4BO 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 24, 1891, 



BORES AND SHOOTING. 



MIDDLEVILLE, Mich,, Dec. 1%— 'Editor Forest and 

 Stream: In your edition of Nov, 12, " Answers to 

 Correspondents," in reply to "B. E. H.,'" Chicago, you 

 state tiaat a 10-bore loaded with Aidis. powder and l|oz. 

 shot will kill at greater distance than a 12 -bore loaded 

 with S-^drs powder and l^nz. shot. No. 6 in both cases, 

 both guns choked alike. Now I do not write this to get 

 up an argument, but in order to learn something. I. have 

 owned and used many guns from 8 to 20-bore, and have 

 looked for (and I am still trying to find) a gun that will 

 kill the furthest. From my own experience, I find that 

 a 2O-b0re will kill as far as an 8. But the greater bore has 

 the largest killinjs: circle, consequently the 8 and 10-bore 

 are the guns for flock shootuag, and in shooting at a single 

 object, flying or running, one does not have" to hold as 

 close as with a 16 or 20, two great advantages. But I con- 

 tend that a 20 gauge, all things being equal, will kill a 

 single bird, fox or rabbit at as great distance as an 8 or 10. 



After reading the above answer to "B. E, ±1." I looked 

 up some of my brother sportsmen. First we used three 

 Eemingtons, all same model, and, so far as I could judge, 

 choked alike, viz., 10, 16 and 20. The first two were 

 loaded as "B. R. H." described, and I loaded the 20 with 

 3drs. powder and loz. No. 6 shot. Everything Avas as 

 equal as we could make it. Then we used two Colt guns, 

 10 and 16, and lastly four other guns of 10, 12, 16 and 20 

 All guns were fired four times from a rest, i. e., the shooter 

 sitting down with a muzzle rest, one man shooting all, at 

 a target, two barrels at 40 and two at 60yds, distance, 

 with new target for each. shot. The result showed that 

 the 16 and 2C-bores gave aa good penetration and pattern 

 as the 10 and 12. The small bores would have killed a 

 duck or rabbit sitting still as well as the others. But of 

 course on a flock of birds the 10 gave a far larger kUling 

 circle. We also tried an 8-bore American trigger action 

 with still better results as to flock shooting. 



We brother sportsmen wish to live and learn, and for 

 many years I have culled from the Foeest AiSTD Stream; 

 many great benefits have I derived therefrom. I came to 

 this village last August for my health, which was much 

 impaired from a three years' residence in the so-called 

 Sunny South, and my 20 "bore Parker has given me much 

 pleasure among the squirrels, quail, partridges and rabbits, 

 while my lO bore has seen no service except in the hands 

 of some friends from G-rand Eapids city, who came to 

 me to enjoy the pleasures of hunting or fishing. I have 

 often had the pleasure of seeing some of my crude letters 

 in your paper, and expect to look you up some time next 

 spring in your busy city office. 



In reply to our friend who gets his gum boots full of 

 water, use hot oats, shake out, heat over and refill. Sand 

 Avill sometimes stick in the lining of same and work into 

 one's stockings to irritate the feet, oats should be free 

 from dirt or dust. 



I would like to hear from some of the brotherhood on 

 range and bore of shotguns, as one is never too old to 

 learn. Bryan the Still-Hunter, 



THE FLIGHT OF THE WILD GEESE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



During the few days past a number of the largest 

 flocks of geese that have ever been seen from here passed 

 over on their southward migration trip. 



We have often wondered, and probably many others 

 have also, why the sight of a noble flock of wild geese on 

 the wing wiirsend a thrill through every nerve in one's 

 system. If the flock is near to a sportsman the feeling is 

 nothing strange. When he in his excitement quickly 

 grasps his shotgun or his trusty rifle for the purpose of 

 giving them a shot, it is very plain to every one present 

 that in him the ardor of the true hunter is fully aroused, 

 and his love for sport then comes forth in its full 

 strength. But when the flock is far beyond the reach of 

 the longest ranged rifle shot, and the angle made by 

 those converging lines is grandly cutting its way through 

 the blue on a course straight as an arrow toward the 

 south, or if in springtime, toward the unknown lands far 

 to the north, even then at the sight that same thrill 

 comes over one, be he Bj)ortsman or not, and one will 

 stop to watch the flock with all eagerness and to listen to 

 its resonant honk, lionk, until the sight and sound of the 

 flying angle is lost in the distance. Is that thrilling sen- 

 sation due to the natural feeling of the hunter, a feeling 

 latent in the breast of nearly every member of the human 

 family, civilized or savage, which then comes over the 

 watcher? or is it owing to a slight momentary develop- 

 ment of the germs of that state of unrest that through 

 all past ages has impelled man onward to wander by sea 

 or land over the face of the earth and to make discoveries 

 and settlements in the uttermost parts of it? Or is it due 

 to some other cause? Who can tell? A. L. L. 



to recover the bird. The stu mp of the wing had partially 

 healed, showing that the bird had been injured some days 

 before. In other respects the bird appeared to be in a 

 perfectly healthy condition, and as Bang is nothing if 

 not a good retriever not a feather was mussed as I took it 

 from the dog's mouth. 



Placed on the ground the woodcock at first would 

 jump into the air, but his one wing would instantly turn 

 him over back on to the ground. Getting on his feet 

 again he would stretch out this wing, trailing it along the 

 grass, and with tail cocked up and his head, seemingly 

 heavy with its long bill, arched back, would strut about 

 with great dignity. 



His eyes were as clear as a pebbly brook, and the color- 

 ing and shading on his wings, back and breast were deli- 

 cate, but clearly defined, far different from the quickly 

 fading plumage of a dead bird. Taking a Kodak camera 

 from the cart, I made Bang, who, despite his ten years, 

 was almost silly with such a treat, point the bird again 

 and again as it stepped daintily about. It was laughable 

 to make the dog's legs in turn halt in the air with a 

 "whoa!" as he crawled along quivering with excitement 

 after that bird. Altogether it was an interesting and 

 unique experience, but with the drawback of having the 

 pictures ttu"n out poorly, F'lin, 



Plain Htll, Oonn. 



MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION. 



THE close of the sixteenth fyear of the Massachusetts 

 Fish and Game Protective Association was cele- 

 brated last Thurday evening by a reunion and banquet at 

 the Hotel Brunswick, in Boston. Covers were laid for 

 175. Among the invited guests were State Treasurer 

 Geo. A. Harden, Hon. Wm. E. Barrett, Hon. Asa French 

 and Hon. Henry G. Dorr, of Vermont. In a happily 

 worded but informal after-dinner speech, President Ed- 

 ward A. Samuels reviewed the work and growth of the 

 Association, and felicitated the members upon the soci- 

 ety's past record, present prosperity and promise for the 

 future. Alluding to his long tenure of office Mr. Samuels 

 spoke feelingly and with fullest appreciation of the honor 

 which had thus been conferred upon him, and assured 

 his fellows that if mistakes had been made they had been 

 of the head and not of the heart. As we announced last 

 week Mr, Samuels will retire from the presidency with 

 the close of the year; he has labored long and devotedly 

 in the interests of the Association: and the bpst wish any 

 of its friends can express for the society is that the suc- 

 cessor of its outgoing officer may show equal devotion 

 and felicity in advancing the work and building up the 

 organization. 



The Association has a -membership of 525 names on the 

 roll, representing seventy difl^erent towns and cities, and 

 with constantly growing influence and public esteem. 

 The treasury shows a good balance, and the Association 

 has a permanent fund which will be increased at the 

 January meeting. The committee on the introduction of 

 birds has liberated in the State 170 pinnated grouse, 

 many Northern hares and Arizona and California quail, 

 with (1,600 Eastern quail. Mr. Samuels expressed bis 

 conviction that for the proper performance of the work 

 of protection the Association should have under its con- 

 trol a salaried game oflicer. 



Other speakers were State Treasurer Marden, who as- 

 sured the Association that in its special work the common- 

 wealth were behind it; Speaker Barrett and Judge French, 

 who advocated the passage of a law giving trout cultur- 

 ists permission to sell the products of their private 

 hatcheries at any time during the year. Music was fur- 

 nished by the Harvard Glee Club. 



Letters of regret were read from Gov, Eussell, Senator 

 Aldrich, of Khode Island; U, S. Commissioner McDonald, 

 Capt, J. W. Collins, of Washington; I. O. Woodworth 

 and Arthur Richardson, president of the Southern Masaa- 

 chusetts Fish and Game Association. 



The Handy Closer just announced by the Bridge- 

 port Gun Implement Co. is here figured. It is designed 

 to meet the demand for a smooth, even crimper, giving 

 uniform pressure on the wads, bo absolutely essential 

 when loading nitro powders. The closer has a straight 



GUN, DOG AND CAMERA. 



ON October 30, as Let and I were starting out for shoot- 

 ing, a friend stopped us, saying he had seen a par- 

 tridge cross the road and enter a small run well known 

 by us. As we would pass the place on our way to the 

 shooting grounds decided upon for the day, we thanked 

 the man and said we would give the bird a try. Upon 

 reaching the place Let said he would hunt up the narrow 

 run with his dog, while I had better keep along in the 

 open on the further side, lest the bird should flush wild 

 and fly across the fields toward some large woods. I 

 agreed, and asking Bang to heel in, kept abreast of Let's 

 dog as he worked up along. After a few moments I 

 noticed that my dog was inclined to be more interested 

 in nosing around on the ground than in obeying my com- 

 mand, and I was obliged to speak sharply to him several 

 times. 



We reached the upper end without starting the part- 

 ridge, whereupon I told Bang to "hie on," thinking that 

 perhaps he might have better luck in starting the bird 

 than the other dog. Instead of entering the run he 

 turned, and with nose down galloped quickly back in the 

 direction we had come. About half way down the side 

 of the run he showed up and then stopped short on a 

 point. A.3 I had walked within a foot or two of where 

 the dog now was, I thought it was probably an old scent 

 that tickled his nose; so I told him to "go on." He did 

 so, and as some bird sprang into the air he caught it and 

 brought it to me. Imagine my surprise when I found 

 that it was a live woodcock. Upon examination I dis- 

 covered that the bird had but one wing, the other evi- 

 dently having been shot off by Bome one who had failed 



feed lever and patent expansive follower, which adapts 

 itself to any thickness of paper shell, and in crimping, 

 exerts a uniform and equal pressure upon the wads, ir- 

 respective of the weight of the charge. This follower 

 virtually restores the interior surface of the shell, burn- 

 ishing the broken texture of the paper and produces the 

 cleanest crimp possible, By reversing the hardened 

 steel pins, either a round or square crimp can be made, 

 one end of the pins being curved, the other end flat. 



KALA3IAZ00, Mich., Dec. 14.— The open season expires 

 to-morrow, and I am sure everyone is glad that the game 

 is to have a rest. Quail have been abundant ; the wood- 

 cock were plenty, while a scarcity of ruffed grouse 

 seemed general, and ducks are almost a thing of the past 

 in Michigan. The ppring shooters may be thanked for 

 the decrease of the wildfowl; they have done their work 

 of murder well.— Bbn O, Bvm. 



Wisconsin Deer Hounding.— Appleton, Wis.— More 

 regard has been given to the illegal hounding of deer this 

 season just past than ever before, not that hounding was 

 stopped, but It was carried on in far less degree and not 

 so openly as heretofore. — C. V. Y= 



'm mid ^iv^t fishing. 



Angling Talks. By George Daivson. Pr ice 60 cents. Fly- 

 Bods and Fly-Tackle. By H. P. Wells. Price $S. 50. Fly- 

 FisMng and Fly-Making for Trout. By J. H, Keetie. 

 Price $1.50. American Angler'' s Book. By Thad. NotiHs. 

 Price $5.50. 



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

 Territories and British Provinces are given in the Booh o1 

 the Game Laws. 



TROUTING IN THE CASCADES.-H. 



THE MOLALLA COUNTRY. 



WHAT a lovely morning! Birds were warbling their 

 sweetest melodies, Mongolian cocks were ci'owing 

 down in the meadow and natm'e seemed to have donned 

 her holiday attire to receive us, I was anxious to be on 

 the stream, but as usual the coffee-pot took its own time 

 to bon and Ira was irritatingly slow about hitching 

 up. His gush, which at any other time might have been 

 interesting, was now annoying. Finally my suspicions 

 were verified. He declared that we must come back to 

 his house to sleep, as those loneljr woods were no fit 

 place for a city lady to spend the night in, to eay noth- 

 ing about the comfort of the rest of the crowd. His 

 anxiety about our comfort and welfare was certainly 

 laudable and would have been duly appreciated had it 

 not been that I was well aware that he had at least a 

 dozen untold bear stories left over from the previous 

 night. 



My wife had spent her girlhood in Iowa and its takes 

 years for one to rid themselves of that vague suspicion 

 and dread of the dense woods, born of a life on the open 

 prairies. Her attentiveness to his remarks about the 

 lonely woods at night convinced Jra that he had touched 

 the right chord and he at once set about making the most 

 of it. 



No matter what was said or what transpired it would 

 remind him of some blood-curdling thing that had 

 occurred in the lonely woods of the Molalia, and of course 

 he had to tell it; and I can assure you that it lost none of 

 its horrors by his relation. I was disposed to he angry 

 with him, for I had spent much time and English in try- 

 ing to convince my wife that the woods wouldn't bite, 

 and that there was not a wild animal in the forests of 

 Oregon that would harm her. But finally he overreached 

 himself. The call to breakfast reminded him of how a 

 cougar had come right into Mac Eamsey's yard down 

 there by the creek and eaten up Mac's baby. Mrs, 

 Moody herself couldn't stand this and corrected him: 

 "Now, Ira," said she, "you know the cougar did not eat 

 the child np, but onl^ grabbed it and jumped over a 

 log, and when Mac's wife ran screaming after him he 

 dropped the baby and went up a tree." Of course the 

 true statement of the case was calculated to allay my 

 wife's fears. She probably mentally calculated how 

 much larger than Mac's baby one would have to be before 

 the covgar would turn tail and run instead of stopping to 

 dine, I told Ira plainly, at last, that I hoped that he, out 

 of respect for the friendship that had existed so long 

 between us, would refrain from saying anything more 

 about cougars, lynx, bob cats and bears in my wife's 

 presence or she would insist on going home. This was a 

 phase of the stibject that had escaped Ira and he. mellowed 

 down a lit^tle. Thereafter he would cut his infernal 

 yarns short at just the wn-ong place, audibly admonishing 

 himself that he "expected he'd better not tell the rest of 

 the story, as it might scare Mrs. Greene." 1 never knew 

 Ira to be guilty of any other mean trick. I believe he 

 would freely have given his team of grays to have u& 

 stop at his house every night while we were in, the Molalia 

 country. 



When one is in a hurry everybody else seems to be hor- 

 ribly slow. At last we started. The same load, the same 

 passengers, everything the same as the day before except 

 that there was one more dog. Ira's dog went along to 

 initiate Mike in the mysteries of the Molalia woods. It 

 is really amusing to watch a country dog show his city 

 cousin around. He doesn't talk as much as his master, 

 but is fully as entertaining. If he strikes a familiar rab- 

 bit runway or a hollow tree that he knows is the home of 

 an old coon, he will in some manner soon let his com- 

 panion into the secret, and you would think from their 

 maneuvers that they were just about to accomplish what 

 the home dog had been unable for months to do without 

 help. Human pature and dog nature are much alike in 

 many respects. 



Passing the barn, Ira was reminded that we had better 

 fill a straw tick and take it along for our bed. Mothing 

 that I could say about moss and hemlock boughs could 

 alter his determination. So the straw tick was procured 

 and filled . Then on we went down and across the roaring 

 Molalia and on up the rugged trail that wound along 

 Milk Creek. Before crossing the Molalia, Ira pointed out 

 the spot where a cougar had killed his best dog after coax- 

 ing him out away from the house one dark night. Also 

 the tree where, a week before, they had killed the biggest 

 bob-cat he ever saw. My wife by this time manifested a 

 disposition to agree with Ira about everything and parti- 

 cularly about the desperate chances a person took that 

 slept in the lonely woods. The rascal himself had slept 

 alone hundreds of times in more dense and remote forests, 

 with the shadows for sheets and the soft side of a rock 

 for a pillow, without giving danger a passing thought. 

 Billy, all this time, was a disinterested spectator of the 

 conflict — his love of camp life just about offsetting hlB 

 regard for home comforts. 



By ten o'clock we had our tents pitched in a beautiful 

 fir grove not far below the mouth of Canyon Creek near 

 the last house on the trail that led up to the "huckleberry 

 patch.'' 



It was the first time 1 had ever seen Milk Creek. The 

 rapids and pools, of which we had caught occasional 

 glimpses, made me more fidgety than I had been during 

 the preceding night, and I could hardJy restrain myself. 

 I didn't want to exhibit my natural disposition, but you 

 can imagine my feelings when Billy suggested that he 

 and Fay could finish the camp if I could get a few troiit 

 for dinner. Of course I did not like to leave poor Billy 

 there at work while I was off' fishing; of course not. 

 Nevertheless I reluctantly took my fly-rod and after turn- 

 ing the first bend in the trail, skinned for Milk Creek ae 

 if wfi were all Btarving and one trout would Bave the 



