Do not shoot a specimen to pieces, or mutilate it beyond recognition by its own mother.
Study the moral principles of your guns, find out exactly what they will do with what you put into them, and then don't shoot your specimens too much. What is a tiger worth with the top of his head blown off, or a deer with a great hole torn in his side by an explosive bullet?
Three vital principles to be observed in hunting specimens are the following: See everything ahead, and allow nothing to see you. Shoot to kill, but shoot so as to get your specimen with the least possible mutilation. A squirrel shot with a rifle is usually unfit for a specimen, and a bird with its legs shot to pieces, mandibles shot off, and half its tail feathers torn to pieces is about the same as no bird at all, unless it happens to be a rare one. In using a rifle, get as close to your game as you can (unless it be a tiger or bear!), so as to be sure of getting it. With the shot-gun, get as far away as you dare, so as to get no more shot into your bird than is necessary to kill it.
It is a disgrace for a collector to shoot a bird to pieces and be obliged to throw it away.
I append a showing of what I use in collecting, according to circumstances. It is hardly likely that any two collectors in the world agree on these points, therefore I do not expect that these tables will suit the old hands. I put them forth as mere suggestions to beginners.
Recommendations in Regard to Hunting with the Rifle.
| Animals to kill. | Weapon to use. | Charge of | Weight of | Best |
| powder. | bullet. | distance. | ||
| Elephant | Smooth-bore, | 6 drs. | Spherical, | 30 yds. |
| No. 8. | pure zinc. | |||
| Tiger, bear, elk, deer, sheep, seals, | ||||
| large crocodiles | Maynard, 45. | 85 grs. | 295 grs. | 75 " |
| Apes, monkeys, small ruminants, | ||||
| and small carnivora | Maynard, 40. | 60 " | 200 " | 50 " |
Recommendations in Regard to Hunting with the Shot-gun.
| Animals to kill. | Weapon to use. | Charge of | Charge of shot. |
| powder. | |||
| Deer | No. 10. | 6 drs. | 20, No. 8 buckshot. |
| Fox | " 10. | 5 " | 1-1/2 oz., No. 00. |
| Woodchuck | " 10. | 3 " | 1-1/4 " " 2. |
| Squirrel | " 12. | 3 " | 1-1/2 " " 6. |
| Chipmunk | " 16. | 2 " | 1 " " 10. |
| Eagle Duck | |||
| Powder. | |||
| Eagle, crane, vulture | " 10 or 12. | 5 drs. | 1-1/2 " Double 00. |
| Turkey buzzard | " 10 or 12. | 4 " | 1-1/4 " No. 4. |
| Crow | " 12. | 3 " | 1-1/4 " " 6. |
| Quail | " 12. | 3 " | 1-1/2 " " 8. |
| Robin | " 12. | 2-1/2 drs. | 1 " " 10. |
| Warbler | " 16. | 2-1/2 " | 1 " " 12. |
| Humming-bird | " 16, or | 2 " | 1 oz. dust shot. |
| Auxiliary, 22.[2] |