WOODCOCK SHOOTING 



orate instantaneous calculations as to where 

 to " hold." It is just a matter of throwing 

 the gun to the shoulder and firing at the spot 

 where you think he ought to be when your 

 shot reaches that spot what might be called 

 instinctive marksmanship. 



The spaniel, either a cocker- or a water- 

 spaniel, is fitted for the work, and will rum- 

 mage around in the brush and fairly nose the 

 bird into taking wing. I remember an in- 

 stance of a dog catching a full-grown wood- 

 cock. The bird had started up through the 

 thick brush and had struck a twig, probably, 

 and fallen back. The spaniel caught it by 

 one wing as it rose the second time. I heard 

 the first fluttering, and next the second start, 

 and then a prolonged fluttering. On break- 

 ing through the cover I found the woodcock 

 in the dog's mouth, fast by one wing. 



Let it not be imagined for an instant that 

 woodcock shooting at any season is parlor- 

 sport. In the summer, in thick cover, a man 

 would not need more than a seal ring or a 

 deep blush for his costume, if it were not for 

 the brush and briers. As it is, some of the 

 hunters strip down to shoes, trousers, and un- 



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