its range. Its one defect is its 

 very high trajectory, and consequent lack of force, caused 

 presumably by shallow grooving, slow twist, and bullet. 

 short in proportion to its diameter. Some two years, age I 



"rote the company manufacturing the above arm, res] 



uld put a different form of 



, using 60 

 loincwhat 

 uld meet 

 tld. I Fell 



fully representing' that if they 

 their gun on the market, one say of ,88 < 

 gr. powder, and bullet elongated sufficiently to 

 heavier than the one now used in the 44-cal.. it 

 the wants of the hunters in this section and 

 confident, meet with a large sale. L received, m 

 speedful reply, slating thai, they were already manufacturing 

 a 60 ^r. Winchester, which was meeting with ready sale, 

 and that they thought it would fill the bill. Six months 

 after T saw in your columns the advertisement of the Mar 

 liii rjfle, ",40-caI., 60 gr. powder. 360 lead,"' caught my air 

 fention instantly, and f prevailed upon a friend of mine, 

 who was about. 'to order a new rifle, to send for one. Its 

 superiority over my modal 73 Winchester was so great that 

 1 disposed of Ihe bitter forthwith and purchased one of (he 

 new Marlins. A faithful trial of it for the past year, in- 

 cluding four weeks deer shooting, in which I brought down 

 Ihe "nine at, considerably over 300 yards, has fullv satisfied 

 me that it is by far the best hunting rifle for forest sit ' 

 in the market,' and as: such I can confidently recomrn 

 In sighting the hunting rifle, the front" sight slu 

 made as low its possible, by which I rneaiuhal the net 

 elevation should be given by the block, and not bv 

 front sight; Therefore the" ordinary knift 

 about the worst possible iu forest shooting 

 certain conditions one always shoots "from 

 stead of the top of hit, sight", and 0' I ■■■ '■ m 



and i 



nor by a high 

 blade* sight is 



lecniiM- under 



ui.i if ' h,- former is far below 



!...,.! .:■, ,.i v-. : ,i, i i ii an is this: 

 ;• that there is a deer within half 

 i corner, or a bush, conies insian- 

 dl view within twenty or thirty 

 r sights from the top of his block 

 light Why lib., is so I will not 



liscuss. ft requires years ol practice, and 

 great power of sclf-conto.l, before out even beebint 



ant. of the fact, and among thine 1 have met who have dis- 

 covered and acknowledged if, 1 never saw one who hail ovc>- 

 cotne it. Bill Nye, a well-known hunteron the head waters 

 "! J the Raquetts, after, to use his own words, fighting 

 i .■. ■■ ' " ■ ' -' ' in "lit, and ba- 



the latter, the bullet i 

 If the hunter, not dreamir 

 a mile of him, on turning 

 raucously upon a deer in 1 

 yards of him, he iuvMiialil 

 instead Of the point of bis 



