Sept. 12, 1889.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



14 B 



per cent, and 32 per cent, for the same distances of the 

 No. 7 shot. It would seem, then, that the faith of Mr. 

 Such in his Greener gun as a close hitter was not mis- 

 placed, while its power as a hard hitter is shown by the 

 figures of penetration in the formal record of the entire 

 test. 



The record of the No. 1 shot will he given in the next 

 number of the Forest and Stream. 



ClAremont, N. J., Aug. 8, 1889. 

 TEST MADE AT FOREST AND STREAM GUN-TESTING SCREEN. 

 G-un— Greener Ejector Haminerless. Cost, $350. No. of gun, 

 35,937. Weight, 10% lbs. Length of barrels, 32in. Gauge, 

 10. Right barrel, full choke. Left barrel , full choke. 

 Weather— Cloudy. Direction of wind, 9 o'clock. Force, of 

 wind, 3 miles per hour. Thermometer, dry, 73° . Bo., 

 wet, 69 °. Humidity, 83° . Barometer, 30.15in. 

 Charge, as given by holder of gun: 



BOTH BARRELS. 

 Shell— U. S. Co.'s Climax. 



Powder, Brand— Dupont's Eagle Ducking No. 2. 

 Powder, Quantity— 43^drs. 



{ Make— Tatham's. 

 Shot < Quantity— 1 Voz. 



( Size— No. 8 Chilled. 



CARTRIDGE ANALYSIS. 



Three Cartridges Taken at Random.. 



BOTH BARRELS. 

 Loading. Powd&r. Shot. 



Card over shot; slight ( 1. . . 110 grs. 546 grs. 515 pellets, 



crimp; 2 B. E. wads- 2. . . 109 grs. 550 grs. 522 pellets, 



and card over pdr. (3... 108 grs. 545 grs. 516 pellets. 



Average 109 grs. 547 grs. 517 pellets. 



TEST AT 40 YARDS. 

 Five ShoU per Barrel f rom rest at fixed 30-inch Circle. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



Pattern. Penetration, x pellets. Pattern. Penetration, :; pellets 



1. 301 pellets. 14 sheets. 1. 344 pellets. 15 sheets. 



2. 313 pellets. 16 sheets. 2. 281 pellets. 14 sheets. 



3. 345 pellets. 21 sheets. 3. 295 pellets. 16 sheets. 



4. 276 pellets. 17 sheets. 4. 346 pellets. 17 sheets. 



5. 347 pellets. 15 sheets. 5. 312 pellets. 13 sheets. 



Av. 316 pellets. 17 sheets. Av. 316 pellets. 15 sheets. 



Three shots at 4-foot square; 30-inch Circle selected from 

 best pattern. 



EIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



1 373 pellets. 1 360 pellets. 



2 351 pellets. 2 362 pellets. 



3 ..... . 352 pellets . 3 357 pellets. 



Average 358 pellets. 



Average 359 pellets. 



TEST AT 60 YARDS. 



Five Shots per Barrel from rest at fixed 30-inch Circle. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



Pattern. Penetration, s pellets. Pattern. Penetration, s pellets. 



1. 127 pellets. 8 sheets. 1. 140 pellets. 10 sheets. 



2. 115 pellets. 6 sheets. 2. 141 pellets. 9 sheets, 



3. 63 pellets. . . sheets. 3. 159 pellets. 8 sheets. 



4. 167 pellets. 9 sheets. 4. 128 pellets. 12 sheets. 



5. 173 pellets. 11 sheets. 5. 129 pellets. 8 sheets. 



Av.^129 pellets. 8 sheets. Av. 139 pellets. 9 sheets. 



Tliree shots at 4-foot square; 30-inch Circle selected from 

 best i>attcrn. 

 RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



1 160 pellets. 1 160 pellets. 



2 172 pellets. 2. .... . 163 pellets. 



3 166 pellets. 3 162 pellets. 



Average 166 pellets. 



Average 162 pellets. 



Claremont, N. J., Aug. 8, 1889. 

 TEST MADE AT FOREST AND STREAM GUN-TESTING SCREEN. 

 Q-un — Greener Ejector Hammeiiess. Cost, $350. No. of gun, 

 35,937. Weight 10%lbs. Length of barrels, 32in. Gauge, 

 10. Right barrel, full choke. Left barrel, full choke. 

 Weather— Cloudy. Direction of wind, 9 o'clock. Force of 

 wind, 3 miles per hour. Thermometer, dry, 73°* Do., 

 wet, 69°. Humidity, 82° . Barometer, 30.15in. 

 Charge, as given by holder of gun: 



BOTH BARRELS. 



Shell— TJ. S. Co.'s Climax. 



Powder, Brand — Dupont's Eagle Ducking No. 2. 

 Powder, Quantity — 4%drs. 



I Make— Tatham's. 

 Shot! Quantity— l}£oz. 



( Size— No. 7 Chilled. 



CARTRIDGE ANALYSIS. 

 Three Cartridges Taken at Random. 



BOTH BARRELS. 

 Loading. Powder. Shot. 



Card over shot; slight ( 1. . . 109 grs. 548 grs. 379 pellets, 



crimp; 2 B. E. wads- 2... 1.09 grs. 549 grs. 379 pellets, 



and card over pdr. ( 3 . . . 108 grs. 548 grs. 373 pellets. 



Average 109 grs. 548 grs. 377 pellets. 



TEST AT 40 YARDS. 



Five Shots per Barrel from rest at fixed 30-inch Circle. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



Pattern. Penetration, s pellets. Pattern. Penetration, s pellets. 



1. 251 pellets. 21 sheets. 1. 171 pellets. 20 sheets. 



2. 236 pellets. 20 sheets. 2. 271 pellets. 22 sheets. 



3. 245 pellets. 18 sheets. 3. 218 pellets. 22 sheets. 



4. 255 pellets. 21 sheets. 4. 248 pellets. 17 sheets. 



5. 242 pellets. 18 sheets. 5. 240 pellets. 22 sheets. 



Av. 246 pellets. 20 sheets. Av. 229 pellets. 21 sheets. 



Three shots at 4-foot square; 30-inch Circle selected from 

 best pattern. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



1 264 pellets. 1 275 pellets. 



2 246 pellets. 2 248 pellets. 



3 264 pellets. 3 248 pellets. 



Average 258 pellets. Average 257 pellets. 



TEST AT 60 YARDS. 



Five Shots per Barrel from rest at fixed 30-inch Circle. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL. 



Pattern. Penetration, s pellets. Pattern. Penetration, 3 pellets. 

 L 112 pellets. 11 sheets. 1. 114 pellets. 13 sheets. 



2. 124 pellets. 12 sheets. 2. 107 pellets. 12 sheets. 



3. 104 pellets. 6 sheets. 3. 115 pellets. 17 sheets. 



4. 98 pellets. 12 sheets. 4. 104 pellets. 9 sheels. 



5. 97 pellets. 8 sheets. 5. 103 pellets. 16 sheets. 



Av. 107 pellets. 12 sheets. Av. 109 pellets. 13 sheets. 



Three shots at 4-foot square; 30-inch Circle selected from 

 best pattern. 



RIGHT BARREL. LEFT BARREL, 



1 120 pellets. 1 112 pellets, 



2 127 pellets. 2 124 pellets. 



3 113 pellets. 3 123 pellets. 



Average 120 pellets. 



Average 126 pellets. 



BULLETS FROM SHOTGUNS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your paper for August 1 you give a description of a 

 trial of Dr.* Merrill's shotgun with bullets, and state that 

 he is desirous of securing a weapon good for both shot and 

 ball. There are two guns sold in London, either of which 

 would probably suit. One is the " Paradox," by Messrs. 

 Holland, and the other the " Golindian," by Charles Lan- 

 caster. 



The former, while made of only 71bs. weight, is stated 

 upon the best authority to be as accurate with bullets, up 

 to 100yds. , as an express rifle, and to throw shot extremely 

 well. I have seen no accounts of any trial of the " Co- 

 lindian," but doubtless it is also very good with both shot 

 and ball. 



During many years, when in countries where both large 

 and small game abounded, I made numerous experiments 

 in order to find out the best method of loading shotguns 

 with bullets. Gunmakers usually recommend using them 

 naked, of such a size as to just touch the barrel all around, 

 and pouring melted tallow over them after pressing them 

 down upon the wad. Loaded in this way they rarely do 

 any harm, but on one occasion a bullet scored the barrel 

 of a valuable gun, belonging to myself, with a long spiral 

 mark which could not be taken out, so I carefully avoided 

 naked bullets afterward. 



A very celebrated gunmaker in this country advised 

 me to use them one size larger than the bore, assuring 

 me that they would not do the least harm. This might, 

 perhaps, be a good plan with barrels of extra thickness 

 at the breech, so as to be safe from bursting. 



I have found no method to give greater continuous ac- 

 curacy than having bullets one size smaller than the 

 bot e, wrapped in patches of strong thin linen. At first I 

 used to tie the patch very tightly round the bullet with 

 strong thread, cut off the neck as closely as possible, dip 

 it into melted tallow and place it with the neck exactly 

 in the center of the felt wad before pushing wad and. 

 bullet down into the shell. This method gives excellent 

 shooting up to 40yds., and in some guns 50yds.; but I 

 afterwards found that 20yds. could be added to the range 

 by using loose patches of such a size that their edges 

 will barely meet over the center of the bullet. After the 

 ball is pushed home the edges of the patch should be 

 brought together and fixed there by pouring tallow over 

 them. It then remains round the bullet during its pas- 

 sage up the barrel, and drops off a little in front of the 

 muzzle when fired. 



The following points are worth attending to in order to 

 make a smoothbore do its best with bullets: 



1. The balls should be perfectly round and smooth. 

 This is more necessary than with a rifle. 



2. They should be hardened with about one-twentieth 

 part of tin, so that the spherical shape maynot be altered 

 by the explosion of the powder. 



3. The powder should be of large grain, because the 

 blow to the bullet will not be so sudden as with fine 

 grain. 



4. The wad should be of thick, soft, well lubricated 

 felt. 



5. The "cut off" part of the bullet should be in the 

 center of the wad. 



6. The patch should be free from any threads of un- 

 ev en thickness. 



7. The tallow should be distributed as evenly as possi- 

 ble all round the angle where the bullet touches the 

 inside of the shell. 



8. Turning down the edges of the shell upon the bullet 

 diminishes the accuracy considerably. As a rule, if it fit 

 with proper tightness, the tallow will hold sufficiently 

 firm; but when otherwise, a crimper should be used, 

 which indents the shell all round, just above the bullet, 

 and keeps it in its place. 



Barrels for ball shooting should be rather thicker than 

 usual at the muzzle, and those with a straight taper all 

 the way from the breech are more apt to shoot well than 

 those which are made thin half way from the muzzle, 

 like ordinary shotguns. 



Theoretically a cylinder-bore ought to be the most ac- 

 curate, but a recess choke can be made to shoot quite as 

 well. Some years ago I had a gun made with a full 

 choke (on the recess principle) in the right barrel, and 

 the left a perfect cylinder for bullets. After long and 

 careful trials I found that the left gave no better shoot- 

 ing than the right, so had it turned into a full choke like 

 the other, and there is now no difference between them. 

 They both carry ball very truly up to 60 or 70yds. , but 

 the left is slightly superior with shot. 



Mr. Lane, a very noted authority upon shotguns in this 

 country, wrote some time ago to the London Field about 

 firing bullets from smoothbores. He recommended drill- 

 ing a hole in the bullet and fixing a piece of string, about 

 as thick as a trout line, in it with a wooden peg, then 

 cutting off the string so as to leave it 6in. long. This is 

 coiled in the shell upon the wad, the bullet is pressed 

 home and fastened by pouring hot grease all over it until 

 covered level, but the shell is not crimped. Mr. Lane 

 says, "Thus loaded, a 6in. bull may be struck an indefinite 

 number of times at 60yds., and very fair shooting can be 

 got at double this distance." 



I believe that much of the inaccuracy of smoothbores 

 with bullets is due to their having no hind sight. This 

 can be proved by removing that sight from a rifle and 

 trying to what extent the shooting is spoiled. In cases 

 where ball shooting is required from a shotgun it would 

 be well worth while to fix a short Lyman sight to the 

 grip. And here I would suggest that if Mr. Lyman 

 would make some very small sights, giving elevation for 

 only about 150yds. , they would probably have a good sale 

 for use upon rifles for small game. The short sight which 

 he has already brought out is so thick that it looks 

 clumsy upon a rifle of 5 or 61bs. weight, but its advant- 

 ages are very great. In combination with the ivory bead 

 foresight correct aim can be taken at rabbits in the twi- 

 light, when the notch of the open hind sight is almost 

 useless. J. J. Meyrick. 



Dublin. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



CHICAGO, HI., Sept. 7. — The season being now open 

 in Indiana on prairie chickens and also on wildfowl, 

 a great many of our shooters, especially members of the 

 shooting clubs who have properties in that State, have 

 gone down during the week for a few days at the early 

 birds. There are considerable numbers of local ducks on 

 the marshes, among others a good many wood ducks and 

 teal. That chickens have bred very plentifully along the 

 Kankakee marshes this season seems to be the opinion of 

 almost every hunter who has been down. Numbers of 

 these beautiful big bircis have been brought iu. Mr. L. 

 K. Waldron got a very good bag near the JVlak-saw-ba 

 Club. He located the birds the first day, killing only 

 three, and on the following day had verv good sport. 



Mr. J. B. Hosmer, of D. S. Munger & Co. ; Mr. John 

 Howley, of the Scottish National Insurance Company; 

 Mr. John L. Jones, of Powell & Jones, and Mr. Henry 

 Durkee, are just back from a chicken shooting trip in 

 Minnesota. They stopped at Ortonville, and found it 

 necessary to go out only six or eight miles from that 

 town. The party bagged about a hundred birds apiece. 



The main interest of our shooters just now is centering 

 in the exceptional and really remarkable jacksnipe shoot- 

 ing, which is so abundant everywhere. The brown- 

 streaked little fellows seem to be scattered all over the 

 country. Messrs. Henry Sloan and F. P. Taylor have 

 been down on and near Mak-saw-ba marsh nearly all the 

 week, and have had good sport at snipe. Billy Mussey 

 got 17 one day in the first of the week, and was forced to 

 stop shooting on account of the extreme heat which there 

 prevailed. At the same time Tommy Miller got ahout a 

 dozen birds, Mr. C. B. Dicks about a dozen and a half, 

 and Mr. Joel Kinney about as many. Mr. Waldron also 

 had good luck, and four Hoosiers of the great unwashed 

 class shot nearly all day long, and must have had a num- 

 ber of birds. Nearly all of the above shooting was done 

 on a strip near Rat Island, above the club house. Mr. 

 Mussey tells me that the birds were in hundreds, and by 

 good steady work a man should have bagged at least 

 fifty per day. 



Cumberland marsh has had plenty of jacksnipe also; 

 and there have been numbers killed at Water Valley, 

 lower down on the Kankakee. I have not heard from 

 the great snipe ground near Koutts, Ind., but should 

 think the shooting there must be fine now. The birds 

 are reported as fat and lying close. 



Yellowlegs are in our country in great abundance, but 

 we do not hear very much of the golden plover just now. 

 There was a flight of the latter bird in a while ago. 



If anything can be foretold at this date we are apt to 

 have an early winter this year. The dispatches from St. 

 Paul, Minn., this morning, say that the migratory birds 

 are beginning to move south, and this, coupled with the 

 heavy frost in that country, is taken to mean an early 

 advance of winter's rigors. Another fact of greater sig- 

 nificance than this is the action of our local ducks this 

 fall. I have before this mentioned the fact that our 

 native-bred ducks here band up and go north late in 

 August or early in September, returning south with the 

 main migration later in the season. This year no such 

 northern migration has taken place, and it is thought 

 that this is because the country to our north is very dry. 

 The presence of the jacksnipe so early is considered ad- 

 ditional poorf of this. Whether it is dry or cold that is 

 starting the game down, the result will doubtless be well 

 for our shooters, for our marshes are now at good stage 

 and bid fair to remain so. 



The great duck marsh at Horicon, Wis., is probably 

 the greatest shooting preserve of this part of the country. 

 No spring shooting is allowed on that marsh, nor any 

 until after Sept. 1 in the fall, no matter what the State 

 law may be, for the club makes and holds its own laws. 

 There are thousands of ducks on the Horicon marsh al- 

 ready, and the shooting has begun on them. Early this 

 week Mr. Percy Stone, a member of Horicon Club, bagged 

 33 ducks in one day, 17 of the bag being mallards. At 

 the same Mr. Jack Pierson got 46 and Mr. C. E. Felton 22. 

 From this it is inferred the shooting must have been 

 good. Redheads, mallard and teal are in on the Horicon 

 marsh. 



Mr. F. M. Howe got 10 ducks in about an hour on Tol- 

 leston marsh last Monday morning. 



Mr. J. A. Sharp and a friend got 51 ducks at Water 

 Valley on opening day. They had a very nice little bag, 

 all shot out of one blind. They also got a lot of snipe. 



Mr. R. Turtle has been having a lot of fun with the 

 snipe, and says he killed some not very far from Engle- 

 wood, eight miles out of town. Almost all the boys who 

 have gone out have had good fun and good success. 

 There is some go in this place yet as a shooting resort. 



E. Hough. 



WORCESTER OPENING DAY. 



WORCESTER, Mass., Sept. 7.— Monday was about as 

 good a day for opening as could be expected at 

 this season of the year, at the same time it was about as 

 hard a day to hunt as could be imagined. The sun was 

 partially hidden by fog and smoke most of the day, but 

 old Sol was doing business right along. Scarcely a 

 breath of wind stirred the leaves, and the air was per- 

 fectly lifeless. The sportsmen were out in force and in 

 some localities shooting was pretty brisk. A good supply 

 of birds is reported, and considering the difficult shooting- 

 good bags were made. Vegetation of ail kinds is un- 

 usually rank this year, probably owing to frequent rains 

 early in the season. This tends to lessen the number of 

 open shots one can get, but gives promise of better sport 

 later on. That the birds bred well there is no doubt, and 

 the reports of their being found in bunches would seem 

 to indicate that less illegal shooting than usual had been 

 done. Adding the month of December to the close sea- 

 son, thereby leaving more old birds to breed another year, 

 is also proving itself a wise move. 



The following are some of the bags reported, though 

 there are doubtless many others not heard from: G. J. 

 Rugg and Robt. Mason got 12. E. T. Swan and A. J. 

 Warren, 9. W. E. Dean and Levi Moore, 8, E. T. Whit- 

 taker and C. H. Morse, 7. E. T. Smith and C. H. Howe, 

 6. W. S. Perry and A. Perry 9. S. Parker and J. H. 

 Lccke, 3. E. S. Knowles, Nathan Harrington and Geo. 

 Walker, 3. Chas. Crompton and J. Doherty, 1 each. F. 

 Houghton and E. Warren, 3. Of this number 44 were 

 partridges and 18 woodcock. Only two small partridges 

 were reported, the young ones mostly being three-quar- 

 ters grown and able to keep the shooter guessing. 



Hal. 



