ur. Ba. T, Hornaday-#2. provision of a rational game law - or a law against horse stealing for that matter, But we found the law of this state limits the number of birds a man may take in a season, which would justify any remarks that might be made along that line; for a more impossible provision could not be imagined, There are but few shooters who know themselves how many birds they kill during the season, You know the efficiency of all guns has been increased, The double gun manufacturer has used every effort to make that gun as deadly as possible: within the last few years it has been made breech loading, automatic cocking, automatic ejecting and automatic single trigger, It has also been chocked to increase the rage; frequently one barrel is open for long range, So it is to smother the game much more efficient at short range, and the than it was a few years other ago, choked It is not, however, the improvements in double guns or other guns that are responsible for any scarcity of game; it is the immense number of guns in use, principal-= ly cheap ones; but also generosity of the game laws and the laxity of their enforce| ment, which is always the case when the game in plentiful. But few people have the least idea how many cheap guns are made in this country yearly: One manufacturer has a capacity of 1,000 shotguns daily (This alone is many times more than the combined manufacture of guns in this class a few years ago); and there are no less than three others who make upwards of 75,000 each and a half dozen more who make upwards of 10,000 each yearly. Nearly all of the above guns retail for less than $5.00 each. About two thirds of all guns made and imported into this and imported country into sell for less than $5.00 this country sell for each, less and than over four $12.00 each. fifths of the guns made This enables the white boy, the Negro boy and the foreigner to have a good efficient breech loading shotgun, These shooters are legion and sentiment or a law that is not enforced does not have much consideration with them, They clean out the coveys, and the foreigners especially are after small birds; for it is well-known such birds are a great delicacy with them, This and as for automatic purpose, e class of the killing gun) would . shooters do not buy of song and plumage say there never Huy’ } was guns that birds (which a gun made ses a do not sell you lay at which a is less Os for less than $30.00; the door of the for that adapted . ) The price of single breech loading shotguns has decreased about one half in the last ten years, and the number manufactured has increased until at present there are at least ten times as many being made in this country as there were ten years ago. There are millions of shotguns in use also millions of smal] calibre rifles, and the idea of proteding game by legislating our gun out of existence when the production of it can never exceed 2 1/2 per cent., is not only absolutely impossible, but to my mind, it is idealistic in the extreme, If all the shotguns in use in this country were single barrel muzzle loaders, there beingno other restrictions; or if all the laws were like those of New Jersey, the game would have no protection comared with what a little judicious general legislation would give it, Now, just a word about the automatic gun: It is not automatic many seem to suppose. It is loaded automatically by the recoil; but the It is adapted only to moderate to be pulled and released for each shot. larger than 3 14 absorbed in the ache, otherwise rapidity as the taken, the game The recoil as a great trigger has loads, not is largely 3 drams of powder, operation, which does away with resulting from the "kicking". the It black and blue shoulder and head= shoots two shots with the same drams nor smaller than double gun; and then, as shooters know, if reasonablycareful aim is is sure to be out of range and the remaining shots are exceedingly