70 BAY-SNIPE SHOOTING. 
Moreover, the excitement of a rapid flight is 
intense ; the birds arrive much faster than the muz- 
zle-loader can be charged, anda flock will hover round 
the stand, returning again and again in the most 
bewildering manner ; as there are usually two sports- 
men in each stand, and the stands are often in sight 
of one another, a sense of rivalry is added to the 
other difficulties of the position. 
As the birds approach, great judgment is required 
in selecting the proper time to fire, both as regards 
the condition of the flock and their position relative 
to the associate sportsman; they must be allowed 
to come well within the reach of both, and yet be 
taken when they are most together, and not allowed 
to pass so far as to endanger the success of the se- 
cond barrel. Each sportsman must invariably fire 
at his side of the flock, and wait till it is well abreast 
of him, and never either shoot over his neighbor’s 
corner of the stand or at his portion of the birds. 
Nothing is so disagreeable as to have a gun dis- 
charged close to one’s head, except perhaps to have 
it discharged at one’s head ; the noise and jar pro- 
duce painful and dangerous effects, and unsettle a 
person’s nerves for hours. No man who will fire 
by his associate without presenting his gun well be- 
fore him, can know the first principles of gunnery 
—or who, if knowing them, wilfully disregards their 
effects, is a fit companion. The concussion from the 
explosion is exceedingly unpleasant, even if the gun 
is several feet off, and will produce a slight deafness. 
Of the number of birds which can be bagged, it 
