Jan. 17, 1884.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



498 



eastern shore of .Maryland. This is not taking into account 

 | s ioI ■■>- I t ]iii:l- ha 3Eiitaate ratter £ larjja ens 

 though l.hia undoubtedly inelwJes those hunting all kinds of 

 gftirie In ihose States tltfre are many men who nave plenty 

 of time i.o hunt, and out in all their spare time id that way. 

 Many of these. I regret td say, are mere butchers, and go 

 out only to stay and cripple all they can. Just suppose 

 there are only 500 men hunting quail in Virginia every fair 

 day (feeing the season, which 1 think is a safe estimate; 

 bag that they average eight birds to each man. and 

 thai out or the o'peu season there are forty-five fair days. 

 180,000 quail would be killed, representing 15.000 coveys of 



. ids each. Hawks, toxcs, elc, catch at I 

 many more. Netting andtrapping cannot be estimated. 



Now, is it not plain that unless there is less lodcslrny and 

 WOW tO protect poor lit tie "Bob White." in a lew years 

 gjjnolir, i I !'.■ :;t: costly and hard to obtain as in 



England? American sport in'his line will he a thingof the 

 paal and will degenerate into driving and cop.-e hunting by 

 an army of snobs. Game protection plain and simple, unity 

 and feimwrfeeling between the landowners and better class 

 ol spi rtsnicn is what is needed. Not so much anxiety to kill, 

 but more to presfc] ve Those who start out with selfishness 

 in iheii hearts, determined to exterminate, and then seek 

 new ground to repeat (he same offense, should be suppressed 

 - As it is now. the regulation of game laws 

 and shooting rights in Virginia seems to be every body's and 

 tonsi miently nobody's* business. Ignorance and selfishness 

 are I'asi destroying a most royal hunting ground. 



Bebfokl>. 



LysciiBCKG, V«., Decern')' 



WINTER SHOOTING GROUNDS. 



Editor For. « and Stream? 

 As 1 have had a splendid hunting season and Charming 



trio, since 1 visited you, it is with much pleasure that a 

 review is given, especially as the record is concerning new 

 routes and'Hf special interest to sportsmen. Leaving Wash- 

 ington bv the Virginia Midland and going by way of Lyreh- 

 • am-ille, Greensboro, Salisbury, Charlotte to Atlanta, 

 there arc found along the liue, known as the Piedmont in 

 North Carolina, the best and most satisfactory' hunting 

 grounds tor quail, pheasants, etc., that a sportsman can 

 desire to course over. Mr. Slaughter, the general passenger 

 agent of the line, is an enthusiastic lover o! dog and gun. and 

 with a sportsman's pride and fondness for pleasures of this 

 Rind is greatly in sympathy with those of like disposition. 

 Hence ample provisions are made for the accommodation of 

 hunters, and facilities of the very best kind are provided for 

 by his agents for taking care of dogs and outfits. Colonel 

 Turk, the passenger agent of the line, is also an enthusiastic 

 sportsman, and, though he is somewhat too large to do much 

 amateur hunting in field, there is no man whom we know 

 of thai can do better justice to the fruits of a hunter's work 

 than this same clever gentleman. Lie believes in dogs, and 

 is fond of sportsmen's company, and therefore provides every 

 facility possi tile for the comfort and success of those who 

 shoot along the Piedmont Air Line. • 



Among the haunted mounds and familiar places of the old 

 battle fields on the Virginia Midland, there are several points 

 Where quail abound, and some very nice work has been clone 

 by sportsmen in that region during the past month. At 

 Greensboro, N. C several parties from Philadelphia, New 

 York, Cincinnati, Atlanta and elsewhere have been hand- 



ly repaid for their tour thither, and success in the fields. 



The hotel at High Point was sold by the sheriff lately, and 

 passed into hands that will keep if in good style. Game 

 abounds thereabouts, and in sufficient quantity to furnish all 

 the work and satisfaction that visitors may desire. 



Between Salisbury and Old Ports, on the Western North 

 Carolina Railroad, there are splendid ranges along the foot of 

 Mount Mitchell. Black Mountain, and other points, so that 

 a party ol hunters cannot go amiss to stop anywhere for a 



... spoft. 



There have been a few snows, some ice and sharp frosts 

 that have denuded tlie trees and flattened the sedge. The 

 cedar-, holly and evergreens are sheltering a good stock of 

 pheasants, and in some quarters wild turkeys are plentiful, 

 so that there is sufficient game in sight to satisfy any one, not 

 only in quantity but also in quality and variety. All of the 

 birds thai 1 have seen thus far are plump, in fine condition 

 and flavor, they having fed on rich mast and plenty of grain 

 during the luxuriant autumn season and open winter weather 

 that lias prevailed to the present time. 



With regard to the law concerning the shipping of game 

 out of flic State, there is nothing in it to prevent sportsmen 

 from doing so. The penalty applies only to hucksters and 

 traders, who if tb.cy were not prevented by law from doing 

 so, would ere now have denuded the State of North Caro- 

 lina of every edible bird within its limits. No attempt has 

 ever been made to annoy visitors, who ship what they shoot 

 and thereby exhibit to friends at home the result of their 

 skill 



Concerning the fish laws of this State, the penalties are 

 never applied; and the result is, the lazy scoundrels who kill 

 fish with dynamite torpedoes, have ruined and destroyed the 

 once populous fishing wafers of all of western Carolina. So 

 it is rare now to catch any fish worthy of the table, and the 

 luxury is (roll secured occasionally, by purchasing the fruits 

 of some lone fisherman's trot line or basket that he keeps set 

 on his OWll preserves, Of this kind of fishing, we had on 

 the tah I C8d horse weighing nine pounds, and 



a hungry party made the most of the luxury. Such a rarity 

 as black bass or trout are as seldom found hereabouts as 

 grains of gold in the Hudson. Some of the most public-spir- 

 ded citizens in this section are arranging to plant; carp, and 

 then we will have a chance to defend other fish against the 

 powder fiend, for this industry will brget a disposition 

 among the people to foster fishculture and enforce the law 

 against their destruction. 



"From Charlotte to Atlanta the grounds have been visited 

 by parties who have bagged splendid counts and been de- 

 lighted with the results'. Some of the shooters tell me they 

 couldn't help hitting birds even though they banged away 

 with their eyes shut. This report applies to any of the 

 fields south of Spartanburg, King's Mountain, Gainesville, 

 Toccoa, etc, 1 notice that a number of persons who are 

 en route to Florida for the winter have had their tickets 

 fixed by the Richmond and Danville Railroad people so that 

 they can stop over and enjoy a "smell of hunting" at any of 

 the points which they may select, They thus cmibiue 

 hunting pleasures with tourist's and invalid's necessity, and 

 are making the best of life. 



Those who come from the Northwest will find splendid 

 new fields and hunting grounds along a delightful line of 

 railway that has just been opened up in this section, and 



named the French Broad Koute. The initial point is at 

 Louisville, Ky., thence to Jerico. in the neighborhood of 

 which -and about Coal Creek— there is tin abundance of 

 game lhat warrants any amount of time a sportsman may 

 wish to expend in working the fields thereabouts. The 

 mountain bushes and irregular ground are rather hard on 

 dogs, tear up and scar their feet and noses; hut if they are 

 tough and not easily broken up by hard wear, a few days' 

 sport thereabouts will well repay for the labor, etc. 



From Jerico the line extends to Knoxville and Morris- 

 town, in East Tennessee; thence to Point Rock. Warm 

 Spriugs, Asheville and up the French Broad to and across 

 the Blue Ridge by the Western North Carolina Railroad to 

 Salisbury. South of Morristown, along the Pigeon and 

 French Broad, there are plenty of quails and pheasants, and 

 as they have been disturbed "very little by pot-hunters, the 

 coursing and work necessary to make full and satisfactory 

 bags is ol' an easy character that offers very inviting induce- 

 ments to parties to make a call. 



At Warm Springs horses can be secured from Sevier or 

 Garrett, and John Saunders with his dead shot Leeman hair- 

 trigger rifle, or MacFall with his infallible Henry repeater, 

 are ready at an hour's warning to carry a daring hunter into 

 the lair of bear, wolves, turkey and deer that harbor in the 

 mountain fastnesses, within a radius of eight to twelve miles 

 from that point. Pheasants abound in the thickets, but it 

 requires sharp eyes and quick: shots to bag them. Quail are 

 not very plentiful on the plantations hereabouts, doubtless 

 from the fact that the lands have been diverted from grain 

 and applied to raising tobacco. In the mountain arid i i 

 terior valleys, along the laurels and other streams in this 

 vicinity, quail abound, and the birds are in remarkably fine 

 condition and flavor, as my own experience within the past 

 week can attest. 



At Asheville, enthusiastic sportsmen will find many 

 kindred spirits. One of these is M. 0. Klein, who is not 

 only a remarkably line shot but also a devoted nimrod. who 

 knows the lair of every wild beast, and cover of every covey 

 of birds in the famous old "Buncombe deestrict in Nawth 

 Calliny." Were there no other pleasures than those which 

 come from looking at exquisitely beautiful scenery, a tourist 

 through this French Broad region would be well repaid for 

 the trip. In all the grand mountain scenery of North 

 America, the picturesque beauties of this rapid rolling 

 stream, and the majestic mountains of this "Land of the 

 Sky" are unequalled for variety and exquisite details of out- 

 line, form, height and splendor of color. Their shadows 

 haunt the brains of poets, and fasten themselves on the 

 walls of artists' memories. To the recollection of a hunter 

 the musical echoes of his gun resound like delicious melodies 

 of loved songs and strains of charming symphonies. There 

 are joy, delight, health and pleasure in being amid these moun- 

 tain fastnesses that make it worth all of life to live here; 

 and so it occurs that when once a hunter hears the rebound 

 of his gun's voice amid the angles of these hills, he wants to 

 stay and linger among the fastnesses forever. With the 

 blood of renewed life bounding in my veins, rejuvenating 

 my youth and bringing the fire of intense health into my 

 eyes' and making my nerves like steel, tendons like whip 

 cords, and muscles like hickory withes, you need not wonder 

 that this old hunter is enthusiastic over this here. 



I. E. Naglk, M. D. 



Wahm Springs, N. C. 



THE CHOICE OF HUNTING RIFLES. 



Editor Sorest and Stream: 



To select a good hunting rifle, one in this advanced age, 

 when one has twenty different makes and styles to seleet 

 from, seems a very easy matter, but to choose one which will 

 effectually do the work for which the purchaser iutends it, 

 cau only be done after careful study and consideration. 



The two most important points are: First, the kind of game 

 you intend to hunt; second, the nature of the country in 

 which the game is found, if open or thickly r wooded. Then 

 there are other matters, such as the weight, style of sights. 

 etc., which only the party who is going to use the rifle can 

 decide upon, if he wishes to be suited exactly. 



Like your correspondent, "Greenhorn, "I do not "tie to" 

 repeating rilies, and have yet to see the repealer that I would 

 exchange any good single-shot rifle for. To my mind the 

 only advantage they appear to have, is "rapidity of fire." 

 This I claim is no special advantage, unless one. is hunting 

 dangerous animals or "for meat," if a hunter gets a gooa 

 shot, and from lack of skill, or carelessness, misses his game, 

 and cannot with the improved single breech-loader of the 

 present day get in another shot before it gets out of range, J 

 for one say let it go, give the game some sort of a chance, it 

 will disappear soon enough without the aid of repeating rifles. 



Your correspondent "D. M. B." favors a .10-90 repeater. 

 For reasons advanced by "Greenhorn" 1 do not think the 

 .40 90 would become a general favorite; few men would care 

 to carry an 11-pound 33-iuch rifle all day if the hunting had 

 to be done on foot, and fewer still could make good shooting 

 with it. The cartridges of the length required for a .40-90- 

 500 would be very awkward to handle and carry about. If 

 a repeater must, be used (but I think the only time a man is 

 justified in using one is when hunting the grizzly), would 

 not a .50-70-425 answer the purpose of a .40-90 as well or 

 better? Let it be made of the half-magazine style, to carry 

 say five shots. The recoil from this gun would not be felt, 

 and the chances of accident from any weakness of the breech 

 mechanism, or explosion in the magazine, would be materi- 

 ally lessened on account of the reduced charge and smaller 

 number of shots. 



Every one will. I think, admit that five effective shots are 

 better than eight ' 'less effective;" in other words that fiveshots 

 from a .50-caliber will do more execution than eight from 

 a .40-caliber, tired at any large game upon the run, or under 

 any circumstances where a vital spot cannot be selected for 

 a dead shot. Makers of magazine guns appear to have lost 

 sight of this; and as long as a repeater was capable of dis- 

 charging its sixteen or seventeen shots in as many seconds, 

 it seemed to "pass" without regard to quantity of powder or 

 lead; as long as the number of shote were there it was all 

 right. 



The .50-70 may not have quite as much penetration as the 

 .40-90, but it has enough for all practical purposes, and this 

 is more than balanced by its greatly superior "killing" 

 qualities. 



I have never had an opportunity of hunting the large game 

 of the West, my experience having been confined to black 

 bear and moose. Of these 1 have killed a good number. 

 On these animals I have tried all kinds of rilies. from the 

 English express down to .40-caliber American rifles, I do 

 not like express bullets, penetration is sacrificed to trajectory 

 and the light ball does not kill dead. Proper ammunition is 



hard to obtaiu, ami as a rule the rifles are not as accurate as 

 American rifles, I used a .44 75-405 Ballard for a long lime, 

 and found that as long as the game was stationary and in 

 full sight, so I could select a vital spot for my mark, it 

 worked admirably. On the other hand if in thick cover, or 

 iu motion, it was not so satisfactory, and many a mile have 

 I had to travel after a wounded moose, which 1 have often 

 found shot through and through. ■ 



Some years ago I became possessed of a Swiuburn made 

 by Wcbiey & Co., under Swinburu's patent, a sample gun, 

 the only one lever saw before or since, .50-caliber, 8J pounds. 

 I use 70 grains of powder and 425 of lead, if a long bullet is 

 used. I "sometimes use a round bullet but do not know the 

 exact weight; either are veiy effective, the long one has more 

 penetration and nearly always goes through, no matter at 

 what angle the ball strikes. The only difference I find is 

 that the animal ilsuallly drops quicker to the round ball. 

 This I account for from the fact, that a greater shock is received 

 from the lound ball than from the long, the long bullet cut- 

 ting a clean hole, and the round "tearing" through bone and 

 muscle, making a wound from which die blood flows fast. 

 Indians prefer a good smooth-bore to any rifle taking a con- 

 ical or elongated bullet for this reason, they sa3% "Little bul- 

 let make small hole, moose ruu long way; big bullet make 

 big hole, moose not go far." and this I have proved on more 

 thati one occasion to be H fact. Globe Sight. 



New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. 



Editor Fore.il and Stream: 



In your issue of Jan. S I find a communication on "The 

 Choice of Hunting Rifles" from "Peabody-Martini," stating 



that there is a prospect of a rifle, single-loader, ,25-caliber, 

 being placed upon the maikel within afew months in which 

 the defects now existing in sinall-bore rifles and cartridges 

 will be remedied. 1 am glad of it, 1 have read the various 

 communications on tin- Subject of hunting rilies, and have 

 only been slightly interested iu the same. It is impossible 

 forme to visit the "Rockies" to shoot, grizzlies, or the north- 

 ern woods for moose. But 1 am interested in squirrels and 

 "sicn/'and have taken great satisfaction in shooting them 

 with a Flohert .22. But I realized that there was something 

 lacking in the rifle. I wanted one a little larger, and still 

 not so large as a ..32. Where to gel. a. perfect one and per- 

 fect cartridges for the same I did not know, so I simply 

 wailed, and 'l have wondered if there are not more like my- 

 self who would be glad to get a breech-loader to take the 

 place of the ancient squirrel rifle, muzzle-loader. I know at 

 least of one, so I -ay ail hail to the .25-caliber promised, 

 chambered for a shell si roug enough to be reliable on a turkey 

 at 151) or 200 yards, and with no nioking the bullet at the 

 base to throw 'wide of the mark and "keyhole.'- With the 

 rifle I now have I have made some splendid shots. One 

 afternoon this fall in about an hour and a half 1 shot seven 

 squirrels out of eleven shots, taking them all but one in the 

 head. If there are others who would, like myself, desire to 

 have such a rifle promised in "Peabody-Martini" communi- 

 cation, let tliem speak out. liROcmDEP. 



Editor threat and Stream: 



The letters of "D. M. B.," "Greenhorn" and others have 

 been very interesting to me, their experiences with slow bul- 

 lets and high trajectory curves from the ordinary repeating 

 rifles, and my own are identical, and the apathy evinced by 

 the manufacturers of such rifles and cartridges, to the long- 

 felt and crying necessity of something bettor, is only ex- 

 plainable on these premises, which I was forced to believe 

 some time ago. 



The manufacturers have all they can do to supply the 

 present demand, have even advanced the prices of the old 

 line of cartridges, and anything new would call for an extra. 

 expenditure for new tools, machinery, etc.. etc., that would 

 (they say (hardly be warrantable for the few. When re- 

 minded that the march of the multitude is always iu the 

 footsteps of the pioneers, they have claimed themselves to be 

 the leaders, saying "ought not we, the manufacturers, to 

 know more about rifles than the hunter or sportsman?" When 

 it is known that the manufacturer or stock owner of the 

 rifles never shot a deer, buffalo or other large game, and 

 never won a first prize in a public target competition, then 

 the uselessncss of argument with such needs no comment, 

 and all one has to do is to wait. 



But new arms companies are springing up and the patient 

 waders are likely to soon have their reward. I lately 

 received an invitation to "visit the Bullard Repeating Arms 

 Company, of Springfield, Mass., with the assurance of an 

 exhibition of something new in the way of .45 and .40 

 cab her carsndg's for U33 in thi'ir repeating system. To my 

 delight, among fourteen different sizes of cartridges, 1 was 

 shown a .45-caliber straight shell with 85 grains of powder, 

 295 of lead ; a .40-caiiber with 90 to 05 grajns of powder and 

 300 of lead, the latter was slightly bottle-shaped; and about 

 the same length as the .45 government cartridge. Wfl re 

 paired to the 200 yards range. I desired to test the .45-caliber 

 85 grain cartridge first, and to shoot without cleaning. In a 

 verv few shots I found the proper elevation, and then scored 

 seven successive "bulls" at the regular Creedmoor target— 8- 

 inch hullseye. I then called for a regular government 

 .45-caliber 70 grain cartridge, as it would fit in the same rifle, 

 and. taking careful aim',' the bullet struck the target 32 

 inches below the bullseyc; this experiment I verified again 

 and again, the 85-grain cartridge would shoot into the bulls- 

 eye, while the regular .45 government, with the same sight- 

 in", would shoot "from 24 to 30 inches below. 1 was then 

 handed a Bullard repeating rifle with a bright octagon barrel, 

 the .40-90 No. 1. and the barrel not yet blued 1 decided 

 to test this one from a rest, and with both dhows on the 

 table I carefully fired ten shots, then walked the 200 yards 

 and as carefully measured them; seven of the shots were 

 inside a 4-inch, "while a (i-incli circle would contain the ten. 

 The rifle was 28-iuch barrel, full magazine, and weighed 10J 

 pounds, and when fully charged would hold eleven shots. 

 These rifles are sighted for "point blank" at 100 and at 200 

 yards; this .40-90 bullet will not be more than three inches 

 lower, they told me. W. Milton Fakhow. 

 Newport, E. I. 



Editor Ibreat and Sir, an: 



Peiuriiiug but very recently from a long trip, which has 

 taken me twice across the "continent, I found something 

 awaiting mv attention that may possibly be of interest to 

 others, and 'hence I give the benefit to those who, like my- 

 self, may have cpen usarcbtag or wiaClng for different am- 

 munition for their rifles, knowing that the columns of your 

 valuable paper form the best means of reaching the majority. 



There is no doubt that many times individual sportsmen 

 have been dissatisfied with their rifles, from the fact that, 

 owing to their peculiar mechanism, but only one class of 



