1026 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. 29, 1906. 
A Close Season for Guns. 
We have close seasons for fish and game, and 
the time has come for a close season for guns. 
Lumbermen in the Adirondacks not only denude 
the mountains, but also destroy more game and 
fish, in sections where lumber camps are located, 
than lawfully taken by guides, hunters and men 
employed in lumbering all put together. Lumber 
camps, the year round, are very largely supplied 
with venison. Nearly all men who work at lum¬ 
bering in its various branches, in the Adiron¬ 
dacks, have guns in camp and use them almost 
invariably on Sundays and rainy days to provide 
“meat for camp.” 
Watching for deer, nights and mornings, at 
feeding places and salt licks, floating or jacking 
at night, driving deer with shooters on the run¬ 
ways, still-hunting and all other ways to get 
venison, are practiced by these lumbermen, even 
to killing deer when yarded in deep snow and 
by crusting. No fair or unfair, lawful or unlaw¬ 
ful methods to get venison are left unused. 
The lumberman’s pocket and stomach are both 
hungry and he unlawfully takes both timber and 
game. This unlawful and exterminating taking 
of deer can be stopped by making it unlawful 
to have fireamrs of any kind in possession in the 
Adirondack park and forest preserves and adjoin¬ 
ing counties during the close season for deer; 
provided, however, that a citizen may have fire¬ 
arms of his or her own in his or her own perma¬ 
nent house or residence, but not in lumber camps 
or camps of any kind, nor in temporary lodges, 
tents or buildings of resort for hunters, campers, 
fishermen, lumbermen, or any other persons, nor 
in the fields or woods, or on the waters within 
the Adirondack park, forest preserves and adjoin¬ 
ing counties. 
Maine has a law as follows: “The having in 
possession of any jack light, spear, trawl or net, 
other than a dip net, in any camp, lodge or place 
of resort for hunters or fishermen in the inland 
territory of the State, shall be prima facie evi¬ 
dence that the same is kept for unlawful use; and 
they may be seized by any officer authorized to 
enforce the inland fish and game laws. Whoso¬ 
ever is convicted of having any of the above 
named implements in his possession unlawfully 
as aforesaid, shall be fined fifty dollars and costs 
of prosecution.” 
(a) A law making it unlawful to have guns 
in the Adirondack park, forest preserves and ad¬ 
joining counties should specifically cover every 
place, aside from the permanent house in which 
the owner of a gun or guns resides. It is thought 
our State laws define a permanent house as one 
built on a wall or underpinning in a permanent 
manner. (?) 
(b) The open season for deer, foxes, rabbits 
and other game; for grouse, woodcock, ducks 
and other game birds should be at one and the 
same time, in order to have no excuse for having 
a gun outside of a permanent house or residence 
during the close season for deer. 
(c) It is highly important that the game pro¬ 
tectors be given absolute authority to seize any 
and all rifles, shotguns, revolvers, pistols or fire¬ 
arms of any and all kinds or make found out¬ 
side of the permanent house in which the citizen 
who owns the gun or guns resides; and that full 
and definite provision be made for confiscating 
all firearms so seized, besides which the person 
offending, upon conviction, shall be made to pay 
a fine and the costs of prosecution or imprisoned; 
and the having in possession of any firearm out¬ 
side of the owner’s permanent house or residence, 
during the close season for deer, within the 
bounds of the Adirondack park and forest pre¬ 
serves and adjoining counties shall be prima 
facie evidence against the person or persons in 
whose possession such firearms may be so found, 
of an unlawful act. 
(d) A like law, covering the whole year, 
might be enacted against jack lights, other arti¬ 
ficial lights, snares and traps. 
(e) It seems the open season for deer, foxes, 
rabbits and other game; for grouse, woodcock, 
ducks and other game birds should be, within 
the Adirondack park and forest preserves and 
adjoining counties, from Sept. 1 to Nov. 15, both 
inclusive, for reasons as follow: 
1. That the open season in all that section may 
be the same for all game and game birds, and 
thus give no excuse for having any firearm out¬ 
side of the owner’s permanent house or residence 
at any time during the close season for deer. 
2. To suit the wishes and needs of those who 
reside and make their living within that section. 
Hotels, boarding houses, guides, hunting camps, 
liverymen and others now desire that the open 
season for deer be the same as it has been for 
years, excepting 1906, when September was cut 
off. Many persons remained in the mountains 
during September, and others did go to the Adi¬ 
rondacks during that month in years past who 
did not go last fall, because the hunting had been 
put over until Oct. 1. It is thought to be true 
that nearly all those who live in that section and 
profit by the hunting season get more money dur¬ 
ing September than for any other thirty days of 
the season. Maine gives two and one half months 
for deer and large game hunting; i. e., from Oct. 
1 to Dec. 15. mostly on snow, and we can allow 
two and one half months if illegal killing is 
stopped and also have a satisfactory increase of 
deer, as has been since “dogging” was stopped. 
3. The wishes of those who live in that sec¬ 
tion should be respected and allowed to govern. 
Special provisions are made for almost all dif¬ 
ferent sections and counties of the State, even 
to the taking of bullheads and eels in Chenango 
county. 
4. It was thought the shortening of the open 
season for deer would result in less harm from 
guns in hands of inexperienced and excitable 
hunters, but, unhappily, this does not seem to be 
so, for the list of persons wounded and killed by 
carelessness is yet large. Shortening the season 
put more hunters into the woods from Oct. 1 
to Nov. 13, than ever before with a consequent 
enlarged risk or danger that persons will be mis¬ 
taken for deer and shot at. It may be thpught 
advisable to put some restrictions on men who 
have not had hunting exnerience, by certain re¬ 
quirements in licenses or in other ways. 
During the open season for deer and large 
game, of two and one half months, from Oct. t 
to Dec. 15 this year, onlv ten deaths resulted 
among those who hunted in Maine. Three per¬ 
sons were mistaken for deer or bear, five were 
killed bv accidental discharge of guns, one was 
capsized from a canoe, and one died from ex¬ 
posure. If we consider that Maine probably has 
fiftv per cent, of all de.er and large game now 
in the United States, that two and one half months 
are given to the open season, that more per¬ 
sons hunt in Maine than in any other State, and 
that less met death there than in New York. 
Michigan or Wisconsin, where open seasons are 
much shorter, this year we ought to look for 
the cause of such good showing in Maine'and the 
opposite of it in our State. Maine requires all 
guides to register either as a general or a local 
guide and also requires, to some extent, that 
hunters and campers shall have a registered 
guide with them.. restricting the number of per¬ 
sons to five for one cniide. Maine has other 
cood regulations for those who hunt and fish 
there. 
5. It was also argued that the shortening of the 
open season would protect more fawns ar id small 
deer, but this does not so work out in practice, 
for one of present methods of driving deer re¬ 
sults in killing more small deer than ever before. 
Why? Because the fawns and small deer were 
found at the opening of the season, Oct. 1, in the 
low lands and not driven back on to the ridges 
by the September shooting as in years before, and 
as the leaves are off in October the hunters have 
a better chance to get small deer. A much 
larger proportion of fawns and small deer were 
killed in 1906 than in years past when we began 
shooting Sept. 1 with leaves on. 
6. Venison is at its best in November and of 
far more value to those who have it, for it can 
be kept, by reason of colder weather, and all 
used in the family. Those who live in the moun¬ 
tains, as a rule, will have November venison, and 
it is much better to let them have it in a lawful 
way. This leads to the thought that some pro¬ 
vision should be made so that persons who have 
lawfully taken game in possession may keep it 
for their own private use after the close season 
begins. 
Possession of Game During the Close Season 
Therefor. 
Section 4565c of the game laws of Wisconsin, 
after stating the law, penalties, etc., reads as fol¬ 
lows : “Section 4565^ Provided, however, that 
any person residing in this State who .shall law¬ 
fully kill any deer, may keep and consume the 
meat thereof in his own family by serving a 
written notice on the game warden, or the nearest 
deputy game warden on or before the last day 
of the open season for killing the deer, which 
notice shall state as near as may be when and 
where said deer was killed and the number of 
pounds of venison then in his possession and that 
the same is to be kept and used for his own 
family.” 
This might better agree with our conditions if 
it read something like the following: Provided, 
however, that any person residing in this State, 
who shall lawfully possess any deer or part of 
a deer, may keep and consume the meat thereof 
in his or her own family by serving a written 
notice on the nearest game protector, or on the 
town or county clerk of the town or county in 
which he or she resides on or before the last 
day of the open season for killing deer, which 
notice, shall state as nearly as may be when and 
where said deer was killed and the number of 
pounds of venison then in his or her possession 
and that the same is to be kept and used for his 
or her own family. 
Licenses for Hunting and Fishing. 
In connection with a close season for guns it 
may be well to consider a resident, non-resident 
and alien license, law to cover hunting and fish¬ 
ing. We have a mild one as against non-resi¬ 
dents (as amended by Chapter 475, Laws of 
1903), but it is not thought this has been very 
effective or that serious attempt has been made 
to enforce its provisions. 
Wisconsin has a resident and non-resident 
license law which provides: 
Section 1498P. For the issuing of licenses by 
each county clerk in the State, in two forms for 
non-residents, one for $25 to hunt deer, and the 
other at $10 to hunt all other game in open sea¬ 
son, providing also that the person who has 
paid the $25 license may also hunt all game. 
Section 14a. A resident must have a license, 
(fee $1.10) must not let others use it, must have 
it with him when hunting; and provides that 
residents under eighteen years of age may hunt, 
during open season, game birds, rabbits or squir¬ 
rels on land owned or occupied by parents with¬ 
out license. 
Section 1498s. Every person must have resided 
in the State a year previous to applying for a 
license as resident. Such person must swear to 
this and other facts and must have some other 
resident also verify the facts set forth in the 
application for a resident license. (This will 
