42 SHOOTING THE DUCK 



When purposing to set up to fowl, the gunner 

 must assume the prone position before coming near 

 enough to run any risk of giving the birds alarm 

 before he begins to set up to them. In the matter 

 of distance no rule can be laid down ; so much 

 depends upon circumstances. With practice the 

 fowler will know almost instinctively by the look of 

 the birds when he has reached a point beyond which 

 it would be unwise to go ; he may keep on his seat 

 till within 600 yards or so, or he may consider 

 it necessary to lie down when double that distance 

 away. Cutting things too fine is often a fruitful 

 source of disappointment to gunners whose expe- 

 riences afloat have not been many. Fowl should 

 be approached across wind if possible ; if it then 

 becomes necessary to take a flying shot, the birds, 

 rising against the wind, will offer more vulnerable 

 targets than would be the case if they rose at or from 

 the gun, and a larger proportion of clean kills will 

 result. 



Power to gauge distance correctly, or even ap- 

 proximately, from the low position of a gunner prone 

 in his punt can only be acquired by considerable 

 experience. A beginner is likely enough to imagine 

 birds to be only sixty yards away and to fire at 

 them when they are nearly double that distance 



