SHOOTING ON THE WING. 61 



withstanding our own personal experience teaches us quite the 

 contrary. For "snap shooting" this plan certainly answers a 

 very good purpose; but a "snap shot" is generally a very dis- 

 agreeable companion to shoot with, and we would not advise any 

 of our friends to be ambitious in this particular. The birds are 

 usually, under the hands of a "snap shot," horribly mangled, and 

 frequently fired upon before his companion has time to put up his 

 piece, which, to say the least of it, if often repeated, is ill-bred 

 on the part of the shooter and mortifying to his companion. 



Although we do not admire a "snap shot," we trust that our 

 readers will not understand us as recommending a "poking shot" 

 to their attention; for we most heartily detest a "poking shot," 

 who brings up his gun ever and anon, and dwells upon his bird, 

 following it in its course for several yards before drawing the 

 trigger, or perhaps takes his gun down without firing at all, com- 

 placently remarking "that he could not cover it to his satis- 

 faction." Such a poker usually prides himself upon his excellent 

 shooting; that is, notes down with unexampled minuteness the 

 exact number of shots he has made in the course of the day 

 without missing a bird. Such kind of shooting we entirely 

 eschew, and consider it beneath the dignity of a true sportsman ; 

 as for ourselves, we would rather miss three shots out of five, all 

 day long, than go pottering about in this style, picking our shots. 

 If the art of shooting is to be reduced to such a systematic piece 

 of business that we are never to shoot except when we are sure 

 of killing our bird, we for one would be glad enough to abandon 

 the field altogether, as one-half, if not all, the pleasurable excite- 

 ment consequent upon the pursuit of game consists in the un- 

 certainty, the doubts, the disappointments, and hopes, that we 

 encounter. If on the one hand we suffer some personal chagrin 

 owing to our carelessness in missing a fair shot, we receive on the 

 other hand double gratification in killing on a doubtful chance ; 

 and the results of the day's shooting will always be in favor of the 

 man who shoots at all and every chance, though he may have 

 missed three times as often as the tedious "potterer." 



