March 7, 1896.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
19? 
county or township cut no real figure in this. The game 
of Maine was never protected and preserved by the State 
of Maine. It was really preserved by the thick population 
of New York and Boston, who took in money enough to 
incite and enable Maine to protect her game for them. 
The result all over the West can be figured out in a similar 
way to an absolute commercial certainty, a proposition 
of supply and demand. Game is to-day a luxury which 
a thin country cannot afford. If the thick country wants 
it. it will in one way or another have to pay for it, or see 
the luxury cease to be produced. The passage of every 
year will make the truth of this more apparent. The 
day of wild nature and wild game in America is passing 
very rapidly. Soon we must come to the less desirable 
and more artificial time3 of restraint and limitation. It is 
the fat kine which will then eat up the lean. E. Hough. 
909 Security Building, Chicago. 
MOOSE CALLING. 
IN your issue of Jan. 25 Mr. F. A. Mitchell asks, "Is 
moose calling any better than deer shining?" "Well, I 
don't know anything about deer shining, but I do know 
some few things about moose calling. 
I do not want to be ranked as one who "pours forth a 
torrent of ridicule or abuse," because, as Forest and 
Stream readers well know, Tiam is no stranger to either 
abuse or ridicule, but I am fond of moose calling and must 
say something in its defense, although without any hopes 
of converting Mr. Mitchell; we all know the saying "A 
man convinced against his will is of the same opinion 
still." 
Let us take in order the apparent objections urged 
against calling. First, "it was a mighty cold and tedious 
piece of business." Had Mr. M. been with me one cold 
rainy day last fall, when I spent fully two hours crawling 
along on my stomach through snow 18in. deep (which 
went up my sleeves, and down my neck and into every 
crevice of my clothes), in my endeavor to get within 
shooting distance of a fine bull caribou feeding in front 
of us, had he been there he would have agreed with me 
in saying it was "a mighty cold and tedious piece of busi- 
ness." 
Place against this instance my last successful moose 
hunt. We left camp a little before dawn on a beautiful 
mild morning in early October, when all nature in her 
beautiful russet brown robes waB looking her loveliest 
and best, and going out on the barren we sat down in a 
convenient place all nicely wrapped up in our blankets 
and there watched the awakening of life, the coming of 
the day. Later came the intense interest and excitement 
occasioned by the sound of the gradually approaching 
moose; then, when it came out from the fringe of bushes, 
what a glorious sight it was, that noble animal standing 
there endeavoring to catch some sniff of danger; and then 
the uncertainty as to how close he would come, and if 
some whiff of wind might not carry down our scent to him. 
Now of the two, which afforded most solid comfort 
and most enjoyment? I think no one will have much 
trouble in deciding. 
Don't think for a moment, mind you, that I advocate 
the easiest method of hunting as being the best method ; 
the foregoing is merely a comparison to decide which 
was most cold and unpleasant. 
For that large class of moose hunters, men of business, 
who seldom enjoy a day afield except on their annual out- 
ing, and those also advanced in years, which number in- 
cludes some of our most noted and most successful hunt- 
ers, I think "calling" offers by far the easiest and best 
way for attaining their end. 
I would like to see some of the many included in the 
above description cover sufficient ground to assure success 
in a short hunt by still-hunting on our ground here. I 
have youth and strength and a lot of outdoor exercise all 
the year round, and yet with it all, on a hunt this last 
year, in November, of two weeks' duration, on every day 
of which we covered about fifteen miles — all I wanted to 
do — the night would come finding me so heartily tired 
that I could hardly move. Yet we had good luck and 
still-hunting was good, and I go back to it as the best 
hunt I ever had, although by all means the hardest 
work. 
Secondly, Mr. Mitchell says, in effect, that the guide does 
everything toward getting the moose, except the mere 
shooting (which he often does also, I think), in "calling;" 
but I ask, in still-hunting does not the guide just as often 
do the whole business too? All the sportsman does is to 
follow the guide wherever he leads, and to shoot when the 
time comps 
Probably we have better moose hunting here in Nova 
Scotia and New Brunswick than anywhere else in Amer- 
ica. I know either personally or by repute every guide of 
any note and nearly all the local sportsmen, so I know 
what I am saying when I state that the number of men 
who do the still-hunting themselves is not nearly as large 
as of those sportsmen who can and do call themselves. 
I can call myself fairly well, and I must say the mere 
calling adds but very, very little to the pleasures of suc- 
cess. 
The bull moose may not be himself during the rutting 
season, he may have his judgment warped and his cau- 
tion may be largely destroyed; but this I know, he is cute 
enough and cautious enough to suit the most of people, 
and entirely too cute and cautious for some. It is not the 
first time I have known them to outwit the most noted 
hunters. 
Any man going into the woods and getting his moose 
either by calling or by still-hunting is, in my opinion, 
amply fitted to take his place at the table of the highest 
sportsmen in the land, 
I know the above will not convince Mr. Mitchell, but if 
I had him down here for a week or two in September or 
early October I think he would go home a convert to the 
sport of moose calling. Tiam, 
Nova Scotia, 
Quail in Vermont. 
A correspondent writes: On the afternoon of Feb. 
25, while driving in Vermont, having left the lake at 
Chimney Point and driving north, I saw two quail cross 
the road ahead of me and fly into a clump of alders, just 
back from a marsh on the lake shore. There may have 
been more ahead of them that I did not see, but these 
were good strong birds and the first I have seen this 
winter, although I have not been over to inquire or look 
after them. I am rather surprised that any lived through 
the cold snap of 30° below zero that we had last week. 
CALIBERS OF HUNTING RIFLES. 
Norwich, Conn., Feb. 17.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
There is an article in the Forest and Stream of Feb. 8, 
written by Mr. Cecil Clay, in which he rejoices in the ex- 
cellent work which he has done with the .44cal. rifle. I 
am impelled to express my own views on this gun and 
also to make a comparison. In the first place I personally 
know of more than one deer hunter who regrets that he 
ever used such a gun. I recall incidents of animals hav- 
ing gone miles through the woods, suffering and bleeding 
sufficiently to be tracked, but not enough to lie down and 
die. It is not necessary to relate these particular incidents, 
as one is in a pleasanter frame of mind when not dwelling 
on sucb cruelty. 
While it is perfectly natural for a man to become at- 
tached to some particular gun which has done him service, 
at the same time one should not become so infatuated with 
an antiquated firearm as not to be able or willing to see 
its faults, and faults which I consider serious ones. 
While Mr. Clay has done excellent work with this gun 
on account of his skill as a marksman, I believe he could 
have done better with another gun. 
When a moose would go 300yds. with a ,44-40-200 he 
would probably go 100 with a .45-75-350 or 50yds. with a 
.50-100-450. If these guns I mention will make this dif- 
ference there are reasons why they will. There are prac- 
tical scientific reasons why one rifle and cartridge is better 
than some other one. 
The rifle and cartridge must be adapted to each other. 
So we will put away all prejudices against new models 
and all reverence for old pets which have perhaps given 
us pleasure, and bring to us memories of many a pleasant 
vacation in Maine or the Adirondacks. 
In selecting a hunting rifle certain points must be con- 
sidered: 
1. Caliber. 
2. Penetration. 
3. Trajectory. 
In addition I may mention stunning power, twist and 
weight, also of greatest importance, accuracy. 
A rifle must possess killing power; and as you lessen 
the caliber you lessen the killing power; therefore as you 
increase the caliber you increase the killing power. 
In deer shooting death is caused more quickly by loss 
of blood on account of the exit of the bullet than at the 
point of entrance. Very little blood may be lost at point 
of entrance, while the deer will be bleeding profusely at 
the opening on the other side. Therefore it is of great 
importance that the bullet should go entirely through the 
deer in order to have great killing power, and this is just 
what it does not do with the .44-40-200, not only from my 
own observation, but also from the article of Mr. Clay. 
In regard to penetration I wish to give some figures of 
tests made on pine boards* same conditions for each car- 
tridge: .44-40-200 penetrated 9in., .45-70-405 penetrated 
14in., .45-75-350 penetrated 14+in., .45 90 300 penetrated 
13in., .50-100-450 penetrated 16in. 
With any of these guns and cartridges except the first- 
mentioned the lead will not "lodge just under the skin on 
the other side." It will go clean through. 
The next point against the .44-40-200 is its high trajec- 
tory. It is much higher than any of the other guns men- 
tioned in my list. 
The greater curve which the .44-40 200 bullet describes 
makes a miss more liable in the woods, and especially on 
water, where it is almost impossible to judge the distance 
of a long shot accurately. A mistake m judgment of a 
few yards with this gun would insure a miss, while with 
a gun of flat trajectory it would not be as liable to occur. 
I shall also allude to the .50-110 300 and .45-90 300, 
which Mr. Clay says he might use for target work at 500 
or 600yds. 
Either one of these guns is entirely unfit for such dis- 
tances. They are both high-velocity guns and are not 
good beyond 200yds. While a high trajectory is not best, 
neither is a very flat one desirable for game shooting. 
Long-distance target rifles must have a high trajectory 
when they are accurate. The .45-90 is a third-class gun 
at 200yds., and the 50-110 a fourth-class gun at same dis- 
tance, and at 500 or 600yds. you might hit a barn and you 
might not. The reason for this is that when a bullet 
attains a certain velocity it "drifts" or is driven out of its 
course. This is the trouble with these two guns for long 
range work. 
Consequently, for hunting a bullet should have low 
enough velocity to avoid drifting and flat enough trajec- 
tory to avoid great curvature, with sufficient size and pene- 
tration enough to go through any American game. 
I should recommend the .45 75-350, and better still the 
.50-100 450 rifle and cartridge. Personally I use a .45-70 
rifle, loaded with 75grs. of powder and 850gr. bullet, and 
also find the 330gr. "Gould bullet" (hollow point) very 
effective in tearing capacity. It is good up to 200yds., and 
for long range work a regular .45-70-405 shell can be 
used. 
However, the object of this article is to warn sportsmen 
who contemplate getting a new gun to avoid the .44-40- 
200. H. W. Brannock. 
Non-Residents in Manitoba. 
Ajsd then as to these American shooters. These mil- 
lionaire sportsmen — men who live for pleasure alone, who 
have plenty of time and money, and, if I may be pardoned 
for slang, money to "burn" — men who dote on a soft snap 
and know it when they see one. These are the indi- 
viduals that are going to play havoc with our game 
unless we prevail upon the Government to nip it in the 
bud, and say you can't come and shoot. Some might say 
that this is a selfish motive to advance, but why should 
the sportsmen of Manitoba have their shooting season cur- 
tailed to a very limited period in order tb at our chickens 
may not be utterly wiped off our fields, and then leave 
the cream of our shooting to those people? It is not right 
or just that it should be so. These parties come here with 
private cars loaded to the brim with all the necessaries of 
life, with ammunition and everything from their own 
country. They go to the choicest parts of the province, 
have relays of dogs and everything that goes to make a 
shooting trip a success, and they simply slaughter our game 
galore, and after they have satisfied their avaricious 
desires they bid good-bye to the country that they would 
not live in, but now they will come again. Manitoba has 
plenty of game for the people who live here, and I feel 
sure that every true sportsman will do his Dest to see it 
properly protected, and I cannot see why we should make 
our province the pleasure ground for American sports- 
men. We should look upon it as one huge game preserve 
and do our best to carry out the game laws to the letter, 
and by so doing we shotild have the exclusive right and 
privilege of shooting over it. — Correspondence Winnipeg 
News Bulletin. 
The provincial government, while anxious to protect 
the large and small game, seem to have overlooked the all- 
important matter of a paid official. It can only be that 
they have not fully considered the matter, in the light of 
the great value the game is to the country, and to my 
mind this cannot be overestimated. It affords food to 
many families who would fare badly without it. Life to 
many a man, by virtue of the healthy exercise obtained 
in pursuit of it, and a knowledge of nature in all its 
beauty and variety. I would like to see the arm of the 
game warden strengthenpd by an act of the Legislature, 
making it a punishable offense for any one to kill more 
than twenty grouse in a day's shooting. Such an act is 
in force in the Northwest Territories and works well. 
Then to ourselves, as sportsmen, let us not gauge our 
superiority of skill in the field by the number of chickens 
we can kill in a given length of time. Let us not justify 
the most unsportsmanlike act of killing chickens from 
the tops of trees or stacks on cold days when birds are un- 
willing to fly, because we want them for our winter's 
supply ; let us be satisfied to kill in a manly way what we 
can use during the season, let the rest go to produce sport 
for another year. 
Following this principle faithfully is a protection in 
itself, and will provide grouse for all time. Each one of 
us will have his share and to spare, and any birds that 
may be killed by gentlemen from the American side, in 
a manly way, and over dogs, will never be missed by 
us. — Correspondence Winnipeg Free Press. 
Fourteen-Hundred-Pound Moose. 
Boston, Mass. — Having had a good opportunity to learn 
about moose from one of the largest game dealers in Bos- 
ton, and being prompted to get at the facts from several 
stories I read in the Forest and Stream, I took particu- 
lar pains to get the average weight of such moo?e as the 
firm had handled in years past. This season they had an 
average lot and the largest one weighed 823lbs. with head 
and antlers as well as feet and skin. Another on«, a 
large bull too, was billed at 785, the clerk said, Tuese two 
were as large as they usually got. The moose that was 
shot by Col. Barker, of Newport, was shipped on a weigh 
bill at l,0001bs. Yet I believe he did not weigh above the 
average, or about 8001bs. We know that horses are all 
shipped at 2,0001bs., no matter what the actual weight is; 
and it may be so as regards moose. I believe it is an esti- 
mated weight owing to the difficulty of handling them, I 
asked a dealer why men guessed a moose to weigh more 
than a horse of the same size. He said, "The men were 
generally full when they guessed on a moose and sober 
when they guessed on the weight of a horse. " 
I also asked after the shipment of game from other 
States, and I was told that but very little had been re- 
ceived from the West, and particularly from Minnesota. 
I asked why and he said that the law in that State was so 
strong that game could not be handled with any safety 
whatever, and he said further: "I made a trip to St. Paul 
to buy game and I offered 17 cents per pound for it there, 
and all I got on an order for 100 saddles was three." This 
was very gratifying, as I was directly interested in the 
passage of that part of the law of 1895 which prohibited 
the shipment of game out of the State. 
A few caribou have been offered for sale, and a fair 
quantity of venison, mostly from Maine. Some venison 
will be received this week from Arkansas. In all sections 
where game is usually found the winter thus far has been 
mild, and there is fair promise of a larger number winter- 
ing well than in many years. Adirondack. 
Farmers and Game. 
Toronto, Feb. 14,— Editor Forest and Stream: The 
game laws of the United States and Canada are founded 
on right and justice, inasmuch as game is the property of 
the person owning the land on which the game is found, 
subj act to the laws and regulations controlling the open 
and close seasons. 
Game on public lands is public property, subject to the ' 
above mentioned laws and regulations. These being un- 
disputed facts, I take the liberty of expressing my opinion 
why farmers should be game protectors. Farmers have 
no difficulty in renting the shooting rights over their 
lands at the present, and the desire of sportsmen to secure 
such rights will constantly increase, and it follows that 
the more game abounds on farms the greater remunera- 
tion sportsmen will be willing to give for the privilege of 
shooting it. If the farmers could be induced to care for 
and feed the quail during the winter months with the 
refuse from the grain, it would pay them better than 
allowing their boys to take a pot-shot at them when the 
poor things are driven to the vicinity of farm buildings 
by the inclemency of the weather. 
There is no earthly reason why our game birds should 
decrease with the increase of agriculture. In England, 
where the most perfect system of agriculture prevails, 
game is more abundant than in any other country, and a 
prolific source of revenue, and I fail to see why the same 
results should not be obtained on this side of the Atlantic. 
Game protection by farmers would also have the desired 
effect of bringing city people and them into closer com- 
munity. There are few farmers in favorable localities 
but what would be occupied with summer boarders by 
city sportsmen and their families if game was plentiful, 
in connection with other inducements usually found 
during the summer and autumn in the country. 
Eanger. 
Quail at Mount Airy. 
Mount Airy, N. C, Feb. 1. — Although there was 
probably a greater number of birds in this vicinity this 
season than any other locality in the State and considering 
the general scarcity of birds the sport was fairly good, 
yet our people are so accustomed to great flocks of par- 
tridges that they deemed the supply inadequate and have 
purchased and liberated 500 quail. They are now happy 
in the knowledge that next season will afford better sport 
than any one for some time past. The large valley 
country and sparse population of this part of the State 
give the birds e^ery cbance to multiply, and it is only 
when they are froz3n out as they were last year that any 
scarcity is noticeable. Quincy & Goff. 
