454 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



I.Ian. 3; HS84. 



teams rlvove a few miles toward the rivi 

 hum This seem me • 3 



quail when the birds arc iu different li 

 able to hunt over twenty-five lo thirty 

 day, driving from place to place wi'll t 

 to rest tbetn, and getting pat wherever 

 be; we certainly toond plenty of fli< m, 

 lows they were, and strong enough to 

 tiiii!'- I'm mil (mil The onbj hard parti 

 the coveys are general!] in Borne oocn 1 

 thicket, or old Beer run, and 



ling to 

 hunt 



all quarters in the most abundant quantities anil generally in anxiously looked for by the fox and rabbit .hunters. We 



Bushed they plunge into 

 it at once, where they lie close, ami it requires good dogs 

 and tbicli clothes and gloves on one's self to at get ihetn, and 



quick aim when you liud them, Good dogs we certainly 

 had. for Carlo and Don, belonging to Mr. C. and his brother, 

 and Scout, loaned by a friend, were marvels of training and 

 kecsneas Of SCent, Some beautiful work was done by them. 

 ii . I . ! remember, when they all stood on a 



covey in the open each on a different side * Thus we passed 

 OUT two days, and had we been as good behind Ihe gun as 

 we claim to be on a boat, we should have had a goodly bag; 

 as it w-as we ate a good many ai our meals, and our quantity 

 to bring home (about, two dozen) was so small, that we have 

 had to stand some chaff. 



Near the river the country about here is very pretty, and 

 to our eyes the cotton and pc-unil fields were an interesting 



sight, The weather was delightful, with cool frosty nights 

 and clear balmy days, and I think iu such weather the 

 climate of Eastern Virginia is unsurpassed, Theuumii 1 lees 

 darkies of all ages and description were very amusi 

 pecially when driving Ihe popular rig. a "steer kyarf" (steer 

 cart). One old grizzly-headed -'mammy. ''smokinga pipe, who 

 came out, of her cabin to try and call her dog in, amused us 

 very much crying out, "Hycrc, you, sab! don't I done tolo 



shooting ended, and on Sunday morn- 



■J good shape. A -harp eye was cast al the questioner 

 when snared birds were mentioned, and a general denial 

 :>f any such game being in possession was' made. It is 

 a conceded fact, however, thai purchasers who complain 

 of the mutilation of the birds j>j sbot can easily fiud dealers 

 who will produce another lot Where the Bhol have in some 

 mysterious way, besl known to the handlers of game, been 

 •lim'niat.'d from the dead blob >'••! a -m- ■ slion of the 

 illegal snare-nit is pooh-poohed al once and it is always the 

 fellow over the way Who has this description of bird in his 

 possession. 



yo 



tly back to tow, 

 had a look around at the objects of historic interest, among 

 Others the celebrated "Cratee," which was a Confederate 

 fort rained by the Fi dcrals and blown up. and where Mahone 



made his reputation by coming out from Petersburg: wiih 



reinforcements ami driving back G an! - men, killing so 

 manj of the colored troops; We left Pe-ier-burg at a IV M.. 

 gettinguack to New York iu time for breakfast Mondav. 

 One thing more of interest 1 might tell you is, that rail 

 Shooting iu September o.n the marshes lining the James 

 River near here is very good, and a good shot can kill from 

 twelve to eighteen dozen of them at, a tide. I propose to try 

 this next fall and see if I can practice enough to get mV 

 hand in. E. A. W. " 



THE NEW YORK GAME MARKET. 

 [Reported for the Fores! and stream, Dec. 29.] 



TflE first, of January and the end of the open game season 

 in the New York market finds the stalls heaped high 

 with all sorts of land and water fowl, while of venisou there 

 are hundreds of haunches which will disappear as if by- 

 magic from the public view, but which may be had by the 

 trusted caterers only under another name. The dealers in 

 this city have become, it would seem, as shy as their own 

 Stock in trade, and a visitor who asks questions is not given 

 eery warm Welcome el in stands of the game dealers. 

 Recently there has been a great rush of wild rabbits into the 

 markets since the falls of snow have permitted their" ready 

 tracking, and the supply of game of every sort has grown 

 for the fast few days to meet the holiday demand for tooth- 

 some table deficit << 



"We have had,'' ..aid Mr. Hart, of the firm of Robbing & 

 Co,, "a very good game season as to quantity, but the prices' 

 have' ruled "higher 'than usual, owing to the warm weather 

 Which we bad during the earlier part, of the season. At that 



FORTY-FIVE WASTED SHELLS. 



\\7 E are camped on a stream which rises iu the Gore 

 T T Mountains. and runs to I ho Blue. I he Whole distance being 

 about six or seven miles, ll is made up by two small 

 branches, which join about three miles from the mouth, and 

 between the two branches is quite a basin of small forks .and 

 small patches of aspens, which look like bare poles, the 

 leaves having fallen. Ed. and I went hunting about a week 

 ago, and took in a patch to the mouth of the south branch. 

 Following a trail, and while whispering Which way to Strike, 

 we saw six or eight deer come out of the pines, and go to 

 feed in Ihe aspen. We slipped back until out of sight of the 

 deei', and stole no a slight gulch until we readied a, bunch of 

 es. when we took up their trail, Ed. to the eight, and 1 to 

 left about six feet apart. We did not see the bunch of 

 deer, as they had fed about two hundred yards further on. 

 and we could not see them owing to a rise in the ground. 

 When we were just stepping in the open, a fiue doe got up 

 and stood looking at us aboiil sixty yards, when Ed. scored 

 a clean miss The doe took the trail of the bunch, and Ed. 

 ran on the deer trail to get 3 shot running, while Iran tot.be 

 left expecting to catch them as they ran up the bill for the 

 pine timber. Ed. first saw them while in a little hollow, and 

 scored a miss and yet another. They ran past me, and I 

 scored a beautiful miss. 



After that we struck for the north branch, hoping to see 

 some antelope. We ran across a very fresh track of a bull 

 elk. but we did not want him, too poor after tunning. The 

 antelope were where me expected to find thein, but had taken 

 tBfe hint when we commenced tiring, and had letf only very 

 fresh tracks and sign. One of our party having been promised 

 a jack rabbit, we concluded to get, him one, and to that, end 

 Started down the left side of the north branch of the stream. 

 We had gone about twenty yards, when up jumped a jack, 

 and after afew feel sal up. when Ed. missed him by shooting 

 loo low. As he was going away f shot and took off an ear, 

 and for a couple of miles we saw jacks in plenty and in 



lillK 



I Of 



iflea 



hope to be able to send you a favorable report, of their doings 

 when the time comes. 



We should be pleased to find an account of a good squirrel 

 huul in FoBEBT AMD Stream, and hope that "some one of 

 your many contributors will favor not only us, but many 

 others whose favorite sport it, is. W. R. 



Nevuarket, N. H., Dee. S. 



OF HUNTING RIFLES. 



THE CHOICE 



Editor Fore, 



"Greenhorn's" views and mine arc not so widely divergent 

 as I had first supposed. But 1 am afraid they are irrecon- 

 cilable upon one or two points, chief among which is the 

 utility of repeating Titles for hunting purposes. Upon this 

 [lei .,1, ftfametrically opposed, While l admit that for 



heavy game repeating tiflesfailto carry the necessary amount. 



if pi del and lead, yet insufficient as they are in thisre 



speet I hey possess advantages in the rapidity of loading and 

 extracting ol shells which makes them preferable to those 

 which carry only a single cartridge. 



1 fully appreciate the force of "Greenhorn'.-.'' objection to 

 the proposed repealer of 4OU0 pattern, but I cannot at 

 present concede it to be valid. All thai 1 desire is that a 

 rifle of this description be subjected to a thorough test. If 

 il fails lo stand the racket Iheii 1 will be disappointed, that 

 is all. The pi' 

 safe, for that is the ttv* g 



1 am thoroughly in aec 

 he says that he preJet ' 

 to "the chance of loss of 

 tiou sound, and 1 have 

 ib e 



distance, Ed. shooting tc 



bad the best of rifles, and had pr 



I to 



isly do 



high, though 



1 jack 



se bis 



with them. Just before crossing the st 



south branch, 



thirty feet. 



never touched 



stepped a few 



wasted lead, f 



sti- 



ll eloj 



hair. I told him to see 

 et (the rabbit sitting up 

 I never touched it. We 



od 



,0 cross to the 

 d of us about 

 but shot and 

 do it, when I 

 the timet, and 

 pedacros ae 

 hen up jumped 



idilion, and we 

 merchantable. This stockcamc from Indiana and" Illinois 



and that section. Palely we have had no trouble from this 

 source, and the game is coming in very nicely indeed. The 

 demand has been good for really good birds. In fact, it 

 always is in New York, and so with the diminished supply 

 we have found it easy to get good prices. There have been 

 no special features of the market that 1 can remember, no 

 great falling away of old sorts of game, nor the coming iu of 

 new stock, unless we so call antelope which we are- now 

 getting, and of which we bad the first lot last year. 



"Itisapity to see the law step in against venison just 

 now, when we have two good venison months before us. 

 January and February are really the right months to market 

 venison, as it comes then in good shape and can get to table 

 iu the very best condition. Still, the law is there, and we 

 can only obey it by not having any of the deer meat, in our 

 possession alter the 1st of January-. 



"No, 1 don't look for any legislation at Albany this winter; 

 thai P. I don't know of any schemes on foot; but it is very 

 hard to say. indeed, what new notions somebody may have 

 to carry out. It is bad now and might be made worse. It 

 is almost hoping too much to expect any improvement, 

 Phe spies will be round, I suppose, looking'for game which 

 would come under the law, but they must be sharper than 



1, , usually are and not take onteiope for deer, as they did 

 Willi us last year, and be able to distinguish between moun- 



lad not gone over Ibirty yi 

 ,._ deer out of a very small bunch of sarvis berry bush- 

 Ed. thought he could see an opening on one, while 1 should 

 take the ot tier in the open. Ed. fired and missed, though only 

 twenty steps off, and they both ran and kept the brush be- 

 tween' us and them, so we could not get in any more. We 

 went to the south fork and followed it up to camp, and got 

 iu after dark. Forty -five shells emptied, and not a bullet 

 found hair. 



The above is just as it occurred, and when w T e got iu camp 

 the. boys could not be made lo believe we had such luck. A 

 little s'now 011 the ground, cloudy over bead, and not too cold, 

 just such a day as when a man should do bis best. We had 

 a great many laughs while out, and the rabbits cut up funny 

 antics when' a bullet, whizzed loo close, In contrast with the 

 above 1 will send an account of one of our successful hunts. 



Kit-on. 



In Camp, Mouth of the Blue, Colorado.Dee. 0, 1888. 



e danger in 

 iff of shells. 



chi 



Ha 



asesil ha 



nl nr of ti 



usideration is, of course, that it be 



, Of a spoiling rifle. 



ith your correspondent when 

 1 occasional loss of a bead of game 

 bis own." This is beyond 0U.es- 

 ahvavs bad a due regard lo some 

 ectiou and use of rifles, 

 ved in the use ot repealing rifles by 

 Biikness of the nreecli-work, etc., let 

 xpencuee. 1 have owned four re- 

 li, is only clue to them to slate that 

 iter manufacture. 1 have certainly 

 red out of them several thousand 

 . have 1 shot with the slii li 

 1 think Should be heeded. I have 



st in them, nor have I noticed any 



n or evidence of weakness in the 



1, eonsi menee. All wen- of IS 1 



45-60. 



necked shell of the lo -75 to burst, 

 in rifles similar to to those owned by 

 ue case to a defect in the chamber, 

 pehed only when the shell had been 

 nes and had been worn thin in con- 



As 

 the In 



thev 

 H it 

 shot 



Phis is a 

 never had a si 

 bending of the firing-pin 

 hinery of these guns i 

 model; two 46-75 and t,w 



f have known the bottl 

 urjon several occassion , u 



Phis 

 and in otht 

 reloaded a 

 sequence. 



The shells always burst at the bulge or shoulder, leaving 

 the smaller part in the chamber; beyond the trouble of get- 

 ting this out. there was no inconvenience caused or injury to 

 the gun ih consequence. For this and for other reasons, 

 such as its greater liability to stick in the Chamber, unless 



kept ve 



mil bright 



greatei 



■ecoil 



of 11 



ially objeotk 



ISS that i tl.i 



d by 



_ the 



able in a re- 

 linunition 

 ■f powder. 

 Ihe theory 

 4a relation 

 ids a ball 



GAME IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



"VTGTWITHSTAH'DIB'G the 



_L\ sporting this fall, more in 



tain grouse and 

 last vear. What 

 " ,-ill 1 



.vhich 1 



The 



ot able to do 

 bfe law, where the in- 

 game supply is a big 

 i a large capital, and we game 

 ked upou as law breakers and 

 Ways trying to do what is pro- 



interest and ii 

 dealers do not can- 

 regarded with suspie 

 hiblted by the statute, 



"The holiday demand has been a very large one, and we 

 have been kept "very busy. We have 'good ice houses for 

 keeping our stock in, and so arc able to have a sufficiency to 

 meet the rush at this time. After we once get the game 

 here in good condition, there is no trouble about keeping il, 

 in good shape, but the heaviest losses come in birds spoiled 

 on the railroads." 



Iu dozens of small commission houses about, Washington 

 Market, or in houses where game only comes as an accommo- 

 dation for shippers of other produce, thousands of 

 and barrels of feathered game may be seen, while the buyers 

 for the larger hotels aud restau rants, or uptown private 

 markets, look about and pick up lots at, very moderate rates. 



Knapp & Yau Nostrand are regarded as the I, 

 game dialers in or about Washington Market, Pie;, n 

 the special attention as a representative house of the agents 

 of ihe j: ion societies, information was very 



meagrely given and the disposition seemed to be to refuse 

 any insight into ihe manner of conducting business. It was 

 stated, however, that the season had been a good one, looked 

 at from the dealer's standpoint. Game bad come in from 



unfavorable weather For 

 interest than ever has been 

 manifested in" the use of the gun. There are. about twenty - 

 flve fine breech loading guns (not to count the many muzzle- 

 loaders still in use), and many valuable dogs owned iu this 

 vicinity; and every day parties are scouring the country o'er 

 in search of the foxes and partridges. It is the same here as 

 it is all over the country; sometimes good bags are made, but 

 oftener we come in with empty pockets. It depends a good 

 deal on our luck, on account of the game changing from one 

 piece of woods to another. If we are lucky enough ' Strike 

 the piece of woods that the game happens to be in fen- that 

 day, then is the time that the good bags are made. But, as 

 a general thine, the empty pocket rules. We think that if 

 the sportsmen would study the habits of the game and learn 

 by their own observation the different kinels of tood which 

 is most sought after as the season change-, then keep them- 

 selves posted on the places where such food can be found, 

 they would fiud that better bags will be tin; re 

 every one likes to make his story good on his 

 hunting trip. He wishes to make people believe that he has 

 done something, when in reality he may have done nothing. 

 It is often amusing to bear the iugeniotlB stories told by the 

 disappointed ones. But when good luck goes with them 

 and they come in with a good load of game, the road is none 

 too wide for them. 



Some two weeks ago two brothers killed Iwo large foxes, 

 one partridge and one white rabbit. They were out about 

 ine-b.-df day. Yesterday two other fellows went, out fox- 

 ng; were not out over* two hours, and returned with two 

 inanities. These are the best records in foxing for the sea- 

 ;ou Squirrel shooting has been a failure this year; we have 

 never known them to be so scarce as they ha"" 1 



suit. But still 



i been this 



though a few 

 -suallygood ai 

 This is ruy fave 

 butc 



bag. 

 hunti 



to go out, but 



in every tine 



During th 



very fe 



with an i 



Pooling 



rare out i 



their preteiifioi 



killed. "Partridge shoot- 

 ms.iderahle numbers have come to 

 sport, "combined with squirrel 

 I ■'-. .,, imsiness 1 have been able 

 nes this season; but did not come 

 \ pocket. 



ths we have- many visitors Ere 

 their fine guns anil trained dogs. 

 they are not any better slu 



gun up and ( 

 pester), I hai 

 anil prefer thi 



I must ( out 

 I hat the formi 



of the force due to its shape, shoots harder, 

 quicker, and therefore gives a flatter trajectory than the 

 same charge out of a straight shell. Still,' I consider these 

 advantasre.sbutweighed bv the disadvantages referred lo. So 

 having gotten rid of my 45-75,1 purchased a 45-60. The 

 stock of This having proved to be rather too long for me, I 

 gol Ihe same rifle. o2 inch bore, with shotgun stock. This 

 rifle I now have. 



Will: neither of these guns have I ever had the slightest 

 difficulty. I have subjected them to very hard and rough 

 usage, extending over a period of sewcial years, and find that 

 they work to-day as satisfactorily as when 1 first got (Pern. 

 The machinery of the gun is a- perfect as when first bought, 

 they have never missed tin, iol bass shell ever burst in 

 either of them. The recoil to one who holds a rifle properly 

 is scarcely perceptible, and they are sufficiently accurate for 

 hunting purposes. 



As far as they go they are perfect, and extremely satisfac- 

 tory, the proportion ' of powder and lead (160 grains 

 and 300 grains) is Just about right to give good 

 penetration. I have shot grizzlies, mountain buffalo, 

 and a very considerable number of elk;, deer and 

 the like with them. 1 fiud that in running shots I have. 

 been much more successful than with ilie bVTP 

 since in rapid firing T can hold this gun nearly on the game. 

 Which I could not do with the other, because of the recoil 

 and upward tendency given to the rifle bv the- use of the bot- 

 tle neck shell (1 can think of no other reason). Hut vvbile I 

 like my "Kitty" (45-00) and rifles of her pattern exceedingly, 

 as far 'as Ihey go, vet tney do not go far enough. 



While according to my" present knowledge and belief there 

 is no more satisfactory rifle for deer, sheep anil even ell: 

 within -Jito or 30D yards (ordinarily outside game distance, not 

 only because of the difficulty iu hitting at all, but, also be- 

 cause of the fact that one ought to he able to gel within that 

 distance unobserved), and no rifle which is open to less ob- 

 jection except on the score of rather high irnjc-i.ory and 

 consequent annoyance anil liability to miss by reason of tre- 

 quent adjustment of sights, I regard them as much too light 

 game such as buffalo and the elk 



If the cl 



the results 

 having bte 

 have a -u 



powd 



_ .juntryman. I was informed by a man 

 who had been out with some of them (who, by the 

 good shot himself) that they did not average more than one 

 bird in ten shots. 



The weather is coming cold now. and not, much more 

 shooting will be done until the snow comes, which is 



L-d to 80 or !H) grains of powder, 

 oe more satisfactory, But then, 



-rt-nere;-- • ar < of niv /.•■■»/ for big bores. I 



sneaking I- ,,.-■ , ..■■ I! 40 -caliber. For a 



lot no- rifle syhi il lave ever tried performed its 

 satisfactorily as a £0-90 Sharps, using ho grains of 

 tut I 5011 grains of lead. 

 Now, what 1 want is a 40-1)0 repeater, and 1 la, 

 at some length endeavored to set forth the merits of such a 

 in, 



To repeat my pcejiea e bi-ierty this: Given* repeating 

 rifle safe and easy of manipulation, each shot out of which 

 is as effective as a shot oui of a 40-90 Improved Sharps, and 

 we will have the veiv best rifle for bunting purposes. 



Why it may be said are you not satisfied with your 6P 

 "■ram Witch ester" if 1 were going to shoot only deer aud 

 Tike small animals 1 would be perfectly satisfied with il. but 

 i',,i the heavT gain' Of it"- Wesl I want more powder and 

 more lead. I have kitted with these ti()-gra'ui Winchester- a 

 large amount of game, and Lave never had an accident ol 

 I have killed with them such game as heavy 

 buffalo bulls, several grizzlies (more properly silver tips) and 

 a considerable number of elk, Hut notwithstanding, I 



