73 [('n.M'. Xf\', 



rvRAs. ;;9 it 4<t. | 



The regulation heio-ht for an overhead telegraph wire 

 in Indian cities is about 22 feet, but if you were to 

 assure the diffident sportsman that it is easily possible to 

 hit Duck at four and five times that heiglit, he would say 



you were a , or perhaps one should say he would need 



some persuasion to make him believe it. On the other 

 some expect the powder, which is made as quick as 

 science will produce, to do the impossible. As stated 

 in a previous portion of the book, with the best powders 

 in common use, shot travels forty yards in one-seventh of 

 a second and faster at shorter ranges ; with a bird there- 

 fore travelling at right angles across the firer at a speed 

 of forty miles an hour, the forward allowance should be 

 one foot for every five yards of distance, i.e., eight feet 

 for the forty yards. Now, as noted in Chapter IX, the 

 speed of driven Duck may often be much greater than 

 forty miles an hour, so one can hardly err on the side of 

 holding too far ahead. It is safe to say that most birds 

 going at high speed are missed behind. 



The twelve-bore is the best all-round weapon, without 

 a doubt, and, if one likes, one can buy them with 

 chambers made to take long cases up to two-andseven eighths 

 inches with specially heavy " wild- fowl " charges ; they 

 vill however of course not be as light as the ordinary gun 

 that takes the two-and-a half inch case. There are some 

 men, and most ladies, who prefer the lighter sixteen-bore 

 gun. If so, they must not expect it to do alt a. twelve-bore 

 does. 



40. The beginner will often enviously watch the skilled Best size of 

 hand bringing down birds at what seem to him amazingly ^'^^y*^^ 

 long ranges. He thinks this must have something to do 

 witli the size of shot the artist selects, but is surprised 

 to find that the size is the same as what he himself 

 is using. What is happening is thai the good shot 

 is putting the pellets in the right place, not making 

 them go further or hit harder. A single cartridge contains 

 from a little under 200 to a little under 300 pellets of the 

 sizes commonly used for birds about the size of Duck. A 

 single one of them, if properly placed, is enough to bring 

 the bird down. What then is the best size to use ? The 

 large pellet, some argue, has greater penetration, but, on 

 the other hand it presents, itself, a greater resisting 

 surface to the matter it is meant to pierce. The big shot, c- 



again, many say, is likely to break a wing bone at long- 

 range where the smaller pellet woidd glance off. •• Ah," 

 replies the expert, " but you shouldn't hit a bird as far 

 back as that; you should always take him in the head," 

 a counsel of perfection to which few attain. There is no 

 doubt whatever, though, that the most vulnerable portions 

 of a l3ird are his head and neck, since these are very 



10 



