FOREST AND STREAM 
993 
<mo 'would be able to suggest a. l-emedy for it. I have had 
the : same experience as ru,y brother-sportsmen, say they 
h ;l Ve. I bought about a year ago two Ballard rifles, one 
of, them a Creedmoor and the other aSchuetzeu, using 50 
glams of powder and 270 grains lead. The shells at first 
‘ worked admirably, but, after using three or four times, 
commenced to stick, and some of them could ixot be 
driven into the chamber of the gun more than half an 
inch. After the first tune the shells were fired the bul¬ 
lets would drop out of them if they were inverted. I 
have not a bit of fault to find with the rifles I own, for 1 
know there are no better made ; and it seems strange to 
me that the makers will not try and overcome this really 
only disadvantage the Ballai-d rifle has. For accuracy 
they cannot he beaten. I hope the sportsmen who own and 
use these rifles will keep up this ‘ ‘ Everlasting shell" agita¬ 
tion, and perhaps influence the makers to overcome this 
obstacle, and give their shells as honest and reliable a 
name as the Ballard rifle holds. Another Sticker. 
ANNUAL REPORT OF, THE N. R. A. 
New York, Jan. 13th,, 1880. 
To the National Rifle Association of America—Mr, Presi¬ 
dent and Gentlemen :— 
Since the submittal of the last annual Secretary's re¬ 
port in January, 1879, many events of interest to mem¬ 
bers of this Association, as well as to riflemen generally, 
have transpired, though they will be but briefly referred 
to, as it is believed that any extended notice here 
would be a needless tautology, the various reports of offi¬ 
cers and committees, which will appear in the,, annual 
report of 1879, being very complete. 
The Secretary cannot, however, let this opportunity 
pass without noting the gratifying financial condition of 
the Association, the credit for which is largely, if not 
wholly, due to the careful and efficient management of 
the Treastu-er, Hon. David W. Judd. The balance shown 
on his report, though smaller than the amount that ap¬ 
peared at the opening of the year 1879, being a clear and 
true balance without liabilities, shows a more healthy 
financial condition than has existed in the Association 
since its organization. 
As you are aware, the seventh annual meeting of the 
Association took place January 1111), 1879, and the action 
taken thereat was printed in full in the annual report pub¬ 
lished that year. 
The subject of changing that portion of the by-laws re¬ 
lating to annual membership assumed the proportion of 
a proposed amendment subscribed to by ten members, as 
required, and to the effect that Section 3 of Article X be 
amended so as to read : — 
“ 3. Clubs of fifteen from any Company of the National 
Guard may become members of this Association on pay¬ 
ment of two dollars a year per man. Clubs of twenty or 
over from any Company may become members by paying 
one dollar and a half each a year." 
The passage of this amendment being recommended by 
the Board of Directors, a special meeting of the Associa¬ 
tion was called for Tuesday, March 18th, at the rooms of 
the Association at 4 o’clock p. M. No quorum being pre¬ 
sent, at 4.30 the meeting was compelled to adjourn with¬ 
out having transacted any business. Following close 
upon this came another proposed amendment, regularly 
subscribed to by ten members, and which passed tho 
Board of Directors, with recommendations for its adop¬ 
tion . On the evening of Monday, March 31st, in answer 
to a call for a special meeting of the Association, its 
members assembled at the New York State Arsenal, and 
at a little after 8 o'clock p. si., the President being ab¬ 
sent, Gen. Wingate, the Vice-President, took the chair 
and announced that the object of the meeting was to act 
upon (either to adopt or reject), first, the proposed amend¬ 
ment of the by-laws, changing the amount of annual 
dues in Sec. 1 of Art. X—and in Sec. 2 of Art. XI—from 
three to two dollars ; and secondly, as to striking out the 
whole of Sec. 3 of Art. X. 
A motion by Major Fulton to adopt the first part, 
changing the annual dues from three to two dollars, was 
made, seconded, put to vote and duly carried. 
Following amotion to adopt the second part of the pro¬ 
posed amendment came a question from a memoer ask¬ 
ing if a quorum was present. The Secretary being 
orderedlby the chair to count, discovered that but twenty- 
four members were then in the room, being six short of a 
quonxm. The legality of action taken being questioned and 
a ruling called for, the chair decided that the action taken 
up to time of discovery of a quorum not being present 
was legal, but that such discovery being now made no 
further business could be transacted or motions made, 
except to adjourn, which was thereupon done. 
During the past year twelve regular and four special 
meetings of the Board of Directors have been held, the 
last one in December, 1879, being the ninety-third regu¬ 
lar meeting held by the board since its organization. 
The average attendance at these meetings has been 
good, but one adjournment being necessary for want of 
a quorum. The Executive Committee has met eleven 
times upon call by the President or any member thereof. 
Tho only changes in the Board of Directors has been 
the vacating of the ex-officio Directorships caused by the 
resignations of the Adjutant-General of the State and 
the Inspector of Rifle Practice, 
Committees for the year were appointed by the Presi¬ 
dent in February, 1879, as follows 
Finance Committee:—Lt.-Coi. E. Harrison Sanford, 
Capt. William C. Casey, Col. J. H. Oowperthwaite. 
Range CommitteeGen. Geo. W. Wingate, Capt. 
Joseph G. Story, Col. Geo. Scott. 
Prize Committee :—Col. John Ward, Major Joseph 
Holland, Ma jor Jas. H, Jones. 
In June last, Maj. D. B. Williamson was granted leave 
of absence until his return from Europe. Your Secre¬ 
tary likewise {received leave of absence after the Fall 
Meeting till the end of the year, though such leave was 
not taken advantage of. The Assistant Secretary was 
granted forty days’ leave of absence to go to Europe up¬ 
on business. He reported for duty within the specified 
time. On. May 6th, ex-Adjutant-General Franklin Town¬ 
send was elected an Honorary Director of this associa¬ 
tion for the term of three years. 
It was early in the year decided to lay aside as a sink¬ 
ing fund that should be applied solely to repairs and 
Improvements upon tho Range at Creedmoor, all moneys 
reoeived as dues from life memberships. This has 
amounted to $75. Eighteen new names have been added 
to our roll of fife membership, thirteen of whom paid 
the usual fees, four were offered and won as prizes, and 
one was awarded as an honor. 
Annual members (despite the reduced dues) have not 
been as numerous as had been hopefully anticipated, and 
though an increase of nearly fifty per cent., is shown 
upon the roll, the cash receipts from this source are 
rather below last ye.ar's figures, 
The roll of affiliated rifle clubs and associations shows 
seven as against six in 1878, as follows :—The Empire 
Rifle Club, Amateur Rifle Club, Seventh Regiment Rifle 
Club, and Twelfth Regiment Rifle Club of New York, 
the Massachusetts Rifle Association, the New Jersey 
State Rifle Association and the Columbia Rifle Associa¬ 
tion of Washington, D. C. 
Two military organizations, viz,, Company I, Seventh 
Regiment, and Gatling Battery E, First Division, N. G. 
S. N. Y., each joined the association in a body under the 
by-law permitting suck membership at half the usual 
rates. 
Badges have been issued to ten life members num¬ 
bers numbered from eiglity-seven to ninety-six inclusive. 
During the past season there have been ninety-seven 
matchesof tlie N. R, A. shot at Creedmoor against one 
hundred and thirty-eight in 1878. This reduced number 
may be accounted for by noting the omission of subscrip¬ 
tion matches at the Spring and Fall Meetings. They are 
nlnoon/1 Ci r> 1 nn'o • ftnrimr Mootincr 111 T Tt'flll Mpptliur. 10 ! 
I nn\t §iU] nt\d §w\. 
GAME IN SEASON IN JANUARY. 
Hares, brown and gray. 
■Wild duple, geese, brilnt, etc. 
lpr 
Spring Meetings—58 Prizes, value and cash........... 
Fall Meetings, 12-1 Prizes (exclu-1 Value..$9,991 oO 
sive of 20 Prizes, return of en- -Gush. 70 
trance fees.!.I —-10,657 20 
hong Range Tournament, 2,9) Value. .. *352 00 
Prizes; and 28 divisions of eu- J-Cash. 791 92 
trance money.> —- 
Monthly Matches, 2«f Prizes.I dfgh .757 ®o- 
Total— 102 Prizes...- 
Excepting the last menth of the season, the general at¬ 
tendance at Creedmoor has been decidedly good, the en¬ 
tries in monthly matches comparing favorably with 
former years. In this connection the Secretary would 
respectfully call attention to the conditions of certain 
matches with prizes requiring to be won “ tlie greatest 
number of times during the season,” as a partial explana¬ 
tion of the decreased attendance and falling off of en¬ 
tries alluded to. 
A competitor having won a prize four times say out of 
seven competitions during the season, is the only one 
then having any interest in the match, others knowing 
that they have no further chance of winning or even of 
tieing. Experience shows that the most interesting con¬ 
ditions for a prize (except in such as the “Champion 
Marksman's Badge” and “Diamond” matches, where 
objects other than to win the principal prize influence 
entries) are to require same to be won a certain number 
of times (not necessarily consecutive), before becoming 
personal property. 
An error of my predecessor in office lias been noticed in 
his report of 1878, in which it is claimed that 6,000 rail¬ 
road excursion tickets between New York and Brook¬ 
lyn and Creedmoor had been sold by this Association 
alone to members of the N. R. A. and N, G. S. N. Tin¬ 
stead of which but 3,998 were disposed of. During the 
past year 7,034 have been sold at the rate of thirty cents 
each, the amount of $2,107.20 havingbeen received there¬ 
for, and duly handed over to the Long Island Railroad 
Company. 
Troops of the National Guard have used the range on 
three days of each week almost continuously from June 
1st to November 1st, the approximate number of men 
shooting thereon during that period not being less than 
13,000, which number, added to an estimated 5,000 in 
meetings and matches, would make the total number 
about 18,000, which might, perhaps, he safely increased 
to 20,000. 
In the matches of the Fall Meeting a more general re¬ 
presentation of military teams (especially from New York 
State) is to be noted. The presence of teams represent¬ 
ing all the divisions of the army is also very gratifying, 
representing, as it does, the growing and unusual in¬ 
terest in this most important branch of the soldier’s edu¬ 
cation. The Regular Army and National Guard being 
thus brought into closer competition, cannot fail to cre¬ 
ate a spirit of friendly rivalry that will develop an in¬ 
creasing skill and consequent efficiency in both branches 
of the service. 
Though the absence of any foreign team at Creedmoor 
was a drawback to the popular enthusiasm, yet the 
matches were well attended, and shot with keen compe¬ 
tition. Tho spring meeting, owing to unfavorable 
weather, was not well attended, and the Secretary is of 
the opinion that this part of the annual arrangements 
might be profitably omitted, and in its stead one or two 
special matches substituted, with popular conditions and 
prizes. 
Major Jones elect ed Secretary February 4th, 1879 ; re¬ 
signation to take effect January 6th, 1886. Major-Gen¬ 
eral Townsend elected Honorary Director for usual term 
of three years from May 6Ui. Four life members 
during past year, viz.: Hon. Alfred W. Craven, Mr. John 
Klein, Col. J. M. Homiston, M, D., and Hon. II. K. 
Hackett. 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
Chess Openings. By H. W. Bird. Howard Lockwood. 
71 Duane street, New York. 
The game of ohess will always be pre-eminent as an nmusomeut 
which compels thought and enforces mental discipline, and In 
this respect some of its best exemplars have been found in the 
United States. The author of this work has given us something 
worthy of tho game, which challenges the attention of every ohess 
player, and which is full of suggestion to those who hope to excel 
at chess. Mr. Bird's name is a guaranty of authority, since, he is 
recognized as an export and as one of tho greatest or English ohess 
players. His book contains a series of forty-iivo openings, with 
Illustrative games, and diagrams of noteworthy games and prob¬ 
lems. These embrace the pith of the lessons taught by the great 
masters in chess strategic and present in the plainest and most 
lucid manner the best openings for chess students to learn. The 
work is prefaced with a succinct and interest ing history of Ohess 
in America. 
von Florida. 
Decr.Wi Id Turkey, Woodcock, Quail, Snipe, Ducks, and Wild Fowl. 
Hay birds ” generally, ineluding various species of plover, sand 
piper, suipe, curlew, oyster-catcher, surf birds, phalnropes, avo- 
cets, etc., corniug under the group lAmueyhe or Shore birds. 
GAME AND FISH DIRECTORY. 
In sondiiig reports for the Fobest and Stheam Directory to 
dame aud Fish Resorts, our correspondents are requested to give 
the following particulars, with such other information as they 
may deem of value; Stato, Town, County; means t)f access; Hotel 
and other accommodations; Game andits Season; Fish and IteSea- 
i; Boats, Guides, etc.; Nameof persontonddress; -allevthefol- 
lowing model New York, Bay Share, Suffolk County, I.ong 
Island. Benched by Dong Island Railroad, forty miles from Hunt¬ 
er's Point. Hotel—Prospect House, John S. Rogers, proprietor, $12 
per week. Game —Ducks of all varieties and geese, Cietober 1st to 
May 1st; hay birds, after July 10th; quail, November 1st to Jan¬ 
uary 1st. Fish— Bluetlsh, Juno 1st to November 1st; sea bass, 
kingflsh, potgies, and sheepshead, all summer. Boats, $3 por day. 
Address, John S. Rogers, as above. 
Chambering Buckshot. —It is the usual rule iu cham¬ 
bering buckshot in choke-bores, to place a wad just 
within the muzzle of tlie barrel where the choke is the 
greatest, and on that to chamber the shot. Loads deter¬ 
mined in this way will generally give satisfaction, We 
give below another method which seems to us an excel¬ 
lent one. It is well worth while trying this. We shall 
be glad to hear from, those who may put it into practice. 
R. T. writes from Van Buren, Arkansas :— 
I have bad some experience in the use of choke-bores 
with all sizes of shot, from No. 10 drop up to No. 1 buck- 
*shot. I have owned and shot several breech-loading shot 
guns, both cylinder and choke-boi-es. I have now a W, & 0. 
Scott & Sons’ No. 12 bore, full choke, and one that no rea¬ 
sonable money would purchase. I have tried all sizes of 
buckshot that will chamber m the muzzle of the gun. I 
find that she docs not shoot any chamber proper of buck¬ 
shot more than ordinarily well, uot better than the cylin¬ 
der-bores. Blit by experimenting with loading in differ¬ 
ent modes of chambering, I have made, as I believe, an 
important discovery in shooting buckshot with the 
choke bore. It is as follows: After the powder—say 
three and one-half drachms — is rammed tolerably well 
with two good pink-edge wads, place five buckshot iu a 
ring on wads, and five more alternately around tlie first 
five, and five more alternately on those, making the load 
fifteen in all. Now thei'e will be a space iu tlie centre 
not large enough for a shot in each five shots, which 
space I leave open and place a good tight wad over them. 
When fired the space admits the closing of each ring of 
shot in passing tlie choke, and the pattern is more than 
doubled. I have had the thing thoi'oughly tried with 
over ten dozen choke-bored guns of my own aud my 
sporting friends, and in every instance it is equally good. 
Of course the size of the shot must correspond to the size 
of gun with twelve bores. I find No. 8 buckshot, St. 
Louis mould, exact ly suits iu the U. M. G. paper shell. For 
a ten-bore No. 7 is’ the size. I am desirous of hearing 
from our brother sportsmen on tlie subject, and if my 
mode is not novel to them I am at a loss to know why 
some of them have not mentioned it in giving their ex¬ 
perience with buck and choke. 
What is meant' in using the word “ chamber proper,” 
is that five shot is not an entire chamber, as no less than 
seven will chamber where one is iu the centre. R. T. 
Diving Decoys. — Lexington, Ey., Dec. 10th—Editor 
Forest and Stream : —I have tried the decoying power of 
the diving decoy apparatus in a recent trip to Reel Foot 
Lake, and find the attachment a great improvement. It 
is easily handled and is very effective in drawing ducks 
within range. At Reel Foot we killed nearly every spe¬ 
cies of duck found in that region, and were perfectly sat¬ 
isfied with the diving decoys. B. W. D. 
Fowl Shooting at Shelter Island.— Themild weather 
of the last few weeks has delayed the migration of the 
fowl from Shelter Island, and they are now feeding 
around there in considerable numbers. A half-dozen 
batteries are now leveled against them, and from ten to 
forty fowl are killed daily by each boat, if rigorous 
winter should seal up these bays they will all disappear. 
Tennessee. — Savannah, Jan. 5th. —Our quail season 
has just closed, and has not been a very good one. I was 
out several times last week, and shot fifty birds and 
seven hares. One of tho latter was of the grey variety, 
and weighed five and a half pounds. Some parties 
driving for deer near Waterloo, a landing on Tennessee 
River, some fifty miles or more above here, killed, not 
long since, a buck weighing 199 pounds. He was struck 
by a single buckshot. A friend of mine, while shooting 
ducks in the Millwood bend of the Black Warrior River, 
shot and killed a ninety-pound doe. He had his gun 
loaded with No. 4’s ; disabled the deer with the first bar¬ 
rel, and after following her a short distance got in his 
left , which gave her the coup de grace. Duck shoot¬ 
ing, owing to warm weather and high water, has been 
almost nil, We are hoping for colder weather this 
month, when you may expect better reports from us. 
Will. 
Arkansas — Jaclcsonport, Jan. 3f?.—The present game 
season is the worst on record. Having no game law, tlie 
gun is not yet laid away. A party from Little Rock, 
Ark., with General B. Hempstead aud several other gen¬ 
tlemen, whose names I have been finable to learn, have 
gone over to Swan Lake and West Prairie armed and 
equipped as the law directs. The mail-carrier reports that 
they have killed several deer and bear, but have heard 
nothing of their success with the birds. We are anx¬ 
iously waiting for the spring flight of water fowl aud for 
the snipe and plover, Weather miserably and tediously 
warm, YELL, 
