ARMS AND EQUIPMENT 157 



A still more powerful load, if the hunter does not 

 mind the recoil, would be better. 



Rifles constructed on the bolt principle have 

 their advocates. On two occasions, however, the 

 author has taken bolt rifles, of different types, 

 on November hunting trips, and in both cases 

 found his rifle temporarily disabled when melted 

 snow had had an opportunity to freeze under the 

 bolt, thus crippling the firing mechanism. Ham- 

 mer guns have never played him such a trick, and 

 most of his moose-hunting trips have been made 

 in the season of November snows. On one occa- 

 sion the spring of the tubular magazine of a 

 hammer rifle was for a few minutes obstructed 

 by ice, but the firing mechanism was not affected, 

 and the weapon was still in condition for use as a 

 single-loader. 



Most firearm salesmen in the cities are unsafe 

 advisers in the selection of rifles for this class of 

 sport. Their knowledge of ballistics is indifferent, 

 and their experience in moose hunting is usually 

 zero. A novice should seek advice from an ex- 

 perienced moose hunter, who does not look to the 

 advertisements of the manufacturers for his facts. 



Practice at the target, especially in sharply 

 contested competitive matches, serves in a measure 



