CHAPTER VIII 
SHORE-SHOOTING 
Working ’longshore 
THis may be termed the form of shore-shooting which is 
adopted when ‘‘hutting’”’ is not practicable. The majority of 
gunners who visit the shore, seek to wander here or there in 
search of sport, and thus proceeding are generally termed 
‘longshoremen. Their sport is never so certain, taking a long 
series of trips into account, as that obtained by the gunners 
who have well chosen and built huts. With many shooters the 
plan of campaign is not previously thought out, and usually 
they are content to run chances of meeting with birds and 
trust to luck in getting shots. This is not shore-shooting. 
The ‘longshoreman worthy of the title is one who foreshadows 
his sport, selects the days when the tides best suit his purpose, 
and so works that he may attain the best results from his 
studies and pursuits as much as the shore-gunner who always 
‘‘huts.” Some decision must be derived at with regard 
to the quarry to be followed, so that a suitable weapon can 
be taken. 
Failing the possession of a varied fowling armoury, the 
shore-shooter must content himself with, say, a heavy 12-ora 
1o-bore, and use different sizes of shot in his cartridges. 
What is lost in one way may be compensated for in another ; 
but so varying are the circumstances attending shore-shooting 
that the extremes are only competently met with by suitable 
tools, such, for instance, as the services of an 8-bore when in 
quest of geese, for here no smaller weapon will be equal to 
82 
