SUGGESTIONS TO SPORTSMEN. 407 



arises from some temporary or permanent con- 

 dition of mind or body, the second from anxiety 

 to make assurance doubly sure, and the last from 

 habit. 



If a man is naturally slow he can never shoot fast- 

 flying birds, but if his fingers are stiff from cold he 

 can warm them. A resolution to fire boldly, and not 

 to dread missing, will cure the over-anxiety that 

 destroys its own intent, but to meet the recoil with- 

 out giving to it, or pushing against it, which is the 

 more common mistake, is often extremely difficult. 

 This unfortunate habit, occurring at the moment of 

 highest excitement amid the noise and smoke, is 

 rarely noticed by the guilty party, and some will at 

 first stoutly deny its existence. 



To mind the recoil of a gun seems pusillanimous, 

 and few can believe, till assured by actual experi- 

 ment, that it equals sixty or seventy pounds, and 

 will crush the bones of the body if immovably fixed. 

 Let the reader observe the next time that his gun is 

 unwittingly left at half-cock, how far he will pull it 

 out of aim, and how he will push against it, when at- 

 tempting to discharge it at game. An acquaintance 

 of the writer, who would scout the idea of being 

 affected by the recoil of his gun, and indeed would 

 have sworn " it did not kick a bit," was once chas- 

 ing a diver on a placid, sluggish stream, in a dug-out. 

 When the bird rose close to the boat, the sportsman 

 was standing erect, poising himself with care in the 

 unsteady craft, but as he pulled the trigger he in- 

 stinctively pushed so hard, that, as the cap snapped, 



