PIGEON-SHOOTING. 241 



cellent shot, on his first appearance at one of these 

 shoots, and walking up to his position before the trap, 

 surrounded by a crowd of spectators, will find himself 

 unable wholly to conceal a slight tremulous feeling. 

 Many a hunter, who in the field is as firm as a rock, 

 will, under these circumstances, knowing that his 

 standing will be affected by the result of his shot, 

 show the white feather somewhat, until by practice he 

 has learned to overcome his nervous excitement. And 

 it is often noticed that many who in the brush can 

 knock over their game-birds, one with each barrel, 

 in handsome style, make but a poor tally on coming 

 to the pigeon-shoot. 



One of the greatest mistakes made by sportsmen in 

 their first attempts at pigeon-shooting is holding on to 

 the bird too long, thus letting him get out of killing 

 range. This is especially apt to be the case while the 

 bird is flying from the shooter. The mark then is not 

 only a small one to hit, but the vulnerable part of the 

 bird is not presented to the marksman. The shooter 

 may, and generally will, hit his pigeon, but often, in 

 such cases, it will get over the boundary line. The 

 great secret in killing pigeons from a ground-trap is 

 to shoot them the instant they rise, and before they 

 have got under full headway. If they are coming 

 toward you on a quarter shot, either to the left or 

 right, there is no need of haste. But otherwise, the 

 sooner the bird is well covered by the gun, the more 

 likely will you be to hear the referee call out, " Dead 

 bird." 



The arrangements for a pigeon-shoot are usually 

 ii p 



