106 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 6, 1884. 



apply the calipers to the Parker, Bonehill, Remington, Scott, 

 Greener and other guns. I am inclined to think" that many 

 sportsmen, who have guns of recent make and good shooters, 

 and who call their guns straight-bores, would find them to be 

 on close inspection chokehores; and, in my opinion, the 

 chokebore properly loaded for long-range is far superior to 

 the straight-bore muzzle or breechloader. This is not only 

 an opinion, but experience from severe tests, Keep the ball 

 a-rolling, we are never too old to learn. L. H. H. 



Maine. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I am the owner of two fine breechloaders, and believe 1 

 know something about them. One of my guns is a 12-30-7J 

 English make. It answered every purpose while 1 was a 

 resident of the South, but after coming to (his country I 

 found it too light for game here, which has to be struck a 

 little harder, and the light weight of the gun would not ad- 

 mit of heavy charges. I then ordered a gun of an American 

 ilrm as follows: Length, 80; gauge, 12; weight, 9 pounds; 

 full choke and chambered for three-inch shell. I was ad- 

 vised by many, and especially by as high an authority as the 

 Forest and Stream, to get a 10-gauge if I wanted to shoot 

 heavy charges, but right there my inborn stubbornness made 

 me stick to my original idea. In due time the gun was re- 

 ceived. It was a thing of beauty. For swans, geese, snow 

 geese and ducks, I use 5 ounces Laflin & Rand 4 No. 6 and 1{ 

 ounces shot, and the game must be over sixty -five yards or 1 

 will bring it to bag three times out of five. For ruffed 

 sharptail, blue grouse and teal, I use Bounces powder and 

 1 ounce shot, and can kill far enough to satisfy any one. It 

 shoots as well with 2f as with 3-inch shell, but 1 have to use 

 3 inch shell for heavy changes. Recoil can scarcely be 

 noticed, especially in wing-sh.oot.ing. 1 have never targeted 

 my gun, neither do I intend to. I know what it will do on 

 game, and do not fancy firing at a board. I made a shot at 

 a swan which fell dead without a flutter at sixty-five paces, 

 and as it must have been 100 feet high when struck, the dis- 

 tance can be easily calculated. I made this shot with 5 drams 

 powder and H ounces No. 1 shot. One shot went through 

 the head and four through the body. 



I once had the pleasure of shooting a Purdy gun which 

 cost its owner over $600, and as far as shooting'qualities are 

 concerned I would not exchange with him. If "Buckeye" 

 will address me as below I will tell him where to spend his 

 money, so that he will never regret it. 



Bitter Root Blll. 



Missoula, M. T.,'Feb. 16. 1384. 



Editor Forest, and Stream: 



In regard to the performance of shotguns, perhaps my 

 experience during past two years will "explain why some 

 breechloaders do not come up to the expectations of their 

 owners. About two years ago I purchased a 12-84-30, modi- 

 fied and full choke respectively. This gun worked admir- 

 ably for pigeons at 30 yards rise, but for field work was very 

 unsatisfactory. It took a full season's experience in the 

 field with various combinations of shot and powder to con- 

 vince me that for cover shooting close-choke would not do. 

 Since then I have been using a 12-7£-30, open and modified 

 choke respectively, with much more satisfactory results. 



W. H. C. 



Philadelphia. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Not being a gunsmith, but having'sumcient knowledge of 

 the business to enable me to do my own repairing, I desire 

 to add my testimony with regard to pattern at various dis- 

 tances. My gun is a 30-inch, 12-gauge breechloader. With 

 li ounces of No. 3 shot, ut a distance of 33 y r ards, 185 pel- 

 lets were put into a 12-inch circle; with the same charge, at 

 a distance of 40 yards, I put 280 pellets into a 20-inch circle. 

 The distance was measured and shot weighed in each in- 

 stance. Can this be excelled, and if so! in what manner? 



D. H. S. 



RCSHFORD, N. Y. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Have any of your readers experimented to determine the 

 values of different lengths for gun barrels? What practical 

 (not theoretical! advantage has a 32-inch barrel over a 28- 

 inch barrel ? And what are the limits of length and brevity ? 

 I hope that this note, which I write because I am in need of 

 the information, will meet the eye of some one who can 

 help me. Senex Sbptimus. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



My friend Dr. R. has, for the past twenty-five years, used 

 a No. 10 bore, double-barreled muzzleloader, which has 

 been regarded by judges as a No. 1 shooter. When breech- 

 loaders came into use he and I made a number of tests be- 

 tween his old gun and various makes of the new pattern, 

 and in every case the comparison was in favor of the muz- 

 zleloader. "The breechloader, however, usually did closer 

 shooting but lacked force. This was particularly noticeable 

 when a less than No. 10 gauge was used. 



Great improvement has been made in the shooting quality 

 of the breechloader within the past few years, and we have 

 made but one recent test and that was decidedly in favor of 

 the breechloader. My friend was induced to exchange his 

 old gun for a fine-looKing breechloader of the same bore, 

 but after giving it a trial he longed for his old stand-by and 

 went back and purchased it. He then tested the two guns 

 duck shooting on the Potomac, and finally admitted that his 

 new gun would shoot both stronger and closer. He objected 

 to it, "however, because of its kicking qualities, sold it to 

 me, and is now looking for a good breechloader that "won't 

 kick." My gun is No. 10 bore, 82-in:h barrel, weighs 91 

 pounds. Since I have been using it I have compared it wdth 

 eight or ten muzzleloader guns at a target 40 yards distant, 

 and I succeeded in putting twice as many shot within a de- 

 scribed circle as any one of the muzzleloader pieces. For 

 general shooting it is hard to beat, and I would advise 

 ''Buckeye" to procure a No. 10 gun, for I am quite sure it 

 will give him greater satisfaction than No. 12. It has always 

 seemed to me that the criticisms and condemnation of the 

 breechloader were in a measure prompted by r a degree of 

 prejudice. Our old sportsmen have become attached to 

 their tried and faithful fowling pieces, and no doubt this 

 attachment does at times influence their opinions. 



Keystone. 



Washington D. C. 



Massachusetts.— Danvers.— Quail and partridge wi utered 

 very good here, although it has been very cold for them. 

 Foxes and rabbits have been very scarce around here this 

 season. — J. F. D, 



MUCILAGE-EDGED WADS. 



Editor ForeM and Stream: 



My attention has just been called to an article on muci- 

 laee-edged wads, which appeared in your last issue. The 

 only patented adhesive wad known to me is one patented bv 

 myself, which I have subjected to severe tests for two sea- 

 sons, and now, as improved, I believe it to be cheaper and 

 far superior to any shot-retaining wad on the market ; and 

 it will retain the charge quite as well in a brass as in a paper 

 shell. 



1 herewith inclose a sample and a sketch showing its ap- 

 plication : First, a thin disc or wad, A, -is seated over the 



ft? < 



shot._ The wad B, scored one-half its de pth to allow for 

 bending up, is now dropped into position, the scored surface 

 downward, after first wetting it with the tongue or a sponge. 

 You will observe now that if seated with an ordinary ram- 

 mer the gum will adhere to the walls of the shell at the 

 points desired, and the two halves act as a brace, holding 

 the charge securely in place. The two cut out spaces act as 

 very important factors, as without them the wad would not 

 drop freely into the shell, consequently the gum would rub 

 off, when it would be of no use ; hence we use a thin disc 

 first on which to seat, and this prevents the shot from falling 

 through the spaces. The fault with the process named by 

 your Baltimore correspondent is, it has too many "frills," 

 more, in fact, than crimping, while this of mine has none 

 and cannot be excelled for cheapness, simplicity and general 

 excellence. Falcon. 



CHOICE OF HUNTING RIFLES. 



Eelitor Forest and Stream: 



Now that the ammunition question is being rapidly set- 

 tled, will not some of your correspondents give us their ideas 

 as to the best shape for the butt-plate of a hunting rifle. My 

 own preference is the one used on the Springfield' army rifle. 



Greenhorn. 



Editor Far est and Stream: 



I noticed in your issue of Feb. 21 an article written by "G. 

 F. W." on a subject which I have been studying some time; 

 that is, the manner of igniting gunpowder so as to burn the 

 whole of it, thereby gaining the full force of the charge. 



I have a few shells of different sizes that I altered by in- 

 serting a small tube inside so as to conduct the fire from 

 primer to the forward end of powder, which I find answers 

 the purpose exactly. I sent a diagram of it to the Winches- 

 ter Arms Company, and they r said it was an old invention 

 and discarded long ago. I think if "G. F. W." will try r this 

 he will be satisfied; in fact, I don't see why the shell makers 

 have not tried it before, as it seems to be the only proper way 

 of igniting the charge. J. L. DeH. 



Massachusetts^ 



TENNESSEE NOTES. 



THE shooting season of 1883-4 has proved almost a fail- 

 ure here for lovers of what is termed by r some "legiti- 

 mate sport." The rains of November and December, and 

 the heavy snows and floods of January, have kept the birds 

 in the woods and thickets, where wing-shooting ceases to be 

 a pleasure. During the suows large numbers of quail and 

 hares were bagged by pot-hunters, and larger numbers of 

 the former were trapped. Very few ducks have visited us 

 this winter; in fact, this has been the case for two or three 

 seasons. Geese have been plentiful, but few have been shot. 

 No one here ever shoots over decoys or makes any system- 

 atic pursuit of geese, such as are killed being from flocks 

 that are accidentally approached by, or come near to, some 

 party of duck hunters. At present the river is out of its 

 banks, and all the bottom fields and woodlands are over- 

 flowed. This is the pot-hunter's golden opportunity, as hun- 

 dreds of hares and quail can be found upon ih.e mounds and 

 stumps in the back water, where they fall easy victims to 

 the pot-metal shotgun or antiquated musket. The game law 

 is not in force in this county, public sentiment here being 

 almost unanimous in its opposition to legislative protection 

 for game. 



A few foxes and otters, several beavers, and multitudes of 

 raccoons have been trapped here this winter. There are 

 parties here who make good wages trapping, as minks and 

 'coons are very abundant. There were a few T snipe here this 

 tall, and three were killed within the town limits on the 5th 

 of January. 



This is later (or earlier) for snipe in this latitude than I 

 can recollect observing before. I think if the waters sub- 

 side before the middle of March we may have good snipe 

 shooting on the muddy flats left by the receding waters. 



Wilt.. 



Savannah, Tenn., Feb. 11. 



THE SQU1BOB BEAR MACHINE. 



Edite/r Forest and Stnam: 



I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear of my old friend. 

 J. B. Squibob, through your correspondent, "Moss Back." 

 So he is about to bring out his bear-trapping device with 

 which he was experimenting when I last saw him, long and 

 long ago. 



1 wonder if he would forgive my telling the result of one 

 experiment. If you think he would not, pray keep it to 

 yourself, and publish it not in Gotham nor tell it in the 

 streets of Chicago. 



J. B, S. had stuck up his ground and greased his tree, and 

 had just set his bait when he "lost his holt" and came sliding 

 down "on the run," as we Horse Marines say, and that part 

 of him which was best acquainted with a chair stuck fast in 

 the lime of his own setting. It could not be said of him 

 that he was "hoist with his own petard," but rather, had sat 

 down upon it, and it would not hoist him, nor could he hoist 

 himself. This, however, was but little compared with what 

 followed. A bear scented the bait and came xusbing to and 



up the tree for it. Half way up his claws slipping, he 

 came down plump on top of my friend J. B. S. with the 

 ponderosity of one of Richard Grant White's jokes, and the 

 days of poor Squibob would have been then and there ended 

 had I not been at hand to finish the bear with my hunting 

 knife, and with it cut my friend loose, wh» escaped with no 

 greater loss than some wind squeezed out of him and the 

 seat of his leathern breeks. 



I am truly glad to know that he still lives and is as fertile 

 of inventions as ever, whereof I was always barren. If any 

 of these words come to his sight I hope to hear again from 

 my old friend. Yours in the cause of truth, 



Major Joseph Yerity, U. S. H. M. 

 Adironda, Feb. 30. 



An Old Hunter.— Riverhead, N. Y. Feb. 26.— The Long- 

 Island Hunters' Association gave a dinner in Terrace Hall 

 this afternoon. More than 200 hunters of all ages were pres 

 ent from all parts of the island. Dozens of hunting dogs 

 lay about under the tables, and guns leaned in every corner. 

 The old hunters told marvelous stories of the number of 

 deer and foxes they had shot, and the younger ones wished 

 that rugged experience had enabled them to tell such stories 

 with equal grace and confidence. The Association was or- 

 ganized fifty years ago for the purpose of protecting the 

 Long Island deer, which were already fast disappearing. 

 Twelve men got together, made a clearing in the midst of a 

 thick wood, and planted it with green truck of all kinds. 

 This was done to attract the deer." It was also agreed never 

 to shoot them in that vicinity. The deer at first accumulated 

 rapidly in that section of the island, and their disappearance 

 was delayed^ This hunter's garden has been planted regu- 

 larly each spring ever since, and at harvest time what the 

 deer have not eaten is cut down and ploughed under. The 

 planting and harvesting of the crops is made an occasion of 

 festivities among the hunters, who accompany^ their agricul- 

 tural pursuits with picnics and hunting parties twice a year. 

 At the last meeting, in October, it was resolved by the Asso- 

 ciation to present an appropriate silver medal to 'Mr. Wells 

 Tuttle, the president and founder of the Association. Mr. 

 Tuttle is now nearly 90 years old, and is the only survivor of 

 the twelve deer apostles, as they were called. The object of 

 yesterday's meeting and banquet was the formal presentation 

 of the medal. Mr. Tuttle, in spite of his years, told more 

 remarkable fox stories than any one else, and indulged 

 heartily in clam chowder and other good things provided. 

 He sat in a large rocking chair on a raised platform, the 

 background of which was decorated with old flint-lock rifles 

 and stuffed specimens of Long Island birds and beasts. 

 His eyes sparkled with pleasure, and he applauded many 

 of the speakers. The presentation speech was made by 

 Judge Thomas Young. The Judge was applauded with 

 especial emphasis because it was known that he was uttering 

 the sentiments of the aged president. "All that remains of 

 the good old time," said he, "is the dog. Nothing can spoil 

 him. When I see a lot of dainty r boys dressed up in white 

 breeches and red coats, mounted on small horses and chasing 

 an anise-seed bag across country, I can find no word in the 

 English language small enough to express what 1 think of 

 ttiem. How I pity the able dogs that they press into their 

 service. What a pity such superior animals should have to 

 keep such company." Old Mr. Tuttle remarked tliat he 

 could shoot better with his gun than he could with his 

 mouth, and asked one of the young hunters to respond to 

 the address for him. Mr. R. M. Bayles, of Eastport, did so. 

 The other speakers were Surrogate James H. Tuthill and 

 Mr. George F. Stackpole. — Bun. 



Long Island Duck Netting.— Good Ground, March 1.— 

 Editor Foi'est a#d Stream: In your last issue in reply to my 

 notice that ducks were being caught in nets, you advised me 

 to notify the game protector. Now, this thing has been 

 going on for j'ears, and I have been informed by reliable 

 parties, who reside in the vicinity where the netting is done, 

 that the same parties lust fall caught in Shinnecock Bay 

 over 7,000 ducks. As I said before, the bay is now full of 

 ducks, and, of course, the netters being so successful last 

 fall, this has brought more netters into the business, and they 

 are now catching from 1,000 to 1,500 ducks at a run. If 

 the business goes on the birds will soon be all caught up and 

 driven away. Not only are they caught in nets, but they 

 are shot nights on their feeding ground. I have notified 

 Mr. Whittaker at two different times, and he has paid no 

 attention to it; and the nesting and night shooting go on. 1 

 have tried to stop it on my own marshes, and succeeded. 

 We ought to have a game protector who understands the 

 bay, .and who is not afraid to go ahead and have the first 

 man arrested who is caught. I could name a man who 

 would take care of the game in the bay r if he could be ap- 

 pointed game protector. If this thing is allowed to go on 

 every man living around the bay will in a short time be 

 netting ducks. 1 think it would be a good thing to have a 

 law passed prohibiting the setting of gill nets on the feeding 

 grounds of ducks. There is no fish to catch at .the time 

 ducks are here. I am nearly done with trying to protect the 

 game alone without the help of any one, not even the game 

 protector, who is appointed expressly to take care of the 

 game. — William N. Lane. 



Michigan Deer Skins. — Boston, Feb. 26, 1^84.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: 1 have lately returned from a business 

 trip West, and on my way stopped during the early part of 

 the present month at Detroit, Mich. Whije in the warehouse 

 of a merchant there I commented on quite a large-sized pile 

 of deer skins, and was informed by the owner that there "are 

 over 3,000 in that pile," and "we have already shipped 5,000, 

 and shall handle fully 10,000 this season, everyone of which 

 was taken from deer killed in Michigan." I suppose this 

 will be no news to you, but to me it was simply astounding. 

 This merchant is not the only one who deals in deer skins in 

 Michigan and ships them out of the State, but is probably 

 the largest. — A. P. ^___ 



Bounty on Foxes.— Waterville, N. Y., Feb. 18.— At a 

 meeting of our local sportsmen's club held last Friday even- 

 ing, a resolution was introduced offering a bounty of one 

 dollar for each old fox killed by residents of our two adjoin- 

 ing towns. After some debate, as the idea was a new one to 

 many of our members, the motion was carried. The plan 

 seems to be a good one, as a few old foxes will create more 

 havoc among our upland game than all the guns of our 

 sportsmen and market hunters combined. Were this plan 

 acted upon by all the clubs throughout the States, I believe 

 we should find a noticeable increase in the number of our 

 game birds. — N. 



