forest and stream. 
expressed in 
of the wily guide who leads dirtcUytoUie ga ® (Q follow 
where, with unerring cerUmty.from hour i ^ t , 0 
them till the last poor fledgling is bagged^ s ^ 0 tiuc without a 
sportsmen the experiment of hunting d • lin d, as 
local guide wherever prac .cable t° do «a ^ 7 the lan d- 
I have by experience, that their ntenw ^ , f 
holders will be far more pleasant, war ago y 8 d 
not better their expenses less. mlist expect 
as? fit® 
ssart™; sa-’-sssr, ss 
casta as exciting as the shooting of the ^me, and you will 
encounter many a stubborn proprietor as sly and - bard to ap- 
nroach as bis game. If possible make your first approach to 
Ef^wi “out your gun and dog. It is not prudent to show a 
n^fiag to a strange bull. Give him a newspaper or a cigar, 
put him S a good humor with hunself. and often the mvite- 
Eon to shoot will anticipate the request. Or if you* « « tbe 
field, go directly to him ; don't wander about Ins place « P'j}} 
triwmjr till you have seen him, and my word for it y 
m5fe friends instead of enemies of the iandholders who wiU 
in time welcome you with pleasure instead of with suspicion 
‘as a depredator whose every movement »***£* 
watched. 
New York Association.— At a meeting of this associa- 
tion. Monday night, Hon. Robt. B. Roosevelt, the newly- 
elected President, suggested that a suitable place near the 
city be purchased, where the members could establish them- 
selves as a club, and pursue their propensities as sportsmen. 
This will be made the special business of the following meet- 
ing It was proposed that, to avoid confusion in the fi sh law, 
a competent person should draw up a comprehensive law, and 
have it passed separately. Mr. Charles E. Whitehead, senior 
counsel, rendered a very satisfactory report of the condition 
of the various suits in progress for the enforcement of o 
Game laws, and said that the newly-appointed detectives, af- 
ter a searching tour of the city, had only reported two well- 
authenticated cases of violation of the law since March 1, a 
fact which he considered was an indication that the people 
intended to observe the law. 
—The Greenwood Lake Ice Company have stored 1,800 
tons of pure transparent ice. The lake is now open and the 
voice of the peep-frog is heard in the sloughs. 
JP e §ifh. 
THE FOREST AND STREAM AND ROD 
AND GUN TOURNAMENT 
For the Short-Range Championship 
And three team medals, which will be awarded to the teams 
making the first, second and third best scores. Other prizes 
will be offered also, to take place at Conlin's shooting gallery. 
Open to teams from any organized rifle club. 
Teams — Each team shall consl.t of ten men. The teams 
oartlclpatiDg mua t be composed of members of me various dabs 
which they represent. Uifles-Limlted to ten pounds In weight ; mlai- 
mnm OTH of trigger, three poands: 82-100 cal. Teams can furnish 
tbelrown rifles and ammunition, or use those at the gallery, , as .they 
mai desire. Nomber of Shou-Ten fcy each competitor Sighting 
Shota-Two shots will be allowed each competitor. Position Off- 
band Targets — 200-yards urgeia. according to the regulations of the 
!Tr* A. reduced in proportion to the range at the gallery. P ractl ce- 
No practice allowed on the day of the match. Bnt^ce Fee-Five 
dollars to he paid at the efflee of the Forest and Stream and Rod 
and Gun No 111 Fulton street. N. Y. All teams desiring to compete 
most Entered ten days before the time the match u announced to 
take Diace Tne match to be governed by the roles of the N . R. A. 
relating to teams. Captains of the competing teams shall meet one 
wSt before the commencement of the match, make aU preliminary 
arrangements, choose referees, and decide In what order their respect- 
ive teams shall shoot . The referees shall elect an umpire, whose de- 
cision in all cases shall be final. 
The match will commence on Monday, March is. 
The following teams have entered : N. Y. Rifle Club, Cen- 
tennial Rifle Club, Scotch-American Club, 8eppenfeldt Team, 
Zettler Rifle Club, Hellwig Rifle Club, Newark Rifle Club, 
Yorkville Rifle Club, Irish-American Rifle Club. 
At a meeting held at Conlin’s gallery, on Tuesday evening, 
all the above clubs were represented by their various captains. 
Judge Gilderalceve and Major Fulton were appointed judges, 
aud T. C. Banks as referee. 
The clubs wUl shoot in the following order : 
Zettler Yorkville, on Monday, March 18th ; Seppenfeldt, 
Newark,’ Tuesday, 19th; Hellwig, Centennial, Wednesday, 
2Qtb ; Scotch- American, Thursday, 21st ; New York and 
Irish-American, Friday, 22d. 
The prizes are as follows : 
j gt The Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun badge ; 
2d— The Union Metallic Co’s badge; 3d— The Shepard badge ; 
4th Ballard rifle, presented by Messrs. Schoverling & Daly.; 
(5th — Revolver, gilt and pearl-handled, presented by the Messrs 
Remington ; 0th, 7th, 8lh and 9lh-A prize of $2.50 in gold 
to the highest score in each team not winning one of the 
above prizes. , . 
It was agreed that any team after the champion team should 
select prizes in the list. 
Captains of teams agreed to send in the names of their men, 
with those of the reserve. The shooting is to commence at 
7$ v. m. on each evening. 
As ninety men will shoot, the contest is likely to 
awaken a great deal of interest. In the teams may be found, 
perhaps, some of the champion Bhota of the United States. 
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN POINT-BLANK RANGES CONTRASTED 
ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF RIFLE SUOOT1NO. 
Iu the Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun of the 14th 
hist., 1 observe one error iu that very able and . mtei resl nog 
article of Col. Ship, of the Virginia Military Institute, ou th 
fall of the rifle hall ou leaving the barrel. This error is doub - 
less duo to an oversight of his, for his writings show he must 
he familiar with the science of rifle shooting. He says^ 
“Sunnose a cun fired over a horizontal plane, with the axis 
of ite bore parallel to the plane it \ Don the cHu^ge 
certain determinate distance, depending upon the ch ge 
niece bullet etc , aud this distance is called the point- 
h ank ranee " Here he errs if he intended to define the 
American point-blank range. It is the 
range he defines. I will, for a comparison, quote both detim 
l ‘°Fn<riisli “Point-blank in gunnery denotes the position of 
the^gun when °poiuted, so that it is parallel to the » ho rlzom 
Point-blank range is the distance to whichaahotfir^m the 
point-blank or horizontal direction is earned.- T^'ffnr the 
cydopmUa. This covers the definition of the Colonel for the 
range, as will be seen. The range is a trial of the power of 
^American — “ By point blank, in rifle shooting, is meant the 
se^dpS&t, where the trajectory of the ball in its down- 
ward course cuts the line of sight. 
This mathematical point in theory corresponds to the ex- 
act centre of the target in practice. If the centre be a nted 
at and struck, the shot is both theoretically aud practically a 
true poiut-blank shot. . , .. 
“ By point-blank range is meant the straight lino or short 
est distance to the point-blank or second intersection of the 
line of sfght bj’ib, trajectory ."-BaUocV, Sporgnutn; 
OaMcttecr , p. 547, and Forest and Stream, July 8 187o. 
Thus the English point-blank range is measured from the 
piece to where the ball strikes the level ground; the American, 
Fo where it intersects the line of sight. Thus, in the Engl, b 
service, point blank refers to the position of the gun. .It ism 
a point-blank position when the axis of the bore - 1 * J i 
the American point-blank refers to the second intersection of 
the line of sight by the trajectory of the ball, or ^ the centre 
of the target in practice ; and by custom and common consent 
to the whole bull’s-eye. . Ao 
Thus, in the American service, two lines as elements de- 
termine the point blank. It is entirely independent of the 
pointing of the gun or of the direction in which the axis of 
the barrel points. This fact brings out another very import- 
ant one, and one I wish particularly to be noticed, viz. : That 
point-blank or centre shooting can never be found along the 
prolongation of the. axis of the barrel. Why/ Because the 
axis of the barrel prolonged, and known as the line of fire, is 
not an element in the definition. But point-blank : or centre 
shooting is always to be found along the line of sight, and 
where the ball meets or intersects it. Remember the barrel 
always poims above the centre of the mark when the centre is 
aimed at and hit with the centre of the ball. 
In point-blank practice, as at Creedmoor and generally, we 
cause the ball to strike where we wish it to by raising or 
lowering the rear sight. I speak only of elevations. Raising 
or lowering the rear sight lowers or raises the breech. This 
in effect causes the muzzle to point upward or downward. 
By this means we cause the ball to go higher or lower as we 
please. We are thus enabled to bring the ball down on the 
line of sight just where the aim is, at tee centre of the target. 
This is the way we make point-blank shots. ^ ou ^will see 
they are always made by a falling ball, and never 'by _a .ball 
going straight from the gen, for the gun never shoots straight, 
fo resume : In an article entitled “ Point Blank and Pom 
Range Explained,” for which see Forest and Stream of 
June 1, July 8 and Aug. 19, 1875, and wherein I regarded 
the fall of the ball under the influence of gravity, I used these 
" The moment the ‘ new beginner ’ with the rifle will dis- 
card the false idea which many have, that the rifle carries 
straight, 1 that moment is he in a condition to begin to under- 
stand rifle shooting. Many persons, and some of life-long ex- 
perienoeTstill cling to this false notion. The course of the 
ball must be, and always is, a curved line ; gravity is always 
nulling it dowD. This curve, however, is very small within a 
short distance, but at long ranges it is astonishingly great 
I am now very much obliged to Mr. Stokes for asking Prof. 
Ship this question: “ Will a bullet Bhot from a rifle, the axis 
of the bore being parallel to a perfectly level plane, be the 
same distance from this plane when ten feet from the rifle as 
when it left the rifle?" 
Mr Stokes had contended it would, and quoted as author- 
ity from “Hallock’s Sportsman's Gazetteer" (a very fine work). 
The subject was referred to Col. Ship for decision. All 
should carefully read that letter in reply. It is full of in- 
struction. His reply was : 
“You are right in your view. * * * Gravity opposes no re- 
sistance to motion in a horizontal direction, but it acts in the 
vertical direction, and will pull the bullet down m the first 
ten feet ; even in the first one-tenth part of an inch. 
Such is bis reply, and he doubly proves th<? fact ; and 1 here 
add this will be the case no matter if the ball has received the 
force of a thunderbolt and the speed of lightning. I hope we 
mav hear from your able correspondent in Richmond more 
frenuentlv Maj. H. W. Merrill. 
New ilchelk, N. Y., Fib. 20, 1878. 
niainlv-markcd ring arouud it, showing what part 
Keen by the blow; but behind this 
tfiSSrSS the *f once tAat 
bullet after the ring itself was formed, but not m the way iu 
of the explosion .ot 
Hiarie the bullet was upset and shortened, and expanded 
WraWi'll it fined that part of the chamber between the 
fnmh of the shell and the point where the rifling commenced. 
. thfl oWjii wa9 5.10th inch shorter than the chamber of course 
^onrlv 5 10th inch of the bullet would be caught in the cliam- 
upon its surface. exDeriment proves that my theory 
Tomymm^Hydrt exgn^t^d lateral expansion 
of to “Sis complete before it starts on its passage through 
% b S. r Sg that I mahe myself understood, 
THE UPSET OF BULLETS. 
I noticed in the Rifle Department of your issue of the 
17th instant a letter from Mr. F. Hyde. The greater part of the 
letter is devoted to the subject of “ recoil.” W ith this sub- 
ject I have nothiDg to do at the present time, though 1 will 
say en passant, that in my opinion the writer is much nearer 
the truth than are a great many others whose letters appear 
from time to time in your columns. 
The statement in Mr. Hyde's letter which does not seem 
reasonable is, that “ the bullet continues to bo upset and 
shortened till it leaves the barrel.” If the bullet is upset 
enough to fill the grooves at once, as Mr. Hyde admits, bow 
can it be shortened still more ? There is mo more room for 
lateral expansion ; and if the bullet is shortened, It must ex- 
pand laterally. „ _ , , . . n 
The experiment described by Mr. Hyde is not at all con- 
clusive He says: “ I shot a Sharps 550-grain bullet in a 
2 6-10 chambered rifle, but fired a 3 1-10 shell, thus bringing 
about one-half the bullet into the chamber. I caught the bul- 
let in sawdust, and found, about one-third the distance from 
New York, March 11, 1878. 
LONG-RANGE AND^* SHORT- RANGE. 
It is probable that long-range shooting will not ‘ 
m^hf^oWard Accomplishing the object in view has not been 
ma<lc a Thp«* is however, no eagerness manifested on 
the backwardness may be because of the number of foimidahle 
“ 
nreviSv in organizing A representative team, and raising 
FhTSite aSnt offunds to carry the enterprise along. 
Those who would be the prime movers in such .an un- 
****%& o^hcTefm^n "" oTV'fffflcuUle. 
BE 
fescs MS 
oounUT have done comparatively little e so but shoot, aud in 
rcATnd l ^ r a b n 8 aS^ "rSulf suffered! in looking 
But who knows what is to come? Some never-say-die type 
of individuals may rake up the smouldering brands of long- 
ranee marksmanship, and cause a renewal of the blaze of en- 
thuffasm over the ‘ P poetry of shooting" among the kn.ghtsof 
the trigger. * 
THE SPORTING RIFLE.— No. 1. 
Cuioaoo, Feb. 22, 1878. 
I am very frequently in receipt of letters or personal appli- 
cations soliciting advice as to the selection of a rifle for sport- 
ing service. Most of these inquiries come from persons of 
little or no experience in rifle shooting, but many of them are 
from men who are more or less familiar with rifle practice, 
but have no knowledge of the principles which should govern 
them in selecting a rifle for a special object. As it is unpos- 
sible to reply in a single communication to all the questions 
which present themselves, 1 have thought that a series of 
articles, extending through several numbers of the Forest 
and Stream and* Rod and Gun, setting forth the require- 
ments of the sporting rifle and the principles on which they 
are based might be of interest to a large class of readers, oud 
furnish such information as many persons are seeking for 
mu D -nmtennt nosition which of late years has been assigned 
ffiS? aA the crucial test of the excellence 
hn h of men and weapons, has tended to withdraw the atton- 
b°th °. f fftcurcrs and of sportsmen from the really more 
lion of m nractically useful requirements of the sporting 
quick a?d ready manipulation demanded in 
sporting service^ mftn would ever think, of taking the 
, rifle with its elaborate and delicate arrange- 
long-rang 6 fQr • tbe pur p 0Se of Bliooting game ; neither 
dtS^heiue of 'such weapons, as practiced on the established 
JJIef tSd to the promotion of such practical knowledge as 
would’ ever be of any use in legitimate game shooting, and 
onlv on rare occasions in military service. Except upon the 
1° where°one must sometimes shoot at very long range or 
SlS^’nll 200 vards may be taken as the very outside limit at 
which & a ’smirtsma n Kid ever allow himself to shoot at any 
for S the rifle is used ; and, iu reality, not one shot 
