294 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 6, 1898. 



SOME ANTELOPE CHARACTERISTICS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Have you ever seen a band of antelope wending its way 

 over mountain and valley? If not you have missed a 

 charming scene. 



The antelope {Antilocapra americana) is a small ani- 

 mal weighing from 60 to lOOlbs. ; dark yellowish sides and 

 front, with white legs and rump patch; small, slender 

 legs and a small hoof. Their eyes are large a-nd expressive, 

 and their ears are fans which catch every sound of danger. 

 They are a cautious yet curious animal, and when alarmed 

 almost invariably circle back to the point from which they 

 were startled. 



Antelope usually perform a seasonal migration to and 

 from their different feeding groimds. Those of western 

 Wyoming winter on the Colorado desert. As the snow 

 gradually recedes, they wend their way back to the momi- 

 tain basins, where the grass starts late and is green and 

 tender throughout the summer. They stay here until the 

 fall snows come, and then work back to the desert as fast 

 as the snow comj)els them. 



While yoimg they are easily captured and domesticated, 

 and the prevalent idea that they will not breed in captiv- 

 ity has been proven an error by a gentleman who has 

 some in a park on the Mississippi. 



But if you want to see how agile and fleet they are, sup- 

 pose yourself watching some of the bands we came across 

 on a trip over the mountains last fall. Once we came over 

 a high hill only to find on the other side a deep ravine. 

 The horses started, snorted and tm-ned from the trail, and 

 the cause of this distiu-bance was a band of twenty or 

 more antelope. They saw us at once and we waited and 

 watched them. Like the wind they were off, going up 

 the steep mountain side as if they had wings, an old doe 

 in the lead. They offered splendid shots, but we had all 

 the meat we needed, and no true sportsman would kill 

 such an animal merely for sport. We crossed this ravine 

 and on gaining the summit saw them standiag on an emi- 

 nence beyond watching us, ears erect, eyes dilated, nos- 

 trils quivering, and on the ridge just ahead was the old 

 doe acting as advance guard. When she had satisfied 

 herself that we were not of the dangerous kind of human- 

 ity, she uttered a peculiar whistle and started to the lee- 

 ward of us, and the whole band followed. 



Their fieetness of limb even Avhen wounded is some- 

 thing remarkable. I saw my iiusbaud attempt to rope 

 one that had its left foreleg broken near the shoulder. 

 He was mounted on a good horse, but the little animal 

 seemed to fairly fly, the broken limb flapping from one 

 side to the other; and although it had but the three leg-s it 

 got away from him. I tried to jom in the chase, but it 

 was too hard riding for me to enjoy. 



We saw these graceful creatm-es day after day in bands 

 of all numbers, from three to one hundred or "more; but 

 then* nmnber is fast being dimiuished by the wanton war 

 made upon them by the Indians. The red man's thirst 

 for intoxicants leads him to skin-hunting, and this 

 method is fast decimating the game, 



Mrs. Ira Dodge. 



CoKA, Wyoming. 



V/oodcock in Town. 



Last week we recorded the taking in New York of two 

 woodcock which had injured themselves by flying against 

 a building. Our correspondent "F'lin" sends us another 

 instance as recorded by him in tlie Independent: 



Reaching our office last Saturday morning one. of our employes 

 handed us a pasteboard box perforated with a dozen holes, with the 

 injunction not to open it tiU a closed room had been reached. WJien 

 the cover was removed out sprang a woodcock, and with a tremulous 

 whistle flew against the further wall. It seems tl^at the bird had been 

 seen to fall to the pavement in front of our offlce, and being rescued 

 from the thoughtless feet of the crowd, had been placed witlun a box 

 temporarily. A careful examination showed a slight bruise on the 

 base of its bill, made apparently by tiying against a telegraph wire, 

 but otherwise the bu-d appeared uninjured and strong. The present 

 writer confesses to many October days afield with gun and dog; but 

 these same days, rich in woodland color, in purity of view and in sen- 

 timent of surrounding, teach a sportsman many things besides when 

 to pull the trigger, and it was a genuine pleasure to carry the box in 

 the afternoon to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and then to give the 

 woodcock his liberty. With a clear whistle of thanks he burst into 

 the air, and before long doubtless had plunged his parched bill deep 

 into some spring-softened bog, preparatory to resuming his migra- 

 tory flight northward. 



He adds: "Despite the slight injury to the bird's bill, 

 his whistle was as clear as usual. I noticed when he 

 escaped from tlie box in our office that the whistle was 

 distinct as he rose to the ceiling, and after he struck the 

 window shade as he fell to the floor fluttering, but was 

 not heard by me as he was flying across the room. Is it 

 possible that the noise, if made by its wings, results only 

 when the bird's wings strike the air at certain angles?" 



Moulting: of Ducks. 



For some yenrs I have kept in confinement and bred 

 many of our beautiful wild ducks and have observed the 

 f olio wia^ facts with regard to their moulting. The wood 

 duck, Chinese mandarin, pintails, green and blue- winged 

 teal moult twice each year, June and October. In June 

 the males discard their handsome i;)lumage and assume 

 that of the females, even the red on the bill of the 

 drake of the wood duck fades, and in a wild state the 

 drakes flock by themselves at this time. In October the 

 drakes above named have wholly, or in part, resumed 

 the breeding dress. I am speaking of semi-domesticated 

 bii-ds that have been bred by me for several generations 

 from wild stock and have wintered out of doors on snow 

 and ice on Long Island. 



I had some coots (Fulica) which were kept for three 

 j'-ears, but never bred. I was never able to tell the sex of 

 these (six birds) and never could see any change of plum- 

 age, although dropped feathers showed a moult in 

 summer. Fred Mather. 



Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. 



Vermont Bluebirds and Robins. 



Hkjhgate, Vt. — Bluebirds made their first appearance 

 here this season March 20, and robins the 31st. 



Stanstead. 



A New-Subscriber Offer. 



A bona fide new subscriber sending us $5 will receive for that sum 

 the FoKBST AND STREAM One year (price ^i) and a set of Zimmerman's 

 famous '-Duclcing Scenes" (advertised on another page, price $5)— a 

 S9 value for $5. 



This offer is to v^w subscribers only. It does not apply to renewals. 



For $3 a bona fide new subscriber for six mouths will receive the 

 Forest and Strkam during that time and a copy of Dr. Van Fleet's 

 handsome worl£, «®rd iPfli'MtiS for tfte Ywug" (the price of whic-h 



"Oame Laws In Brief," United States and Canada, 

 ilVustrated, S5 cents. "BooTi of the Game Laws" (full 

 text), 50 cents. 



STRENGTHS OF CAPS. 



New York:, March SO.— Editor Forest and Stream: No 

 topic has been of greater interest to our sportsmen and 

 trap-shooters, than the discussion on the merits of various 

 kinds, makes and strengths of primers used in connection 

 with the now so generally used nitro powders. 



When Schultze and E. 0. [powders were first put on 

 the American market, aU the shells procurable were made 

 by the American sheU manufacturei-s, namely the XJ.M.C. 

 Co., the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., and the U. S. 

 Cartridge Co., and all shells contained a so-caUed No. 3 

 primer, interchangeable on account of exact size and 

 dimensions. Although the fnlminate and strength of 

 these three makes of iKimers differed somewhat, none of 

 them was suitable for nitro powders. All of them lacked 

 sufficient strength to explode Schidtze and E. C. i)ow- 

 ders promptly, and to cause a perfect combustion of a 

 charge of these powders. Even by a layman the detona- 

 tion of the cap could be distinguished before the exi^losion 

 of the charge took ^place, and sometimes very bad, even 

 dangerous hang-fires would occur where the charge of 

 powder would only explode after the gim liad been re- 

 moved from the shoulder. 



Imported shells suitable for the nitro powders_ were 

 procurable only of a few firms making a specialty in fine 

 imported ammunition, and the cost of such shells was 

 almost prohibitory. 



It was, thei-efore, necessary to prime the American- 

 made shells with a Httle fine gi-ain black poAvder to in- 

 crease the initial heat, flash and strength of the primer. 

 This led to all sorts of ex2:)eriments and subsequent 

 abuses, and created the impression that the new powders 

 were diflicult to load and imreliable in action, which is by 

 no means the case. 



It Avas not long, however, before the cartridge manu- 

 facturers, recognizing the importance of the new powders, 

 set to work to improA^e their primers. Various samples 

 Avere submitted to me for trial, some being an improA'e- 

 ment, some which shoAved no perceptible change, and 

 others Avhich seemed worse than regular goods. The 

 manufacturers Avhile experimenting piit out different lots 

 Avhich Avorked well in some respects, but were found want- 

 ing in others. 



The main drawback and difficulty in making the No. 2 

 primer smtable for E. C. and Schultze powders was the 

 fact that, when the fulminate in the primer was of suffi- 

 cient quantity or strengtli, the ordinary thickness of cop- 

 per was not sufiicient to prevent their "blowing back" or 

 bursting, and Avhen the thickness of copi^er was increased 

 miss-fires Avere apt to occur. 



The greatest difficulty experienced Avas, however, the 

 want of pro^jer Avays and means to accurately determine 

 and nieasiure the strength and heat of various caps, and 

 manuf actm-ers as Avell as eA^erbody else relied upon the 

 "feel'" as well as upon the general execution and result of 

 the loaded cartridges to teU Avhether tlie primers were 

 right and suitable. 



Even the shell and cartridge manufacturers in Europe 

 encountered difficulties, although they AA^ere not liandi- 

 capped lis much to suit their caps to the standard poAv- 

 ders as our manufacturers, because the construction of the 

 shells and size and shapa of primers in use in Europe Avere 

 arranged so that the strength of fulminate wnild easily be 

 increased, and the flash of cap was brought in more di- 

 rect contact with the charge of powder and coA^ered a 

 large siu-face of the charge. Still the manufacturers could 

 not always be rehed upon to furnish even primers, and I 

 speak from experience Avhen saying that the primers, 

 though excellent in one shipment, woiild sometimes be 

 actually bad in another. 



Two years ago many sportsmen in England complained 

 about an apparent unevenness of E. C. and Schultze 

 poAvders, never suspecting that the trouble was caused by 

 uncA^en shells and primers. Both ili*. Griffith and the 

 Schultze Co., and JMr. Borland of the E. C. Co., set to 

 work to prove that the shell manufacturers Avere at fault 

 and succeeded. The latter called in all their faulty shells 

 and made the necessaiy improvements. 



The outcome of the primer controversy at the time was 

 a very neat instrument to absolutely test the strength and 

 evenness of A^arioxis gun caps. 



As soon as the cap-testing jnachine Avas perfected I or- 

 dered one, and some montl^s ago received it from Lon- 

 don, and at once made a series of very interesting exiieri- 

 ments. 



The principle of the machtae is as follows: 

 The primer shell is placed in a steel cyUnder constructed 

 hke a gun chamber. By means of a screAv top, Avhich 

 has a movable firing pin, the shell is held firmly in place. 

 From the loAA^er part a steel tube with a sharp knife edge 

 is run up into the shell, encircling tlie cap hole, and this 

 tube is firmly f)ressed into the Avad in the head of the 

 shell by screw power. A tight-fitting plunger with a 

 conical base, running up the Avhole length of above 

 described tube, is placed directly over the flasli hole of 

 the cap. Between the otlier o.ml of this phingfr, Avhich 

 has a flat surface, and a Hat surfaced screw, working- 

 through an arch on one end of steel block holding the 

 shell, is placed a solid pure lead cylinder -f-^a parts of an 

 inch high, i of an inch in diameter, weighing exactly 

 2ogrs. avoirdupois. The cap is exploded by means of a 

 weight dropped from an arm, whicli can be moved up 

 and down a steel column fastened to the frame, into 

 which the cylinder holding the shell is jjlaced. This drop 

 can be regulated from 1 to 16in. By means of a very in- 

 genious g-unlock tester, which Von Lengerke & Det- 

 mold have m use, I can easily figure to fractions the 

 force of a blow, compared Avith a given weight dropped a 

 distance of f of a inch, a condition nearest to that of an 

 average gunlock bloAV. 



When dropping the weight and exploding the cap there 

 is not the slightest sound aubible, so hermetically and 

 perfectly is the jirimer and si fell inclosed. The Avhole 

 force of the gases generated by the explosion of cap Ls 

 exerted against the phmger, Avliich in turn crushes and 

 reduces the lead cylinder. The heights of these crushed 

 cylinders are then measured by a micrometer to thous- 

 andth parte Qt an inch, 



This test is unfailing and gives us the exact force of a 

 cap. AJl parts of the instrument are of course of the 

 finest and most minute fit and adjustment, and the 

 weight and measurement of the lead cylinders are Avon- 

 derfuUy exact. Of some hundred weighed, I have not 

 seen any vary one-tenth part of a grain. All parts of the 

 machine must be scrupulously cleaned and oiled after each 

 discharge. 



The folloAving are results of some of my experiments, 

 and as similar experiments have never been made before 

 by anybody in this country, the E. C. Co. only having a 

 similar machine in the United States, they should be of 

 interest not only to the sportsmen, but also to cartridge 

 manufacturers: 



Baohmann, Bjslgian Large Cap. 

 .166 .166 .140 .150 .157 .133 .163 .173 .148 ,183 Total 1. 896 



Average 160 



Force 130 



Greatest range of variation in 10 shells , 043 



tr.M.C. No. 3 Primer, 10 Lightning Shells. 10 V.L.& D. U.M.C. Shells 

 .170 .157 .174 .180 .166 .172 .172 .186 .178 .160 n,„tp,i q dm 

 .102 .163 .170 .163 .171 .180 .161 .171 .163 .183 -Lot^^^ 



Average , 170 



Force....;,..,,..,.. 110 



Greatest range of variation in 20 shells , , . . , , , , .029 



Elet Large Cap, New. 

 .188 . 300 ,158 .102 .168 .100 .180 .189 .158 ,166 Total 1.786 



Average ,, 17!) 



Force 101 



Greatest range of variation in 10 shells. 045 



Bley Large Cap, Old. 

 .161 .174 .196 .179 . 308 .198 .197 .180 . 319 .189 Total 1.901 



Average ,190 



Force 090 



Greatest range of variation in 10 shells. , , 058 



Eley Small Cap, 1892. 



.309 , 215 . 336 . 201 .200 . 230 .199 ,198 ,196 . 236 t, . , . 



.198 , 204 . 238 . 203 . 205 .187 ,179 ,177 ,196 .219 iotai i.Jib 



Average • 206 



Force 074 



Greatest variation in 20 shots 001 



U. S. G. Co., No. 2 Primer, Climax Shell. 

 .210 ,196 . 204 .202 .195 .215 .204 ^5 . 254 . 228 m^.-T . f,f,i 

 ,200 , 206 .227 . 215 ,300 . 203 ,207 . 209 -,208 .317 -lotai i.-ui 



Average 210 



Force 070 



Greatest range of variation in 20 shells 059 



Kynoch Shell, Rbgxjlak Cap. 



.230 .207 .203 .194 . 213 . 280 . 326 . 805 . 808 . 228 . 



.228 , 241 .810 . 835 . 216 .201 .204 . 206 . 216 . 217 ^^^^ 



Average 214 



Force 066 



Greatest range of variation in 20 shots 047 



Winchester R, A. Co., No. 3 Primer, Rival SaBiiL. 

 .22i ,340 .882 , 317 , 2-39 . 240 , 238 . 221 .827 . 324 r^^^^^ , cqr 

 .232 . 244 . 238 .SSr .319 . 3.39 .237 . 337 .336 . 335 '^■^^ 



Average 230 



Force .050 



Greatest variation in 30 shots 87' 



U. M. C, No. S Photee, Ctra. 

 .354 , 240 , 340 .336 . 843 .247 .260 .241 .246 . 855>„x„, , „„„ 

 .254 , 248 . 252 . 257 . 343 .250 . 250 . 257 .859 . 248 



Average 249 



Force 031 



Greatest variation in 20 shells 024 



It Avill be seen that the Bachmann shells made in Brus- 

 sels are the most powerful. Next to these are the No. S 

 primers made by the U. M. C. Co. Then the Eley Bros. , 

 London large ca]i and small, U. S. C. Co. No. 2 primer, 

 Kynoch, AVmchester Repeating Arms Co. No. 3, and the 

 U. M. C. Co. No. 3 primers follow in the order named. 



NeA'-er before have either the manufacturers or sports- 

 men knoNsii tlic exact comparatiA'e .strength of these 

 primers. Mauufactm-ers liave told me in bygone days 

 that their primers Avere the strongest and stronger than 

 others and strong enough, etc., and although knoAving 

 from the actions of the loaded niti'o powder ammunition 

 and crude tests that they Avere mistaken, I had no means 

 of disproA'ing their assertion. 



A primer may be too strong and yet not strong enough 

 for standard nitro powders. I consider the Bachmann 

 pj'imer too violent for CA'^en results with heaAder charges 

 of nitro powdei-s. I also think that the most excellent 

 U. M. C. No. 3 primer can be improved for general use- 

 fulness by a slight reduction in strength. A primer Avith 

 a crushing force of .0G5 aaqU cause a prompt ignition of 

 E. C. and Schultze powder, and at the same time a 

 satisfactory combustion of the charge of powder, proAdd' 

 ing other conditions, such as the construction of the sheE 

 itself and the manner of loading, are suitable. 



In connection Avith these experiments, I have satisfied 

 myself that a former theory of mine was correct. Ac- 

 cording to above experimeiits the U. S. Cartridge Co.'s 

 Climax shells nsed by me should have given satisfactory 

 results Avith these powders. This was not the case, hoAA'- 

 ever, and the conical base of the shell is the cause. It 

 may seem inconsistent, but the fact remains that although 

 by bringing the powder, or a few grains of the powder, 

 nearer to the cap through a funnel-shappd base and 

 thereby facilitating a proiiiiitcr ignition, the heat of the 

 cap and the gases generated in the bottom of the funnel 

 can only act in one direction and have very little burn- 

 ing surface. They overcome the inertia of shot and|wads, 

 increase the space in Avhich combustion is taking place, 

 decrease heat and confinement and prevent a sufiicient, 

 thorough combustion of the Avhole char.ge of powder. 

 With Schultze jiowder this action is most noticeable, but 

 the same apphes also, though in a less degj'ee, to E. C. 

 I)owder. Other makes of shells, Avith practically the 

 same strength jaimers, but Avith a raised dome-shaped 

 battery cup in bottom, will average from 100 to 200ft. 

 greater velocity, with otherwise exactly alike loading. 

 By reversing the shape of base the U. S. Cartridge Co. 

 will much improve their sheUs for use with nitro jiowders. 



In point of regularity and eveimess of the various makes 

 of ijrimers, the U. M. C. Co. easily leads the field. The 

 stronger the cap the greater are the actual ranges of vari- 

 ation in sti'ength. By comparing the greatest A'ariations 

 of each kind and make of caps tested to their total average 

 crushing jjower, the following is the result: 



GREATEST VARIATION GOMPABED TO AVERAGE STRENGTH. 



U. M. C. Co. No. 3 pruuer , 20^ 



Bachmann , Z5% 



Eley new large cap ..,.45% 



AA^inchester Rival No. 2 o4i 



Eley old large cap ; 64;^ 



Kynoch ....70jC 



Eley smaU cap, 1893 82^ 



U. S. Cartridge Co. Climax 84^ 



It will be seen that the U. M. 0. Nq, 3 primei-s nm re- 



