Dec. 35, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



457 



all, but thought I would as soon as I got the hang of the 

 thing. One day when shooting at some ducks skimming 

 the surface of the water, 1 noted the furrows the shot cut 

 in the water away ahead of the game. Then I went back 

 to my old way, and in the open have used it ever since, 

 In cover shooting I generally shoot straight at some spot 

 ahead of the game where I think I will make connection. 

 I remember making a double on bluebills once, killing 

 one by each method. I swung the gun on the head one 

 and pulled, then raising it a little snapped one that was 

 about 6ft. behind. 



I noted the communication of "Sinkboat" in your paper 

 some two years ago. It was good sound sense and a plain 

 statement of the wing-shooting question. Then followed 

 that of "Ancient" in reply, which I cannot compliment 

 quite so highly. Next came one from " W. ," dealing with 

 the mathematics of the question, I am not an expert on 

 Book VI. of Euclid, but venture the opinion that few 

 "loose links" will be found in "W.'a" demonstration. It 

 did, however, I think, ignore the air resistance to the 

 lateral swing of shot. 



After all this, it was peculiarly refreshing to read the 

 testimony of a man like Mr. Kleinman, who is beyond 

 dispute a good shot, "that he holds dead on or nearly so;" 

 that "be scarcely knows that he doesn't kill the bird by 

 crooking his finger." 



It ought to convince any unprejudiced person that, as 

 "Sink boat" very properly stated, the same end may be 

 attained in two different ways, or as the Irishman put it, 

 "There's more ways of killin' a dog forninst hangin' 

 him." 



While gossiping about shooting, I would like to say 

 that I was much pleased with the points on the drop of a 

 gun stock in the recently-printed conversation between 

 Mr. Hough and Billy the gunsmith. I have seen guns 

 with a drop of 3^in. that were none too crooked for me, 

 yet I have found tolerably good fits (notably among Colts 

 and Spencer repeaters) in guns with a drop of only 3 in. 

 The wherefore of this, which I never could fathom, 

 appeared in the communication mentioned above, and 

 the writer has mv thanks. L. I. Flower. 



THE ALL-AROUND GUN. 



THE all-around gun is again to the fore in your columns. 

 It is about as hard to find as the ad around fishing 

 rod. It seems to me, however, that this impossible arm 

 is more nearly approximated in the three-barrel gun than 

 in any other. With one charge of bird shot, one of buck 

 shot and one rifle cartridge, all ready to be fired, one 

 ought to be well enough aimed for any emergency. Or 

 substitute birdshot for the buck shot In a bird country 

 and still there is something left for large game. I have a 

 gun, two 12-bore shot barrels and a .38 rifle barrel, the 

 whole weighing less than nine pounds, It is a splendid 

 arm. I have used the gun in a deer and turkey country 

 and found it all that could be desired. The rifle is as ac- 

 curate as the repeaters which I have tried, up to a hundred 

 yards. May be beyond that, but I have not tried it . In 

 a duck and goose country the rifle cartridge is a good 

 thing to have ready for use. It is a very comfortable 

 thing when a flock of geese come honking over just out 

 of reach of shot to be able to drop one of them with a 

 bullet from the ever ready third barrel. I know this to 

 be true from personal experience, and would never dream 

 any more of taking anything but my three-barrel on a 

 duck hunt where brant and geese are likely to appear 

 occasionally. Richard G ear Hobbs. 



LOADING SHOTGUNS. 



I HAD thought the recent tendencies to be toward 

 lighter rather than heavier loading. I suppose all 

 agree in the thing to be desired, i. e., that the gun shall 

 only kill at one end. So far as my experience goes, recoil 

 seems to be effected chiefly by three things — the weight 

 and boring of the gun, the proportion of shot and powder, 

 and the fineness of the grains of powder, supposing other 

 qualities to be equal. 



As to weight of gun, I am not an invalid by any means, 

 but lilbs. of gun is as much as I am willing t® carry. 

 With a gun of this weight more than 3^drs. of powder 

 makes a disagreeable recoil. If the gun is properly bored 

 and then well handled loz. of shot will give satisfactory 

 results. With this charge of shot as Tittle as 3drs. of 

 powder may be used. This with No. 8 shot makes a pleas- 

 ant and effective load for anything smaller than ducks. 

 For ducks, use 34drs. and 1-Joz. of No, 6 shot. More shot 

 than this seems to be an outrage both on the shoulder and 

 the game. This is for FFG powder. I have wished to 

 experiment with coaser grained powder, but in this part 

 of the world we take what we can get, not what we want. 

 I believe coarser powder would give equally good and 

 more comfortable shooting. To load as some do, with 3 

 or 3£drs. of powder and over an ounce of shot, gives an 

 unpleasant kick, the load being badly proportioned. 

 In the matter of recoil, however, tastes differ. Some 

 want to "feel" their gun. They had rather pad their 

 clothing, have their arms beat blue and their brains 

 addled, than allow any risk to be run by decreasing the 

 load. But the fact is, the lighter load is often more effec- 

 tive. Both the padding and the dread of recoil prevent 

 confident handling of the gun. And if anybody thinks 

 game can't be killed with the loads recommended above, 

 let him try it once, or come over and go hunting with 



Aztec. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I am something of a gun crank and am always greatly 

 interested in opinions of practical shooters concerning 

 loading, etc. I observed in your issue of Nov. 27, a cor- 

 respondent signing himself "H. L." recommends heavy 

 charges and says he shoots 4 to 4-|drs. powder in a 

 12 bore gun. He does not state what kind of game such 

 charges are intended for, but I presume it is used in duck 

 or goose shooting. But even for game so. difficult to kill 

 as ducks or geese such charges seem all out of proportion 

 to the bore and usual weight of a 12-gauge, and unless a 

 very poor quality of powder is used, or a very coarse and 

 elow-burning kind, such charges are not only extremely 

 unpleasant to use, but useless and dangerous. Useless 

 because no 12-bore gun I ever saw with barrels of the 

 usual length, 28 or 30in., would burn so much powder; 

 and dangerous, because while good guns will stand as 

 heavy a load as can be put into a shell, yet there are 

 many guns which will not stand such loading when new, 

 and many other old guns weakened by rust and pits that 

 would eertainly explode under such heavy charges. 



I use a 12-boie gun and Schultze powder, and when 



loading for quail never put in more than 2| drams. This 

 seems like a very light load, but from two year's experi- 

 ence in the field, and from careful experiments made to 

 test pattern and penetration, I am convinced that it is 

 amply sufficient. I do not change the powder charge 

 for late quail, but I do change the size of shot, for early 

 shooting I use Hoz. No. 9 chilled shot, and later in the 

 season the same quantity of No. 8. 



I believe in using all the powder necessary but no 

 more, and fully believe that if the shooters who are now 

 so much in favor of very heavy charges, would experi- 

 ment a little with a view of getting at the facte concern- 

 ing the amount of powder actually needed in a 12-bore 

 gun we would find more sportsmen using Schultze powder 

 about 3 '§ drams for quail, 3 drams for prairie chicken, 

 and 3ir drams for ducks, with perhaps I dram more of 

 good black powder, firing all day with perfect comfort to 

 head and shoulder, and without padded jackets or re- 

 coil pads. Jason. 



MASSACHUSETTS GAME AND LAW. 



BOSTON, Mass., Dec. 19.— The Massachusetts Fish and 

 Game Protective Association met at the Thorndike 

 last evening. Secretary Harding read a letter from C. 

 B. Cory, curator of the department of ornithology in the 

 Boston Society of Natural History, in which the writer 

 spoke of the introduction of some and the probable 

 success of introducing certain species. He said tbat 

 quail and ruffed grouse would both do well in Massachu- 

 setts, but the latter especially are difficult to purchase, 

 and it would be still more difficult to breed them in con- 

 finement. The English pheasant could be introduced 

 with success here, but they require to be bred in coops 

 and the chicks are delicate and somewhat hard to raise. 

 English partridges are not a success. Prairie chickens 

 will perhaps do well, or, better still, the sharp-tailed 

 grouse. 



The prairie chicken was once found in Massachusetts, 

 but the few which are now left on the island of Martha's 

 Vineyard have become differentiated by environment so 

 that they are now a different species and not found else- 

 where. Wild turkeys, if procured in the mountains of 

 North Carolina, would probably do well here. California 

 quail might be introduced with success, but as a game 

 bird they do not compare with some species, but they are 

 hardy and prolific. If once successfully introduced they 

 would make a valuable addition to our game birds. 



Regarding the shooting of water fowl and the attempt 

 of certain people to repeal the present laws, Mr. Cory said 

 that the laws should remain as they are, or they should 

 be made stronger, to encourage men who are willing to 

 stock private grounds with game so that the overflow 

 from these places will restock the surrounding country, 

 and it may be that in time the State can be induced to 

 establish breeding stations in different parts of the State. 



President Samuels suggested that as the Legislature 

 would convene before the next meeting of the Associ- 

 ation, it would be well to then and there instruct the 

 committee on legislation as to their work and decide upon 

 the changes to be asked for. The open season at present 

 begins on the 15th of September. At that time many of 

 the young quail, he said, are not half grown and are 

 wholly unfit to be killed. Something should certainly be 

 done to prevent the shooting of the young birds. Mr. 

 Samuels referred to a proposition from an official of the 

 Rhode Island Fish and Game Protective Association to 

 arrange for a conference of the Rhode Island and Massa- 

 chusetts associations to see if uniform laws for the pro- 

 tection of game birds could not be secured in the sister 

 States. He thought it would be advisable to ask for a 

 general conference of the associations in all of the New 

 England States, and mentioned Boston as a good place 

 for holding such a meeting. 



Mr. Thayer said that it seemed to him that the law on 

 quail shooting should be changed, and the sooner the 

 better, for a law that will allow the shooting of such birds 

 as early as Sept. 15 is an abominable one. He favored 

 the holding of a conference. 



Mr. Fottler, of the legislative committee, stated that 

 the recommendation of the committee before the Legisla- 

 ture last year — that Oct. 1 be settled upon as the begin- 

 ning of the open season on all game birds — was met with 

 opposition by the Fish and Game Commissioners and the 

 committee was forced to yield to their views on the mat- 

 ter. The Commissioners favored Sept. 15 as the opening 

 of the season, and such is the law. Mr. Fottler strongly 

 urged the appointment of a committee to represent the 

 Association in the conference referred to, that should 

 favor a uniform law in the several States conforming to 

 that of Connecticut, where the open season on game birds 

 is from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1. 



Dr. Stetson moved the appointment of a committee of 

 three "to confer with an equal number of men from other 

 State associations and endeavor to obtain, if possible, by 

 their united efforts, uniform game laws." 



The president named Dr. Morris and Messrs. Roberts 

 and Mixter as that committee. 



E. E. Hardy urged that something be done to help the 

 committee which has the power to prosecute the offenders 

 of the law, but which has found it impossible to convict 

 a man for breaking the law in the open season because 

 of the strange rulings of the courts. He said the courts 

 required that it should be proven that a man who had 

 snared partridges set the trap with the deliberate in- 

 tention of ensnaring the birds caught. He thought that 

 legislation to cover such cases should be secured. 



Caribou in Newfoundland.— New York, Dec. 19. — 

 I have received a letter from a friend in Newfoundland 

 whom I left in camp when I returned to Pilley's Island 

 to take the steamer home. He says that the snow lasted 

 three days after I left, and during that time the caribou 

 were continually traveling south, and tbat they remained 

 five days longer on the marsh, during which time they 

 killed six more caribou, making eighteen for the trip of 

 two weeks (I was only there eight days); a good score for 

 four of us. We killed only two cows, all the rest bulls 

 with good heads. None of the meat was wasted except- 

 ing one old bull that I killed and which was too strong. 

 It was all put on scaffolds, each guide having six of them. 

 These are enough for their winter supply, and they take 

 it out on dogs sleds as soon as snow comes to stay. My 

 friend saw six big gray wolves in one band, an unusual 

 sight, as it was supposed they were nearly extinct. I 

 would also add that we did not lose a single wounded 

 caribou on the trip. We could have killed certainly a 

 dozen more, but had no use for them.— W, Holberton. 



La Grange, Ky., Dec. 12.— The fishing rod has been 

 laid aside till spring and the interest of sportsmen is all 

 centered in the gun and game bag. Beside a few pheasants, 

 the game consists of quail and rabbits (hares). The latter 

 are to be found anywhere in this county in great abund- 

 ance, and the former have been more plentiful this season 

 than for many years past. Local sportsmen and farmers 

 are greatly annoyed by pot-hunters from Louisville, who 

 go out on all the railroads for fifty miles and kili any thing 

 they see and in any way. I think this county, as it 

 abounds in woods and cover, would be splendid territory 

 for the Chinese pheasant, I shall make an effort to secure 

 its introduction. We are having much sport with red 

 foxes. One day this week P. S. Head took out our pack 

 of hounds south of town, and to encourage the dogs con- 

 cluded to kill a fox and let the dogs have it. He shot one 

 and crippled it, and thinking the dogs were coming up 

 let it limp away. It happened the dogs were running 

 another trail and the wounded fox got into the ground. 

 A singular coincidence is that Joe Clore, who was with 

 Head, did exactly the same thing in another part of the 

 field, and both foxes got away. Interest in dogs is in- 

 creasing. — J, S, M. 



THE full texts of the game fish laws of all the States, 

 Territories ami British Provinces are given in the Book of 

 Hie Qwma Lawn. 



INDIANA BASS FISHING. 



FROM Mr. C. L. Hanford, the famous fly-fisherman of 

 Indianapolis, we have recent informatian concern- 

 ing the scores of parties of which he was a member 

 during the past season. One of the objective points in 

 White River is Broad Ripple, and Catfish Pool is one of the 

 noted fishing grounds on the route. The fishing is done 

 by casting from a boat or the shore in suitable places. 

 The species of bass is the small-mouth black bass [Microp- 

 term dolomieiL), and Mr. Hanford's party kept none 

 weighing less than lib. On account of excessive rain 

 the past season was a rather bad one. 

 Following is the score in detail: 



First trip, 2 in boat, 12, ranging H to 1 .lbs. 

 Second trip, 3 in boar, 3, ranging ]Z to 2J^lbs. 

 Third trip, 2 in boat, 9, ranging \Z to 1 lb. 

 Fourth trip, Bin boat, 13, ranging Kj to lK>lbs. 

 Fifth trip, 8 in bout, 10. ranging % to 2 lbs. 

 Sixth trip, 2 in boat, 0, ranging Kj io 3 lbs. 



The fly locally known as the "bucktail" was one of the 

 most successful, and Mr. Hanford found the Lord-Balti- 

 more also a killing lure. 



The large-mouth black bass also occurs in White River, 

 and specimens were taken, but in the estimation of these 

 parties they were far inferior to the small-mouth species 

 in game qualities. 



SUSQUEHANNA RIVER FISHING. 



FN a recent letter Mr. H. C. Demuth. secretary of the 

 JL Pennsylvania Fish Commission, writes me that the 

 bass fishing in the Susquehanna has not been very good 

 this year on account of the heavy rains, which have kept 

 the water high and cloudy, especially during September 

 and October. At Washington and Mud Island many wall- 

 eyed pike have been caught on set-lines or out-lines. On a 

 recent trip to Fife's Eddy Mr. Demuth says he caught a 

 "large-mouth" black bass which weighed 41bs. 9oz. He 

 made a cast, with a chub about seven inches long, from a 

 flat-boat anchored in the river, and the bait had just 

 settled in the water when the line started to run off the 

 reel in a manner which indicated that a good fish was 

 hooked. Mr. Demuth landed him in about ten minutes, 

 after some spirited fighting. Several days previous to this 

 Mr. Wm. Axe, of Christiana, Pa., caught one at the same 

 place which weighed 61bs. 2oz. This was the largest fish 

 taken at Fife's Eddy during the present season. 



Members of the Red House Club, Harrisburg, Pa,, have 

 been faring well during the past fall, as will be seen by 

 the following letter received from my friend "Stehman," 

 who wrote up the Red House Club for Forest and 

 Stream last July. "Stehman" writes from Harrisburg 

 under date of Nov. 28: "The weather is quite cold here 

 now, the coldest of the season. The fishing is good at 

 the Conewago Falls. From the 18th of the present month 

 Messrs. Jerome Long, Harry Bach, John Bolster and Dr. 

 T. S. Hollinshead. all members of the Red House Gun- 

 ning and Fishing Club, spent five days at the club house 

 on the island above the falls. They caught SOlbs. of 

 'salmon' (pike-perch), one of which measured about 27in. 

 in length and weighed 7^1bs., and eight which weighed 

 31bs. each. Besides the fish caught, these gentlemen shot 

 one large white swan, thirty-six ducks, two dozen quail 

 and ten rabbits. This is not a small score, but only the 

 bad state of the weather which followed prevented a 

 larger record. This is a quartette of the best gunners and 

 fishermen from this city. 



"Nov. 34 Mr. Fred Edel, president of the club, in full 

 view of the club house, caught a bass which weighed 

 61be. and a 'salmon' weighing 51bs. The two were 

 caught in the course of two or three hours* fishing, and 

 the president was a very well satisfied man. The club is 

 in a very flourishing condition, having at present thirty- 

 six members. They are about to buy fifteen acres of the 

 adjoining ground." 



The success of the Red House Club is due to the fact 

 that the members are among men what the little insect 

 known to the small boy as "eye-bunger" is among humble 

 bees — stickers, When they undertake a thing they do 

 the work well. Success to them! Bab. 



Deer in New Hampshire.— Franklin Falls, N. H. 

 Dec. 18, 1890. — Deer are getting quite plentiful in this 

 State. Mr. Frank Buriel and Mr. Cilley, of Laconia, 

 went up to Waterville, N. H., last week and killed three 

 fine ones. — Walter Aiken. 



Large Conger Eel.— In November last, while cod- 

 fishing, our correspondent, Willard Nye, Jr., of New 

 Bedford, Mass. , caught a conger eel weighing 14-"?lbs.. 

 This was a large fish of the kind for that locality. 



