SHOOTING THE PRAIRIE GROUSE 
The shooting of the prairie grouse differs widely 
from the same sport on the woodland species. In the 
one case the birds are. likely to dart into cover, dis- 
appearing almost at once, and snap shooting is the rule. 
In the other the bird rises in the open, seems to fly 
with deliberation, and the gunner has every opportu- 
nity to make all his calculations, take careful aim, and 
cut down the bird before he gets out of shot. Only 
in the case of the sharp-tailed grouse, after they have 
moved from the high uplands into brushy ravines or 
wooded hillsides, is there any similarity between the 
two styles of shooting. In September, after the sharp- 
tailed grouse are grown, they spend the middle of the 
day in wooded ravines or willowy bottoms, where cover 
is often thick, and a single gunner, who has no dog, 
and is trying to tramp the birds out of their places of 
concealment, may have to do more or less snap shoot- 
ing; but if he have a good dog that can be trusted to 
work through the bottom, the gunner can usually so 
place himself as to have clear and open shots. 
As the laws of most States now read, the prairie 
chickens—of whatever kind—are reasonably well pro- 
tected; but formerly, when shooting began, during the 
month of August, at which time the birds lie very 
close, it was not uncommon for two gunners to ex- 
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