SUGGESTIONS TO SPORTSMEN. 279 
even ten or fifteen, ahead of him; and then you will 
rarely succeed in discharging your piece before he is 
abreast of the muzzle, and frequently will lag behind 
him. ‘The aim must be taken on the line of flight, 
and a little attention will convince you that the bird 
is up with the sight ere the trigger is fairly pulled. 
A knowledge of this principle, and an ability to 
practise it, may be said to be the art of duck-shoot- 
ing; as in that there are a vast majority of cross 
shots, and the birds fly rapidly. 
There is an erroneous idea that the eye must be 
lowered close down to the breech, in order to have 
a correct aim ; but, while it is apparent if the neck is 
not bent at all there can be no aim, a slight inaccuracy 
will not only make no difference, but will give an 
advantage by throwing the shot high. It will be 
perceived, on fastening the gun in an immovable 
position, that the eye may be moved from near one 
hammer to the other, and the aim altered but a few 
inches, on an object thirty yards distant—an inac- 
curacy, considering the spread of shot, which is 
utterly unimportant. 
So also, although by the attraction of gravitation 
the charge falls somewhat, the deflection is too in- 
considerable to merit attention. 
After watching himself carefully, reading what 
the best authors have written, and comparing ex- 
periences with his friends, the author has concluded 
that experienced sportsmen miss from hesitation in 
pulling the trigger, dwelling on the aim, and nerv- 
ously shrinking from the recoil. The first fault 
