Feb. 28, 1884.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



87 



made of the best inetal, of good proportions and well bal- 

 anced; one that you can put up to your shoulder and feel that 

 it belongs there." A double .40 of 7-} pounds' weight, with a 

 powdet charge of 90 grains of smart powder, makes quite a 

 convenient plaything on fair-sized game, with but little 

 weight to carry. Way carry eight or ten pounds of metal to 

 shoot a .S3»buliet and a few grains of powder? 



Keep this hunting-rifle pot boiling till it gets simmered 

 down to a light, powerful rifle, and don't forget to harden 

 the bullet to suit your powder charge, bearing in mind that 

 a lone, heavy bullet upsets more with the same charge, of 

 powder than a short, light bullet, and the long, heavy bullet 

 should be made of harder metal than the. short, light, bullet. 



A.G. M. 

 Worcester, Mass. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I see in your paper of Jan. 8 that Peabody-Martini shows 

 up the old style of rim aud center tire cartridges with the 

 ball smaller at butt to go into the shell, and then close the 

 shell on to the ball. lie is right in saying they are an abom- 

 ination. Now, won't the manufacturers of breechloading 

 rifles get out a new class of cartridges of .22, .25, .28, .32, 

 .85 and .38, strong and Jong enough to hold twice the pow- 

 der with a ball longer and straight so as to fit in shell with- 

 out closing in at all '? This would secure greater accuracy, 

 longer range and flatter trajectory, which is quite necessary 

 for a hunting or sporting rifle. Now, I hope every one in- 

 terested in small-bore rifles will lend a hand and see if this 

 thing cannot be brought about, and place the hunting rifle 

 far ahead of where it is now , B. 



Bellows Falls, Vt. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In my own experience with a hunting rifle, ninety-nine 

 one-hundreths of all of the misses have been occasioned by 

 lack of flatness of trajectory. Almost any one of the guns 

 in the market shoot with sufficient accuracy, provided only 

 your judgment of distances is correct, and the necessity for 

 making a calculation every time, you shoot is to mj mind 

 the chief objection to all of the repeaters in the market, ex- 

 cept, perhaps, the Winchester express. It is difficult to see 

 how a .40-90-500 cartridge will improve the matter in that 

 respect. It is true you will get with such a cartridge excel- 

 lent penetration, but that does not necessarily mean a pro- 

 portionately large amount of killing power, for after a ball 

 has passed through the vitals of an animal its subsequent 

 career is of very little importance to anj-body. A large hole 

 there is of much more value than a small one through the 

 skin on the opposite side. For that reason a .45 government 

 shell loaded as suggested by "'Big Ingin," has always seemed 

 to me lo give most satisfactory results. 



The 85 grains of powder and 300 grains of lead give a 

 fairly fiat trajectory and a penetration sufficient if placed 

 anywhere except in the haunches, to reach the seat of life 

 in any animal that the bulk of your readers will ever see. 

 The gun out of which to shoot if is almost as hard to select 

 as to reach a decision upon the cartridge and caliber. Re- 

 peaters are not without, objections, and many meu will not 

 use them under any circumstances. On the other hand, in 

 a tight corner, with a wounded bear within a few feet of 

 ycu, the time which you have at your disposal to fish out a 

 ca. ridge from your pocket or belt and stick it into your 

 singleloader seems wonderfully short. 



Personally, I compromised between the two systems by 

 obtaining a Baker three- barrel, and so far have never had 

 any reason to repent of the choice. The rifle is as accurate 

 as any ordinary hunting arm, while the two 10-bore shot 

 barrels loaded with a solid ball furnish an amount of offen- 

 sive and defensive material at short range, very reassuring 

 to the holder of it. Mine is somewhat heavily choked so 

 that a 12-bore ball is as large as it is safe to use, but this, 

 with live drams of powder back' of it, strikes anywhere 

 inside of the danger range with tremendous force. The 

 accuracy of this round ball beyond fifty or sixty yards is 

 nothing to be proud of, but inside of that distance it is good 

 enough to answer every purpose, and you are in very little 

 danger personally from any animal until he gets at least as 

 near as that. For the more extended ranges you have the 

 rifle, barrel ready at your hands, and as efficient as any 

 other. The gun will weigh inside of ten pounds, is well 

 balanced and has no more chance of getting out of order 

 and failing you when most wanted than an ordinary shotgun. 



Probably the gun now made is not as good as the one some 

 enterprising genius will eventually put on the market, but it 

 seems to me that something constructed upon similar prin- 

 ciples will be the coming gun. Any one who has seen no 

 tougher an animal than a deer run half a mile with a .40- 

 caliber ball clear through his body must realize that no ball 

 of small bore can fill the bill unless it chances to reach exactly 

 the right spot. I had the makers construct for me, to special 

 order, 28-inch barrel, 10 or 12-bore for the shot and .45- 

 caliber government shell. Three-Barrel. 



Editor Forest arid Stream: 



Has your correspondent, Mr. W. J. Dixon, evei given the 

 Lyman patent rear sight a fair trial? If he has, and has one 

 "for sale cheap," he can dispose of it readily by writing to 

 me. If he has not, then before, tying to plain open sights, 

 let him try one. 



1 cannot think that any hunter, unless prejudiced against 

 all "new-fangled" things, would fail to appreciate the Ly- 

 man, if once tried. 



I know from experience that sight on a moving object can 

 be caught quicker and easier with it than with open sights, 

 for, after a little use, all you have to do is to put your front 

 sight on the target in the right place, the eye finding the 

 aperture in the disc without any voluntary effort. Another 

 point in its favor is that it is readily adjusted for elevation. 

 This of course amounts to but little at the ordinary hunting 

 distances, but one frequently risks a long shot at game 

 rather than to have no shot. With this sight your only 

 mistake can be in estimating the distance, for a httle prac- 

 tice on the range over known distances will give you correct 

 readings on the graduated stem. 



I agree with "Moro" in his opinion of the usefulness of a 

 .25-caliber rifle for those who hunt small game, but not in 

 thinking a ramrod should be under the barrel. I can see no 

 use for it, as it will make the rifle heavier, clumsier, and 

 give the user more trouble in keeping clean. I don't believe 

 that "Moro" or any one else would ever wish to load a rifle 

 of this size from the muzzle, for if one. is brought out that 

 equals in shooting qualities the best .22-caliber barrels of "to- 

 day, no fault can be found with its accuracy, and it is cer- 

 tainly not more convenient to load from the muzzle. In 

 cleaning, I claim that a metal rod should never beused if 

 one admires the polished grooves and bands as I do. In 



theory a brass rod will not injure them, but in practice one 

 can. 



A rod of wood (lancewood) is best, can be so jointed as to 

 bring no metallic surface in contact with the barrel, and is 

 easy enough to carry in the. pocket. Max. 



Hopedaie, Mass. 



I would like very much to ask through the Forest and 

 Stream if any one has tried a Colt's .45-caliber 260-grain 

 ball in the government cartridge in any rifle? Would not 

 the Colt's 200 and the Smith & Wesson .41 revolver ball give 

 iu the government cartridge a proportion of 1 to 3? 



Clarence J. Norton. 



Moiiajstown, Kan. 



Editor Forest and Streeim: 



Why is the breech mechanism of rifles not made, in the 

 same way as that of shotguns. Shotguns are certainly more 

 convenient, to manipulate, and with few exceptions, there is 

 very little difference in the manner of connecting the bar- 

 rels. The latest development of the shotgun would perhaps 

 be very desirable in a rifle. . F. If. B. 



New Jersey. 



[Rifles require greater strength at the breech than could be 

 secured by shotgun breech mechanism.] 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Without discussing the advantages of a breechloader, 1 

 don't believe any system of rifles has equalled the one-ounce 

 round ball of the muzzleloader either for accuracy or bone- 

 crushing power. It has frequently happened that the 

 hunter's life depended on planting his ball in an exact cen- 

 ter. As he would raise the rifle to his face, his mental 

 comment was- "God bless the old gun, she has never failed 

 me heretofore, and will not now." Forty-Niner. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Should not the variety of game to which a rifle may be 

 readily adapted largely constitute its merits for sporting 

 piuposes? Whether repeating or single, my own choice 

 would be the gun with which 1 could kill anything, from a 

 grizzly down'to a squirrel, and with which 1 could use the 

 amount of powder and lead desirable for each purpose. 

 Such a combination seems quite possible to me. Cannot 

 the .40-90 be made to use, with accuracy, not only a 500- 

 grain bullet, were it ever desirable, but one of 300 grains, 

 or less, giving the necessary low trajectory of the express, 

 and also a bail— I mean a rouud bullet— with either large or 

 small charge, of powder, the light charge to be used in 

 shooting off the heads of such small game as it is often very 

 desirable to have iu camp? Of course accuracy in all cases 

 may be regarded as indispensable, but particularly with the 

 light charge should it be such that missing the head of a 

 squirrel or grouse could not be attributed to the gun. I a 

 using the smaller amount, of powder, would it do to push 

 the round bullet down the shell to the powder, or should 

 the space above the powder be filled, in a measure, with 

 some kiud of wadding, or a tube of wood or other material 

 be placed iu the bottom of the shell? The sights for such a 

 run would need to be readily adjustable to suit the various 

 charges; but after all it might be found that the sight re- 

 quired for the 300-grain bullet would answer also for the 

 round bullet with reduced charge of powder; in which case 

 not more than one variation of the sight would be necessary. 

 As the sights of a hunting rifle are an important item, it 

 would be interesting in connection with other considerations 

 to have them discussed and definitely described. If the 

 above requirements for a rifle are attainable, and with them 

 is combined a construction affording the greatest facility lor 

 changing from one cartridge to another, a construction which 

 is safe, simple, symmetrical and handy, is it not very nearly 

 the hunter's ideal? _ J. G. D. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



As far as the rifle is concerned a man must be very hard 

 to satisfy who cannot be suited with one of the many excel- 

 lent guns now in the market. It is simply a matter of taste, 

 they are every one good, whether single shot or magazine. I 

 have had a good deal of experience with both kinds, and I 

 have no further need for a magazine gun. That is only my 

 idea, many others of my acquaintance think just the oppo- 

 site. Still, this discussion is not upon the guns but upon the 

 ammunition. More powder is called for, I agree with every 

 man who has expressed his views. I shoot a .40-60-270 car- 

 tridge now with great satisfaction, but I am going to have 

 my gun bored for a .40-100-270 cartridge. I think .40-cali- 

 ber as near right as it can be fixed for all game with the one 

 exception of the grizzly bear; when you hunt him you want 

 a Gatling machine gun, or what is better— don't hunt him. 

 A 270-grain bullet is efficient, and will give sufficient shock 

 if properly placed for ail practical purposes. Saxet. 



GAME IN IDAHO. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Noticing that you receive very few communications from 

 Idaho, I take the'liberty to send you a few notes from letters 

 received from a friend located in that Territory near Rocky 

 Bar. He writes: "You hint that you may take a 'hunt 

 that is a hunt' in the near future. Can't you come out into 

 these mountains? I will furnish you with camp outfit, etc. , 

 and guarantee you great sport. Deer and grouse never were 

 as plenty in these parts. Caused no doubt by the stampede 

 into the Wood River country, driving the game into the 

 mountains east of us. There are no mines in a section of 

 the country about thirty miles square to the eastward, and 

 the. game is very thick. Eight miles from here several two- 

 year-old cattle have been killed by a bear. This 'old cuss' 

 is known as a bald-faced grizzly, and tracks are found ten 

 by sixteen inches. Is that the kind of game you want? 



"Two of the boys went from camp on a little hunt before 

 Christmas, as we needed some fresh meat. They killed nine 

 deer, and got them within sixteen miles of camp. They 

 were unable to pack them in and had to leave the deer, 

 sledge, etc., on account of the snow being so deep (four 

 feet). I sent word to the ranchmen on Boise River to help 

 themselves, so the game will not be wasted. One party on 

 Big Camas killed seventy-five deer. The boys say they were 

 in droves of one hundred or more. Since the Indian hos- 

 tilities they have increased rapidly ; but I think the railroad 

 passing down on the sage plains will have a tendency to 

 check their assembling. 



' T only wish you could be here in October or November 

 and have some sport — it would beat your fishing trips to 

 Northern Michigan. If you wanted fish, however, we could 

 accommodate you. Two to three pound trout are very 

 plenty in the streams below us. Come and get some." 



Prairie Doo. 



A HINT ON ETIQUETTE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Although January was a cold month, taken altogether, 

 yet there were not over two or three bitter cold days in auy 

 one. week; and after every heavy snow there would be a 

 warm rain which would wash oil several inches of the snow, 

 and in that way the partridges (Orty.r rirf/inianux) were not 

 deprived of food to any damaging extent; and none of 

 the cold snaps lasted long enough to freeze any of th a . game. 



Partridges were more abundant last fall in Virginia" than 

 for several seasons previously, but I apprehend none of the 

 young shots will ever see them iu such numbers as they used 

 to be before the war, or as they were from '65 to '72. "Hares 

 (not rabbits) were very plentiful last fall. Turkeys have 

 been raising in our mountains for several years, and now and 

 then I hear of the shooting of one or two. if ever a hunts- 

 man kills one, the fact is sure, to be announced in the local 

 papers. 



A majority of the land-holders, who are not huntsmen 

 themselves, look upon a huntsman as a nuisance; ami so 

 very few of (hem care anything for the protection of game. 

 And sometimes Northern gentlemen will come to Virginia 

 and partake of a gentleman's hospitality for a week or fort 

 night, and send every bird they kill to the North by express. 

 We think it is the correct thing for a gentleman to offer to 

 the lady of the house as many birds as she may pick out 

 during his stay under her roof. Old Hare. 



Albemarle County, Virginia, February, 1884. 



Foolish and Dangerous.— -The Springfield RepMiwn 

 reports: "An event of considerable interest/ occurred in the 

 chemical department of Amherst College Saturday. Once 

 in three years the experiment is made of condensing carbonic 

 dioxide. So difficult and dangerous is the undertaking by 

 this process that it is forbidden by law in all countries except 

 the United States, and probably Amherst is the only college 

 where it is undertaken. Two iron cylinders are used, one 

 the generator, the other the receiver. They resemble, 

 howitzers, fitted with strong iron bands and peculiar valves. 

 Bicarbonate of soda and sulphuric acid are placed in the 

 generator in such a. way as not to mingle until the cylinder 

 is securely closed. The union of the substances generates 

 carbonic acid gas With terrific pressure (being about a ton 

 to every four square inches), and this passes into the receiver, 

 which is packed in ice and salt. The process is repeated 

 twelve times, until the gas in the receiver is forced by pres- 

 sure and cold into liquid form. When this is allowed to flow 

 out it evaporates so rapidly that it foims a solid, sDow-like 

 mass, having the surprising temperature of 140 degrees below 

 zero. Mercury poured upon it freezes instantly, and the 

 effect of touching it is about the same, as handling a red hot 

 coal. The great danger in the experiment arises from the 

 tremendous pressure — and thus the liability of a bursting 

 cylinder. The experiment Saturday, which was in charge 

 of Instructor Pond and the senior chemistry division, was of 

 great interest to the entire college. 



Revolvers for Game Shooting.— My experience with 

 revolvers has been very much like "VV. F. C.'s," but I am of 

 the opinion that the remedy lies not in making them with 

 different sights, but in placing enough metal in them. I be- 

 lieve that good shooting could be done with a .22-caliber re- 

 volver of the same size, shape and weight of the .32-caliber 

 S. & W. as now nrnde, and it could be sighted full on the 

 object fired at. I have owned many revolvers of most ap- 

 proved makes, but never yet saw the rabbit that had any 

 just cause to be "skeered" of me as long as he could keep 

 fifteen paces from me. — Max. 



A correspoudent, "E. B. B.," writing from Vail, Iowa, 

 says; My experience in pistol shooting is very similar to 

 that of "W. F. C." I found one make of pistols among 

 the dozens I have tried that shot accurately without 

 resign ting. It is a small single-shot, .22-caliber, called 

 Remington's vest pocket pistol. I have made some remark- 

 able shots with them. I remember on one occasion when two 

 of the boys were shooting at a postal card with a navy re- 

 volver. The card was pinned on a wide board, distance 

 seventy yards; they were missing the board when I came up; 

 so thinking 1 could do no less, I took a shot with my Rem- 

 ington, striking the card very close to the center. " I was 

 invited to shoot again, bur declined. 



Winter Notes from Tennessee. — Grand View, Tenn., 

 Feb. 8.— The Sunny South for once has experienced a cold 

 wave. January has been unusually cold and raw. Snow 

 fell about six inches deep, and remained some ten days, 

 which made it a little rough on quail ; but I believe they 

 came through all right. I have a small spring branch 

 bordering one side of my wood Jot, which is close to the 

 house, and along this branch is a thicket of small brush, 

 also a rank growth of weeds, many of which are seed-bear- 

 ing. Into this the quail] gathered'in quite large numbers, 

 where they were completely protected from the storm. My 

 wood lot covers about ten acres, and in it are hatched some 

 half dozeD or more broods every summer. The weather is 

 warm and springlike now, and at this present writing I can 

 see a flock of more than twenty quail among the hens, 

 within six rods of my door, Our house cat would no more 

 catch a quail than it would one of our chickens, neither 

 would it disturb the small birds which my wife fed during 

 the snow-storm last month. However, I would not vouch 

 for the honesty of any house cat if it was far from home, or 

 short of food. The bluebirds and robins are plenty now; the 

 former remains here through the year, but the latter is 

 seldom seen here during the summer. — Antler. 



A Beak Hunting Device.— Elk Rapids, Mich. — Editor 

 Forest and Stream: Mr. J. B. Squibob, a veteran bear 

 slayer of Elk Rapids, Mich., has recently devised (in con- 

 junction with Dr. E. C. C. Kellogg) a combination-gun- 

 lafher-and-sticking-plaster, for capturing bears dead or alive. 

 The gun, a double-barreled breech-and-muzzle-loader, is 

 baited, set and hung up in a tree. Then the trunk of the 

 tree is greased with the slippery mixture and the sticky stuff 

 is spread around on the ground. If the bear succeeds in 

 climbing the tree the gun is discharged and bruin drops 

 dead. If he slips down the trunk, he must stick fast in the 

 patent sticking. Mr. Scpiibob claims to have known Major 

 Verity, of Adironda, who sometimes writes to you. The 

 bear device will, it is hoped, be put on the market next 

 season.— Moss Back. 



Oswego, N. Y. — A large number of whistlers are winter- 

 ing in the Oswego River, near Battle Island. Some of the 

 members of the Leatherstocking Club have been paying con- 

 siderable attention to them; O. S. Osterhout, the president, 

 bagged fifteen one afternoon recently. — Dan. 



