FOREST AND STREAM. 



401 



quarrels as to priority of invention in regard to breech-load- 

 ing median isms and choke-bores, one cannot but recall the 

 remark of that conservative cynic who said, "All that is 

 new is old, and that which is really new is not good." 



SOUTH CASTLK STREET, MVWpODl, NOV. 30, 1S7T. 

 EniTOH FOHBST ANT) STREAM: 



The old-fa3hioned breech-loading fowling-gou which Mv. W. de B_ 

 aa excited your curiosity about, was made by W. Turvey, Loru 



i the last century. II; is our senior's pride, as novelties and Im- 

 provements are brought before the public, to take down this centenari- 

 an, and chuckle over snap actions and choke-bores, and the award of 

 ?Ilver cups and other absurdities to the so-called introducers of these 

 mpposed novelties. This gun combines most of the modern improve- 

 ments in breech-loaders. . It is a self-acting snap, a self-primer, a 

 cuoke-bore, and is chambered in exactly the same manner as breech- 

 loaders now. The barrel is held to the action at one inch from the 

 lireech by a joint pin, through a side plate on each side, thus securing 

 lie two together, and on these pins the barrel pivots as follows: In the 

 let of loading, the gun is turned over, the trigger-guard is pulled back, 

 Mid with it a projection which tits over the breech. The act of drawing 

 It away frees the base of the barrel and causes the muzzle, by its pre- 

 ponderance, to fall and throw the breech up, into the chamber of which 

 the cartridge is then inserted. 



The gun, in order to open it, has to be turned over; the hammer is 

 closed on the pan. Now, under the pan is a magazine containing pow- 

 der ; into this the pan turns and, as you right the gun it cuts its supply of 

 powder ofr and is ready primed. 



All you require to do after insertlngnhe cartridge Is just to turn the 

 gun over and the preponderance of the muzzle end replaces the breech 

 to its bearing, and the simp-action closing again over the under part of 

 the breech securely locks the gun. 



I The barrel is thirty-four inches long, of Spanish workmanship and 

 las the old ■ fashioned hell mouth. It Is most beautifully chambered and 

 qtored. 



At the muzzle the calibre is .781, four inches lower .6S0, ten inches 

 033, eighteen inches .GS5, twenty-four inches JOO.and at chamber .ins. 

 rims you will see that it is is a gradual choke from the chamber to four 

 ties 1 1 .mi the muzzle. 



In all its parts it is still perfect ; the same spring which actuated the 

 snap a hundred years ago actuates it now. None of the parts are worn, 

 or bearings gone. Not a single grey in the barrel inside or out. Its ac- 

 tion with one grip at the base of barrel holds it just as firmly as would 

 half a dozen in as many different places. It shows that a breech-loader, 

 if honestly constructed, will last ; that, one grip is sufficient ; that a snap- 

 action and a choke-bore was used a century ago, and that there is very 

 little new under the sun. Williams & Powell. 



THE SHOOTING SEASON IN MINNE- 

 SOTA-VALUABLE HINTS TO SHOOT- 

 ERS. 



St. Paul, December 10, 187T. 

 Mr. Eoitok— I sit before a blazing lire in the grate of my snug sanc- 

 tum, surrounded with books and pictures on sporting subjects, and 

 have just finished reading the last number of the Pokest Ann Stream. 

 The winter Incident to latitude forty-flvo has come in earnest, ; the 

 wind howls a requiem, and the drifting snow eddios in a thousand fan- 

 tastic forniB, or drops irnute and chill upon the earth, there to hold 

 Its sway until the returning sun shall shed its vivifying warmth and 

 awake nature from the sleep of death. The last mallard, red head 

 and canvas-back, have departed and followed the sun in its southern 

 declination; the last straggling snipe has twittered his farewell, and 

 nought remains to the sportsman save the reminiscences of the past 

 and the anticipations of the future. 



The season now closed has not been as favorable for large bags as 

 taany that have gone before. The burning of the prairies at spring 

 tun? destroyed not only the eggs but the early hatched broods of 

 grouse, and the opening of the season showed many old birds and 

 broods of young unlit for the sportsman's gun. August and Septem- 

 ber were excessively dry and hot, and the dogs labored over vast tracks 

 of promising corn with no reward, save an occasional old cock. The 

 demand upon the water keg was most constant, and the long-haired 

 setter suffered terribly from the burning sun and the dust which the 

 stubble-fields sent up in miniature clouds -in fact, so much time was 

 consumed in supplying the waste of moisture by both men and dogs, 

 that little remained for hard work. My shooting partner and myself 

 reached our old grounds August 15, before daylight, and worked al- 

 most, without cessation as long as we could see a bird on the wing, and 

 the result was seventy-three grouse, a large proportion of which were 

 old birds. The Becond day resulted in bringing to bag sixty-eight, 

 when the exhausted condition of our dogs as well as ourselves com- 

 pelled us to return home. I never realized the value of 

 the modified choke-bore so much before, and my light 

 ten-gauge, made by Alexander Henry, of Edinburgh, did 

 tremendous execution. Its pattern at forty yards is from 

 2G0 to 290 Pellets, and the penetration is all that can be desired. 

 Pour drachms of Curtiss & Harvey's No. 8 powder, and one and a 

 quarter ounces of No. 9 chilled shot, brought to bag every time when 

 the bird was fairly covered up to fifty yards, and many shots were be- 

 yond that distance. I think the improved system of boring has in- 

 creased the effective range fully fifty per cent., but this increase is 

 only available to those who can hold on their birds, and pull at the 

 right instant; to those who shut both eyes when they fire the best 

 weapon is the cylinder bore, or perhaps the bell-mouth found in old 

 Spanish muskets. 



I have used Curtiss & HaTvey's powder almost constantly for tlnrty- 

 flve years, and every year grow more in love with it. The coarse sizes 

 produce very little recoil, and I have shot as high as two hundred 

 charges without the necessity of cleaning my gun. The difficulty Of 

 transporting It from New York compels me at times to fall back on our 

 American make of powder, and In that event I always select the Orange 

 Xo 7 as the best substitute. 



There has been much controversy in the Pokest an n Stream as to 

 the merits of hard and soft shot, and the majority seem to favor the 

 soft, on the ground that they flatten when striking the bird and pro- 

 duce a greater shock, while ttie chilled, or hard, pass directly through 

 and cause a wound which, closing at once, fails to produce sufficient 

 hemorrhage to cause immediate death. The soft-shot advocates have a 

 plausible theory, and possibly a correct one, but I find from repeated 

 experiments that the- jamming of the soft shot, especially when four or 

 live drachms of powder are used, affects the shooting powers of the gun 

 ureatly. My ten-gauge Henry will give a pattern of from 2G0 to 290 

 pellets, No. (i, at forty yards, with Newcastle shot, while with Chicago 

 shot the average is from 2tw to 23S pellets; and I Und no dllllculty in 

 killing dead when the gun is correctly held. These fine-spun theories 

 are all well enough, and afford themes for many correspondents and 

 amusement for many readers, but the result of all my experience 

 (which extends over forty years) is, this, videlicet : that you can kill with 

 almost any charge, and any kind of ammunition, provided your gua 

 throws evenly and strong, and that you hold on your bird when you 



P All will remember Washington Irving's account of his trout fishing 

 expedition-how, armed with the most exquisite tackle and faultless 



rod, he patiently fished the brook for many a weary mile without catch- 

 inga trout, and his disgust on coming npon a country youth with a 

 st ling of beauties canght with a stiff sapling and a cotton line. The 

 tsecret. I imagine, was that the boy knew when to turn his wrist, and 

 he great author did not. Thus m shooting, I have seen many a man, 

 armed with a Henry or a Grant, faultlessly equipped in every respect, 

 who failed to bag his game, er make any show in the count, simply be- 

 cause he could not turn his wrist at the right time, or, correctly speak- 

 ing, pull the trigger when on his bird. I do not intend to be under- 

 stood as advocating cheap guns or inferior ammunition, for the better 

 they are the better the chances for success ; but with the best there 

 must be the sine qua -non of a clear head, a steady nerve and a correct 

 eye. I cannot forbear saying a few words on fine guns, and although 

 words of eulogium are like gilding gold (or words to that effect), yet 

 long experience may well create a desire to help my young friends 

 just commencing as sportsmen. It was my good fortune to learn to 

 shoot with a flint lock Joe Manton, belonging to my father, and it was 

 put into my hands as early as I could hold it from my shoulder, Prom 

 that time to this I have owned and Bhotnonebut thebest,and have 

 now in use my thirty-ninth tine gun, while my fortieth is being made 

 by Henry, of Edinburgh, a maker who gives more for one's money 

 than any really flrst-class artist in Great Britain. I do not disparage 

 such great names as Lancaster, Purdy, Boss and Grant, for their works 

 speak for them, but when forty. Ave pounds will command as much 

 real value as sixty guineas 1 do not see the necessity for paying the 

 excess. The advantages of a fine gun consists in its greater shooting 

 and enduring powers, and in evidence I can mention a gun made for 

 me by Wm. Greener, at Newcastle, in 1812, which has been in constant 

 use ever since, and is still a perfect weapon. My advice is to order 

 from an honest maker of established reputation, and to avoid all great 

 establishments which make for the trade. There are several makers 

 in Edinburgh who make to order three grades of guns, ranging usually 

 from £20 to -C45, and at the present rate of exchange a gun cau be Im- 

 ported at about$T.50 the pound. To young sportsmen I say get the best 

 yon can afford, and you will not only save money in the long run but 

 have in a fine gun a constant source of pleasute and satisfaction. For 

 myself I must confess to a mild kind of mania for new gnns, and ex- 

 hibit it by ordering nearly every year, but as all have a mania In some 

 direction or other, mine is perhaps as harmless as any. A year is as 

 long as I wish to own a weapon, and although I part with them usually 

 at a loss in money, yet the pleasure of ordering, the anticipation of 

 arrival, and the full fruition of receipt, trial and examination are a 

 full compensation. Veteran, 



GAME IN THE WEST INDIES. 



Brooklyn, Dec. 17, 1S7T. 



Mr. Editor— I noticed In the late numbers of Forest and Stream 

 several articles on the migratory quail, In one of which you refer to 

 quail In St. Thomas and St. Croix during 1872. and I amused myself 

 while there by photographing and shooting. I had a double gun, rifle 

 and shot, made by Frank Wesson. There were plenty of quail on the 

 estate where I was staying, and I shot them frequently. Having no 

 dog I had to kick them up myself. I noticed no especial difference be- 

 tween them and our regular Ortyx virginianus, but on account of the 

 novelty of their residence, I skinned a specimen, (a male bird) and had 

 him mounted by John Bell, of Broadway. It is in my possession yet 

 and I will be happy to show it to you if you s« desire it. 



There are also deer, C. virginianus, I think, on the i&lsnd. I did not 

 shoot any, but saw them several times. I found a young buck one day 

 dead in the water inside ol the coral reefs, and very near shore. He 

 was just drowned, and perfectly limp yet, with no wound on the body, 

 llishorus were yetin the velvet, (April) and had reached their first 

 forkiDg. I was very much puzzled to account for his watery death, as 

 they do not run deer with dugs to my knowledge. 



I noticed a Louisiana correspondent speaks of the dove, (not the tur- 

 tle-dove) as flying along the shore from east to west at sunrise and 

 affording excellent wing shooting. In St. Croix they fly from west to 

 east at the same hour, coming along at the height of the cocoanut trees 

 with great swiftness, and give great sport. The natives call them the 

 "mountain dove." I have a specimen of this also. 



Changing Muzzle-Loaders to Brbeoh-Loadees. — Editor 

 Forest and Stream— I have seen several communications in 

 Forest and Stream in regard to changing muzzle-loaders to 

 breech -loaders, and think that several points are not under- 

 stood. I think there is no necessity of unsoldering the 

 barrels. I cut off at front of breeches, then soft solder on a 

 T-shaped piece of steel, with lump forged on it, with two 

 screws through it on each side, and through the barrels. 

 Then I bore for shells, which cuts off the ends of screws and 

 makes all smooth inside. There are quite a good many of 

 such altered guns in use In Wisconsin and Minnesota changed 

 that way, and no failures as to strength of barrels thus 

 chambered. A look at " Table of Proof Charges in England " 

 will convince any one that the difference in strength between 

 the shell and metal cut away is not enough to make it unsafe. 

 I have a lC-cal. , 30-inch gun that weighed, before charging, 

 6i-lbs ; after charging, 7^ lbs., with three drachms powder 

 (Hazard's^ No. 4 grains duck shooting powder, and one 

 ounce No. 6 shot. This gun, at 47 yards, with a target 18x24 

 inches, sent 124 pellets into a penetration of 89 thicknesses of 

 book paper. Barrels made to order at Birmingham, in 1861, 

 cost £4 10s. 6d at factory. Any one wanting any further in- 

 formation as to changes refer to me. I made mine a top lever, 

 double, bolt, and it is as good a gun as one of same class im- 

 ported breech-loader. S. L. Hart. 



Mmaslta, Wis., Dec. 1, 1877. 



ENGLISH GOVERNMENT PROOF SCALE. 



No. 6 Gauge loz.l2drs. No. 13 Gauge 15 drs. 



7 " loz. 8dra. H " U drs. 



8 " loz. 6 drs. • 15 " 14 drs. 



a " loa. iidrs. 10 " 13K drs. 



10 •■ .- loz. ldr. 17 " 13 J4 drs. 



11 " loz. 18 " 12^s? drs. 



12 " lOZ. 



—From Wm. Greener's old work— " Greener on Gunnery," 



PIGEON MATCHES. 



New .Tersrt— Siverton, Dec. 15.— Twenty-five yaids ; 80 

 boundary. 



ogden.. o 110 10 8 11 111—9 



Dreer l 11010001111— 8 



Cook 10 6 111111—7 



Dr. Bickley 01111111011—9 



H Ellison.. I 1111111111 0—11 



W Ellison 1 1111011010 0—8 



Prishmuth 1 1101111110—9 



Excelsior Shooting Club— Parkville, L. I., Dec. 23. — 

 The score made was as follows : 



Kanvfeniell 1 o 1 o 1 1 1— 5 



Jos.Helser 1 110 111111-9 



MB Doyle U 1 6 1 1 U 2-4 



illlwlmann 1 1 1 1 1 (r 1 1 1 1-8 



HObrio- , 1 1 1 U 1 1 1—6 



PPolhcmus 10 10 110 6-4 



NB Watts ..0 1 1 1 1 1 1 J 4-7 



P McGIU 1 11100110 l— r 



FBerlnger o 1110 10 11 0-6 



n All'nbrandt, l 01011. 118 1—7 



OHuber o 111110 11-7 



Betlion , o 01010010 1—4 



Lotjisvtlle Gtjn Club-- Wednesday, Dec.- 19.— Sweep- 

 stakes, five single birds, H and T traps, 21 yards rise. 



Isaac Tyler 11 11 1-5 JM Barbour 1 () 1 1—3 



J VConling, Jr...,...0 111 1—4 P Gray o 1 1 o 1—3 



Sweepstakes — Same conditions. 



J V Conling,. Jr 1 111 tl— 4 Jno Gray 0111 0—9 



JMBarbour.' 110 10—3 Thos Hastings —0 



Sweepstakes— Same condition : 



J V Oonllog, J r 11 1 11-5 M Stewart 10 110-3 



Isaac Tyler 1 10 1 1-4 Jno Gray 1 o o 1-2 



.1 M Barbour 1 1 1 1—4 



Sweepstakes— Same conditions. 



M Stewart 1 1 1 11—5 P Gray 1 1 1 0—3 



Thos Hastings 1 1 1 1—4 \I V Oonling, Jr 1 t 1 1 0—3 



Jno Gray l oil o— 3 



* 2S yard3- t lodged in u tree dead. 



Conling and Stewart vs. S. Hustings and Hastings, five 

 single birds, 21 yards rise. 



Conling 1 llll Stewart o 1111 Total 9 



SHustiugs...,l 110 1 Hastings l 11 Total T 



Single birds, 21 yards rise, miss and out. 



SB Duff 10 —1 JTyler 110 —2 



CW Moore 10 —1 TWThompson 1111—4 



SHutchings 1 —1 M Stewart 1 1 1 1—4 



JVConling, Jr 1 10—2 Jos Griffith 1111—4 



T. W. Thompson, M. Stewart and John Griffith divided states. 



Glass Balls— Bogardus traps and rules— Barbour and 

 Moore vs. S. Hutchings and Conling. 



JMBarbour 1 1111110 1 1-9 



C W Moore 1 01111110 1— s— IT 



SHutchings l lliliiio 1—9 



JVConling, Jr 1 01101.111 1—8—17 



Ties shot off at three balls. 



JMBarbour 111—3 Moore 111-3 Total 6 



SHutchings 111—3 Coaling... .0 I 1— 2 Total 5 



Glass Balls, rules as above, lowest to pay for balls. 



JTyler ,1 11 1—4 H Crayeroft 01 1—2 



Mr'Xhompson 1 111 1—5 J Hutchings 1 1 1 1—1 



JGriffith 1 111 1—5 EYPeake 1 Oil 1—4 



Glass balls, same as last. 



R YPeake 1 1 1 1 1—5 J Hutchings 1 111 1-5 



JVConling, Jr 1 111 1-5 SHutchings 11111-5 



TWThompson 1 111 1-5 Jos Griffith 1 111 1—5 



H Craycroft 0—0 



Grtjrb vs. Jaffray. — A pigeon match was shot at Anda- 

 lusia, Pa., last Wednesday, between General B. Burd Grubb, 

 of Burlington, New Jersey, and Howard S. Jaffray, of New 

 York, for a. cup of the value of $1,000. The match brought 

 together a large number of shooting experts, and much in- 

 terest was centred in the result of the contest between New 

 Jersey and New York. The conditions were 100 birds, Hurl- 

 ingham rules to govern, five traps, thirty yards rise, eighty 

 yards boundary, one and a quarter ounces of shot. Mr. Jaf- 

 fray's gun was made by Purdy, of London, and weighed 

 seven pounds two ounces, and was loaded with three and a 

 half drachms of powder. General Grubb's gun was Western 

 make, marked "Krider, of Philadelphia," and weighed nine 

 pounds and a half, and was loaded with five drachms of pow- 

 der, which was considered by many of the spectators a decid- 

 ed advantage, although not allowed to be so by many experts 

 who have used guns of both weights. The score was : 



Grubb— 1 001111111111111111011111010111 

 11101101101101011111110011011110111 1 

 001111010111111111111111100 1— Killed, 78; miss - 

 ed, 22 



Jaffray— 1011111010001011000011101110101 

 1111100010-100100101110101100111101100 

 11111 11111 ljl 1001111001 110011111 1— Killed, 

 65; missed, 35. 



— The Dexter Gun Club competed at Jamaica in a number 

 of bird and glass ball sweepstakes on Christmas day. The 

 shooting in all was very good. 



—The New Jersey Gun Club had a pigeon shoot on Jersey 

 City Heights on Christmas, for their regular quarterly gold 

 badge : ten entries. Hepsley winner. 



^mwt\& to ^a^resppndenfs. 



No Notice Token of Anonymous Communication!. 



E^~ A number of anonymous correspondents will understand why 

 their queries are not answered, when they read the lines at the head of 

 this column. 



H. M. H., Chicago.— The close season for deer began in the Upper 

 Peninsula Nov. 15 and in the lower Peninsula Dec. 15. No law for 

 bears. 



A. L., Newton, Mass.— My dog's coat rough, sheds hair, has worms ; Is 

 lively and good appetite. Ans. Give him a faw doses of common salt once 

 a day, say a large teaspoonful. 



J. P. W., Wolf Bun.— The "American Checker Player" is uow pub- 

 lished under the name of " Phelan's Checker Player," by Thos. Phelan 

 & Bro., 510 W. 57th St., New York. 



Furor, Battle Creek, Michigan.— Please advise me through your paper 

 as to the best black bass rod I cau procure for about twenty dollai'3. I 

 have been disappointed in a number. What hook do you prefer 7 Ans 

 Address J. C. Wells, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 



Ltrsr, Germantown.— I have a pair of pointer pups four months old ; I 

 think they are troubled with worms. They eat well, but keep very thin. 

 I feed them on Indian meal mush with a little meat cut fine and boiled 

 in with the mush. Can you tell me what to give them 7 Ans. Peed very 

 little meat-and give them each a large teaspoonful of salt; for three suc- 

 cessive days. 



W. H. W., Philadelphia.— My'red setter, twenty months old, seems to be 

 troubled with some irritation of the skin, keeping up a continuous 

 scratching and biting. I thought at first it must be fleas, but eave been 

 unable to Ond any on him. He lives pretty much In the house, Sleeping 

 at night in a cold bath room. Can you account for the affection and sug- 

 gest a remedy 7 Ans.— Try kerosene as an application to the skin, and 

 give no meat. 



John J., Unlondale, Pa.— In what part of Pennsylvania would one fin 

 cheap and good land with plenty of pure water adapted for trout c^ji 

 ture? I would like Borne place not very far from a railroad and good 

 market. Ans. The Allegheny range of mountains abounds in clear 

 streams adapted to trout culture. Why not communicate with the Bloom- 

 ing Grove Park Association whose grounds are in Pike county. They 

 will be glad to lease or grant ground for cultivating fish . Adore 

 Avery, Presideut, Department of Sewers, room 26, City Hall, New York. 



—Our readers will please notice a change in the Huber «& 

 Merwin glass ball trap advertisement this week. 



