i6o THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



appears. In many cases a moose will take a lot 

 of punishment and still travel. Judge Caton said 

 that moose have been known to run half a mile 

 with a bullet through the heart, but he wrote in 

 the days of black-powder rifles. A hunter, after 

 such a stern chase, his ten or a dozen cartridges 

 gone, will probably resolve that next time on leav- 

 ing camp he will drop a packet of half a dozen 

 extra cartridges into the dinner pack, as an anchor 

 to windward. They may not be needed, but they 

 will be highly prized if they are. 



Opinions differ regarding the point at which 

 to aim, as well as regarding calibers and loads. 

 Sir Henry Pottinger, an experienced English sports- 

 man, whose specialty in hunting was the Scandi- 

 navian elk, said: "There is no better weapon for 

 elk than a .450 or .500 express, and no deadlier 

 shot than through the base of the broad neck."^ 

 Others advise aiming for the brain. But unless 

 one is pretty sure of his marksmanship, he would 

 do better to aim for the shoulder. The shoulder 

 offers a much larger mark. A soft-nosed bullet 

 intended for the brain may easily damage the scalp 

 of a fine head; and a bullet which should enter 

 behind the ear, or shatter a cervical vertebra^ 

 may easily miss the animal altogether. 



» Encyclopedia of Sport and Games (London, 191 1), vol. ii., p. 179. 



