SUGGESTIONS TO SPORTSMEN. 275 
according to Frank Forester, those who, in covert 
and out of covert, the season through, will kill three 
out of five of the birds that rise fairly within range ; 
but in the opinion of the author, the application 
should be extended to any man who can kill two 
out of five on an average. This calculation, how- 
ever, has no reference to fair shots; every bird that 
rises within twenty-five yards and is seen, though it 
be but for an instant, and many that rise at thirty- 
five yards, are to be counted. 
In our country there is so much covert, that the 
man who picks his birds and only fires at open 
chances, is a potterer, unworthy even of the com- 
mon-place name of gunner; he has nothing of the 
sportsman and little of the man about him. Afraid 
to miss, anxious to boast of his skill, desirous of sur- 
passing his friends, he unites the qualities of braggart 
and sneak. 
Be liberal in your shots; do not grudge ammuni- 
tion, nor dread the disgrace of a miss—the disgrace 
of eluding the trial is far greater; and no man who 
waits for open shots, and acquires a hesitating man- 
ner, will ever effect anything brilliant. If you miss, 
there are always plenty of excellent excuses at hand 
—your foot slipped, the bird dodged, a tree inter- 
vened; or, you hit him hard, eut out his feathers, 
or even killed him stone dead, but he did not fall at 
once. If you doubt the validity of these excuses, 
go out with the best shot you know, and observe 
whether he does not furnish you with ten times the 
number in a week. 
