The Philosophy of Despair

atters little what calibre rifle is used. Years ago when I began to hunt turkeys the muzzle-loading

enough game in the morning to supply his dinner, and was allowed one load of p

not too much twist in the rifle; one twist or turn in five feet was about the thing. T

ge, especially the Frank Wesson rifle; but none of them had enough velocity to do as fine shooting as is required in turkey shooting above 75 to 100 yards. With me the .38 calibre Wesson rifle did mo

g gun I ever used on turkeys was a .32-20 Winches

nditions and at the same time leave a minimum trace through the bird; and a flat trajectory for

rds is very thin and delicate; the flesh under it, especially the breast, is extremely tender and juicy, and a rifle bullet passing through it with grea

reduced as much as possible without injury to accuracy. It would have ample force and not tear the flesh and give even greater penetration than the .32-

to be preferred, as it concentrates its shot-which is a desirable quality in scoring-on the head or neck, the only mark for a shotgun on a turkey

nter. The turkey is not built or in any way adapted to being so shot, but there are men so nervous and excitable that they cannot still-hunt turkeys. Such men must be going all the time, and their only chance is to scare up the birds and shoot them on the wing. They are not of the stuff that make good turkey hunters, and

ually filled with shot. Hallock says: "If the hunter be so fortunate as to get within reach of a turkey, let him take deliberate aim at the head if he has a rifle, but the possessor of a shotgun should cover the whole body." To me this seems absurd, for it is the reverse of this that I wou

s his legs can carry him, for, unless your bullet has passed through his body, striking a vital part, the bird is likely to escape. If circumstances are such that you cannot procure a rifle, or are wedded to a shotgun, I should advise the use of No. 6 shot, and would recommend aiming at the head of the bird, unless they are young birds and quite near enough to make sure your shot. Do not use buckshot if you can procure any other. Should you use No. 5 or 6 shot and aim at the head, you will be surprised to learn at what range you can kill a turkey. Some hunters who use