SEPTEMBER, 1917 
FOREST AND STREAM 
»> 
O 
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reliable rifle, you certainly can’t with a six- 
shooter ! Moreover quietness in camp is a 
sine qua non when near the haunts of all 
game, especially Bighorn, therefore shoot¬ 
ing with any kind of arm should'never be 
indulged in. Guides carry on the saddle 
their own axes, which must be heavy enough 
to cut out dead and standing timber found 
in the way on a trail, or for camp use. 
Bring your own blankets or sleeping bag, 
if you prefer it, with the dunnage outlined 
above, outfitters will find all other camp 
equipment. 
As to the best type of rifle for all-round 
work in the Rockies, each sportsman will 
have his own opinion despite anything that 
can be said herein to the contrary. My 
experience is that the latest type of mili¬ 
tary rifle (built for sporting use) gives the 
best results on all varieties of big game 
found in the Rockies—when a second and 
heavier rifle is not carried by the sports¬ 
man’s guide—such as perfect accuracy at 
all ranges, low trajectory and smashing 
power. These three combined are abso¬ 
lutely necessary. In the higher altitudes 
Sheep, Goat, Cougar or Mule Deer, offer 
shots, as a rule, at long range under at¬ 
mospheric conditions that puzzle and de¬ 
ceive—high winds, never steady in one 
point for a minute, that drive the dust in 
swirling clouds. Again mists float up, 
down or across, obscuring everything from 
view, to be swept aside in a few minutes 
as though by an unseen hand, or a snow¬ 
storm sweeps and rages for 20 minutes, 
leaving a white blanket behind, and all 
this in a highly rarified atmosphere that is 
very deceptive at all times to judge dis¬ 
tance in correctly. Here accuracy and low 
trajectory up to four or five hundred yards 
is the proper weapon. On the other hand, 
smashing power is wanted—and badly 
wanted!—should a grizzly, moose or wapiti 
suddenly come into view at varying ranges 
in the great park-like basins, or among 
scrubby timber and under-brush at head of 
ravines or side hills, through which you 
will pass on the way from camp to sheep 
and goat ranges. 
In September the former in his many- 
colored coats—cinnamon, dark silver- 
tipped, or brownish with gray-white tips, 
from which the Grizzly takes its name— 
may be met with in the above mentioned 
places in search of the last to ripen ber¬ 
ries, for which they have to road over con¬ 
siderable ground, or ripping up ground- 
squirrel burrows by the square yard, to say 
nothing about turning over half-ton rocks 
in search of ant-eggs, to the danger of all 
and sundry a thousand feet below! On 
coming suddenly upon this first-class, hefty 
burglar at close quarters, he will decide 
on one of two things remarkably quick— 
either to leave in a hurry, or fight without 
any talk, especially if a mother with cubs. 
If the former you want some sort of a 
shooting tool that smashes up things when 
it hits; if the latter, and you are not mar¬ 
ried or in debt, you will have to play the 
MAN, whether armed with a 3-inch rapid- 
fire, 4 bore shotgun, or ordinary rifle. Prob¬ 
ably the shotgun in this case would be the 
best weapon. Don’t look round for the 
proverbial tree that is easy to climb, it 
ain’t there, it never is and would be of no 
use if it was, as in doing a 100-yard sprint 
in the usual 10 seconds this clumsy look¬ 
ing thief can give away points and win in 
that distance. Stand perfectly still, keep 
your head and nerve and shoot for the 
two most vital points, head and neck. 
Should a chest shot offer—as it will if 
charging up hill—don’t take it! A grizzly 
has enormous vitality and although its 
heart and lungs may be shot to pieces, it 
will still live long enough to tear a couple 
of men up pretty badly. Remember a 
bear’s weakest point is its eyes, its strong¬ 
est, ears and nose, therefore to run is only 
to make matters worse. If the bear is be¬ 
low you break the back-bone over the kid¬ 
neys, this is a fatal shot. 
P ERSONALLY I use a 303 Lee-Enfield, 
bolt action, 25^2-inch barrel, or 44 
inches over all, weight 7 pounds 4 
ounces, with sling strap. The best car¬ 
tridges for this rifle for all-round work, 
are the special cordite high velocity, with 
spitzer copper tube expanding bullet 
(which is some 30 odd grains lighter than 
the Regulation 217 grain) therefore low 
trajectory, splendid accuracy and powei. 
The same cartridge used in other rifles, 
whether bolt or under lever, will doubt¬ 
less give the same results, so that sports¬ 
men have a wide field to choose from, 
providing it is no longer in the barrel, or 
over all, as it is carried in a leather scab¬ 
bard under the saddle-flap. Furthermore, 
a long barreled rifle is very awkward in 
thick timber or underbrush, to say nothing 
of climbing up steep mountain sides, etc. 
Every inch in length and ounce in weight, 
counts up rapidly in packing by horse, or 
carrying all day in such terrain as out¬ 
lined. The same applies to fishing rods. 
A 12-foot rod should be in 4 pieces, other¬ 
wise it stands a good chance of being 
smashed up. Even then it should be well 
protected whether carried on riding or 
pack-saddle. 
The two main rivers in this district are 
the Kootenay and Columbia. Curiously 
enough, the former heads in the North end 
on the Western slopes of the Main Range 
of the Rockies and runs South, while the 
latter heads in the South end on the East¬ 
ern slopes of the lofty Selkirk and runs 
North, a single range dividing them for 
over 100 miles as the crow flies, when the 
Kootenay cuts through this range and 
(continued on page 446) 
Gathered around the camp fire discussing the events of the day 
