BIG GAME SHOOTING 17 



about that buck, and the way he pranced, now the dis- 

 appointment about the antlers has been somewhat 

 diminished by time. Had it not been for the back- 

 ground all of my balls would have gone far too high. 



Van Dyke does not agree that it is correct to shoot 

 the rifle with both eyes open. He says : " I tried 

 thoroughly all the trick-shooting, hip-shooting, shoot- 

 ing with both eyes open, and shooting by sense of di- 

 rection. I was right in the midst of plenty of game, and 

 shooting at it every day. There is no profit in any of it, 

 but vanity rather, and vexation of spirit. It is a val- 

 uable aid in quick shooting. But it makes you careless 

 on the sights and, unless balanced by careful work, 

 injures that perfect holding and extreme fineness of 

 vision on the sights, on which, in the long run, success 

 with the rifle mainly depends. I still do it, because 

 it is fun to set the ground afire around a deer that 

 you probably can't get anyhow. But from the day 

 I got a repeater and learned how to keep a string of 

 empty shells whizzing over my head, my shooting has 

 become steadily worse." 



Notwithstanding Mr. Van Dyke's advice, I shall con- 

 tinue to shoot at all running marks, as I do at birds on 

 the wing, with both eyes open and take my chances of 

 getting my share. 



Mr. Van Dyke is clearly right in advising the rifle- 

 man to " always shoot arm's end and never take a rest." 

 This was the advice he received, in his first hunting 

 days, from one of the best shots, and he has followed it 

 ever since and found it sound. "Nothing," he says, 

 "damages confidence in offhand shooting so much as the 

 habit of taking a rest. There are so many times when 



