FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



121 



and may be of some help on the start, but 

 the best sportsman I ever knew was a poor 

 shot at the trap. 



I fully agree with " Pull " that 60 per 

 cent, is a good average in upland shooting. 



Wm. Henry Hubert — than whom a more 

 thorough sportsman never lived — in his 

 book on field sports, written over the pen 

 name of "Frank Forester," says: "The 

 man who can kill 3 out of 5 shots, in covert 

 and out of covert, is a good shot, and can 

 hold his own anywhere." Mr. C. C. Has- 

 kins, in " A punch at fish hogs," in a re- 

 cent number of Recreation, says " The 

 doom of the poacher and hog was sealed 

 2 years ago," and in the next line tells how 

 he and 2 other fish hogs took a wash-tub 

 full of white-bass in less than 2. x / 2 hours. A 

 wash-tub full! Why didn't he say a swill- 

 barrel? What were they doing with a 

 wash-tub? Now my advice to Mr. Has- 

 kins is, he ought to save a few of those 

 " punches " for himself and his friends. 

 Wm. Comfort, Catskill, N. Y. 



SOME WOODCHUCK STORIES. 



Speaking of woodchucks, an old hunter 

 told me the following story: 



" I was about 6 years old when an uncle 

 of mine came to see me and brought me 

 a steel trap, the first I ever owned. I was 

 so small I had to put one end of a long 

 stick under a beam, rest it across the sprung 

 of the trap and spring it down, to set it. 

 Every time I caught a woodchuck I had to 

 take the trap to that beam, to set it, before 

 I could place it for another woodchuck. 

 One day I caught a young one and decided 

 to tame him. I had him so tame in a few 

 weeks that he would follow me around 

 almost anywhere. He was more mischiev- 

 ous than a whole litter of puppies. In the 

 fall he began to sleep longer each day. 

 We kept him in a corner by the chimney 

 (we always used the fireplace) where it 

 was warm. Finally, he went to sleep for 

 the winter, in a sitting position. Boy-like, 

 I was always poking him with my foot, or 

 a stick or something. He would wake up 

 enough to chatter his teeth, and would 

 then drop off to sleep again. He was just 

 as fat when he woke up in the spring as 

 he was when he " denned up," but he 

 never grew much. He ate so many vege- 

 tables in our garden that my father had 

 him killed after I had him 2 or 3 years." 

 W. A. Bruce, Felchville, Vt. 



This township is the best woodchuck 

 ground in the Empire state. I say this ad- 

 visedly, for I have hunted or driven over 

 every county but two West of Lake Cham- 

 plain and the Hudson. I have counted 

 seven 'chucks in one field, all within fair 

 rifle range. In another place, not consid- 

 ered good ground, I have left the highway, 

 bagged 5 'chucks, and been back to the 



carriage road again in 50 minutes. Three 

 times in the past 2 seasons I have killed 

 7 woodchucks in a short stroll, and on 

 Memorial Day saw 32 easy shots in a day's 

 hunt, though only 12 were killed, to 3 guns. 

 The chucks are a great damage to the grass 

 lands of the stockmen, who gladly give the 

 freedom of their farms to careful riflemen. 

 We are on the main line of the Ontario and 

 Western, and visiting riflemen can obtain 

 good hotel accommodations, livery, etc. 

 In many places a bicycle can readily be used 

 in going to and from the shooting grounds. 

 Then, too, sportsmen of the right sort 

 would be welcome to the traps and rifle 

 range of the gun club of Guilford. 



Rev. Ernest L. Tiffany, Guilford Centre, 

 N. Y. 



In reply to P. K. Rossiter, of Ithaca, on 

 woodchucks: I am somewhat of a wood- 

 chuck hunter myself, having in one season, 

 2 years ago, shot 61 woodchucks, 58 of 

 which I shot with my Marlin .38-40, and 3 

 with a Stevens shot gun. The largest one 

 I ever remember of shooting was an old 

 buck, of the dark brown, almost black, 

 variety and a sly old fellow he was, too, 

 living in a secluded corner of an excep- 

 tionally fine clover lot. I had tried many 

 times to get a crack at him, but he. would 

 get back in the bushes before I could do 

 so. One day he was not successful, it being 

 my good fortune to get within 100 yards 

 of his lordship before he sat up on his 

 haunches to survey the surroundings. I 

 caught him in the shoulder, and he was a 

 dead chuck. I brought him home and he 

 tipped the scales at 14 pounds. I use the 

 Marlin, with Lyman rear and ivory front 

 sights, and ask for no better rifle for small 

 game. William Foster, Troy, N. Y. 



ALASKAN NOTES. 



Lake Lindeman, B. C. 



Editor Recreation: I promised to write 

 you something when I reached this land of 

 promise; but thus far nothing of much in- 

 terest to sportsmen has turned up. Have 

 been on the trail since February 1st and 

 have most of our outfit at Lake Bennett. 

 I had occasion to go to Dyea, last week, 

 and was surprised and well pleased to find 

 a copy of Recreation at a news stand. 

 It has been read with great interest, by all 

 the boys in the party. 



The only game I have seen, so far, has 

 been ptarmigan; but I have been too busy 

 to think of hunting. After we get to Ben- 

 nett and have built our boats, I hope to 

 take a good hunt. Then I shall be able to 

 write you something of the big game in that 

 section of the country. 



Am pleased to learn you have the L. A. S. 

 started, and when I get back to civilization 

 again shall do all I can for it. Every true 

 sportsman should give it his support, and if 

 they will do this it will be a success. 



Q. B. Erwirir 



