ARMS AND EQUIPMENT 



153 



moose. Some of the automatics, like the .30-30's, 

 are good deer guns, but at present they have their 

 limitations. 



Another class of rifles now warmly recommended 

 by zealous partisans have a caliber of .25 or less, 

 their advocates claiming that their high velocity 

 makes up for deficiency in other respects. High 

 velocity, of course, gives flat trajectory, which is 

 important in long-range shots where it is difficult 

 to judge the distance accurately. But there are 

 few long-range shots in moose hunting. It is safe 

 to say that a considerable majority of the moose 

 killed in the still-hunting season are shot at less 

 than one hundred yards' distance. The moose is a 

 creature of the woods, and few objects can be seen 

 in the woods at a greater distance than one hundred 

 yards, whereas the caribou on the barrens is often 

 shot at several times this distance. 



The small-bore advocates claim that a 120- 

 grain bullet, of .25-inch caliber or so, driven with a 

 muzzle velocity of 3000 feet a second, will do the 

 work of a 300-grain bullet of .40-caliber which 

 leaves the muzzle at 2100 feet a second. But men 

 who have tested the theory on big game have come 

 home disappointed. A certain high-power rifle 

 of .22-caliber, with a 70-grain bullet and velocity 

 of 2900 feet, has also been recommended for moose 



