460 
Long, constant use proved it an ideal com- 
bination. 
Of all the elk and deer I shot in 2 
vears’ steady hunting, not more than 5 
called for the magazine. That 90 grain 
cartridge, with either the 405 or 500 grain 
bullet, laid them dead at the first shot. 
Semetimes I felt I might almost as well 
use a single shot rifle; and then, on a 
double shot, or a third and fourth of a 
band, I patted the old stock and blessed 
the magazine. There is no difference in 
accuracy between a magazine and a single 
shot rifle, and, in emergencies that come 
in all hunting, the magazine makes all the 
difference in the world. For accuracy, 
power, ease of manipulation and wearing 
quality, the Hotchkiss is the equal of any 
.45 caliber in existence. It is made by the 
Winchester Co., which is as good as say- 
ing that all parts are of singular perfection. 
/Nine-tenths of the arms used by miners 
and cowboys are Winchesters, yet I never 
saw one out of order. Gunsmiths have 
told me they seldom have a Winchester 
brought in for repairs. 
The Hotchkiss is light. too, 8% pounds 
—a great item when it comes to tramping; 
and if I were going to get another gun 
I would have it cut to 22 inches, to still 
further reduce its weight. The day of 
crowbars is past, but never try to con- 
vince a mountain man of this. He will 
hug his 12 pound rifle and wish it weighed 
I 
magazine rifle in the market. Outside the 
army it has never had much notice, and 
dealers offer them, new, at absurdly low 
prices. All the same, it is the gun I 
would choose to take to the woods or 
the mountains. 
The bolt lever action never seemed to 
take with the men I knew in the hills. In 
comparison, they would work their Win- 
chester levers back and forth like a cross 
cut saw. To their sturdy strength the 
very amount of swing and motion seemed 
to count. I admit the lever action never 
pleased me, and always seemed a detri- 
ment to the looks of the gun; while the 
Hotchkiss, with its mere trigger guard, 
had the neatness of the olden time. All 
this is, of course, on one side or the other, 
prejudice. As old Chaucer says: 
“For, whanne that he himself concluded 
had, 
He thought eche other mannes wit so bad, 
That impossible it were to replie 
Against his choice. This was his fan- 
tasie!” 
There is a geed deal of “fantasie” about 
guns, and seme about men. 
The .45-70 cartridge is being constantly 
brought up, either for defense. or for 
ridicule, in the wordy war now going on 
between the old and new cartridges. 
After 
2 
The Hotchkiss is about the cheapest ° 
RECREATION. 
costly experiments by the Ordnance De- 
partment, this caliber and these propor- 
tions of lead and powder were selected 
as combining the most desirable elements 
in a cartridge, viz., accuracy, power and 
range. Its diameter admitted length fer 
bearing on the barrels, and consequent 
accuracy, with bulk of lead for force and 
blow. As all the 70 grains of powder were 
not consumed, a remedy was found by 
adding to the weight of the bullet until the 
time required for overcoming the greater 
wis inerti@ of the lead should consume all 
the powder; 500 grains of lead were found 
to do this. This cartridge was used in all 
government arms until the introduction 
of the .30-40. 
When the Winchester Co. brought out 
its light weight 22 inch rifles, with fluid 
steel barrel, out of its 16 different .cart- 
ridges it chose the .45-70. They adver- 
tise 4 different weights of bullets for the 
.45-70, and Mr. Gould chose the .45-70 for 
his now well known 330 grain hollow bul- 
let. There lie great possibilities in the 
old .45-70. The shell holds, even full, 82 
grains. By barely fastening the bullet in 
the shell for convenience of use, or by 
setting it ahead of. the cartridge, one can 
use the 405 or 500 or 535 grooved bullets, 
or the 550 grain patched bullet. 
In military use the .45-70 is effective at 
800 yards. For hunting purposes it is 
fairly certain at 100 yards; effective at 200, 
300 or 400 yards, according as it is held. 
I have used the rifle for 50: years, and be- 
yond 100 yards I do not feel certain of 
my game. Beyond too yards the ordinary 
sights on a rifle will cover half the side 
of a deer, even when held aright. In all 
my hunting with skilled hunters I have 
found that, like myself, they set 100 yards 
as the limit of a sure shot. Of course. 
much longer shots will at times hit and 
kill, more hit and don’t kill, and more 
still don’t hit at all. Gordon Cummings, 
Sir Samuel Baker and others say the same 
thing, and what we want in a rifle is that it 
shall hit and kill at the ordinary hunting 
distance. 
It is my opinion that no cartridge will 
do that more effectively and repeatedly 
than the .45-70 with its different bullets. 
To me the difference between the .45-70 and 
the .30-30 is in the matter of range. In a for- 
est country, where the great majority of 
shots are at under 100 yards, this is not 
important. What one wants there is ac- 
curacy and power. In the mountain and 
prairie regions range becomes more im- 
pertant, and the game, especially ante- 
lope, is shot at longer distances. But, even 
then, beyond 100 yards it is guess work. 
You guess at the distance. Your holding 
and sighting are, in great measure, guess 
werk, and beyond 200 yards all downright 
luck. And so the prevalent testimony of 

