272 FIELD SHOOTING. 



making a long shot, the shooter had better hold a 

 little forward of the head of the bird. In windy 

 weather the shot deflects somewhat from the 

 straight course, and flies off a little to leeward. Al- 

 lowance must be made for this, especially by those 

 who use light charges of powder. 



As to distance, there is this to be observed : al- 

 though wild geese and ducks are almost always 

 further off than they are supposed to be, they will 

 be killed easily enough with a good gun and a 

 proper charge, provided the gun is held right. I 

 have often killed ducks and brant geese which 

 were sixty yards off, and a few which were not 

 less than a hundred. But there is no certainty of 

 killing birds at more than forty yards, owing to 

 the spread of the shot as it flies in diverging lines 

 from the muzzle of the gun; and twice as many 

 are killed at twenty-five yards and under as there 

 are at over that distance. I have heard men boast 

 of killing all the pinnated grouse they shot at 

 within a hundred yards, and I immediately con- 

 cluded that this might be true if they never shot 

 grouse at any distance. It is like the story of the 

 man who declared that his horse could run less 

 than a mile a minute, whereupon an Irish jockey 

 exclaimed: "That's a d d lie!" 



