156 ON THE WING. 



time, he should give them the contents of the other 

 gun also. Be sure to put the gun well forward, and 

 keep it moving even after it is discharged. 



As a general rule, no man ever shoots too far for- 

 ward of any wild fowl while on the wing. 



If the coot are forty or fifty yards distant, and come 

 down before a strong wind, it will not be too much to 

 shoot ten or twelve feet in advance of them. 



I would not recommend shooting the second gun 

 after having discharged both barrels of the first, unless 

 you have a sure chance. You will want the other 

 barrels for the cripples, the securing of which will often 

 require considerable finishing ; otherwise they may 

 disappear under water, and go away to leeward before 

 showing themselves again. This sudden disappear- 

 ance of the coot under the water is termed by the old 

 wild-fowlers " putting on the pot-cover." 



It is truly wonderful to see how long coot and some 

 of the other wild fowl will remain under water, and 

 the distance they will swim before coming to the sur- 

 face. If not badly hurt when shot at, they will by 

 turns dive quickly and come up again, showing their 

 heads erect as they rise to the surface. In such a case 

 it is useless to chase them with boat and gun. 



It is always best to have a boatman along, to take 

 the entire charge of the boat'and decoys, and to do the 

 pulling for the cripples, while the wild-fowler attends 

 solely to the shooting. When in the boat, do all the 

 shooting yourself, and you will not get shot through the 

 carelessness of others. 



In order to avoid shooting over the wounded coot 



