HINTS TO SrOIiTSMEN. 39 



many miles away, nor did they perform heroic feats in hug- 

 ging a grizzly bear to death or killing every animal they 

 fired at ; yet they could give an excellent account of them- 

 selves in a hunt lasting a week or two, or even a whole 

 season. 



Another thing may be asserted — namely, that the best 

 shots at game may be of no account in firing at a target. 

 Both systems are entirely different ; for he who may be an 

 excellent long-range rifleman may be of no use in the field, 

 and is liable to be beaten by a man who does not know the 

 first principles, in theory, of rifle-shooting, and cannot tell a 

 Vernier sight from a sardine box. To be a successful hunt- 

 er requires practice more than anything else, but, of course, 

 a naturally good eye and the bump of calculation are valu- 

 able adjuncts to practice; yet I am free to say that any or- 

 dinary person can become a successful hunter in time, pro- 

 vided he has the ordinary five senses and sound limbs, if 

 he has practice. 



