276 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April 4, 1896. 
THE HUNTING RIFLE. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I have been much interested in the late discussion of 
the. arm for big-game shooting. It occurs to me that if 
hunters ever do agree it will be by the majority rule, 
since men differ in their experience with the same gun. 
However, it is not necessary that we should agree, but 
we should appreciate the kindness of Forest and Stream 
in giving space to our opinions. 
Now, my opinion is that if a cannon ball were to strike 
the body of a moose or deer it would kill more suddenly 
than would a ball from any hunting rifle by striking the 
same spot. But the cannon ball might clip off a leg and 
do no more damage than would a ball from a .38-40. 
The accuracy of the gun, and its weight and length, are 
in my opinion prime factors in making it a desirable 
arm for a certain purpose. Then the questions follow : 
For what purpose? On what kind of grounds? Who is 
to handle it? A small man with a long-barreled rifle 
might successfully stalk certain big game on the plains or 
any open ground, but if he attempted to shoot deer in 
Michigan or Wisconsin forests with it he would get left 
by at least 50 per cent. He would have to be a first-class 
hunter to get standing shots at one-half the deer he 
would see, and the other half would simply run away 
while he was trying to bring his long gun to bear on 
them through the holes in the forest. If conditions were 
the same in the various hunting grounds, as for instance 
game not wild, open timber and leaves down, country 
level, etc., the problem would be nearer a solution, but 
even then two men might meet in the woods and ex- 
change rifles to their mutual advantage. 
I should like to read the facts attending some experi- 
ences of our friends with the guns they condemn and also 
those they recommend. I have killed deer with a .32-20 
Winchester, getting five out of eleven taken by a party 
of nine hunters. The other guns were all larger than 
mine. 
I now hunt with a .38-40, model '73. This gun has a 
24in. barrel and weighs 91bs. Its only fault, as I see it, 
for deer shooting is that it will not carry 100yds., as 
originally built, without elevating the sight into the third 
notch. I dressed the sight of my gun until it will hit the 
mark at 200yds. without elevation. I also cut the prongs 
off the hind sight, and find I can follow a moving object 
much better. With this gun I have killed my last fifteen 
deer with nineteen hits. This was done by still-hunting 
among the timbered hills and thickets. Seven of the 
deer were standing, two were walking, and four were 
running. I conclude that this is what an average hunter 
can do with that arm under ordinary circumstances. The 
four hits that did not kill must be attributed to my poor 
marksmanship, for every ball rightly placed did fatal 
work, and a shot at 196 paces at a fawn not over half 
grown was just as true to aim as those at closer range, 
dropping the deer in its tracks by breaking its back. Last 
fall I walked on to one of our boys just after he had killed 
an old buck. He was hunting witn a .50 95 and shooting 
an explosive ball. His first shot had cut a foreleg off the 
deer below the knee, his second knocked a prong off one 
of the antlers, his third took a piece out of an antler at 
the base, and his fourth hit entered the shoulder and ex- 
ploded, sending particles of lead in every direction. He 
is an average rifle Bhot, and the gun shoots as nearly cor- 
rect as would be expected of a gun of its dimensions, but 
the two were not mated. It is too clumsy an arm for a 
small man to handle on moving game in the timber. 
I have never had the good fortune to try my hand on 
moose or elk, but if I were outfitting for either of them 
I should select a gun that had sufficient killing power, but 
with length and weight such as would make it a handy 
gun in my hands. If I could not find such a gun I would 
stay at home. G. W. Cunningham. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your correspondent A. H., who writes in your number 
of Jan. 11 as one inexperienced in large game shooting 
and Vanting advice, may well be puzzled at the conflict- 
ing opinions about rifles given by various practical hunters; 
but he may console himself with the reflection that, al- 
though it is impossible to decide which is the best rifle, he 
will be certain to obtain a good one by buying any weapon 
issued by the leading American factories and chambered 
for any cartridge between the .40-60-260 and .50-110-450. 
Another fact is worth consideration. As stated lately 
by an old African hunter in an English sporting paper, 
rifles are now too good, and that is why large game is be- 
coming exterminated. 
While many hunters of very great experience, like the 
late Sir S. Baker, Capt. Forsyth and others, prefer rifles 
of larger bore, with heavy powder charges, there are some 
notable exceptions whose opinions deserve attention. 
Among the most prominent of these is Mr. H. W. S. Cleve- 
land, who wrote a work upon rifles early in the sixties. 
He was known to have great practical as well as theoreti- 
cal knowledge, and to be a fine shot. For many years he 
was engaged at surveying in wild parts of the States, 
where he had to depend much upon the rifle for procur- 
ing food; yet in a letter to Forest and Stream many years 
ago he asserted that a .40cal. with 40grs. of powder is 
large enough for any animal east of the Missouri River. 
That would of course include caribou, moose and bear. 
When writing, about six years ago, to another Ameri- 
can sporting paper, Mr. Cleveland made a similar state- 
ment, and gave details which showed that his favorite 
weapon was a Maynard .40 gauge, with a 20in. barrel, 
chambered for a 40gr. shell. That is the same length of 
barrel and powder charge as in the Winchester carbine, 
described by Col. Cecil Clay in Forest and Stream of 
Feb. 8. It is evident that neither of these gentlemen can 
have had much trouble with too high a trajectory, want 
of killing power, and other defects often complained 
about, or they would not have continued using such 
weapons through such long hunting careers. Still, it 
must be admitted that flattening the trajectory is of very 
great advantage, provided that too much accuracy be not 
sacrificed; for the finest judges of distance are liable to 
error, especially when their shooting grounds vary between 
plains, mountains and thick bush. 
I read Colonel Clay's letter in Forest and Stream of 
Feb. 8, 1889, and was so interested that I have kept it up 
to the present time in a scrap book, where I treasure use- 
ful articles upon firearms; yet I was not convinced of any- 
thing except that the .44-40-200 carbine had done good 
work in his hands. It appears to me that this cartridge 
must always have one prominent defect for use against 
any game larger than a Virginian deer. The bullet would 
doubtless kill even a moose well, when a clean side-shot 
is offered, but many instances occur especially in thick 
bush when there is no chance of aiming at any part except 
the hindquarters. Having never used a large-game rifle 
with less than 55grs. of powder, I would speak with some 
diffidence, but 1 cannot believe that the .44-40 bullet would 
penetrate between the haunches and through the abdomen 
into the front part of the chest of a moose, wapiti, or 
woodland caribou. I even doubt if it would reach the 
vital part of a large bull moose when striking the shoulder 
joint of one standing obliquely toward the hunter, a 
position by no means unfrequentiy presented. A rifle to 
be thoroughly satisfactory requires a bullet with accuracy, 
good striking surface and sufficient power to penetrate 
well into the front of the chest of the largest game, no 
matter in what position the latter may be standing. 
Tastes vary so much that hunters will never agree 
about weapons, but perhaps the first consideration when 
choosing a rifle should be the weight which can be carried 
with comfort during a long tramp over rough ground. 
For a man of average strength and endurance, this should 
not exceed 91bs, The next point is what cartridge giving 
the best combination of penetration, flattened trajectory, 
striking surface and accuracy up to fair sporting range 
(say SiOOyds.) can be used in a rifle of that weight without 
uncomfortable recoil. For myself, if selecting a weapon 
for every kind of large game in America, I would not 
hesitate to buy a "take down" repeater with half mag- 
azine, made for the Winchester .45-90 cartridge, but 
would load the shells with 85grs. of Curtis & Harvey's No. 
6 rifle powder, and either the 350gr. bullet of soft lead 
or one slightly lighter, hardened with tin and with a 
small shallow hollow in the point — depending upon which 
of these gave the best accuracy in the individual rifle. 
For seven years I used English express rifles of 
.45cal. with powder charges -of 110 to 124grs. and the 
usual hollow point bullets, which are about 280grs. 
weight, hardened with one-twelfth to one-tenth of tin. 
These have the following advantages: They can be so 
made and sighted that no allowance is required when 
fired at the shoulder of an ordinary deer up to 150yds., at 
which distance a good rifle will put several successive 
shots into a ring of 6 or 7in. diameter. As to killing 
power, hardly any deer or other thin-skinned animals 
struck fairly in the shoulder ever run more than 100yds. , 
and nearly all drop on the spot or within 20yds. 
Their defects are: First, want of sufficient penetration 
for shots at the rear of animals or even for shots at the 
point of the shoulder of large game with thick skins. 
Second, want of accuracy beyond 150yds., and in second- 
rate rifles even at shorter distances; although the majority 
of shots are true they are not all to be relied upon. Even 
a good express will rarely put a succession of bullets at 
200yds. into less than a 20in. circle. Some matters in- 
crease the weight of the bullet and thus obtain greater 
accuracy, but this is of course at the cost of increased re- 
coil in light rifles. 
Although the express was very satisfactory for the 
majority of chances at game, I rarely succeeded in mak- 
ing the long, clean kills at 150 to 200yds. when after an- 
telope which were not uncommon with the accurate old 
muzzleloaders taking charges of 55 to 62grs. An old 
Hindoo groom who lived with me eight years, and to 
whom I was much attached, generally accompanied me 
to hold the horse while I was stalking those animals. 
After I had used my first express for some months he 
said to me very seriously, "Sahib, that new gun makes 
a great noise, but the antelope run away. The old gun 
made little noise, but when you fired they used to drop." 
A modification of the express rifle on Mr. Melford's 
principle is, I think, decidedly superior to the ordinary 
kind. The cartridge contains 90grs. of strong powder 
and a bullet weighing 360grs. It is lin. in length and has 
a hollow at the point fin. deep and rV n - in diameter. This 
is accurate enough to hit an 8in. builseve at 200yds., and 
the trajectory resembles that of the .45-90 300 Winchester, 
being a trifle over 2in. high up to 100yds. and about lO^in. 
up to 200. The rifle has been used for many years" by 
some noted African hunters, and all speak of it in the 
highest terms. They say that if the bullet hit the hind- 
quarters of a lion walking straight away it penetrates 
bone and everything else, going well forward into the 
very front of the chest, at the same time "mushrooming" 
sufficiently to give a large striking surface. When more 
penetration than the above is required the hollow point 
can be filled with a hard wooden peg. 
The rifle is made 8flbs. weight and gives no disagree - 
able recoil. This is partly due to its having a shotgun 
butt and stock of proper length. Although American 
rifles have been greatly improved for some years many 
have still to be made far too heavy, owing to the persist- 
ence in the use of narrow heel plates and short stocks. 
The Winchester Co. have for many years past made 
.50-95 rifles, specially for the British market, of about 
8£lbs. weight and with shotgun stocks. I tried one at a 
target, found it very accurate, and with no more appre- 
ciable kick than an ordinary shotgun. 
The oft-quoted saying of Mohawk, in the "Last of the 
Mohicans," that "a kicking rifle never carries a true bul- 
let," is not strictly correct. Much depends upon whether 
the man behind it flinches, and the tendency to flinch 
can be prevented by having a shotgun butt and a stock 
not less than 14in. long, measured from the trigger. Two 
of the most accurate rifles I ever fired recoiled in a really 
terrific manner, but it is a mistake using such weapons 
for game shooting. They are all right if held closely to 
the shoulder and in exactly the same position every time. 
In hunting, a rifle has to be pointed up hill, down hill, to 
the right or left, and sometimes, in snapshots, fired 
almost before the butt touches the shoulder. Under such 
circumstances, if the kick be severe, the gun is twisted 
during the passage of the bullet through the grooves, so 
as to cause a perceptible divergence from the mark. 
If a hunter be decidedly sensitive to recoil he would do 
well to choose a rifle chambered for the .45-70 shell, and 
load it with Gould's 330gr. hollow pointed bullet, or else 
select a 40 -gauge. 
I have never tried that size at game, but from the tes- 
timony of numerous good hunters there can be no doubt 
of its efficiency. The .40-82-260 has the same good quali- 
ties for trajectory and accuracy as the .45-90, but for 
moose and wapiti the .40-70-330 would perhaps be prefer- 
able, owing to greater penetration, and with a small 
shallow hollow at the point of the bullet, ought to have a 
good striking surface. 
Within the last two years a few sportsmen in South 
Africa have tried rifles, taking the new ,303cal. cartridge, 
with its charge of smokeless powder corresponding to 
70grs. of black, and its 217gr. metal jacketed bullet. This 
has great accuraoy up to the longest sporting ranges, and 
a trajectory so flat that no allowance is required for the 
curve of the bullet up to a distance of at least 50yds. fur- 
ther than that of the best .45 or .40 express rifle. There 
are several disadvantages in the cartridge which will tend 
to prevent its general adoption. Many sportsmen like to 
indulge in occasional target practice, and the' range of 
the bullet is so enormous that there are few places where 
it can be fired without most serious risk of danger to man 
and beast; and if it or the new American army bullet 
came into regular use for antelope shooting on the prai- 
ries there would certainly be some lamentable accidents. 
Owing to the immense strain on the breech, the rifle must 
be made of better material than that which suffices for 
ordinary sporting cartridges, or else some part of it is 
likely to give way after only a moderate amount of firing. 
The accuracy also is liable to diminish after a few hun- 
dred shots, owing to the rapid wearing out of the 
grooves. There are most extraordinary reports of the 
killing qualities of these rifles. With the full jacketed 
military bullet they are certainly very useless against 
game, unless a bone or large bloodvessel happen to be 
struck, the bullet only drilling a neat hole about its own 
diameter. With the point uncovered by the jacket and 
with the latter split longitudinally in four places, very 
good work has been done by some hunters, one indeed 
asserting that the effects are greater than those of a .46- 
express. On the other hand, some equally good sports- - 
men have found them more or less of a failure. One old 
elephant hunter wrote to a sporting paper here that small 
antelope, which dropped on the spot when hit with a .40' 
express bullet, ran sometimes for miles when a .303 bullet 
with a soft lead or hollow point had passed through both 
lungs. The penetration of this bullet is extraordinary, 
and it seems to act better upon rather large than upon 
very small quadrupeds, owing to the resistance in the: 
bodies of the former causing it to flatten. 
I doubt if it will ever be made, in the majority of 
shots, to Btop game as quickly as the larger bores; and its 
extensive adoption would certainly hasten the extermina- 
tion of game, owing to the temptation to fire at long; 
ranges. 
Whatever rifle A. H. may finally decide upon obtain- 
ing, I strongly advise him to have it fitted with an 
ivory -tipped foresight. This never glistens in the sun, 
and it shows with perfect clearness against the hide of 
any animal. I think it improves the shooting quite 20 > 
per cent. The Lyman aperture rear sight is also particu- 
larly useful in preventing the tendency which most 
young, and even some old, sportsmen have to fire over 
the game by taking too coarse a foresight. With the 
aperture, if the trigger be pressed the instant the ivory 
bead is seen on the mark, the shot is certain to be ac- 
curate; but this is not always the case when an open rear 
sight on the barrel is used, because the notch or upper 
edge of the sight may be too much below the line from, 
the bead to the eye of the hunter. For those, however, . 
who prefer an open rear sight, it would be difficult to find, 
a better one than the Lyman No. 6 pattern with a tri- 
angular piece of ivory to mark the center. This catches, 
the eye instantly when the rifle is raised, and there is no 
blur, such as is caused by a notch. Fine sights may do 
best for target work, but all those for military or sporting; 
purposes ought to force themselves upon the eye instead . 
of having to be searched for. 
After buying the rifle it is advisable to sight it carefully • 
before using it on game. The alignment which causes a 
bullet to go straight for one man may possibly make it . 
fly to one side or too high or low for another. When the 
sights have been correctly arranged the young sportsman i 
should practice firing at various objects, such as knots on 
trees, spots on rocks, etc., at unknown distances and in 
all kinds of ground, up hill, down hill, and on the level,, 
so as to learn what allowances to make for the curve in 
thg bullet's flight, Judgment of distance can be much 
improved by fixing the eye on an object when out walk- 
ing, deciding how far it is, and then pacing up to it. I 
think that in the long run those who never fire random, 
shots bag the most game, and a rifle should never be fired 
at a deer beyond the distance at which it can be depended 
upon to hit an Sin. bull. At greater ranges there will be 
many missed or uselessly wounded. 
A man is a bungler who cannot, as a general rule, stalk : 
to within 150 or, at the most, 200yds. of deer on an open . 
prairie, even when they have become wild from being 
frequently fired at. An intimate friend, and one of the • 
best sportsmen I ever knew (who had stalked and bagged : 
five ibex in one day), told me that he never fired unless i 
he could crawl to within 100yds, of the game. That was^ 
before express rifles were invented, and he was then using; 
a 12-bore made for carrying eleven round balls to the' 
pound, with 4£drs. of powder. Such rifles, by good! 
makers used to put (with open hunting sights)] several 
successive shots in a 6in. ring at 100yds. At 150 they re- 
quired a lOin. ring, so my inland would not fire, from 
dread of merely wounding aa animal. 
The late Horatio Ross had stalked deer during an un- 
usually long life, and was one of the best shots at game 
or target in the British Islands, yet in his introduction to 
Macrae's "Handbook of Deer Stalking" he writes: "We 
often hear of very long shots having been made, but we 
do not hear of the many noble stags that have been 
wounded by reckless shooting at extreme distances." I 
cannot accuse myself of having often wounded deer, be- 
cause I make it a rule never to fire at deer beyond the 
range of 150yds., and then only if I have a good, steady 
view." 
Judge Van Dyke in the "Still Hunter" says: "For the 
past three years my rule has been to shoot at nothing be- 
yond 150yds, if there is an even chance of getting closer 
to it, and not to shoot even that far if there is a fair 
prospect of shortening the distance. I fully believe I 
have got more deer by it. I certainly know that there 
have been fewer broken-legged cripples." 
J. J. Metrics. 
South Devon, England. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In regard to hunting rifles I would state the following: 
During the last four years I have killed in Europe a very 
large number of deer of various kinds, from the noble 
stag of the red deer (Cervus elaphus) to the nimble roebuck 
(Oervus capreolus), and having used rifles of large and 
small calibers, I find that the .38-55 will do the work 
