CHAPTER VII 



ARMS AND EQUIPMENT 



The choice of a weapon for moose hunting — 

 caliber, powder charge, and weight of bullet — has 

 long been a subject of controversy, and the possi- 

 bility of ending the controversy becomes more 

 remote with every improvement in firearms and 

 ammunition which is placed on the market. 



The .30-30 was the first widely-used hunting 

 rifle loaded with smokeless powder and giving 

 higher velocity than the black-powder guns. It is 

 powerful enough for deer, but inadequate in moose 

 hunting, as the many wounded moose which have 

 escaped testify. Now in their turn the auto- 

 matics are enjoying a season of popularity, but 

 they too lack the power of the magazine rifles 

 using the .405, or even the .45-70 h. v. cartridge. 

 This criticism is not directed against the auto- 

 matics as such, but only against the inadequate 

 ammunition with which they are loaded, and then 



only when it is proposed to use them in hunting 



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