ss 



FOREST AND STREAM. 





wintered over, and that they would be fine strong birds bv 

 tlie following spring. The month of May is a good month 



EXPORTATION OF MICHIGAN DEER. 



In -Which to Hberate-quall in Canada, because our farmers axe UO^LE particulars of the shipment of game out of this 

 spreading n ova their fields, consequently there is an O State in defiance of the lawmaybeof interest, I will 

 abundance-of food, but in the United States the month of try and give you a few facte. Large shipments of game' 

 April would be preferable, in fad as 800n as the winter is across the lake from here to Milwaukee an ' 

 ever the quail would thrive better in a wild state. almost daily occurrences during (lie open season. There are 



Imtend to Order twohundred. quail again this spring, because a large number of boats called hookers that ply s 



the birds are hardy, cheap, and it I van < siablish them on the i la~ke, besides the lumbermen's steam barges and 'scows. On 

 'jnrdins" of the Lawrentldes they need not feartlie domestic i these deer are shipped. Four were sent 

 cat or the gun of the fowler, because the loup-oorvh " 



and the hunter would not trouble themselves with so 



bird, and the former is a great enemy of the house eat. As 

 to what becomes of the old quail, all we know is that they 

 migrate in the autumn about the same time woodcock anil 

 snipe disappear, but where they go to we do not i-. 



Pi Ruodes. 



QeERF.c, Canaiie • 



I have a lot of live quail in transit from Texas and will let 

 you knov, I | qo in good time. By the wav, I believe. 

 thai ail that has bi en said about the return of the migratory 

 r-a;:l to ih:.. ^-.rih ss batik, '% L'-rned out 100 fci-ds h're in 

 £878 and 1879, 200 each year; and .although they appeared to 

 breed -veil enough, not one has ever returned to us. I do 

 not enlirely despair of them yet. but, so far tliev certainly 

 have not appeared. W. Y. W. R. 



Hot-land, Vt., Feb. 1882. 



_. on one schooner at 



(lynx) ! once. More than fifty violations occurred here at Manistee 

 mall a I alone. iTo one cares to bring down the curses <;»j; the people 

 making these shipments by entering complaint. Then, the 

 lumberman is the power that moves the people. Of the open 

 violations in the close season one nee will cover on ayofth 

 same class. For several years if is said tha 

 attorney of Grand Rapids annually comes up north to fish 

 and have some fun. Last season he was joined at Sherman 

 by some local pot-huntera. They made their camp on the 

 Betsy River, Some few deer must have been kilted by them, 

 as the men driving the river were compelled to stop work on 

 several occasions and burn up the stinking carcase-; of deer 



erratic high) at short range would finally "bring np" in the 

 bullseye at 800 yards and onwards? Like Mr. Palmer. I have 

 made rifle shooting a specialty for long years; in fact, from 

 boyhood it has been almost, tnv sole pastime, till failing eve- 

 sight and physical infirmity has near! v deprived me of the 

 pleasure. From long experience, if from no other reason. 1 

 must conclude that the rifle that will do steady, accurate 

 work at long range will also* do the same at Short range. I 

 have ever found it so. I have also owned rifles that would 



at short range 

 unreliable. In this article! i 

 following third after that ol 

 dorse much that Mr. Palmei 

 larlvthe latter, - 



rag range were totally 



dab to refer to thai of "Byrne," 

 Mr. Palmer. While I can br- 

 and "Byrne" say. and particu 

 to shotguns and pistols, 1 must 



they had killed and left, in the river to : 

 facts, and can be vouched for by Mr. 

 the peace of Springdole, and the forcma 

 her Company of Frankfort. The worst: 

 is the lumberman, who not only allow 

 squat on his lands, but buys hii 

 bead, about two cents per pound. 



The 

 Hopkins, justice of 

 of tile Island Lrun- 

 ■)i"u"'. to I lie game 



the pot hunter to 



venison at two dollars per 

 him why be does so 



A LONG ISLAND QUAIL CLUB. 



SOME years since— I believe, in the winter of 1868— a 

 friend sent me from Charleston, S. C, fifty live quail. 

 The birds were received by me in December, and were kept 

 until the following March in a small room. About the end 

 of that month I turned forty -seven of them loose in a grove 

 near my house. Up to the spring named, quail had been 

 very scarce in this neighborhood for several years, and I 

 naturally watched pretty closely to see if m y little colony of 

 Southerners would increase and multiply, and— they did. 

 One pair mated and produced thirteen cgo- s in a nest built 

 w-it.lu'n 300 feet of the Spot where I turned them loose. This 

 nest. I took bodily, with the eggs in it. and a small white . .. 



1jau !; u ' : oav of them. As for the rest of the ! some means be devised to exterminate these pudwlmcks* 



uuafl, they serenaded us all that summer with their sweet m-. "rUr 



call, and besides slocked our neighborhood within a mile or : Manistee. Mich., Feb, 18fi3. 

 five, so that for two seasons aftei we, had very fair shooting. 

 Since then the quail have been gradually disappearing about 

 here, and now are bo scarce that it pays no one to try for 

 them, i am firmly convinced thai if. ky one hundred of 



and he will say that pork hauled fifty miles or Jess is expei 

 sive. Mutton is cheaper and he don't have to haul it now. 

 Some of these same lumbermen are members of game clubs- 

 but. then they are not to home. 



A word about some of the mighty fishermen. While at 

 Boyne Falls last June I saw Messrs. Portraan and Kellog 

 in: moors oi t:ic Stat; lib Commie-aon ai'd th.57 wX v; : ■; 

 for this, namely, that the count, fisherman took oul of the 

 Jordan and Boardman rivers trout that would : .-.,,, 



teen to the pound. And box after box of ... ,1 rg trout 

 were shipped by these counters to their friends, to substanti- 

 ate the wonderful " 

 their arrh 



i-q-.tvi ...., w.,;m.. i.umna.i hi unar iiaenus, 10 sutislanii- 

 vonderful lies that they would tell of their fishing 0,1 

 rival home. Is there no way out of this? Cannot 



chase a number of quail tO turn loose in tin- latter part of 

 March, til- result will open his eves as to what might be 

 done in the way of restocking exhausted quail lands. 



Y\ odd 'u eo he a good idea for some gentlemen who have 

 land, ,'. ith a few dollar- to spare over and above iheb cham- 

 pagne bill, and who -ay they are interested in "Bob White," 

 to Form a quail club, e ■ -h member of v. bich shall hand over 



Kj .: 



BREECH vs. MUZZLE LOADERS. 



take exception to some of their rifle points. I do not believe 

 that. Mr. Palmer; Mr. Brinton, rir any other man, can without, 

 i windy day beat experienced marksmen who use' 

 flags. While I think that first-class breech-loading rifle,-,, with 

 property prepared ammunition, will do as good work as 



muzzle-loaders, I feel just as certain that they ci , bea 



tlie muzzle-loader which is properly loaded. 



It I were to shoot for a Wager, I should take a muzzle- 

 loader, but would make my own projectiles, select my own 

 linen for patches, and also the powder. I once spent an en- 

 tire day m New York city searching for suitable linen for 

 patches, and only found one piece that, was tit for nice work. 

 I could not even at Stewart's find a piece that would stand 

 tlie test of my " pick-glass," but did chance to find a piece al 

 Lord & Taylor's, although my sample came from Si- art'i 

 tew months before. 



_ Many fine rifle-shots know nothing about scienti; | , 

 rag. Perhaps "Byrne" may be one of these. I Judge, at 

 least, from the last paragraph of his article, that la'' has not- 

 enjoyed the pleasure of witnessing first-class practice, as he 

 says he has not seen the man who could place ten consecu- 

 tive shots in a space that could be covered with ,1 saucer, at 

 a distance of seventy-five yards. This, in other words, 

 means within a six-inch circle. Now. I am owr fifty-six 

 years of age; have had no target practice to speak of for 

 seventeen years; my eyesight is badly impaired; and ray 

 nerves seriously unstrung. I have in the house an old target 

 rifle, made over thirty years ago. If I cannot, with this old 

 rifle, on a still day, strike a, four-inch t -_■ , consecutive 



times, at a distance of seventy-five yards, then i. will ac- 

 knowledge the fact through Kne FoBEst Bi 1 aka, and I 

 don't believe "Byrne" would exact a more linmilh: t i i 

 alty. 



I presume thai numerous readers of the Foiiest xsn 



\ M-.PlhSoi mteresfang articles have recentlj appeared Siream will recollect the company of sharpshooters organ- 

 1 V myonrdxcellent journal > rejative to the accuracy of rifles, tzed by me at Buffalo, X. V.. during the fall and winter of 

 QUZZle ,ind breech-loading, m which both have earnest ad- 1862. At Ihesame timeanofliecr. who'. 10 avoid dismissal from 



muzzle 



vo'cati -. They have endeavored to explain why the systems 

 theyprefer are most accurate; and yet thereis 1 

 wliich so far has been entirely overlooked; and I believe ex- 

 plains ih" great results obtained by old style muzzle-loaders 

 as abo the reason why modem breech-loaders in so many 

 instances h.ive fallen short of that nicctv of results much 

 desired. I began by experience with a flint-lock small bote 

 (140 to a lb.) with a barrel forty " 



Southern birds for distribution amonff the membere. ororatav X , .'' ^l^^I^.^™? *^ ' ' 



I, for < 



honest , 

 kosly: 



disl ribui ion among the members, pro rata y Tnis rill( . had a ,,.put::i io, 

 b ready to be passed m, So soon as a strictly i u „i won ronoatpd viotori, 



ivnsiiror nun lir. fnn>wl T„,-,,r.., c, ... .' ".' " "" "-pcaieu \ K loin 



isurer can be found. Thomas (i.mii \\;'. 



NOTES ON SHOOTING. 



~\V"I- lake tin- liberiv to publish th< 

 ' from a private Iett< r ol an old 



for some years has been debarred by ilmess from e 



tic dearlj -lDved spoits of ft 



part b promoting the can 



improvement of the compan 



nection we would say 1 



imported from 8co1 



vear later ,-, bi;, h, (from t! 



tbinki who-,- progeny, boi.. . 



would compare Favorably with the blue bloods of to-d; 



for accm-acy for many years, and 

 . which at hist excluded it from 

 ther contests, as no one was willing to enter againsl it up to 

 .'Ovarii-. It was the fashion at thai time to have the barrel 

 of great length, and this style was continued until the breech- 

 loading system was adopted. Makers of the tatter at 

 fallowing extracts shortened their barrels, and placed the rear sights farther 

 alued friend, who from the breech, in some instances one-third the length of 



njoytng 

 ield. or taking his usual active 

 of game protection, and the 

 is of our spoils. In this con- 

 of a century ago he 

 hie Belton" setter dog. and a 

 Duke of (birdon's kennel, we 

 in looks and performances. 



the barrel from the breech; and extreme accuracy was the 

 exception instead of Ihe rule. Long-range rifles with thirty- 

 four inch barrels and rear sight on' tlie grip or heel of stock- 

 have in their turn won victories which were deemed impos- 

 sible, and can, without being forced from a fixed rest place 

 consecutive bullets in the bullseye at 1,000 card-., with 60 

 little deviation from a fixed point as to (■;•;(■;:.•■ the admiration 

 ol the world. 

 Billinghnrse, Chapman and James, of New York, and 



^\ e trusl tha; our friend will soon favor our readers with Ins Newcomb and Fitzpatrick, of Natchez, Mississippi, can and 



views upon Borneo! the important questions that are -from <li(i make twenty-five pound rifles wi" 



time to time discussed in the* columns; ning the entire length of a long ban 



■'When the great attraction and principal business of could place ten consecutive balls h- 



national, State and districl sportsmen's- conventions is shoot- '^ raehes and which (James' score) m 



im: pigrons. ;i!i,t the game laws are ignored by those sworn measure, These results would see... . 



Toeii!,,ree them, as also by large numbers of' the shooting >- rr ' ; 'ater the distance between fore and rear -bin- the 



fraternity, the in; n -1 in tiie preservation and protection of tilf: accuracy, and that accuracy is sacrificed by some 



a- any or quite 



Pools." '•tie- J 



little or no inducement for a class of gentlemen who loye 

 £h and whose aid and presence are valuable. "Gloan " 



Vol. 1 ;. Xo. S3, says a good thing, as all his communications 

 do. I wish there were more of them; theysliould be read 



.and re-read. I presume he may be thought "old fogv" with 



i of us. Hn> mind you. bis ideas will prevail 



tiled gam oci itionswill rind their latter end 



! a-, ther thing you know. I am no believer in "fmt- 



■< 50, or dogs at $15 to S!25. "Loading" 



; i'i"' ;i ! ' ! -' c:|. .■ ;•!-! now. Hardly two think alike. Fear- 



; J1 .'- ,; B ' ' i: wiUagp with me I merely say, when a man has 



to use it," he can't spend alittl 



targ 



shot 



protection .. 



ning for ol ' hroech-loaders who place tlie 

 ons have sa U?) f,n '' quarter the length of bat 



]Sot only does the short distan 



'in to teach us thai the 

 greater 

 makers 



ghl (almost, univir- 

 froiu the breech. 



between the sights pre- 



vent thai nice, and close adjustment which greatei distance 

 permits; but the distance of the rear sight from the 1 ye ; - an- 

 other obstacle when the rear sight i- so for from the bo 1 ell. 



To sum up, 1 believe that given rifles of both sy ,t. 



calibre and powder charge, with fr,,;e ■ ri ,■ ■ ■ , 



distance on each and barrelsof same length; the results would 

 be in favor of the breech-loader, from it-. . upe.- or ■■ ,,![,,,,, 



of inside finish which the muzzle-loading be is; 



not, possess. 

 But i i you take the superior finished muzzle-loader of thirty- 

 w four to thirty-six inch barrel with sights properly adjusted 

 ntageonsly than by going out and ] ancl compete with the breech-loader, short barrel and reat 

 lifferent charges, grades of powder, size- of sight half way down the barrel, tlie result v , , I !,, i, ■;,. :, , 

 tfiot, distances, etc., etc. The idea that every gun of the , 0-' the breech-loader. A wosd about round balls inhre 

 ;ame bo:, | , s, requires the same charge, is wm U o- loaders. I have faithfully tried for a long time with powder 



1 ' fe irer^h and eltardmess there charges from '■ i-j :'0 grains pewdxr rotind balls i-. Wiin 



would be more truth in recent communications. I don't picked balls, 205 grains in a .45 calibre Sharos military rifle' 

 think it necessary io use a cannon, keg of powder, and bag ilrul distance from twenty to sixty yards, with such poor ro- 

 ot shot to br Qo1 ' 



«J : "■ guns 

 If a man w ttsti . , -'io fifteen 



lei hnn do it; i r m»y please him and won 



when the balls are of pure tin or pure lead, or of an 

 tion of either. 

 r^ A ^^!: - l ::i a ^7'} iQ - C ^o\uk Co., Md.. Feb. 18.^ I have loaded from Ihe muzzle also and will, saffi 



the barrels of "best" suits that I would never risk a shot of that kind at any gams 

 component metals. I patched the balls. I tilled the shells full 



,„,",„,. •', .,,'„• ' ,,; V , >""""" ■'•■ -u ... reu. 10.— i nave maaeu irom tne muzzle also and with same results 

 1 and woodcock season closed I in this county 15th As u long-range rifleman I am periectly b.nei 



i :.v,-. !, :, , ,^.,r 1 :; , : ; '' J ,:^ nl ' ■ &*& A 4 extreme ^ nL ess& Jto SffiTSffi 



Th 



! ! !,, i 'i',"sl,'^Tn" "' r / H ; e8Qers - uwragtonot I aetau. and the extreme, care necessary" to produce unifoim 



^dtT^^^V^^^^^^^ ^ 1 ^Uts. and this carelfa andS 



MBW Obleai.s. La. 



-vai,,- t F:v,.:;;;i;b;n; [ n z?as^SS^JSiTi 



■■ further on the short, one by ••F. J •"! had i,„ 

 last to ask Mj- Yan Dyke hov. i projectil hat 



1 '" i h " ' pari if the further 



IJtftte, — 



1862. At thesAme timeanoflicer. who. to avoid dismissal from 

 service, had resigned from Berdan's Sharpshooters, and was 

 i iJgaged in New York city in getting Up a battalion of sharp- 

 shooters. Col. Berdan learning the facts reported the same 

 to Secretary Stanton, who issued an order forbidding any 

 mustering officer to muster into the corps of sharpshooters 

 any person who did. not upon test tire, five consecutive shots 

 Within an average, distance of live inches from the l ia 

 matieal centre, in other words, makea twenty five-inch string, 

 and this at a distance*)!' two hundred yards'. This it will be 

 observed would be much bettor marksmanship than "Byrne" 

 ever witnessed, still, my company of eighty-three men com- 

 plied with the regulation, and their targets are on file in the 

 War Department^ each attested by iwo witnesses. The aver- 

 age for the entire company was twelve and three-eighths inch 

 I trings, being less than hair tin' ihnita allowed by the "order." 

 This will be seen to be .an average OJ I 9S than two and a half 

 inches from the mathematical centre for each of the four 

 hundred and fifteen consecutive shots fired by eighty M: 

 different men from a half-dozen or more different States. 

 These m-n were mustered into service by Captain Sheldon 

 Sturgeon. First Infantry. ['. S. A. 



The shooting, was all done from the shoulder, at a 

 eourse. and with several different rifles, some of which wen- 

 loaned by Dan 15. Castle, the well-known Buffalo jeweler, 

 who also dealt in second-hand rifles. Some wvrr also loaned 

 by his neighbor Robspn, the gunsmith. I will hero say that: 

 DanGastleand several friend-- of his. --, , ... i i;k i 



friendly I rials of marksmanship with us, did decidedly better 

 shooting than "Byrne" seems to think possible for any man 



Referring again to Mr. Palmer's article, I null say that, in 

 my younger days 1 too attended ail the turkey-shoot's withi 

 practicable reach. The last one was in 1865. A party of 

 young men formed a sort of "syndicate" for the purpose, of 

 turhiahing all the turkeys I was willing to shoot for at ten 

 cents a shot, distance thirty rods (165 yards), nothing but the 

 head to be struck. Four shots collapsed the dicate 

 of the lour shots passed through a turkey's head within one- 

 half inch of the centre, and at tie- distance staled. This is 

 also better than "Byrne's" allowance. 



Miltok P. Peirce. 

 Wenonah, N. J. 



Having read T. S. Van Dylans letter on "The Pu'fle of the 

 Future," ami many letters 'i n ready, and being a rifle ma 



i isty-five years' experience, I cannot stand around with 

 my bands in my pockets and allow this discussion to go on 

 without putting in a few words. 1 was pleased with the 

 number of times that Mr. Van Dyke hit the nail on the 1' 

 and will show where he missed it on some points. 



He did not ,-,eem to know that we have a perfect system of 

 patching the extreme long ball for a muzzle-loader. We 

 have a very perfect way Of patching such balls, by using 

 bond-paper Out in the form of a cross. When the paper is 

 cut just the right size i ,. , of paper 



around tile ball, and sheds from the ball when fired a 

 feel as when put into the gam. This paper is thicker than 

 paper used for breech-loaders. The patent, muzzle (to load 

 with such patches) should be counterbored down about, one- 

 half inch, just enough to take oat the grooves. This allows 

 the patch to fold around the ball before putting on tlie guide, 

 starter. 



MY. Van Dyke truly says, "The bie owes its 



acy mainly to its ball being pushed in so far before 

 firing." I think Mr. K A. Palmer lost sighl Of this when 

 he claims to have discovered his ready remedy (which has 

 been in use fora numi . :m- patching the ball to the 



old style hn ech loader. Mr. Van Dyke appears to have 

 tindersto I em very well, but he was speaking of the 



accuracy of the old style bullet when lo , 



ouglt the muzzle lite the old style muzzle-loaders. 



Mr. Palmer has an idea that the more perfect the bullet 

 s Bred, the more accurate it will shoot. This do 

 rove to be true with my experience. I often find that 

 marry rifles - J i < k >i better to make the ba3 jofter so they show 

 the grooves more perfect, and also leave a distbi 



on the ball at the edge of the patch; which shows more 



