208 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 5, 1911. 
but just as much of the delight of fly-fishing 
lies in the clever manipulation of rod and flies, 
so does a large portion of the pleasure of still¬ 
hunting rest in the chase itself; in the circumven¬ 
tion and outwitting of a deer’s strategies of es¬ 
cape; and in the ultimate satisfaction of beating 
him at his own game. 
The first important thing to be thought about 
when you are going still-hunting is proper foot¬ 
gear. Boots and shoes, good for tramping and 
general work in the wilderness, are useless in 
this line. Through a thick sole you cannot 
feel the little branches that crack so treacher¬ 
ously under foot, and the brush is always scrap¬ 
ing and slapping against the leather. To go 
silently you must be able to test the ground at 
every step, and with a subtle intuitive faculty 
foretell the possible breaking of a twig. This 
can only be accomplished by wearing such foot¬ 
gear as will not interfere in any way with one’s 
sense of touch. 
For wet or dry weather there is nothing 
better than moccasins. Whether they are made 
of buckskin or moosehide is merely a matter 
of choice. For myself I prefer buckskin, hav¬ 
ing hunted in them almost entirely, and always 
found them pliant and easy to the foot. With 
these I wear a pair of soft woolen stockings, 
an additional pair of lumberman’s socks, and 
for the sake of warmth and dryness, a light pair 
of rubber shoes pulled on over the moccasins. 
Besides the comfort of dryness afforded by the 
latter, they are a great protection against stone 
bruises, for unless you have been walking a good 
deal in moccasins, and so hardened the soles 
of your feet, you are liable to suffer consider¬ 
able discomfort during a long tiresome tramp. 
With the above rig, however, you will be able 
to walk miles without fatigue, you will never go 
lame, and your feet, except under trying con¬ 
ditions, will always be dry. Several firms are 
putting out a very good rubber hunting shoe 
with a waterproof canvas top that does well for 
some people. But they are usually heavy and 
the top frequently gets waterlogged. On the 
whole, I prefer the moccasins and rubbers. 
Now a few hints in regard to the actual prac¬ 
tice of walking quietly, and when I say quietly 
I mean without sound. If two of you are out 
together, always hunt single file. Let the man 
behind step as nearly as possible in the tracks 
of the one who goes ahead. Lift your feet a 
trifle higher than in ordinary walking and plant 
them firmly and carefully at every step, the 
pressure being equalized on ball and heel. 
Under a variety of weather conditions you 
will find no better precept to follow. Even 
when the leaves are deep and comparatively dry 
you can go “still” by doing this; and the man 
walking behind often sees game that the one 
ahead has overlooked. 
Make it a rule always to hunt slowly. It is 
better to cover a mile at a snail’s pace, scan¬ 
ning every inch of the ground in advance at 
every step, than to travel double that distance 
without caution. Careless hunting invariably 
means failure, for if'there are any deer in the 
vicinity, you are just as likely to strike them 
within the radius of a mile as within five or 
six. 
As far as clothes are concerned, take Stuart 
Edward White’s advice and never wear a coat. 
An old vest with plenty of pockets, a flannel 
shirt, a warm sweater—not the kind, by the 
way, that smothers you around the neck with a 
mas of wool—will prove, unless the weather is 
very sharp, to be entirely sufficient. Then, if 
you must have a coat, wear a light weight 
blanket mackinaw. 
When hunting I usually carry a diminutive 
waterproof pack. Into this I put a compass, 
matches, camera films, extra cartridges, and if 
we do not intend to return to camp before 
nightfall, some hardtack, a box of sardines and 
a cake of chocolate. Thus equipped, you are 
ready to tramp all day, from sunrise' until dark. 
In case you get lost or caught out over night, 
you will never suffer any serious inconvenience 
or discomfort. You will not be like an old 
guide of my acquaintance who went hunting one 
day with an empt^ match safe. In the after¬ 
noon he lost his bearings and had to sit out 
half the night with the young sportsman he was 
guiding. Now, when his friends accost him 
they generally inquire, “Got any matches, Jerry?” 
Jerry grins and shakes his head, the subject be¬ 
ing a sore point with him, but his matchbox is 
always full. 
With such a pack you are doubly sure of hav¬ 
ing means with which to kindle a fire; a com¬ 
pass to use in locating yourself the next day, 
and food enough to keep you going for twenty- 
four hours. It can rain buckets and you your¬ 
self be soaked to the skin, but these necessary 
articles you will always find to be perfectly dry. 
Choice of rifles is entirely a matter of per¬ 
sonal taste. Some prefer one, others another; 
each man thinks his own is the best. Among 
deer hunters throughout the East and the West 
the .30-30 caliber is undoubtedly most popular 
at the present time; and for long range shoot¬ 
ing it is excellent. But in the Adirondacks, 
where you seldom have to shoot further than a 
hundred yards, such a high power rifle seems 
hardly necessary, and in a region so populous 
with hunters, is always dangerous. 
One of the most serviceable weapons I know 
of for general use in the woods is the three- 
barreled gun, the rifle barrel being set below 
and between the shot barrels. It is manufac¬ 
tured by several firearms companies, and the 
standard rifle caliber .38-53 barrel is usually 
fitted with twelve-gauge shot barrels, although 
smaller gauges are, of course obtainable. With 
it you are always prepared to meet anything 
that comes along—deer, partridges and all kinds 
of small game—while a charge of buckshot 
often proves most adequate in jumping an ani¬ 
mal or trailing up a wounded deer. 
Perhaps there is no rifle more handy for 
carrying around the woods than a .38-40 re¬ 
peater. It weighs but little and can be easily 
and accurately manipulated. Of course, for 
large game it would be too light, but for deer 
it has all the power and velocity needed. 
A great many repeaters are equipped with ex¬ 
press sights, which by reason of their sharp 
outlines and well defined bead (one with an 
ivory tip is perhaps the best), seldom fall short 
of a fine accuracy difficult to improve upon. 
And one of the most satisfactory things about 
repeaters in general is the fact that even though 
left uncleaned and allowed to rust, they will 
practically never get out of working order; and 
never by any chance will they be likely to jam 
a cartridge. 
For years I have carried an antiquated model 
repeater, caliber .40-65. It has a report like a 
ten-inch gun, sends up a cloud of black powder 
smoke that reminds one of an offensive automo¬ 
bile, and weighs nine pounds, yet I do not think 
I will ever part with it. Undoubtedly the .38-40 
is preferable in regard to weight and for gen¬ 
eral use, but then if you happen upon a bear, 
the .40-65 with its heavier bullet and greater 
shocking power will hardly come amiss. It is a 
good plan to have your rifle sighted so that 
you can hold about the same at forty as you 
would at one hundred yards. Shifting the sight 
a notch at a crucial moment is precarious busi¬ 
ness and has lost me more than one deer. On 
the other hand, if'it is nicely adjusted you will 
be able to shoot at these distances and all in¬ 
termediate ones without a change. 
Still-hunting in dry weather is always a prob¬ 
lem. You will have many disappointments, en¬ 
counter a variety of irritations and frighten 
half a dozen deer before you see one in reality. 
But if you are patient you are pretty sure in 
the end to obtain the desired shot. 
There are days, of course, when in spite of 
all care exercised, you simply cannot hunt 
quietly. In October, with several inches of 
crisp, rustling leaves carpeting the forest, it 
becomes an impossibility, unless a heavy frost 
having fallen during the night, you are able to 
filch a few hours’ hunting in the morning while 
the leaves are wet under the thawing rays of 
the sun. And yet, directly contrary to all this, 
you may happen to bag the largest head of the 
season on a day when the leaves rattle at every 
step and the sun beams down through the tree- 
tops with the warmth of Indian summer. Sev¬ 
eral times have I shot fine bucks under such 
conditions, and perhaps the golden rule to fol¬ 
low if you want to get your deer, and especially 
if your time is limited, is to keep going every 
day, and hunt from daylight until dark, no 
matter what the weather may be. 
The very best time for still-hunting is after a 
rain or a prolonged, heavy shower. The deer 
are always moving around and you can walk 
without making a sound. After rain or on a 
stormy day, moreover, you know just about 
where you will be likely to find the deer. You 
know they will be feeding or lying down in the 
vicinity of low ground and on certain ridge 
slopes where thickets of little spruce and hem¬ 
lock give them shelter. Wet weather is there¬ 
fore a joy to the still-hunter, for it means see¬ 
ing deer where otherwise you would only be 
witness to vanishing tails. 
In the early chill of an autumn morning, be it 
clear or stormy, you are almost sure to find 
deer along the high ridges or feeding near the 
edge of old burnings, and fallows. Likewise, 
you are practically certain of coming across 
them in these same localities toward nightfall. 
Deer usually lie down and ruminate during the 
middle of the day, and their most active feed¬ 
ing hours occur with the rising and setting of 
the sun, and also during the night. 
Flardwood ridges and open valleys where the 
beechnuts are plentiful usually prove fine hunt¬ 
ing grounds during late September and Oc¬ 
tober. Should you happen across a knoll with 
a little glade of ferns and mountain grasses situ¬ 
ated near the top, always approach it with the 
utmost caution. Deer love such a place, es¬ 
pecially grizzled old bucks, and use it as a sort 
of lookout when they are lying down, and if 
you do not catch them napping on the crest, 
