508 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jab. 25, 1886. 



several important amendmenea will be mtide iu the game 

 laws, amd some of the existing provisions made more string- 

 out, Tli Btate law now declares Lliut. deer Shalt not be 

 killed between Nov. 1 and July 1 of the following yenr, but 

 iu Mie mountain comities little or no need is paid lo the law; 

 .■Hid in someof them the snperYi«orfl have undertaken to 

 "boss the i»!i," by giving permission lo shoot deer during 

 the close season. Yousee, the snow* drivva the deer down 

 iuoth.> foothills, and en who are mritn enoujrh 



to i(n out ami slay thim, notwithstanding the poor, half- 

 stu> ct b udiog. and consequently, not ifil;t> Hal 



i bably have re-enacted the law against the 



n, which expired last year; and 



i'i\ nout-eaiohing will be prohibited for a couple of 



vm j " ! ■! ededi re than anything is i 



more gi ct it ible lo visit different parts of the State, 



and :, I i ' idtl nguiiisi, lh(! law are brought to jus iiCO, 



Tne State Sportsmen's Association ha*, by its committee 



dsaf ted a iieS of amendment* 



lered during the present s ssion, and they are all 



ttoodtiTi fin Btate ought to raSkc a Bmall appropriation 



!o the purpose of introducing the Eastern quails here, and 



also prairie chickens, Onr vast stubble fields would furnish 



Ktsrilent cover fq,' them, and we need a great- r variety of 



.. i m we have nothing but our quails and 



su'pe 



S i.ril parties here have yonngdngalhal arcdown with the 

 dislemp r, and 1 am advising them to follow the advice given 

 by Mr. Hammond, the kennel editor oi your excellent jour- 

 nal, find that i- not to dose them ton much, but, to assist na- 

 ture, by simple means, iu working off the disease. A num- 

 . I Teally valuable dogs have been killed by stuffing them 

 with all sorts of medicine, and a little experience nf this 

 kind ought to be enough to cure any person of the practice, 

 M.igh ij doesatuurc the dog, Occasional. 



Sacramento. Ol.. Jan ■). 1S8S. 



THE AIR SPACE. 



■ am: 



Inconneclinii will. In- ile<e>e;-.ioi! ol ear space in barrels 

 of lireanns, I send you the following •'Ordnance Notes, 

 i swollen barrels in service small arms. 

 It I dated at the National Armory, Sept, (3, lb'79, and reads: 

 'Every rifle and carbine mado al this armory is fired al 

 !■ : . i ,,'ii,ne- .■■.ill. e - 1 - 1 ■ v 1 e cartridge besides three proof 

 i 880, 250 and 80 grains of powder and u heuvy 

 build respectively There have besides been many thous- 

 and cartridges uivd in testing experimental guns ami i an 

 ridges, [n III more Hum I .oiio.oud of cartridges have been 

 since 1870, and in no instance, so far as can be ascer- 

 tained, has there ever occurred the bursting or swelling of a 

 barrel at 01 near the rnuxzle. From these facts I think it 

 maybe safely inferred that a swollen or bursl luiu/de in 

 service must result from some obstruction. A report of a 



trial made by Capt. Greer at this armory, herewith ini ! 



lie. of firing the sendee rifle "with different kins 

 of obstructions planed in the bore ill the muzzle. Shrned, 

 J. 6. Bf.mo-.. Colonel Ordnance, Commanding 



This is t '■ i ■ ■ ■ iepoi-1: National Armory. Bpriug- 

 tiekl, Mass . Sept. 3; 1879.— Sir: Tu accordance with your 

 instructions in ascertain, if practicable, from what causes 

 the swelling of the imu/.ie of the service rifle results I have 

 the honor to submit the following report: Two condemned 



, ■ : ere taken at random from a lot turned in from the 

 field. Eight or ten rounds were tired from one of them, 



iuious sizes having been inserted iu tin- bi Ittl 



below the front sight, without affecting the barrel the 

 Sand next having been inserted in the muzzle, 

 the barrel "was shaken so as to remove all but af 

 which adhered to the fouling; the piece was then fired. 

 This was repeated several times without swelling the muz- 

 zle The barrel was then run into wet sand and the bore 

 nearly tilled fur about an inch and a half. Ale 



!i : . luion lie ■barrel was found swelled al lie: muzzle 

 ■' e ■, l,>, i have been received from time to 



time from the field. Several pine pings, from six to eight, 

 inches in length \s ere then prepared of a size to fit the bore 



. :■ T: e-i rrclwas fired twice with the plugs 



hi dry about otne-half their length, twice driven m 



wet, and twee driven in dry, but afterward swelled by 



Steam both inside end outside, wiihout injury to the barrel. 



The inrloseile.il probably forced the plugs "out before the 



•eacfied them. A ping was then split in two to 



.. ' ■ i ■■!'■; ei the air being free to paflSby 



■ ikongh'. '.lie build, might Wedge on the re- 



ie barrel was found unin- 

 jured aftei lie si fired, Uccadonally the cup-anvil 

 e shell has been found in the barrel 

 U Was thought possible (hat one of these 



i !: ■, Iged in the barrel and cause the swelling. 



To test this question, an anvil was driven down squarely 

 lie barrel, just opposite the front sight.. The piece 

 was then tired, without injury lo the barrel A second 

 anvil -was driven down to the same position, but obliquely 

 to tire axis of the bore. Ne damage resulted from the 

 filing. & long wad of cotton waste was. then wet and rolled 

 into'a spirals ml f oi ced down the barrel several inches bj 

 theTamrod. The pi rtten the barrel was 



found swelled a little beyond the wad, which Wat probably 

 curried forward a few inches before the bullet W< e e 



it, ft would seem from these trials that swelling at "the 

 muzzle is caused chiefly by sand at that point, rags, etc., 

 being blown out, but thai rags lower down may cause a 

 swelling at some point between their position and I 

 zlc; that the use of tompious is less hurtful than heretofore 

 i:e! finally., that swelling, not being easily pro- 

 i he result, oi' negligence in uot seeing that the bore 

 is free from obstructions , Very respectfully, your obedient 

 servant, Johs B, Gkeeu, Captain of Ordnance, U. 8. A." 



You ivi!! bear in mind that musket barrels are possessed of 

 much go aler strength than those of shotguns." That Mr. 

 Gi entr filled such Lands at he muzzle with two inches of 

 clay and then fired them without injury, 1 do not believe. 



Experiments of that nature have recently been made with 

 our musket barrel?, and they burst in almost every instance 

 Of course it would he almost impossible to burst the bariels 

 of some of tfe heavy target rifles, there being so much 

 metal. The results of the most receut tests have uot yet 

 been published, but they servo lo show, as this report indi- 

 cates, that sometimes the barrel is injured by wtiat rcems 

 the slightest ol causes, and at other titnw. when injury is 

 exp tied, none apparently results. As I at first wrote, "we 

 don't know very much about 'air spaces,' but on general 

 prim iples consider them dangerous tothe gun," and with the 

 shotgun, T would also include the man wtio holds it, when 

 air spaces exist; 



I Inclose some notes taken from a board of survey at 

 Springfield Armory in 1883. You can hardly bring this 

 under the. head of "air 6paoes," But it is just as well that 

 your readers should know the danger to nfles from so simple 

 a cause. 



Whether or not the same danger exists for shotguns I 

 much doubt, thai is. from the sand alone. That them is 

 danger uliru Hie obstruct inn is greater, I have no doubt. 

 Time and again barrels may sand a given test which 

 they wore not made to stand, and again may give way at 

 the first trial. Consequently, it is necessary to always be 

 prepared for the worst 



I hive almost constantly haudled firearms for some 

 twenty-five yens, since a boy. have sen many strange 

 things in connection with them',' both guns .aid cannon, and 

 the more 1 see of hem the more 1 an" convinced of the old 

 woman's sayiog, thai "Guns ate dangerous things; even 



without loot, stock or banel." Vose, of ours, teds Of a man 

 during the wai, who took two b rrels upon which to Sethis 

 kettle-s lor cooking— one of them went off (of course, not 

 lo:td.d)aud shattered his ankle. 



The hoc is by Col. Buffington. as follows: 



"A barrel received from field with a swollen muzzle was 

 cut off back of the swell, the muzzle was then pushed into 

 wet si nd, and the guu was discharged, using the s.rvicc 

 cartridge, resulting in a swollen muzzle 



"A second similar aun b irrel was taken, the syvollen muz- 

 zle cut off, tin gun fired, Ibeend thrust into dry sand, and 

 tired again, with no perceptible swelling; it was then fired 

 twice more, with the consequent increase of fouling, the 

 muzzle oa I rd3tiuj in dry sn.l d.ist, ai might easily 

 happen at target practice' from can lesshess, then it was 

 fired again, and the muzzle found to be swollen. 



"All experiments tend to prove that an obstruction in the 

 bore, particularly Band, will cause a swelling of the barrel. 



"This swelling never takes place when tiring the service 

 cartridge, when there is no obstruction in I he bore. 



"Within the past eight years there have been proved at 

 the Springfield Arsennl" over 450.000 barrels, with the fol- 



tf a be 



Hit a 



rel welling neai the muzzle. Such swelling only 

 vheii there is an obstruction in the bore, particularly 

 when b is sand." 3, 



WAsnraoT.i-, D. C, 



In the "Report of the Chief of Ordnance for 1879," p. 268, 

 Capt, John E. Greer reports on certain experiments with 

 small arms as follows: 



"In accordance with instructions to test the liability of a 

 rifle barrel to rupture, owing to the bullet not being entirely 

 down to the powder charge, 1 have the honor to submit the 

 following repbrl . 



In order lo insert the bullets from the muzzle u > a n ■ 

 sarv to Slightly reduce them iu diameter. 



The ShaDs were loaded with the usual charge of ?u grains 

 of powder, which was prevented from escupine; from them 

 by pasteboard waBa, an open space of about half an inch 

 still remaining. 



Two shots wern fired with Che builds just reaching the 

 front of the shells, or 30 inches from the muzzle, and two 

 ar 25, 20, and 15 inches, respectively. 



After each round the barrel was carefully examined; no 



iryichiing in any manner-were visible. 

 i indicated by thi 



slums nt -willine ■■ ■. I. 1 



The pre - iresasindi 



in (he following table: 

 Distance from inuszle. 



re-pl 



■-Cmii. idem. in in. 



Pounds. Pounds. Pminds. 



0,000 5,600 .l,ion 



6,500 6,250 1. 1 lee 



7,760 6,375 



•i,0S0 



30 ill. 

 Pound*. 

 Pressure per square fncli, , ] H'Im 



Jinan. 17,000 



The pressures obtained with the bullet crimped iu the 

 shell iu the regular manner were about 27,000 pounds. 



It would seem, therefore, from these results, that instead 

 Of an air-spaee bet u ,,m powder and bullet, being a source of 

 danger to the barrel (he bore is relieved from strain, owing 

 to the larger space in which the powder gas is permitted to 

 expand.'' 



Editor Threat and Stream: 



I have had considerable experience in rifle shooting where 

 the ball has not been sent home with the rod. and although 

 these livings were not experimental, the results answer the 

 question in your paper as to the danger of an air space, and 

 with perfcci satisfaction to me as far as rifle barrels are 

 lOncen ed 



When a boy of ten years I began shooting with an old 

 Kentucky rifle of extreme length", while my balls were all 

 too large' for the guu. This we - - remedied DJ reducing one 

 diameter willi n "knife until it would lit the bore tight. 

 Next, an Iron rod was applied, and with the assistance of 

 half a plowshare in the hand of a negro boy who always 

 participated in my sports, was driven to within ten inches 

 of the powder, resting there because the rod was not long 

 enough to send it home. This manner of loading was 

 carried on for about two years, when my father witnessed 

 the performance and deprived us of both rod and gun. The 

 rifle was never injured, and is now in the hands of a friend, 

 . I ii ,'•[ h on swan, eagle andhawk with deadly effect, 



A i. the benlcd Hei i\ sburg my gun (a Springfield rifled 

 musket) became so foul that the ball i conical i stopped half 

 way down the barrel. I pounded upon (he rod with a stone 

 without moving it, aud then discovered that I was unable to 



■ i, • n.v rammer. I at once tired ball, rod and all at 

 my 'vis-a-vfs" on the Federal side, Who was about seventy 

 or eighty yards away, without any injury to the gun, and 1 

 sincerely hope that 1 failed to hit my target. 



A short time aire I carelessly fired a. tiffin, plug from the 

 muzzle of a .88 Wesson, since Which 1 have killed, a number 

 of swan and ducks, and ranging at from 10i) lo 300 yards, 

 showing that the accuracy is not impaired. R. 31. D. 



TALBOT t.'on.TV, Md. 



Editor Forest "f<d &fev MR.' 



A lew weeks ago. while hunting quail with Messrs. Jas. 

 McOullough and John Smith, of Illinois, iu pushing a tight 

 shell into my gun, a 13-gnuge !50-inch breech-loader, I must 

 have stuck Ihe muzzle of the gun in (he ground. The dogs 

 being then on a point I di.t not take time to examine, but 

 flushing (lie bird fired at it, and as^itwas something un- 

 usual was surprised to find I had missed so fair it shot. I 

 found when I went to reload my gun that two inehe's of the 

 muzzle on the right hand barrel bad been blotyn away aud 

 the rib between the barrels curled up like a watch 

 spring, half way down the barrels. The left hand barrel, 

 upon csamiuation, was fouud to be plugged with mud for 



about two inches, but was uninjured. I had my guu re- 

 paired, and now, although only twenty-eight inch&s in the 

 barrels, it shoots as good, if not better than before. 



G. B. B. 



Nashville. Til. 



THE ILLINOIS GAME LAW. 



TIIE matter of greatest interest here now to sportsmen, and 

 which also effects aue dealers as well, is the game laws 

 of the State of Illinois. The annual meeting of the Sportsmen 

 and Game Dealers' Association was held here Thursday, at 

 which this matter was fully discussed. The meeting oc- 

 curred iu the Produce Exchange, main hall, and there was 

 a. big attendance of members present. To dispose of ( out ine 

 matters first, we will state (hat the annual election of officers 

 occurred first, and resulted in a re-election as folios: Pros: 

 dent, Col. E. S. Bond; First Vice-President, Charles E. 

 Eellon, Second Vice-President, George E. Sloan; Third 

 Vice-President, R. B, Organ; Secretary, George P. Ivor- 

 com; Treasurer. C. II. Tebbetts; Executive Committe, Dr. 

 F. B. Korcom, Charles E. Kern, S. H. Turrill, J. C. Ender, 

 T. D Randall, and Fred. M. Smith. 



Alter an approval of Ihe report of the secretary and treas- 

 urer, the discussion of the amendment to the game laws of 

 this Bta'e followed. It will be remembered bv your read- 

 ers that last December a committee was appointed to form 

 a game law, and they met and passed an amendment lo the 

 law, which extends the time for selling wild »ame to Feb 

 1. The old law closes all the selling' Jan. 1. Why this 

 amendment should harve been passed by the committee is 

 one of the .-even wonders of the hunting worm. The peti- 

 tion or bill thus amended was then sent to Springfield, our 

 State capital, to be passed upon by the Legislature. Now 

 the game law runs out Aug. 15. consequently the shooting 

 begim on die instant, and holds until Dec. 1," when the law 

 is again in force and the open season closes. Thi- Settles il 

 that sportsmen must stop shooting game Dec. 1, v leale 

 are allowed to sell till Jan. 1, and "bv the new amendment. 

 until February. The idea is to stop shooting and leHiwj 

 at the same time. By this law pot-hunters are virtually 

 Offered a premium for bagging game, and game dealers '» 

 temptation for buying this game ami selling it, during two 

 months — December aud January, when gentlemen sports- 

 men' an barred out of all the pleasure of minting. 



When the law is up, August l.j, the chickens are So 

 young and tame that the pot-hunter can slip up end 

 knock them over with a club or a stout stick, thin causing 

 useless slaughter. The dealers in Chicago actually e i 



loads of same last season that spoiled before it reached lie- 

 game dealers. This must be stopped. Now the dealers are 

 in favor of having a law that shall hold from Feb. 1 to Sept, 

 1 for all wild game, making the killing and selling the same 

 dates, 



Your correspondent had a conversation with L. L. 

 Crocker, formerly a member of the State Legislature, and 

 an ardent sportsman, and he said that it was Impossible to 

 get such a law passed, owing to the opposition of the mem 

 bers from the southern portion of the State, where game 

 matures earlier, and wbere the pot-hunter abounds ; they 

 must go slow, and get one amendment at, a time. 



This is all nonsense of course. Even supposing earn. 

 does mature earlier in the southern part of the Stale. The 

 birds killed there spoil before reaching Ibis city, which is 

 the market for genie. A common game law for all parts 61 

 the State should be passed. The nieeUne of sportsmen and 

 dealer- appointed a commi tee to again look after this 

 mattfirof a changein the Btate game laws, and flioy will 

 report next week. 



A meeting of the Chicago Sharpshooters' Association was 

 held on the "North Side in their regular hall last Wednesday 

 night. There were fully thirty member present, There 

 ports of the outgoing officers show that the assets of the 

 association were $?tb5!l 1 .7S, liabilities $11,976.98, net assets 

 $64,61480, which consists of eighty aeresof land just west 

 of Kensington, one of our hest suburbs, a large hall, gym 

 uasiiim. bowling alley, shooting ranges, aud u ballroom 

 Everything is satisfai I - irj iu the club, and they now rtumbei 

 fully S00 members-. The election of officers resnl ed ■ ■ 

 lows: Ambrose Andree, President; John Kirehoefer, Vice 

 President; Henry Reitz, Comptroller: August Zschuppel, 

 Trea-urer; Oscar T. Matthei Sneino , d.eid- Fe-rsten 



First Shooting Master; OttoHoef 3e ond Shooting Master 



There is absolutely a lamentable dearth of news about this 



neck ol the woods No hunting no :e, ; ..!:,,„_,; i-,,_ ,, 

 most of (he boys ai home: attending strictly tfl buaj ■ 

 Therefore the valuable Forest vnd Stream will L: ti '■ 

 content with this meager letter. 



BARNEY BUTTS. 



itiQO Barney's dead," said country store lounger number 

 O one, giving a jab lo the stick lie was whittling. 



"Ves, the olid man's gone at last," said lounger number 

 two, shifting his quid and directing a stream of tobacco 

 juice "dead on" to the box of sawdust made and provided 

 for just e. I eh emergencies. 



"Well, he was a big hunter; the bears II rest easier now 

 .!■.:■ "put in lounger number three. 



- if it's Barney Butts you're talking about," said Tnbb... 

 the stage driver, "he ain't dead." 



"I know he is," rejoined number one, 



•When did he die," asked Tubbs. 



•Dead and buried last week; and never another bear '11 

 he -kin," said lounger number three, making another bulls- 

 eye on the sawdust box, and flushinc from it about a million 

 fires. 



"But I know better," insisted Tubbs. 



"How do you know?" came in chorus from the three. 



"Because 1 seen him myself yesterday." Aud the letters 

 having been sorted. Tubbs Hung the m'ailbe.g on to the reu 

 box-coach, elevated his own ponderous self to his perch, 

 gathered up the reins, huctdupped his team, and rattled till 

 down the street, while the loungers three were left to nun 

 pletc their rounds at the sawdust, box, the only dust, by the 

 way. they will ever be likely to raise in the world. 



The subject of this conversation, which was overheard 

 fry the writer last October in a little mountain village of the 

 Calskills, was old Barney Butts, the famous bear hunter. 

 Mr. Butts died at his ho i.-.e in East Windham iu the second 

 week of the following December, 1883, aged nearly eighty- 

 He was one of a number of men living in 

 that wild country who spent much time in hunting the large 

 game which is to be found in the mountains. From a 

 notice of his life, contributed by Mr. I 0, Butts 10 die 

 W'lnlham Journal, Icxlractthe following-particulars: 



"Barney Butts was born in what is now the towu oi 

 Jewctt (then Windham) about ouo mile ftom Hensonville, 



