5o8 DUCK SHOOTING. 



ally obtained from a ten-bore gun with four and a half 

 drams of good powder and one and a half ounce of No. 

 4 shot. A bird flying at the rate of a mile a minute 

 across the line of fire at 30 yards distance would pass 

 over about 8| feet while the shot passes through the 30 

 yards. At 40 yards the bird would cover about 12 feet ; 

 at 50 yards, about 16 feet, and at 60 yards, not far from 

 22 feet. 



We thus have the basis of a very pretty theory, but, 

 unfortunately, we do not know the velocity at which 

 birds fly, and we can only guess the distance at which 

 they are from us, and can only estimate what 10, 15 or 

 20 feet ahead is, as we see the bird shooting by us 

 through the air. As a matter of fact, we believe there 

 is no known rule for holding ahead which will do any 

 one any good. The only way in which the gunner can 

 learn how to do this is to practice shooting, and in that 

 way we should certainly all be glad to learn how to hold. 



FLIGHT OF DUCKS. 



In connection with duck shooting and the question 

 as to how to aim at these birds when flying, a vast num- 

 ber of guesses and estimates have been made concernmg 

 the speed with which birds fly. It is commonly stated 

 that ducks fly at the rate of a mile a m.inute, or ninety, 

 or even one hundred and twenty miles an hour, but we 

 do not know that any satisfactory observations have 



