io8 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 



frequenting rough, marshy ground, trust more to their hearing 

 than any other faculty ; thus possibly it is that the gunner is 

 able to get more favourable sport on windy days when the 

 sound of his footsteps is drowned by the rustle of the rushes, 

 etc., than on still days, when faint sounds may be heard far 

 around. 



Salt marshes are the favoured haunts of teal and widgeon 

 when these birds are arriving from their northern breeding 

 grounds. Besides these fowl we meet with many kinds of 

 waders, such as redshanks, greenshanks, and curlews, and 

 where the situation is suitable and times favourable, grey geese 

 may take to feeding on short, sweet grass. It will thus be 

 noted that for the sportsman to cope successfully with such 

 a variety of species, differing so much in size, he will necessarily 

 have to equip himself with cartridges filled with large as well 

 as small shot. Using a heavy 12-bore, he will for ordinary 

 purposes find No. 4 shot best for the left barrel and No. 7 for 

 the right. He is then able to kill 'shanks, etc. with the first 

 barrel, and should a duck be sprung at any moment at a 

 distance he may be able to pull it down with the No. 4. At 

 close quarters, say up to 25 yards, No. 7 would be quite 

 effective on a mallard, and ten yards further on a teal. For 

 snipe and small waders Nos. 9 or 10 will have to be used if 

 good results are desired, but it is quite within reason to say 

 that, with a close-shooting gun, snipe may readily be floored 

 with No. 7 shot, provided long shots are avoided. For geese a 

 few No. 2 cartridges will suffice, but, remember, a small-bore 

 like a 12 requires these tough birds to be within 35 yards to 

 kill with any degree of certainty. Perhaps no class of sport 

 involves the readiness to hand of cartridges filled with so many 

 different sizes of shot as does marsh-shooting, and here it is 

 that a point is to carefully observed. Keep each least-used 

 size in a separate pocket, and those mostly used — say Nos. 4 

 and 7 — in the cartridge-bag. This will prevent your firing 



