FOREST AND STREAM. 



331 



A True Prophet.— Last February we called attention to 

 the admirable system of weather forecasts bo successfully fur- 

 nished by Mr. H. G. Vennor, of the Geological Survey, Mon- 

 treal, Canada. Those of our readers who may have consulted 

 Mr. Vennor's book, and he tells us that scores of Fobbst AMD 

 . . u readers did so (a hint for other men with good books), 

 will bear witness that all of his predictions proved true. 

 Those who did not consult the Montreal weather prophet will 

 doubtless learn wisdom now and go to him. We pin our faith 

 to him, every time. 



Stjib City Gtoj Club, of Mobile.— The editor of this paper, 

 Mr. Hallock, acknowledges with highest appreciation the 

 courtesy of this excellent Club in making him an honorary 

 member. 



—Last Saturday's Evening Telegram announced the death 

 by drowning in the Missouri river near Bismark, Dacotah 

 Ter. , of Mr. Fred. W. Jones, who with his guide were in a 

 boat attempting to escape from a water spout which burst 

 above them. Mr. Jones was formerly connected with the 

 business department of the Financial Chronicle in this city 

 and was well known among sportsmen. 



—We have illustrated pamphlets of the sporting resorts 

 along the Wisconsin Central and Grand Rapids & Indiana rail- 

 roads, which those companies have sent us to distribute. We 

 mail them on application, postage prepaid. 



THE 



LONDON "FIELD" GUN TRIAL 

 OF 1879. 



SOME three weeks ago there was held near London one of 

 the most important trials of guns ever instituted, deriv- 

 ing its value iu a great measure from the fact that the small- 

 gauge guns now coming into very general use in England, 

 such as 10 and 20 gauges, were pitted against the old ortho- 

 dox 12 gauges. We condenso from the London Field the 

 remarks of the Editor, with whom the trial originated and by 

 whom it was managed ; also, the rules which governed it and 

 a table giving the averages. One thing about this trial seems 

 remarkable, and that is that but one or two names known to 

 us on this side of the Atlantic as popular or celebrated makers 

 appear in the list of contestants. 



The conditions under which the trial was carried out were 

 as follows : 



1. The entries to be confined to gnnmakers ; and in each class 

 every competitor to enter one gun, and no more. The entrance 

 fee for each gun to bo 5 guineas ; half to be paid at the time of 

 entrance — which shall be forfeited if the other moietv be not duly 

 paid before the trial. The Editor of The Field to be the manager, 

 and Ida decisions on all points to be final. 



2. The competition to be at (tie ground of the All England Cro- 

 quet and Lawn Tennis Club, near Wimbledon station, commen- 

 cing at. ten o'clock on Monday, April 28, and continuing daily 

 from the same hour till completed. The guns to be shot from 

 The Field machine rest, in order according to lot. The competi- 

 tor first drawn will shoot his No. 12, to be followed by tha> of (he 

 competitor who draws the second lot. Competitor No. 1 will then 

 shoot his IB-gauge, to be followed by competitor No. 2, and so on 

 to the 20-gaugos ; alter which competitors No. 3 and 4 will follow 

 in the same order. Should the weather be unat for the trial in 

 the opinion of the manager, he shall haye power to postpone it 

 from day to day. 



8, Every competitor to forward to the manager (316, Strand) 

 the trade number and weight of his guns before the trial, stating 

 also the maker of tho powder and shot ho intends using, together 

 with the number of the respectiye make of powder selected. The 

 powder to be furnished by the manager, and to be black powder 

 of English make. 



i. Tho guns to be divided into three classes, as fallows : 



Class f. For 12-gauges, or under, weight not to exceed 1%lb. 



Class II. For 16-gauges, and under, weight not to exceed b'^Ib. 



Class III. Eov 30-gauges, and under, weight not to exceed Gib. 



In each class any kind of boring will be allowed ; but the pat- 

 terns must be declared for 40 yards' range prior to the trial, and 

 the figure of merit will be in that respect founded on such de- 

 claration, These patterns must not be less, at 40 yards, than 150 

 for Class 1, 140 for Class 2, and 130 for Class 3. The competitors 

 must also deciaro tho material of their barrels, that is to say, 

 whether English or foreign, and whether Damascus or laminated 

 iron ; and if this is incorrectly given, the gun so described to be 

 disqualified. 



5. The cartridge casos to be furnished by the competitors, and 

 delivered empty to the manager at the time of trial, for loading in 

 his presence ; they musL be of the ordinary paper kind. The wad- 

 ding to be furnished at the same time, and it also must be of felt 

 or paper, as ordinarily sold. 



6. The shot to be No. fi, either Lane & Noasham's soft shot or 

 their hard shot, or the chilled shot manufactured by the New- 

 castle Chilled Shot Company— about 270 pellets per ounce— to be 

 found by the manager. Tho charges not to exceed IJoz. for the 

 12-bores, and loz. for lC-bores and 20 bores ; all by weight, to be 

 verified at the time of loading. The loading to be done by the 

 competitors, in the presence of the manager, immediately before 

 or during each trial, and the cases to be properly turned over to 

 the satisfaction of the manager. Tho charge of powder must bo 

 declared before the trial. 



7. Every gun to be fired twenty-five rounds at 40 yards range ; 

 and the six highest in each class to be then fired at CO yards, also 

 twenty-five rounds. If the competition in the first round ex- 

 tends to more than one day, the six are to be selected from those 

 making the highest score" in each day, according to the plan 

 adopted in the trial of 1878. 



8. The figure of merit to be made up of penetration, pattern and 

 recoil as follows ; The penetration to be computed according to 

 the force per pellet indicated on the force gauge, described in the 

 Field of Jan. 25, 187!), as made by Mr. Mitchell, 35 Great Wind- 

 mill street, llaymarket. 



The pattern to be computed according to the average deviation 

 of oaoh of the twenty-five patterns made from the declared pattern, 

 which average deviation is to be doducted from the penetration. 

 At 60 yards the deviation to be computed from the average pattern. 



The average recoil above 80 to be deducted, and also the differ- 

 ence in recoil, 



The final figure of merit to be computed from the totals of the 

 two figures made respectively at 40 and 60 yards. 



9. Tho whole of the eutranco moneys to be divided into nine 

 equal parts, two of which are to be given to the gun making Ihe 

 highest combined figure of merit in each class, and one to the 

 second highest, without, any deduction whatever. 



10. The proprietors of the Field agroe to bear all the charges of 

 the trial. 



11. The manager reserves to himself the right to make any 

 slight deviation from the aboYO plan which may be considered ex- 



pedient by three of the competitors, and which ho himself ap- 

 proves of, without taking a vote. 

 The following is the table of averages : 



CjK ynap pa pypy 



'£ " a;*; '" ^jgfLLggggi, 



g& ss 



^ 



Penet. 



S! £: : § S88I 3 >*iS 

 »i r: : p ?rr\ s?a»s 



■i ^S»S2g £ o g £S 



m 

 $% 





%% jf^ssSs*? 



?:'"-'¥ i Drams. 





: 2 igSSSSS S 



P." * Penet. 



1 





gss 



Recoil 

 over 801b. 



S irif^ssli § 



»«-p Pattern. 



: S SSSSr.S s 



_ _. : 



g S g | Pat. 



- = " 



pise 



Plgore of 

 Merit. 



-■ - ---- - 



ass I t^s 



Ha S3o^'3a pes o 



&=::::::: 



pypappp pyy p 

 3 M^HttffiWrtfftij^lw 



§ 



g.gg8££«8 



gs; 



Recoil 



over 801b. 



g 



£ 



s^sj^i 





Pattern. 



gl 









Par. 





2 



Sl^lfgials 



ggs 





i 



sspassss 



i'&'s 



Figure of 

 Merit. 





g: : : sggg f. I 



»• ;■ : Ssa^ S; S Figure of 

 ^- i i oi.J.3 o*. c. Merit, 



In commenting upon the trials the Editor of the London 

 Field writes as follows : 



"At length, we think, we may congratulate our shooting 

 friends on having arrived at a reliable figure of merit for their 

 shot-guns. Unlike the rifle, which has only accuracy and low 

 trajectory to be considered iu es mating its value, the shot- 



gun must be tested for (1) strength of shooting, (2) pattern 

 (divided into desired spread and uniformity), (8) recoil, (4) 

 pulling together of barrels, and (5) bandiness— besides other 

 important points unconnected with the performance of the 

 barrels, such as (6) the working of the locks, (7) that of the 

 action, (8) freedom from wear and tear, etc. Many of these 

 points it is impossible to put to the test in a decisive tranner, 

 as they can only be pronounced on as matters of opinion ; 

 but there are others, such as the first four, on which safe con- 

 clusions can be arrived at, and to these we have consequently 

 confined our attention in the recent trial. 



" Up to the year 1878, in estimating the merits of a gun, it 

 was considered expedient to combine pattern and strength of 

 shooting in equal proportions, both being desiderata of similar 

 value, and usually, as one was gained, the other was lost. 

 Hence, up to that time the figure of merit was compounded 

 in such a way as to make the two subordinate one to the 

 other— the method adopted being to count the pellets of shots 

 striking within a 30in. circle for the one, and the number of 

 sheets of brown paper pierced, multiplied six for the other. 

 This multiplication was suggested as a means of raising the 

 "penetration," as it was technically called, to about an equal 

 position with the pattern, without which the latter would 

 have been " all in all." Prior to the 1878 trial, however, 

 choke-boring came fully into play, by which it was rendered 

 apparent that any desired pattern up to 230 might be obtained; 

 aud for this reason we then abandoned pattern, pure and 

 simple, as an element in tiie figure of merit, and instead of it 

 adopted its variation as an adjunct to penetration, considering 

 uniformity of pattern as the one thing needful to make the 

 gun a reasonably perfect piece of mechanism. This conclusion 

 was arrived at iu consequence of the wild shots which so 

 often occurred iu testing the choke-bore, and which, of course, 

 led to frequent "misses" in the field, without any fault on 

 the part of the sportsman. In 1878 this was fully tested, and, 

 with a few exceptions, it was found that our anticipations 

 were realized. In addition to these two essentials, we also, 

 tested the amount of recoil by means of a Salter's balance,, 

 and at the same time the "putting together" of the barrels,, 

 through the ageucy of the machine rest which we had recent- 

 ly invented, and used for the first time at that trial. This 

 machine not only does away with the influence on the results, 

 of the human shooter, whose skill was often supposed to be 

 the cause of success rather than the boring of the gun, but it 

 also shows whether the barrels are properly " put together,"' 

 penalizing them severely if they are not— because both can- 

 not hen be made to shoot at the centre of the target, and all 

 that can be done is to humor them by a compromise, as was 

 done in many instances last week. In 1878 we fully tested 

 this machine rest, and all the competitors were perfectly satis- 

 fied with its performance, so that it was unanimously accepted 

 as the best means of testing the gun in a public trial ; and this 

 reputation it fully maintained last week. 



" In addition to the comparative performances of the guns 

 themselves, it is also desirable to investigate the relative 

 value of different powders and loads of shot. It will be seen 

 that all the competitors used 1£ oz. shot with the 12-bores ( 

 except Mr. Green, who used only 1 oz. All used 1 oz. shot 

 with the 16-bores and 20-bores, except Mr. Green, who limited 

 his load to I oz. in both, with 3 drs. of powder in the 12-bore, 

 and 2* drs. and 2 drs. respectively in the 16 and 20-bores. 



is success with these reduced loads is worthy of remark, and 

 H tsmen in future will have to consider whether or no they 

 can improve their shooting by following his example. Our 

 own opinion has for some time been that the loads have been 

 overdone, and, without doubt, the recent trial tends to con-, 

 firm it. It appears that a mistake was made in entering Mr. 

 Green's declared pattern of his 20-bore as 105, whereas wc 

 have the strongest evidence of the members of our staff that 

 be gave it as 155. If so it would raise his figure of merit at 

 forty yards to 194.12 from 187.32, and his final figure in a 

 corresponding proportion, viz., from 235.92 to 242.73." 



The results of the trial appear to demonstrate that the little 

 16 and 20-gauge guns possess the same killing power as those 

 of larger gauges. It is now proposed to test these small 

 gauge guns, choke-bored, with laige shot at long distances. 



GAME PROTECTION. 



Migratory Quail.— Lakevilk, May 19, Bailor Forest and 

 Stream : I am very glad to chronicle the return of the migra- 

 tory quail turned loose by our club a year ago. The first one 

 was seen by a member of the club on May 3, while plowing, 

 he going within ten feet of the bird, and making sure that he 

 was not mistaken in its identity. The next reported were 

 May 7, when some eight or ten were seen by a farmer in a 

 stubble field, and from the description I have no doubt that 

 they were migratory quail. The last I have heard from were 

 a pair seen and identified by a member of the club on the 

 16th in a piece of stubble just back of his garden. I feel sure 

 that we shall hear of many more as they begin nesting, and 

 that their introduction here will prove a complete success?. 

 Will report what I can learn of broods raised, etc., later in 

 the season. W. H. Williams, Bec'y. 



—The proposed restocking of the Swiss Alps with game 

 from the Victor Emanuel collection in the Aosta Valley is to 

 be carried out. 



§¥ MM*- 



New Hampshire Militia. —The Strafford Guards, Capt. 

 Abbott, and Second Light Battery, Platoon A., Capt. Davis, 

 N. 11. National Guard had their annual parade aud target 

 practice on Tuesday, May 13. Both companies are located at 

 Dover. The Guards are armed with the Springfield rifled 

 musket, and the battery used the Ballard rifle. The best 

 three averaged shots in the Guards were made by Lorenzo 

 Stevens, 9 2-3; Henry E. Yountr, 11 : Thomas Stanton, 12 1-3; 

 and the best single shot by Frank Colbath, If. Of the honor- 

 ary members Eugene Smart made the best three average 

 shots, being an average of 5 in. from centre. The distance 

 was 100 yards for all Ihe shooting. In the Battery the first 

 prize was won by John Babb. The first prize for honorary 

 members by John T. Hicks. 



Massachusetts — Bottom—The spring meeting of the 

 Massachusetts Kifie Association, on the Walnut Hill ranges, 

 was a complete success in every way. The shooting extended 

 through Wednesday and Thursday, and gave opportunity for 

 fine work at long, short and mid-range. All the matches, five 

 in number, were called U a. m\, but only one the " Di 



