Of course it would be easy to recommend a large assortment of different weapons for different purposes, but when it comes to providing an outfit of firearms, I must say I never cared to take care of more than three or four weapons, and I doubt if the average amateur will feel disposed to maintain a small arsenal. In preparing the above tables I have limited the weapons to those I have actually used. For my use, the following constitutes a model collector's outfit of firearms for all purposes in all countries. It is cheap, but first class, not cumbersome, easily cared for in all climates, and equal to every occasion that can arise:
1 No. 8 double breech-loading smooth-bore, and
1 Auxiliary barrel, No. 22, for very small birds (price, $12).
1 Calibre 45-85 Maynard rifle, 1 calibre 40-60 rifle-barrel, and 1 No. 16 shot-barrel, all to fit interchangeably on the same stock. A smaller rifle-barrel might also be added, but it is not really necessary.
1 Calibre 45-75 7-shot Winchester.
1 No. 12 breech-loading shot-gun.
The Winchester is useful for rapid firing at short range, but the Maynard is the weapon to depend upon for perfect accuracy at all ranges.
Knives.—For general use the best knife for the collector or taxidermist is a steel-handled cartilage-knife, as shown in Fig. 1, B. It costs seventy-five cents. There are two kinds of cartilage-knives, but the one shown has the best-shaped blade.
[a]Fig. 1.]—The Best Knives for a Collector or Taxidermist (about two-thirds actual size). A, Russell's "killing-knife;" B, Cartilage-knife.
For heavier work the best knife I have ever used or seen is the so-called "killing-knife," No. 01512, as shown in Fig. 1, A, made by John Russell, Green River Works, Turner's Falls, Mass., the retail price of which is only seventy-five cents. Had I designed it myself, especially for collectors' use, I could not have done better. The shape of the blade, the thickness of it, and the shape of the handle are all perfect. If you cannot procure one of these knives, then buy a good butcher-knife, and grind the blade down to this shape. A knife with a straight edge is not fit to use, for many reasons.
Always keep a good coarse (water) whetstone for large knives, and a Wichita oil-stone and oil for your finer knives, and the final touches to your large ones.
Seasons for Collecting.—Mammals.—In the temperate zone never take fur-bearing or game animals before September 1st, or later than February 1st, if possible to avoid it. On most of these mammals the pelage is the finest during November and December. It is then at its maximum length, very clean and well dressed, and also at its brightest color. The ruminants begin to shed in May (the American bison as early as March), and by July the new hair upon them is only about half an inch long, but very fine and sleek. At that time it does not have its natural color. In our country, September, October, and November are the months par excellence for the taking of mammals, especially the large species, for after December 1st the storms and snows of winter render their haunts untenable for the hunter, unless he builds a cabin in the woods and makes a winter of it. The haunts of the mountain sheep and goat must be abandoned by December 1st, at the latest, on account of the snow. The best time to take families of young mammals is from May to August. If taken earlier they are too young, and later they have passed their most interesting age. The smaller the species are, the quicker the young mature, and in collecting all such, the naturalist must be on the keen lookout to take them at the precise time they reach the most interesting size and age.
Birds.—In the temperate zone the best months for bird collecting are March, April, May, June, September, October, and November; but since the study of migration depends upon collections and observations made all the year round, there is really no time to begin collecting, and no time to cease. At the same time the amateur will soon discover that, aside from the birds that are found only in their particular season, the greatest number of species to be obtained in the Northern United States come in the months mentioned; and, of course, in the cold half of the year they are most plentiful in the South, whither they go to escape the cold weather. In the northern regions bird-collecting naturally begins with the spring migration from the South, and is most active from that time up to the end of June. During July and August the old birds are moulting, and the young ones have immature plumage and stub tails.