322 WILD FOWL SHOOTING. 
And now we come to the most important thing to be 
learned in wild fowl shooting—the science of holding. 
There has been a vast amount of discussion during the 
past ten years on the subject, and the advocates of 
holding on and ahead still live, breathe, and are multi- 
plying over the earth. 
Whether or not it is best to hold six inches or as 
many feet ahead of cross-flying objects from the trap, 
will not be entered into here, our object being to learn 
all we can as to the best manner of shooting wild fowl. 
There are, we might say, two different methods of 
aiming. First, as a snap-shot; second, as a deliberate 
shot. I give the definition of both in the language of 
Mr. T. S. Van Dyke, one of the best posted writers in 
the world. 
He defines a Snap Shot to be, “when the gun is 
jerked to the shoulder the instant the game is seen, the 
eye catches a dim glimmering glimpse of the gun in 
the right position, and the shooter fires simultaneously 
with such glimpse, or else shifts the gun quickly into 
the right position, if it is pointed wrong, then catches 
another dim glimpse of its being right, and fires simul- 
taneously. 
“A Deliberate Shot: First, the cool, deliberate aim, 
which catches a full, clear view of the bird and _ bar- 
rels, and sees plainly that the barrels lie in the right 
(lirection, either on the game or at the proper distance 
ahead of it, but does not delay pulling the trigger an 
instant after the eye does see the gun is right. This is 
the aim of the successful duck-shooter, of the cool shot 
on prairie-chicken, and the great majority of shots gen- 
erally on game in the open, where no special haste 
is necessary.” 
