68 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 18, 1888- 



some means the center of diameter and the center of weight 

 in these individual bullets is not the same. 



To demonstrate, take a rifle bullet with a flat base and drill 

 a hole into the base on one side of the center nearly through 

 the bullet, so as to cause one side to be lighter than the 

 other, fire this bullet over the water, and you will see that 

 when it strikes the water it does not skip straight forward as 

 a bullet should but glances to one side, showing that it was 

 not following a course directly parallel with the line of sight 

 but was revolving with a corkscrew motion around it. IE it 

 touches the water in the lower part of the gyratory motion 

 it, will glance to the left, but if in the upper part it will 

 glance to the right. Shoot the same kind of a ball from a 

 smooth-bored gun and it will skip_ straight forward, because 

 it has no revolving motion. Again, take a baseball and in 

 sert a piece of lead or other weight just under the cover on 

 one side. Strike this ball with "a flat bat, so that it will have 

 no revolving motion as it flies, and the line of its flight will 

 be a true line, no matter which side of the ball the weight 

 may be. But throw the same ball from the hand and it will 

 have a revolving motion, the axis of its revolution being at 

 right angles with its line of flight. The line of flight of 

 the ball will be a wavering line, being first upon one side 

 and then upon the other of a direct line. Now if you can 

 throw the ball in such a way that the axis of its revolution 

 shall be parallel with its line of flight (like the motion of a 

 rifle ball), you will see the gyratory motion. 



Now what causes some rifle bullets to have their center of 

 weight differ from their center of diameter? is the question. 

 Can any one explain that to me? Can we look for an ex- 

 planation in the fact that most rifle bullets at this day are 

 composed of a combination of two metals? When two metals 

 are melted together, will the lighter rise to the top as in 

 liquids? Who can answer this question for me? 



Lew Wfllow. 



Malvern, Ark,, Feb. 10. 



HUNTING AT ARMY POSTS. 



[Continued from Page 45.] 



THIS week we print another batch of letters from our 

 friends at the army posts, giving interesting bits of 

 information about the sort of game prevalent and the use of 

 the army Springfield shotgun: 

 Editor Forest and Stream: 



In reply to your note received yesterday I forward the in- 

 closed from Major Kellogg, U.S.A., concerning small game. 



Of the larger sort there are a few antelope still left, very 

 few indeed compared with the vast herds that roamed on 

 these plains some years ago. Buffalo, once numbered by the 

 hundred thousand, have wholly disappeared from this sec- 

 tion of country. A few straggling buffaloes, remnant I pre- 

 sume of the old southern band, were reported near the upper 

 Cimarron during the summer. 



I have not seen nor heard of an elk since our arrival at 

 Fort Hays last June. 



Our larder at Hays is helped out by prairie chicken, quail 

 and a very small amount of antelope or venison, each in its 

 season. J. J. Coppinger. 



Fort Hats, Kan., Jan. 22. 



My dear Colonel: 



As a reply to the note from Forest and Stream, which 

 you referred to me, my short residence at this post would 

 lead me to make these remarks: 



There is no large game in this section. A few antelope 

 are sometimes seen, but a hunt for them would seldom be 

 successful. We have several varieties of game birds, some 

 of them — the pinnated grouse and the quail— in sufficient 

 numbers to make their pursuit good sport. Local sportsmen 

 say that waterfowl shooting is sometimes tolerably good in 

 the autumn, and usually fine sport in the spring when the 

 pond holes are full of water. There is no close season for 

 these birds. The pinnated grouse are becoming more nu- 

 merous each year, and during the first half of the open sea- 

 son, which is from Sept. 1 till Dec. 31, a fair shot can make 

 a good bag of them. The open season for quail is from Nov. 

 1 till Dec. 31. But few of these birds can be found within 

 a radius of five miles from the post; but beyond that dis- 

 tance, on Big Creek (running through the reservation), on 

 the Saline River, on the north fork of Big Creek, and prob- 

 ably on every stream in this vicinity, they are in such num- 

 bers that one who is an average shot can, with a good dog, 

 bag from fifteen to thirty or more in a day's shooting. Occa- 

 sionally a bevy may be found a few miles from any stream. 



From information given by local sportsmen I believe quail 

 are yearly decreasing in number. This is undoubtedly 

 mainly due to the ubiquitous pot-hunter and trapper. The 

 severe cold and deep snow which we have bad during the 

 last twenty days have doubtless killed great numbers of these 

 birds, and I scarcely hope for a great measure of success in 

 the pursuit of Bob White this year. 



I am told that a few snipe can be obtained during the 

 spring migration, and one can sometimes bag a golden 

 plover, but plover are not often abundant here. 



The Springfield shotgun, the delight of the company pot- 

 hunter, is utilized by him to the fullest extent, and by him 

 alone; in his hands it is left by the true sportsman, who, as 

 he is a gun lover, is a gun owner. It is an effective arm for 

 all small birds, and also for ducks in the early autumn. At 

 some posts it gives variety to the company mess. 



E. R. Kellogg, Captain 18th Infantry, 



Fort Hays, Kan., Jan. 21. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



In answer to your queries addressed to the commanding 

 officer of this post, I was requested by him to reply, and it 

 gives me great pleasure to be able to give you the information 

 desired. The supply of game, both large and small, is 

 abundant. Black-tail deer and antelope are found, not, how- 

 ever, in the immediate vicinity of the post. Hunting parties 

 are compelled to go aboue fifteen to twenty miles away; this 

 is owing to the fact that immediately surrounding the post 

 is a large Mexican population, who own considerable sheep 

 and goats which roam around, followed by herders and dogs, 

 which cause the game to keep further away than otherwise. 



There are stationed here 300 troops of the 3d Cavalry, 

 headquarters and band of the regiment. From these organi- 

 zations frequent hunts are made, the parties numbering from 

 three to five and six, and they have been invariably successful 

 in bringing in a large supply of deer and antelope meat. As 

 a sample of what was done here lately, I will take the hunt 

 of four bandsmen, all excellent shots. They left here on a 

 ten days' huuting pass to get a supply of game for Christmas 

 and New Year's; they succeeded in bagging five large deer 

 and twenty-two antelope. This was also accomplished by 

 hunters from the three troops, with quite if not equal success, 



The men reported the deer and antelope "plenty," and could 

 have killed many more, but having plenty to supply the 

 wants of the garrison for some time, refrained. 



There are among the enlisted men here a great many ardent 

 sportsmen, sportsmen in the true meaning of the term, who 

 deprecate the wholesale slaughter of game for the sole 

 purpose of killing and letting their carcasses rot on the 

 prairie, which I am sorry to say is being done by hunters in 

 the West for the "hide," and by hunters from the East for 

 the pure sake of killing, which work, if allowed to continue 

 without let up or hindrance, will soon result in the extermin- 

 ation of the elk, deer and antelope as the buffalo has been 

 exterminated. So much for the large game. The blue 

 quail is plentiful around here, and one occasionally meets 

 with the black or Messina quail, a most beautiful bird, wnieh 

 is not numerous and is very hard to find. Ducks, the mal- 

 lard, blue-wiuged teal, the hooded merganser were met with 

 in the ponds and on Lympia Creek in the earlier part of the 

 winter, and a great number were killed, but there seem to be 

 none here at present. Curlew were plentiful last summer, 

 as were the mountain plover. We have had a surfeit of 

 quail; the officers are continually out hunting them. For 

 two hours' work, twenty would be considered good shooting; 

 occassionally one can take a dog and gun and stroll out from 

 the post a short distance and get a few quail, but for good 

 shooting, four to five miles must be traveled in order to 

 reach good shooting ground. The enlisted men do not seem 

 to take so much to shotgun shooting as they do to shooting 

 with the rifle or carbine, probably because they are more 

 familiar with the latter arms, and cannot get the time or lack 

 facilities, but small game shooting is almost entirely confined 

 to the officers. There are some men in each organization 

 here who use the shotgun and go hunting frequently and are 

 very successful. You continually meet the same men. and 

 very seldom a new face appears, but there are always plenty 

 of volunteers for large game hunting. Probably the small 

 ness of this garrison in enlisted men compared to the amount 

 of work required of them prevents many from availing them- 

 selves of the pleasure. 



I can bear testimony to the uniform excellence of the 

 Springfield shotgun and of the excellent results from the use 

 of them by enlisted men, and they admirably'serve the pur- 

 pose for which they were designed. Of course, the ambition 

 of most of the good hunters among the men is to own a 

 double-barreled shotgun. F. H. Hardie, 



Fort Davis, Texas, Jan. 23. First Lieutenant 3d Cavalry. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In reply to your letter of the 9th inst., in reference to game 

 in this vicinity, I have to say that deer can be found in 

 abundance not very far from here. About 100 have been 

 brought into the post during the winter. 



Mountain sheep aud goats are found about 100 miles from 

 the post, but it is very difficult to get them. Bears can also 

 be found from 50 to 100 miles from the post. 



Prairie chickens (i. e., sharptails) and blue grouse are very 

 plenty all around us. Large numbers of them are brought 

 into the garrison in their season. There are also some ruffed 

 grouse and a very few sage hens about here. 



The Springfield shotgun does some good work. 



Deer improve the post larder somewhat. Small game 

 does not amount to much in that direction, except in officers' 

 messes. A. S. Daggett, Captain 2d Infantry. 



Fort Spokane, W. T., Jan. 27. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Your note of the 9th ultimo came duly to hand, and I 

 submitted it to Major Jackson, of my regiment, for reply. 

 He made the following note on its back, which I send for 

 your information: 



"There is no game other than willow grouse in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of the post. From fifty to one hundred miles 

 south-southwest and southeast, game, large and small, can 

 be found, consisting principally of willow grouse, ruffed 

 grouse and blue grouse, deer, elk and bear. Antelope and 

 buffalo are about extinct. 



"The company shotguns are used considerably by the 

 enlisted men, and they vary their diet in some small degree 

 by the grouse and ducks killed with them; but the extent to 

 which they are turned to profitable account is not appreci- 

 able." N. A. M. Dudley, Colonel 1st Cavalry. 



Fort Custer, W. T., Feb. 1. 



EdMoi' Forest and Stream: 



Yours of the 9th inst. just received. Tn reply thereto, 

 would state that game has almost disappeared from this 

 vicinity. When 1 came to this post (1881) game of some 

 varieties, as turkeys, deer, quail, plover (uplaud), was very 

 abundant. In the spring and fall geese and ducks were to be 

 found in numbers sufficient for rather good sport. Game 

 continued to be quite abundant until the winter of 1884. 

 Since that time it has decreased in quantity very rapidly. 

 This is due, I think, to the unusual cold winters and the 

 presence of large herds of cattle held here for grazing pur- 

 poses. Moreover, during the years 1884-5, much of the 

 country has been burned over in fall and winter, destroying 

 the food supply. Last year and the year before, turkeys in 

 large quantities migrated, going toward the south and east. 

 This occurred late in the fall of those years and they have 

 not returned. Last year the quail were almost all destroyed 

 by the extreme cold weather and want of food. Coveys of 

 twenty and twenty -five were found frozen to death in January 

 last. This winter has been equally destructive to those that 

 were left over. The geese and ducks no longer come in, ex- 

 cept now and then a few scattering bunches. 



In regard to the shotgun referred to, 1 consider it a perfect 

 failure. It might be used in killing tomtits, I presume. 

 Many of our men own good double guns, generally of gauge 

 No. 12, and use them with effect. 



I was out early in last month with a party of one officer 

 and some enlisted men and Indian scouts— eight. Went 

 south to the main Canadian, some sixty miles from this poet. 

 We found some deer, killed fifteen. Saw very little other 

 game. Very few turkeys— killed fifteen. Two years since 

 we should have killed all the turkeys wanted on the same 

 ground. This year all the country had been burned over 

 and the game had left. X. 



Fort Susti/k, I. T., Jan. 28. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The commanding officer has requested me to answer for 

 him your letter of Jan. 9, knowing that I have been here 

 longer and that I am better acquainted with the subject of 

 your letter for that reason. 



Last winter at least 400 wild turkeys were eaten at this 

 post, this winter about 2£o have given us a rest from the 



beef of this region. At least four-fifths, I believe more, of 

 these turkeys were killed by double-barrel shotguns, the re- 

 mainder by the company shotguns, rifles and carbines. The 

 proportion given will hold good with the other game we kill 

 here, but the wild turkey, from Sept. 1 to April 1, is our 

 principal game, ducks and prairie chickens coming next. 

 Deer and antelope have become very scarce indeed, I have 

 never fired the Springfield shotgun, but have been out hunt- 

 ing a number of times with good hunters who had them and 

 have seen those same men with the double-barrel shotgun, 

 and in comparison with the average double-barrel shotgun 

 the Springfield "company shotgun" stands a poor chance. 

 It is only a makeshift better than a rifle or carbine, which 

 would mangle the game so as almost to render it worthless 

 for table use. I believe the cartridge of the company shot- 

 gun will not hold a load large enough for turkey hunting. 



C. J. Crane, First Lieutenant 34th Infantry. 

 Fort Sill, I. T., Jan. 30. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In reply to your communication of the 9th inst., I have 

 the honor to inform you that no regular account of bag. ex- 

 cept in one or two cases, has been kept; but as near as we 

 can figure up we fiud our killing for the past season about as 

 follows, viz.: Deer, 1; ducks, 163; geese, 2; chickens, 1,058; 

 snipe, 50; rabbits, 40. 



About two-thirds of the above game was shot by three 

 officers at the post with double-barrel guns; of the balance, 

 probably one-fifth was procured by enlisted men with the 

 Springfield shotgun, which, while very convenient aud ser 

 viceable in the early season for young birds, is not strong 

 enough for waterfowl or late chicken shooting, and the men 

 then generally resort to their rifles, in many cases using re- 

 loaded shells with reduced charges and round bullets. 



We have chickens and rabbits in abundance in the vicinity 

 of the post, a fair number of geese, ducks and snipe in sea- 

 son; but their feeding aud breeding ground is principally 

 about fifty miles north of this place. We have few or no 

 deer in the immediate vicinity of the pest, having a large 

 Indian camp that keep them hunted out ; but they are rea- 

 sonably plentiful forty or fifty miles from here in the hills 

 between this and the Yellowstone. No regular hunting 

 camps have been out from this post this past season, and our 

 shooting has been principally confined to ordinary day spott- 

 ing, except in one or two instances during duck season. 



The Indians destroy considerable small game — chickens 

 and rabbits — during the winter months, shooting the chick- 

 ens from the trees, but do not exert themselves much in hunt- 

 ing large game. 



There are few or no buffalo or elk in this part of Ihe coun- 

 try, all killed or driven out. 



W. T. Hartz, Captain 15th Infantry. 



Camp Poplar RrvER, Mont., Jan. 26. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Tour communication of the 9lh inst. to the post command- 

 ant has been referred to me and I take pleasure in replying 

 to your inquiries. 



The supply of game, both large and small, within reach of 

 Ibis garrison is practically, so far as our own desires are con- 

 cerned, unlimited. In the immediate vicinity of the post the 

 variety of small game embraces willow grouse, geese, brant, 

 ducks, sandhill crane (the young ones being quite edible), 

 plover, curlew, robins, meadow larks, sage hens, snipe and 

 vast numbers of doves. We have good duck shooting all 

 the year round, while the best season for small game in 

 general is from March to October 1, 



Within a few miles of the post, representing from one to 

 two days' journey, we find deer, antelope, mountain sheep, 

 etc. The season for large game shooting is from October to 

 March. 



In the above enumeration I neglected to mention the hare 

 (jack rabbit) and the cotton-tail rabbit. The former are so 

 numerous as to be termed a nuisance, while there are but 

 few of the latter. The jack rabbits afford us much valuable 

 practice with the rifle, but except just at the present season 

 it is never found on the white man's table, although the 

 Indians eat them at all times. 



The Springfield shotguns are capable of good execution 

 and for a single barreled gun are very satisfactory, but as 

 there are but two issued to a company they are but little 

 used, as every man who is at all fond of hunting owns his 

 gun, and as a result the Springfields fall to the lot of the oc- 

 casional hunter and poor shot, and consequently do not add 

 much to the company larder. 



We have the finest kind of trout fishing, and, I may add, 

 both the hunting and fishing is all that the most enthusiastic 

 sportsman could desire. 



As to the extent to which the supply is laid under tribute 

 to enrich the post larder I have to say that it is limited only 

 by the desire of the sporting portion of the garrison to go out 

 and bring it in. As for myself I never Jet a week go by 

 without going to the meadows, and one month 1 hardly 

 missed a day. There are nine shotguns in the post and 

 many fine shots with rifle and gun; you can imagine the 

 result. 



In conclusion I will write you the result of our latest 

 hunts in Steen Mountain, Oregon. Party of eight hunting 

 four days, killed 15 deer, 3 antelope, 5 coyotes, 1 badger, 

 ducks, geese, sage hens, willow grouse. Other party of four 

 hunting three days, killed 11 deer and 1 antelope, with 

 smaller game. The first party killed about 50 jack rabbits, 

 with ihe rifle only, at range from 50 to 300 yards. As for 

 the small game, i09 sage hens represent one day's shooting, 

 party of ten, and same number have brought in 160 ducks, 

 the result of one day's shoot. The highest catch of brook 

 trout was 123 in one day, by two of our crack fishermen. 

 We have a fine trout stream running through the post which 

 affords good fishing for miles up and down. Ten-Mile 

 Creek is a still better stream, while McDermit Creek, at 

 Disaster Peak (twenty-three miles), cannot be excelled in its 

 number or quality of fine gamy trout. 



With abundant transportation and every facility for camp- 

 ing out, a distance of twenty-five or even seventy-five miles, 

 only add pleasure to our sport, and I venture to say that 

 there is no finer hunting or fishing in the country than that 

 within easy reach of this garrison. But huuting and fishing 

 is about all we do here, as eighty miles of sage brush desert 

 separate us from "civilization and the railroad." 



W. A. Mercer, Lieut. 8th Infantry. 

 (IFort MoDermit, Nev., Jan. Si. 



Southern Illinois Sportsmen's Association. — Du 

 Quoin, 111, Feb. 11.— Editor Forest and Stream: The sixth 

 annual meeting and tournament of the Southern Ulinois 

 Sportsmen's Association will be held at Du Quoin between 

 the loth Of May and l^th of June,— 0. ?. RiciiARps, Secre- 

 tary, 



