S26 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 22, 1884. 



FISH AND GAME IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



AS many of your readers visit the far "West in quest of 

 sport with rod and gun, perhaps a few might extend 

 their trip to this far western isle, if they but knew the sport 

 to be obtained in our mountains, valleys and rivers. JJeer 

 are plentiful within a lew hours' drive of this city, and in the 

 open season dozens of fine carcasses are brought in weekly 

 to our maruet. Bear (black) are also plentiful, and on the 

 mainland of the Province, but further north than this, grizzly 

 are to be found, and I am informed that on the banks of the 

 Skena River they are very numerous, as also game of all 

 kinds. The . game birds of the island are grouse (blue and 

 yellow) quail, ducks and brant. Grouse are very plentiful, 

 and good bags are made by our local sportsmen in the neigh- 

 borhood of the city. Quail are abundant, and do not suffer 

 from our winters, which are very mild. On all the rivers 

 and creeks, bays and inlets, mallard, teal, butterball and 

 brant, abound in large numbeis. Not being much of a shot, 

 and caring very little for packing a gun all day, 1 may not 

 do this part of my letter the justice it deserves, but all that 

 I have staled I know to be facts. 



In a radius of fifteen to twenty miles from this city we 

 have a number of small lakes ca'lled Prospect, Pike. Long, 

 Thetis (little and big), Landlord. Elk and Beaver, in all nf 

 which trout are abundant, and in the sumn er take the fly 

 freely, in fact, they hive been biting in Prospect Lake tor 

 the past three weeks or more, and some very lair bags have 

 been taken («ay fifty between three rods) They were taken 

 with bait, but "oh shame, oh sin, oh sorrow," tbej' were 

 taken with salmon roe, which is not prohibited by our garni.' 

 laws But. the fi-hing in these lakes is taine compared with 

 that in the Cowichan and Comou rivers further noith, on 

 the eastern side of the island, and in nearly all the rivers and 

 creeks of the mainland trout are plentiful and bite freely, and 

 are said tn go as high a* six pounds in weight. Last summer 

 myself and a friend paid several vi s its to Pike Lake, and 

 caught 15 to 25 each, weighing from ± to 1-J- pounds, on each 

 trip, fishing from the hank, and now we look forward to 

 renewing our acquaintance with the fish of Prospect, Pike. 

 and Long lakes. 



Salmon are about us in unto'd numbers, but, sad to say, 

 they will not rise to the fly; but our Indians catch them with 

 hook and line in saltwater. From my residence I frequently 

 see an old Siwash trolling for winter salmon, and he catches 

 them, weighing from 16 to 20 pounds, with herring bait, and 

 in summer tin y troll with spoon; but, so far, 1 have not 

 heard of many white men even trying to catch them. 



Should any of your readers visit this city for sporting pur- 

 poses, they can outfit here at small cost, and obtain all the 

 information they require at any of our sporting emporiums 

 or by asking any of our sportsmen. 



. I may state that all the lakes 1 have named are accessible 

 by horse and buggy, and the other points by steamer. 



The mouth of the Prazer River is a favorite spot in the 

 fall for ducks and b'-ant. Canuck. 



Victoria, B. C, April 2, 1884. 



THE CHOICE OF HUNTING RIFLES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Tour correspondent "Ot." in issue of April 17, apparently 

 brings up many objections to the repeater, and there have 

 been so many adverse criucibms of the "deadly rifle" that 1 

 cannot but come forward again in defense. 



Some of your correspondents appear inclined to be 

 facetious, and others unnecessarily alarmed as to the rapid 

 killing of game by the proposed hunting rifle. The latter 

 mistake their premises; for which destroys the most game, 

 the accurate and deadly rifle that secures its game at eveiy 

 shot, or the "wild shooter," that hits, but does not hit in a 

 vital place, and leaves a wounded hi ad of game to escape 

 and die a lingering death, thereby destroying one head of 

 game with no corresponding bene fit to mankind? 



1 think I but voice the thoughts of all good hunters and 

 sportsmen when 1 say that I decry the wanton killing or 

 destruction of game as* much as any one. But to kill game 

 is one of the main objects of hun ing, for I know of no one 

 who will persistently hunt, simply for the health-giving ex- 

 ercise and recreation, and come home each day with empty 

 bag. 1 do know a good many, however, and I do think true 

 sportsmen can all be included, who like to hunt, not only for 

 this reason, but for the sake of the game they kill, anil who 

 are satisfied to kill simply for their wants, or those of their 

 friends, and not for glory. 



Now what does any true hunter want to hunt with? Does 

 he not want a true rifle that kills, and kills every time? Will 

 such a hunter go on piling up meat and wasting or wantonly 

 destroying game just for the sake of killing? With such a 

 weapon will he not be satisfied with the one deer he kills, 

 and leave all the rest for some one else, or for another da}'? 

 Will he not be able to kill that one deer with less liability of 

 damage to the multitude? Will he have to go on shooting 

 at now this deer and now that, wounding all but losing them, 

 ard then by destroying perhaps ten deer for the one he fin- 

 ally brings to bay by some lucky shot, as woutd be the case 

 if he had a gun that was not accurate? I think that "Ness- 

 mukV return to his beloved muzzleloader was just because 

 he wanted the most deadly weapon he knew, for just such 

 reasous as those above, having become disgusted with a mur- 

 derous weapon, such as all poor shooting rifles must be. 



Having seen so much of just such work as that indicated, 

 by murderous rifles, 1 among the first proposed the deadly 

 rifle as a means of saving game. I have been sick and dis- 

 gusted with the sight of wounded game escaping to die and 

 benefit no one but the wolves, and 1 have longed for the 

 time to come when sportsmen could get a rifle that would 

 kill and not wound when they shot, although there doubtless 

 are those who would abuse such a gun, and kill more than 

 they needed just for the sake of killing, si ill 1 claim that in 

 the great majority of cases good and not harm would result 

 from the general introduction of the accurate rifles. Doubt- 

 less, also, game would still be wounded and escape at times, 

 even with such a rifle in the hands of an expert; for luck, 

 chance, or what not. might cause a bad shot to be made, but 

 the proportion would be greatly lessened, and more gaa e 

 left uninjured and less be destroyed for the amount actually 



All high trajectory rifles are murderous on game. They 

 were never built or intended for hunting guns. As military 

 rifles, to use against an enemy, to shoot long distances, and 

 to wound or kill a human being, were and are their legiti- 

 mate object. As such they are intended to bejnurderous, 

 for "a wounded enemy is as good as three dead ones," and 

 in battle the wounded and not the dead are what demoialize 

 the line. But who wants to use such weapons against 

 game? It is a lueky chance if the hunter can come ou his 

 game at a known distance, or have full time to estimate it 



and, with such a rifle, put his ball where he wishes. A shot 

 too high, or too low, leaves his game with enough vitality to 

 escape and leave him bootless, to linger and suffer and die, 

 with only the wolves to rejoice. 



1 have been striving to obtain a rifle that shoots close 

 enough to hit and kill whenever I shoot at any reasonable 

 distance. 1 may find my game to-day at 50 yards, to-morrow 

 at 150. and yet 1 want my rifle to shoot so Hat that to-day, 

 to-morrow or next day 1 can shoot with a certainly of kill- 

 ing and not wounding. I do not want to see a deer, an 

 antelope, or any game go off on their legs, disappear with a 

 wound anywhere, to leave me sick and disgusted with my- 

 self at the useless pain and death resulting fr-om my bad 

 shot. I go out. to kill and not to destroy, and I am as sick 

 of all the namby-pamby sentimentalism against killing 

 game when needed as I am of all needless and useless suffer- 

 ing and death inflicted by murderous rifles. 



But I hear the question, why should I want a repeater, 

 when I want a gun that kills at the first shot? I answer, 

 simply as a protection to game again, by giving one the 

 ability to fire the second shot, and the third and the fourth 

 if necessary, as rapidly as possible, should 1 by any chance 

 fail to kill at first and thereby prevent this wounded animal 

 from escaping. 1 would want ihe repealer as a reserve to 

 fall back upon in cases of emergency, using it ordinarily as 

 a singleloader and choosing my shots with it as carefully as 

 though the one shot I had in the chamber was the one on 

 which my life depended. It is admitted that in the hands 

 of a nervous man, or perhaps in any one's hands under some 

 circumstauces, the repeater would be abused • but I claim a 

 better state of affairs for the great body of sportsmen. It 

 would be as well to condemn all horses because some are 

 vicious and run away and smash things, as to condemn all 

 sportsmen with repeaters because one" loses his head and 

 "throws 1 ad" hastily and indiscriminately. 



Then again, in spite of the assertions to the contrary, in 

 this Western country the hunter frequently takes his life in 

 his hand while hunting. Heavy and dangerous game is not 

 so scarce as some of your correspondent's would seem to 

 indicate, and I for one would not think of going into the 

 mountains without being prepared to encounter ferocious 

 and dangerous game. I might hunt for a month and never 

 see a bear; but like the Texan and his six-shooter — when 1 

 did want a repeater "I would want it mighty bad." I have 

 seen men of a party slop fishing and come to camp on ac- 

 count of the proximity of bear; and one can't tell in this 

 country what he may find when he once is beyond civiliza- 

 tion. 



And even were I where I knew there were no dangerous 

 animals, human or brute, I would still want the repeater, 

 although of perhaps lighter caliber, for to me it represents 

 the latest advance and oevelopmeut of firearms; and every 

 hunter should have the best. 



And now as to "G V criticism, He says repeating rifles 

 are unreliable. Had he said some are so 1 would agree with 

 him. But has he tried them all? Or has he seen the many 

 improved weapons of late years all tried ? His first experi- 

 ence was by his own statement "many years ago," and with 

 the Winchester carbine. "Many years ago" I also owned a 

 Winchester, and 1 found it unreliable aud sold it, but I did 

 not thereby lose all my faith in repeaters, nor condemn them 

 as he now does after years have elapsed for improvement. 

 First efforts are rarely successful, and a steady march of im- 

 provement for over three hundred years has developed our 

 present breechloaders and repeaters from their prototypes of 

 long ago. Brei chloaders and lepeaters are not a thing of 

 to-day; but their development was slow until the introduc- 

 tion of the metallic cartridge, and since "many years ago" 

 many and valuable improvements have been introduced. 



Besides this, the Winchester is not the only nor the best 

 repeater extant. Why do all refer to this as the one weapon 

 of* all on which to pin their faith or unbelief in repeaters? 

 True it is, that it was one of the first and has 1< d to many 

 others, and is entitled to much credit, not only for its own 

 excellencies, but lor its good work; but also true it is, that 

 other and better repeaters are to be had to-day, and steady 

 improvements are being made by firms, who have new life 

 and not the conservatism of the older gunmakers. 



I cannot help but criticise "G.'s" ideas about caring for 

 guns. The hunter, soldier or scout who does not keep his 

 gun clean deserves to "lose his scalp" if "jumped by Indians 

 or charged by a bad-tempered grizzly." He has about as 

 much business anywhere near either as a first-class lunatic 

 has out of his as.\ lum, and such a man would probably "pass 

 in his checks" at such a t.me, even if he were armed with the 

 most perfect wt apon under heaven and that in the most per- 

 fect order. After an experience of some dozen years in the 

 camp and field, I have yet to see a similar experience to that 

 he narrates with any class of weapons, either singleloaders or 

 repeaters. My Winchester became unreliable because it was 

 eld and rickety, and even the best of weapons grow unreli- 

 able from such causes. 



Again we have a man of the "didn't-know-it-was-loaded' 

 class who wanted to hunt a grizzly alone. I wonder if he 

 had ever seen one before the time mentioned, when he saw 

 three? Lucky for him that he did not shoot at any of them 

 —and more iool he for ever thinking of shootiug at a cub 

 unless he knew the she bear was away beyond ear shot. 

 Had his gun even been in order, he would probably have 

 had "his belly full" in no time. But what is one to think of 

 any hunter, or any one else who abuses a gun in the manner 

 described. Guns are made to use and use propeily, the 

 same as any other piece of mechanism. Governors on steam 

 engines have broken down before now and the engine has 

 "run away and smashed things," but are all steam engines 

 unreliable on that account? is the Winchester or any other 

 repeating arm to be held up to ridicule because some one 

 does not know now to use it? On the contrary, are there 

 not hundreds, yes thousands, who use them, well aware that 

 they are reliable— provided the "man behind the gun" is 

 reliable too? . 



Then we are told also that repeaters are unsafe, and again 

 because a cartridge in a Winchester magazine, one in a 

 Hotcukiss and another in a Spencer ("G." makes it appear as 

 a Winchester), exploded and tore things to pieces. "Acci- 

 dents will happen, even in the best regulated families," but 

 there generally is some preventable cause for each accident, 

 and the fault in each of these cases was peihaps the tault of 

 the man and not the gun. 



I have the report of a board of officers before me, who in 

 1881 tested magazine guns with a viesv to tin ir introduction 

 as military weapons. Since theu several m w repeaters have 

 been introduced, and that they were not tested was simply 

 because they had not then been born. , 



It may be of interest to state what some of the "official 

 tests" were : 



Hi, Endurance.— Each gun to be fired 500 continuous rounds with 



out cleaning. Using; the magazine. The state of the breech mechan- 

 ism to be examined at the end of each 50 rounds, 



IV. Defective Cartridges.*- Each sun ro be fired orire with ep.ch of 



riie ,ollo\vingrt»lective cartridges: 1. Cross-filed on head tonearly the 

 i ttioknesa of the metal. 2. With a longitudinal cut the whole length of 

 the partridge from the rim up. a fresh piece of white paper, marked 

 witn the number of the gun, being laid over the breech to observe the 

 escape of gas, if any occur. 



V. puat>— This piece to be exoosf d. in the box prepared for that 



to a blast Ot sand-dust for two minutes; to be removed, fired 

 20 rounds, replaced for two minutes, removed and fired 20 rounds 

 more. 



VI. Rust. — The breech mechanism and receiver to be cleaned 

 from grease, and the chamber of the barrel greased and plugged, the 

 butt ot the gun to be inserted to the height of the chamber in a solu 

 torn of sal-ammoniac for ten minutes, exposed for two davs to the 

 open air. standing m a rack, and then fired 20 rounds 



VTI. Excessive Charges.— To be fired once witn 88 grains powder 

 and one ball of 405 grains of lead; once with 90 grains powder and 

 one ball, and once with 90 grains powder and two balls. The piece 

 to be closely examined after each discbarge. [Note— Pieces buih to 

 fire ..15-70-105 ammunition.] Auy gun failing in any of the foregoing 

 tests will not be submitted to further tests. 



Supplementary Testa.— -1. To be flivd »nb two defective cartridges, 

 Nos. land 2, and .then to be. dusted five mieutes, the mechanism 

 being in the mouth of the blowpipe and closed, the hammer being at 

 half cock; then to be fired six sho s, the las' two defective Nos. 1 

 and 2; then without clea^ ing lo be dusted with the breech open and 

 fired four shots. The piece to be freed from dust only by pounding 

 or wiping with the bare hand. 2. To be tired five rounds with the 

 service cartridge ( 45-70-405 ; then without cleaning to be feed five 

 rounds with 120 grains powder and a ball weighing 1,200 gr .ins; ihe 

 gun to stand twenty-four hours after firing without cleaning and 

 then to be thoroughly examined. 3 Facility of manipulation by 

 members of the board. 4 Liability to accidental explosion of cart- 

 ridges in the magazine. 



Additional tests may be made to clear up doubts raised byprevious 

 trials. 



******* 



Un 'er the fourth supplementary test, in addition to the test already 

 made of gi ing a jolting motion to a column of cartridges in a veitical 

 tube witn the spiral magazine spring, a column of six cartridges to be 

 jolted in a tube without the spring, and, if lucre be no explosion, 

 then the lowest bullet in the column to be replace d by a pointed steel 

 plug— first using ■ be spring below the plug- ami in the evtnr of if. not 

 producing explosion to be tn. d without the spring. Also if ther- is 

 no explosion resulting from the joliiug tests, the tube containing the 

 column of cartridges heavily weighted at the lower end to insure its 

 vertical position, and having the spring at the bouom of the tube, to 

 be dropped from a height of twenty feet upon a pavement, and if 

 th"ie is no explosion*' to be droppee as before without the spring in 

 the tube. After *• ard a pointed steel plug to replace, the lowest bullet 

 in the column, and to be dropped witn the spring in the tube; then, 

 ifebereisno explosion, the. dropping to be nnallv tiied with the 

 spring removed. These te-ts to be applied equally to the Frankfoid 

 and exterior pi imed cartridges. 



[Now the only * onder is that any gun should have stood these tests 

 at all, for any one must concede that they are t xcessive ] Forty guns, 

 i\pres.nting thirteen model-, were submitt d for experiment with re- 

 sults as follows, omitting all of no importance ig this discussion: 



In safety test and rapidity, with accuracy and rapidity -at-will tests, 

 all magazines weie tilled, and in i-afety test but one gun failed by 

 bursting of receiver. Nocaitridgeburst'in magazines, and there were 

 21 failures to extract, bur, here were 4o guns, each fired 10 rounds in 

 safety test, or 400 1 ounds, and 3,713 room is fired in rapidity te ts, mak- 

 ing a" total of 4.113 rounds, and only £4 f . ilures to extract, and these 

 were nearly all by guns afterward found to be poor iD design or de- 

 fective, and were rejec ed. As an average ihe percentage of failure 

 to eject was but 005ft per cent. 



In the endurance tests, the results were as follows: 92 miss-fires; 

 but 72 of the e were by guns of one model, leaving 80 iniss-flres to the 

 balance; IS failures to extract and cartridge exploded in magazine. 

 And yet here were 11,948 rounds fired as a wnole, among which to di- 

 vide the above accidents. 



Defective cartridges— Miss-fires none, 2 failures to extract, 72 shots 

 all told. 



Dust test— 9 failures to extract, 7 miss fires, 920 > ounds all told, 



Rust test— Miss-fires 27. but 18 by one gun; no failures to extract, 

 420 shots all told. 



Excess in Cha'ges— Miss-fires none, guns generally opened hard, six 

 shells with head blown off, 3 failures; to extract, 13 shots all told. 



Excessive charges— No explosion in magazine, ti guns tested. 



In all the testa for liability to accidental explosion in the magazine, 

 but one cartridge exploded, there being 2,751) iouuds fired from 6 guns 

 in this iest. 



The tests mentioned above w^ re never carried out; but the fol- 

 lowing modifications wnre adopted and tried «itn six guns that had 

 been found by toe preliminary .rials to be best adapted for mil tary 

 purposes: ''Liability to accidental explosions of cart nlges in maga- 

 zine A— MaghZine to be filled with each of the .four kinds of cart- 

 ridges on hand and shut off. Then to be filed 100 rounds as a single- 

 loader, in the fixed iest, using the heavj Erankford cartridge r?0-500 

 grains) in the chamber to obtain greatest recoil where practicable. 

 The cartridges in ihe magazine to te examined and changed after 

 each fifty shots. B Same as A, except, the magazine being half 

 filled. C— Same as A, except the gun suspended by wires so as to 

 permit greatest extent of recoil." Four kinds of ammunition were 

 used, viz : Frankford, O. M. C, Winchester and Lowell, and the fol- 

 lowing resiUts obtained: 



First liun.— Tesr A omitted. Test B— One hundred shots; maga- 

 zine partly filled; no explos.on in magazine. Test C— One hundred 

 shots; magazine entirely filled; no explosion in nngezme; one fail 

 ure to extract shell. This was repeated with the U M. C. and Win- 

 chester ammunition, and with the Lowell ammunition up to 52 shots 

 in test C, when a can ridge exploded in the magazine; 152 shots all 

 told; tube magazine under hairel. 



Second Gun.— Test A— Seventeen shots fired, when gun broke down 

 from defects, not of the magazine, and became disabled, and tests 

 discontinued; tube magazine aider barrel. 



Third Gun.— Test A— All tour kinds of ammunition used for 100 

 shots each; no explosion in magazine. Test Bomitfe 1 . Test — 

 Same remarks as fur test A (800 shots all told; tube magazine in 

 stock). 



Fourth Gun— Test A— All four kinds of ammunition; 100 

 Test B— Three kinds used, 100 shots used, when it becafne apparent 

 there was no danger of explosion, and test discontinued. Test C— 

 Three kinds and 1(10 each; all successful ^1,000 shots all told; tube 

 magazine in stock). 



Fifth Gun— Detachable magazine; test only a short one; 150 shots 

 all told, as it became evident the danger was a minimnui. 



Sixth Gun— Detachable magazine; test only a short one— 43 shots— 

 as gun was not easily loaded as singleloader when magazine was 

 attached, and best results of gun not to be had when used a single- 

 loader with magazine fitted, anu attached; 40 shots all told. 



This is all I can give from the report without occupying; 

 too much space, but from it we can see how'veiy unlikely 

 such accidents as "G." mentions are to happen. One of the 

 guns that stood the test the best is the very Hotchkiss model 

 iie mentions as one of the guns whose magazine exploded. 



Those who mkht be timid about bu> ing a magazine rifle 

 after reading "G. V article can take eomfoj t fi ora the above, 

 and rest assured that so long as they use proper ammunition 

 there is not one chance in ten thousand of their getting hurt 

 by any magazine explosion. By proper ammunition 1 mean 

 that with flat, pointed bullets; and if ihe cartridges are re- 

 loaded at home, see that the primer is properly seated, and 

 the danger is reduced to a minimum— it may be said to 

 nothing. . , . 



Upon this very point of amraumiion allow me to differ 

 from '•&.," and his friend who writes to him and whose 

 letter be elves. It is a man's duty to examine every cartridge 

 he intends to use. There are times when there is nothing 

 else to do, and one can very pleasantly and very profitably 

 spend lils time iu inspecting bis ammunition. If lie reloads 

 it himself, then his reloading if property done, is an inspec- 

 tion. Primers should always be sealed Uow u where they 

 belong, below the plane ot the rear face of the shell. Pioper 

 priming tools always put them there if the shells and primers 

 are intended for each other, and if one finds his prim' rs 

 won't go "home," then tither shells are defective or he is 

 using the wrong primers for his shells, and must change to 

 get proper results. Primers not properly seated ure danger 

 otis in any gun, either shujleloader or repeater, and besides 

 are liable to cause misfires from not being seated firmly 

 home to take the force of the blow of the hammer. Do not 

 use too thin or sensitive primers for repealers; there is all 



