276 AMERICAN GAME BIKD SHOOTING. 



eat. Minks and crows seem to be the worst, so the sjiorts- 

 man lias no scriqiles about killing them if he sees them 

 near the ducking grounds. 



The wild-fowl shooting of the West differs materially 

 from that of the East, for in the former region the birds 

 are generally shot near jDonds and streams, or in the 

 stubble fields, whereas they are shot along the sea-coast 

 or the bays and rivers connecting with it, iu the latter. 

 Men nse ordinary shoulder-guns in the West, but in the 

 East they prefer small columbiads, known as duck-guns, 

 which are capable of slaughtering a team or a paddling 

 at a time. This difference in the systems of shooting is 

 one reason, in my opinion, why Western sportsmen are su- 

 perior to those of the Atlantic States in wing-shooting, 

 but the latter excel them in bagging birds on water, as 

 they are better judges of distance on that element. Men 

 who may be capital shots on land often make a poor dis- 

 play on water, and vice versa; and those who can j)ut up 

 heavy scores in regions where ducks fly close to the 

 ground or near the shore, may hardly be able to count 

 at all in places where the birds are shy. Some are also 

 better at killing one species than another, as much of 

 their success depends on the birds they have practised on; 

 hence, one cannot judge of a jierson's dexterity with the 

 gun until he has seen him try it on all kinds of game. 

 It is a truism that every sportsman has his favorite bird, 

 for he who may be good at ducks, snipe, or geese, may 

 not be able to do much with quail, ruffed grouse, or tur- 

 keys. I have even known men who could make a big 

 bag of ducks in flight-shooting, who could scarcely do 

 anything with those bedded in the water, simply because 

 they could not measure distance well, and did not know 

 how to aim so as to produce the best result. The West- 

 ern wild-fowler has one decided advaTitage over his East- 

 ern co-laborer in duck-shooting, and that is, that he can 

 have good sport with bay-birds during the middle of the 



