Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-01-05
GAME LAWS AND THE LONG
RANGE RIFLE.


EDIToK PILoT
In last Saturdays Wausau Record,
G. N. johnson has communication in
regard to the game laws and recon-
mends changes to protect the deer and
also to prevent hunting accidents.
The article displays so much ignor-
ance of the nature of hunters, game
and fire arms, that it is not worthy of
answer but FOR the fact that our game
laws are made by men, many of whom
are just as ignorant of conditions asis
the Records correspondent.
The correspondent accepts, as fact.
the general idea, for which the news
papers are largely to blame, that there
is large loss of human life and limb,
from hunters mistaking men for deer
and shooting at them. AS matter of
fact such accidents are rare, nearly all
the hunting accidents being caused
from the careless and ignorant hand
| ling of fire arms, resulting in accidents
to the hunter or his companions at
close range, without any aim at game
or supposed game. All such accidents.
many of them occurring in rabbit, squir-
rel and bird shooting, and often in
counties where there are no deer, are
charged up to the fatal deer hunting
season.
A few years ago party of alleged
hunters, from the lower part of the
state, in camp near Harshaw, under.
took to reload their shells. They sat
and smoked around can OF powder.
OF course there was an explosion and
the four or five lunatics were added to
the list of injured of the fatal deer hunt.
ing season.
Mr. johnson sees a remedy for these
casualties in the amendment of the
game laws by doing away with the long
range rifle He cites the Case of Sena
tor Roehr, wounded at Trout Lake last
fall while hunting in Senator Wright's
party, and says: "The recent wound.
| ing of Senator Roehr, of Milwaukee
while hunting in Northern Wisconsin
illustrates the danger of the long range
rifle. II the hunter who fired the shot
that manned Senator Roehr for life had
only an ordinary rifle he would
have heard and perhaps seen the hunt
ing party the senator was with and the
accident would not have happened ,
As MIR. johnson lives at Merrill where
several of that hunting party reside, We
cannot understand how he used thi:
ease as an example. The only accounts
given TO the press agree with the &C
count of Chief of Police, Jenson, of Mil
waukee, one of the party who was pres
ent when the accident occurred. he
says the shot was fired accidentally bJ
one of their own party, as they were
standing together prepared to return tc
camp. At such close range it was lucky
for the senator that the shot came from
a long range rifle instead of shot gun
Mr.. johnson says the killing and
manning of hunters is the result of the
operation of the game laws and the
long range rifles allowed" Is that 80
The long range rifle gets its range from
the fact that it shoots smokeless pow.
der. In hunting deer, it is true the
long range is not needed, as deer can
only be seen 8 short distance III the
woods of Northern Wisconsin- The
long range rifle isaused for the purpose
of getting the striking force of . bullet
propelled by the powerful su3keIess
powder, producing shock that stops
. deer, where he would often get away
with shot with black powder back of
it. AS far as the deer is concerned
smokeIess powder is a mercifnl agency.