APRIL 27, 1898.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



I went down as agreed and not finding him there I went 

 tour miles below to take a hunt with another great turkey 

 ]^uiiter. We went to Savage Creek that afternoon. My 

 friend M, P. is 6ft. Qiin, high and weiglis 2151bs. I guess 

 you would have smiled could you have seen us on our 

 way to the hunting grounds. I am only 5ft. 6iin. high 

 and weigh 1301bs. He is a great hunter and is as fami- 

 I liar with the turkey's habits and ranges as any one I 

 I kuow. He has killed scores of them and has the patience 

 necessary to kill a turkey, if any one has. In proof of 

 til is let me illustrate. The day before I went down, about 

 K o'clock A, M., one of the plowmen had notified him that 

 h, tiu-key -was gobbling on a creek at the far side of the 

 tield. He secured his gun and went at once, and though 

 Im had not eaten any breakfast, followed the turkey all 

 da,y,^never more than 100 or 150yds. from him, making 

 hiui start and gobble, but never succeeding in calHng 

 him close enough for a shot. At sundown he heard the 

 jiobbler fly up to roost a,nd after he had gobbled a few 

 times located his tree. After the twilight hid his 

 iipproach to the tree he quickly worked his way under- 

 neath it and shot the 21-pound gobbler out of it. Since I 

 was there he has killed another, workmg at him till 11 

 o'clock before getting a shot. Don't you call that patience? 



VV'hen we entered the river swamp below Savage Creek 

 we had to cross several wet places, and as P. had on rub- 

 l ^er boots he caUedto me to hand him my gim, then stoop- 

 ing forward said, "Mount on my back." 1 refused, but he 

 ^aid, "Oh, get up," and in a few moments I was on dry 

 avid. This was repeated several times. 



We failed to locate any turkeys that evening, went to 

 A dams Park to spend the night, and at daybreak were on 

 Jie turkey ground again. The birds were making the 

 iV(3ods vocal with their sweet notes, and as the glorious 

 1 ing of day was approaching from the east two gobblers 

 iouaded the welcome gobble, gobble, that so thrills the 

 mater's being. 



P. looks after one above the creek and I give my atten- 

 uiort to the one below. In a short whUe after I begin call- 

 ing I hear a shot above the creek. The one I am after is 

 I a wary old fellow and I soon learn that my chances to 

 I) get him are very poor. Patiently awaiting his hoped-for 

 (i coming I find Mm moving at right angles but getting 

 < nearer. My hope rises, but I soon realize that he is moving 

 i back toward the starting point. I leave my position and 

 I start to work around ahead of him, when to my surprise, 

 i after going a short way, I hear P.'s gun and then his call, 

 .amake my way rapidly to him and find him standing 

 »'over as handsome a gobbler as I have seen in a long time. 

 I His beard was over eleven inches long and he weighed 

 / seventeen pounds net. Two days later I found him as 

 ^good eating as he was fine looking. Mr. P. had fired and 

 missed a flying shot at his turkey and then killed mine 

 after seeing I could not call it to me. 



W. H, F. went down near Adams Park, but there was 

 some rnisunderstanding, it seeios, about our meeting. I 

 have, since then, heard from him, and with many regrets 

 that I wasn't there, as I learned that he killed two fine 

 turkeys that day. I intended giving them another trial 

 that afternoon and the next A. M., but a very heavy rain- 

 storm forced me to, very reluctantly, abandon the hunt 

 and take the first train home. There are a good many 

 deer at that point and some bears. One party made a fine, 

 double near Adams Park, killing a large and smaller bear, 

 one with each barrel of a shotgun with buckshot. 



Old Subscriber. 



PATTERN AND PENETRATION AGAIN. 



Berlin, March 2d.— Editor Forest and Stream: Mr. O. 

 H. Hampton is in error when he assumes that if one gun 

 will give a better pattern with nitro powder than with 

 black, and another gun produces the opposite result, this 

 phenomenon must either be due to the gas pressure near 

 the muzzle of the barrel or to the bore of the latter. 



There are a great many other causes, each of which may 

 account for such a singular result. Mr. Hampton cer- 

 tainly deserves credit for his endeavors to solve at least 

 one of the many questions still surrounding the behavior 

 of shotguns, but tlie theory advanced by him is not in 

 accordance with the facts as obtained by me and others 

 who have devoted more or less time to researches in the 

 direction pointed out by him. He may, however, take one 

 point as pretty well settled. The most even and uniform 

 pattern is obtained with such explosives as produce 

 the least initial gas pressure and continue to exercise a 

 uniform pressure in a gun barrel from the moment the 

 powder commences to develop the gases rmtU. the shot 

 charge has left the muzzle of the gun. As a rule the 

 coarse-grained black powder wiU approach this condition 

 the nearest, and hence it wiU and does give the best aver- 

 age pattern. 



All explosives produce a higher gas pressm-e in and near 

 the cartridge chamber than at the muzzle of the gun, but 

 ms a rule the black powder wUl distribute its pressure more 

 evenly along the entire gun barrel than a nitro explosive. 



Nitro powders generally develop the gases much too 

 suddenly; the force of the gases is brought to bear on the 

 shot charge almost simultaneously, and before it has 

 reached the muzzle. The quicker the combustion of the 

 powder takes place, the more suddenly the gases are de- 

 veloped, and the less the probabiUty for a satisfactory reg- 

 ularity of the pattern. 



But Mr, Hampton is curious to know why some guns 

 will nevertheless give the best pattern with nitro powder. 

 No one is capable of answering this question satisfactorily, 

 for aU explanations are based on theories only. These 

 theories may approach the real truth and they mav not, 

 still, as long as we have not the means at command for 

 determining the question conclusively and conviacing; we 

 must in this instance like in many others rely on such 

 tiheories which appear to be plausible. One of these 

 theories is that the expansive quahty of the metal of the 

 gun barrel has much to do with the pattern, and another 

 is that the bore governs to a great extent the penetration, 

 ,irrespectiv6 of the explosive used. This last theory may 

 be traced back to the fact that all chokebore barrels will 

 as far as the pattern is concerned, do better than cylin- 

 drical bored barrels. 



Mr. Hampton f m'ther faOs to understand what I mean 

 when I say that the merits of a gimpowder must to a 

 great extent be judged from the uniformity of the gas 

 pressure, since evenness of pattern is governed by regu- 

 I larity of the gas pressure. On this point I can fortunately 

 furnish a more satisfactory explanation. Black powder 

 as a rule gives a very even gas pressure; I have measured 

 the gas pressure of hundreds of black powder charges and 

 have found that the pressure did not vary more than 5 



per cent. ; the patterns showed the same degree of even- 

 ness. On the other hand, the dift'erence in the gas pres- 

 sure of some nitro powders runs as high as 300 per cent. , 

 and every charge which produces an exceptionally high 

 pressure as a rule ^hovred a poor pattern. There can be no 

 doubt that a powder producing such great variations in 

 the gas pressure can never be reKed upon for uniformity 

 of pattern, and no nitro powder in the market will, as far 

 as evenness of gas pressure is concerned, compare with a 

 good quality of black powder. This assertion may be 

 construed aa if I were prejudiced against smokeless pow- 

 der aA such. This is not the case. I have not fired a 

 charge of black powder for sporting purposes for years, 

 and use the smokeless poAvder exclusively and in the shot- 

 gun as well as in the rifle, and have not the least desire 

 ever to fall back upon the old explosive. I use the Wals- 

 rode powder for trap-shooting and for game shooting. 



Mr. Hampton explains how he proceeded to ascertain 

 whether the pellets of a charge of shot would cross in 

 their flight through the air or not. I made the same ex- 

 periments and arrived at the conclusion that they do not. 

 Had Mr. Hampton used the same number of shot instead 

 of using Nos. 6 and 8, I think the results of his experi- 

 ments would have been different. It wiU not do to use 

 two different numbers of shot, for the reason that the 

 heavier pellets naturally wiU fly faster than the hghter 

 and drive the latter to the side. The peUets as loaded by 

 Mr. Hampton likely became mixed before they even left 

 the muzzle. The pellets next to the sides of the barrel 

 are subjected to a higher friction than the peUets in the 

 center; they show as a rule more or less deformation before 

 leaving the gun. The friction has absorbed some of the 

 force imparted to them before they reach the air, and a 

 deformed pellet again has to combat with more resistance 

 in the air than one which has retained its spherical form. 



I have made extensive experiments recently to ascer- 

 tain to what extent the various powders are affected 

 by cold or damp. How they compare in regard to recoil 

 pattern and penetration. The result of these tests will be 

 submitted to the readers of Forest and Stremi in a short 

 time, and I hope that my report will answer some of the 

 questions for which Mr. Hampton seems to nourish a 

 special interest. Meanwhile 1 extend to him a hearty 

 "Waidmann's Heil." Armin Tenner. 



Berlin, Germany^ 



BUSINESS WITH A BEAR. 



In the wmter of 1876 Joe Pettengill, myself and the dog 

 Jack took it into ovir heads to go on a gunning and hunt- 

 ing trip up in letter E township. I think it was in the 

 month of March, so we got together our traps, shock, etc., 

 including one double old style shotgun and an axe. We 

 were to go on snowshoes. Joe was comparatively imused 

 to the woods, but had seen some service and could snow 

 shoe. * The dog was a hound of the old style and well ac- 

 quainted with bears. Our chief object was, if possible, to 

 secure a few fisher, pelts. 



We started one day bright and early over the hills into 

 the great woods of No. 6, which borders the Great Lakes. 

 Jack was kept behind untfl we found a likely trail. We 

 tramped until noontime without finding game, but had 

 gathered some spruce gum. I was using a pair of new 

 snowshoes, which were badly hung and gave me much 

 trouble; they would now and then come ofi: or trip me up 

 occasionaUy. 



About noon we came to a stream and selected a good 

 spot and made a roaring fire. We found that the tramp 

 had fitted us out with first-class appetites. After lunch we 

 gathered up our sacks and struck still deeper into the gloomy 

 dark spruce forest. No one but those who have tramped 

 in these gxeat pathless evergi-een forests in winter know 

 how silent and desolate they are. Joe was ahead passing 

 over a bluff when my snowshoe came oft". Jack took to 

 whiaing e,nd I told him to go and find a bear, so he struck 

 for higher ground. In about five minutes Jack gave 

 some unearthly howls. I knew well what was up and 

 told Joe to run and see what Jack had, while I got rigged 

 up and started as soon as I could. I hallooed that big 

 tracks had come out from imder an old root or stump. 

 Joe said it surely was a bear and our meat. 



I hurried up as best I could, but those plaguy snow- 

 shoes were half coming off. I had the gun and was much 

 needed at the front, so when I come to Joe I asked for a 

 bullet, as he was supposed to have them. But as luck, 

 or no luck, would have it, he had forgotten to take them. 

 Jack had got about 100yds. away and was barking like 

 mad. We piflled on and after going a few rods off came 

 my snowshoes. 1 handed the gun to Joe and teld him to 

 run and shoot the bear in the ear, and the small shot 

 would kUl him. 



I took Joe's axe and got on the snowshoes. I had just 

 started when I heard the gun. Joe hoUered, "Jack, come 

 out or you will be killed." I rushed along and when I 

 came in view, such a sight; it was like a snow plow 

 to see an enormous bear plowing through four feet of 

 snow. Joe was trying to load the gun, one barrel having 

 failed to go off, but he had about as bad an attack of 

 bear ague as ever any one had. He was actually put- 

 ting into the gun a big brass army button he had cut off 

 his coat. I called for the gun, but he insisted that he 

 could kill him with the button. I ran down after the 

 bear with the axe on one side and got up to the bear by a 

 bush, and with the other hand I fetched him one with 

 the pole of the axe on top of the head, when he dodged 

 down into the snow a little; and I fetched him another, 

 when he rose up on his hindlegs and whirled and grab- 

 bed for me. I dodged back, and over I went out of my 

 snowshoes and down the hill on my back about 6ft. below. 



J oe now came to the front hke an artillery charge and 

 whirled around, and whang went the gun. I climbed up 

 and dug out my snowshoes and got into them, for no one 

 could go at aU without them. Joe got some shot into the 

 gun and rushed up and fired, hitting the bear over the 

 eye, the first not having hit him at all and the button did 

 little more. This charge knocked the old bear down. 

 But he was up in a m in ute. Joe says, "Give me the axe 

 and I will kill him in a minute." So he handed me the 

 gim and took the axe. Joe ran up behind the bear; I told 

 him to keep out of the bear's clutehes, but he ran up and 

 struck him with the pole of the axe on the middle of his 

 spine, as he said to break his back. But it was like strik- 

 ing a cotton bale. Bruin took this as an insult and made a 

 grab over backward to gobble up Joe; but Joe gave a 

 back jump with his snowshoes as high as his head. The 

 bear's claws came within an ace of Joe's pants, but he 

 sung out "No you don'tl " I said it came near being "Yes 

 heSdl" ^ 



I came in with the old gun about quarter-full of shot 

 and powder. I got up by the side of him, keeping Jack 

 away to save him, the bear all the time snorting at me; I 

 put the gun back of his ear and fired. He pitched over 

 but in an instant he stood on his hind legs and snapped 

 his teeth fearfully. Joe was cutting a big club that he 

 said would surely settle his hash. I took to loading up 

 the old gun, with the bear snarling in my face; and I tefi 

 you it came near destroying all I knew about which ought 

 to go in first, the shot or the powder. But at last (it 

 seemed an age) I got the gun loaded. 



But the old bear had improved his time aud took to an 

 old leaning tree and started up about 25ft., and on to the 

 standing tree on which the slanting tree had lodged, and 

 began to back down the standing tree. I got to the foot, 

 ready to give him a warm reception, Down he came 

 until his hind feet struck into the snow, when he turned 

 on me and showed his teeth with a grunt. It was a bad 

 sight for weak nerves, and as I was hampered with those 

 clogs on my feet and could not dodge nor run, I lost no 

 time, and placing the gun to one of his ears about 4ft. 

 away, fired. Down he went into the snow. Up came Joe 

 with the axe and big club. He gave the bear a crack on 

 the nose with the axe and I went for him with my hunt- 

 ing knife and cut his throat. The bear was dead, but I 

 teU you I never want to try that over again, to try to shoot 

 a bear with an old muzzleloader without balls, shooting 

 on snowshoes. If I did I should want them to stay on. 



We had a big time hauling that 4001b. bear out of the 

 woods. It was well into the night before we arrived at a 

 house, Addison Young, 



Byron, Me. ' 



ACCIDENTS WITH FIREARMS. 



In a late number of the Forest and Stream a cor- 

 respondent suggests that we tell of our "errors and ac- 

 cidents" in the use of the gun. The carelessness of many 

 people is deplorable. Since I have been in West Virginia 

 I have witnessed four accidental discharges of the gun 

 while hunting. It was not the discharge of my grm I 

 may say, but of the guns of others of whom I was in 

 company, but they were all discharged close enough to me 

 to kill me instantly. Two of the accidental discharges 

 were from the gxm of the same man. Once he was getting 

 over a fence, and again the hunting party were grouped 

 and talking. The third discharge was when my compan- 

 ion set his gim over a board fence, the hammer striking 

 the lower strip. By the way, he came near shooting his 

 head off. The fom-th discharge was when the man made 

 a mistake in putting his finger on the wrong trigger in 

 letting down the hammer. I remember during the war 

 that my brother had an army pistol, and accidentally dis- 

 charged it when persons sat all around the room. 



I will mention a case of fatal accident in Centerville, 

 N. Y. Pete Calhoun came from a family of hunters. He 

 was a little fellow, tough as a knot, and almost lived with 

 his gun in the woods. One day he came m from a hunt, 

 and as he was getting over his door-yard fence his gun 

 went off and tore away his shoulder. When the doctor' 

 came to see him he said: "Doctor, I have hvmted for 

 many years— often diamk — and never got hm-t, but now I 

 have killed myself while sober and at my door." He died. 

 I may state, incidentally, that Pete, though ignorant and 

 uneducated, had been a guide for "Frank Forester" (Her- 

 bert). 



A man named West, Hving in West Virginia, sent a 

 load of shot through and through his biceps muscle while 

 pulling his gun through a fence by the muzzle. I was 

 astonished, however, at the small size of the hole made 

 by the full charge of shot, and about as much surprised 

 that the woimd did not cripple him, nor prevent him from 

 going about at once, as though nothing had happened. 

 He was a tough one. 



I close with this oft repeated warning: Keep the 

 muzzle of your gun away from yourself and everybody 

 else. N. D. E. 



A press despatch from Rome, N. Y., dated April 28, 

 says: "Frederick Besock, with two friends, William 

 Mack and Eugene Elliott, started on a duck hunt early 

 this morning. Near the Four-Mile bridge on the Erie 

 Canal the hvmters came to a small creek which they 

 jumped across. As Besock landed across the creek the 

 trigger of his shortgun sti-uck a fence and was dis- 

 charged in his abdomen. He died while being taken 

 home. He was about 30 years of age and leaves a wife 

 and four chfldren. 



We Should Say He Had the Bight, 



Once at Mershon there is a good deal to be seen — a plant 

 that covers several acres and a finer ultilization of lumber 

 than is common. The principal proprietor, W. B. 

 Mershon, is something of a imique figure. Besides being 

 a rattling good business man — one of the kind that, seem- 

 ingly never in a liiu-ry, gets through a pile of work — ^he 

 has artistic tastes, and is a nimrod who rolls around from 

 one hunting field to another in a private car. Under his 

 feet in his office there is a rug that was made in one cor- 

 ner of Asia, vrith people and animals on it proportioned 

 about as a three-year-old child would do it. The hunting 

 car, "City of Saginaw" is side-tracked on the premises. 

 In the office there is a regular dead menagerie and aviary. 

 There are stuffed animals and birds in profusion. And it 

 would be possible to hunt up in the building a rod square 

 of photographs representing hunting scenes. It was inci- 

 dentally mentioned in these columns a few weeks ago that 

 Mr. Mershon manufactured delicate Uttle tables — Turkish 

 tabourettes, as he calls them. It was stated that a lady 

 covild put her boquet, perfume outfit, or even her feet on 

 them when she felt as men feel when they rest their feet 

 on their desks. You strike another soft spot in Mr. 

 Mershon's heart, when you look admuingly at his band 

 resaw that is always at work in his factory. This saw 

 evoluted, as it were, on the premises. One resaw machine 

 after another was found wanting, and this one gradually 

 grew up to take their place. In ten hours it has cut 

 30,000ft. of 1x10 boards. But don't think that this con- 

 cern runs to himting, tabourettes or band resaws; those 

 simply compose in part the ornaments which are attached 

 to a great solid business. In 1892, 37,213,000ft. of lumber 

 went through the planing machines, was shipped in the 

 form of various products, and brought into the front 

 door of the office in the way of checks for $971,000. 

 Don't you think a man who shoulders such a business as 

 that has a right to shoot ducks and deer for three or four 

 weeks in a year if he has a mind to? — Northwestern 

 iMmbei'man. 



