With the addition of 10 large skinning knives, this was the identical outfit I took with me on two collecting trips to Montana, during which we skinned and skeletonized 24 buffaloes, about 20 antelope, 10 deer, 9 coyotes, and a goodly number of birds and small mammals.
The points in favor of this outfit are its cheapness, compactness, portability, and great general utility. It can be carried in a knapsack behind a saddle on an overland journey, and to an explorer it is useful in a hundred ways besides those for which it is specially intended.
FIREARMS.--The gun question is a good deal like the wife question--every man prefers to choose for himself, and advice is chiefly superfluous. Nevertheless, to those who have as yet no preferences, I will briefly state mine, and the reasons for them.
If I could have but one weapon, I should choose the Maynard rifle, calibre 40, with extra long cartridge, and a No. 12 shot-barrel fitting to the same stock, and interchangeable in less than fifteen seconds of time. The rifle is light and handy; it hits hard, and is as true as steel ever gets to be. It will hit every time precisely where you hold it. Its construction is so simple it seldom breaks or gets out of order, the brass shells never wear out, and when loaded are about as impervious to water as marine torpedoes. Should you go under water--rifle, cartridges, and all--you have only to "bob up serenely," and go on firing as if nothing had happened.
By the addition of a shot-barrel, at a very slight expense, you have, in reality, two good breech-loading weapons that will serve you well for general purposes.
For ordinary large game I also prefer the Maynard rifle, but of a heavier calibre than the above. Calibre 45 is the best size, taking the U.M.C. Co.'s Bullard cartridges loaded with 85 grains of powder and 295 grains of lead. These with the Maynard make a beautiful combination. It carries point-blank up to 170 yards, if not even 200; the ball has great accuracy and penetration, with a very low trajectory, and very little recoil. A heavier bullet means a hearty kick and loss of accuracy, and one of 500 grains of lead means occasional blood at your end of the gun, and a black and blue shoulder.