114 FRANK SCHLEY'S PARTRIDGE AND PHEASANT SHOOTING. 



mers are down, in the excitement of raising the hammers, 

 when a bird rises unexpectedly, the thumb will oftentimes 

 slip, especially if the hammers are damp, or the thumb 

 moist or wet, or the thumb benumbed by cold, while the gun 

 is ready for immediate use, and only has to be pointed to 

 be discharged. When shooting with a muzzle-loader, and 

 you make a mistake, and put two charges down in one bar- 

 rel of the gun, or get the ramrod fastened in the barrel, do 

 not fire the gun off, as some reckless sportsmen do, and run 

 the risk of losing a limb or your life by the gun bursting, 

 which is often the case when discharged in such a condi- 

 tion, but remove the charges, or the ramrod, and do not run 

 any risk by recklessly discharging the gun. When firing 

 off the gun never hold the butt against your stomach or 

 bowels, the kick or recoil of the gun sometimes is very se- 

 vere, and death has been caused repeatedly by such care- 

 lessness. Never lie down flat on your back, or lean your 

 back against a rock or tree when firing your gun off, for 

 the recoil of the gun may be the means of breaking your 

 collar bone. Such accidents frequently befall ignorant and 

 reckless sportsmen. In carrying a gun, when in expecta- 

 tion of a shot where the birds are all scattered around, 

 carr}' it with the muzzle pointing downward, but when just 

 walking the field, and not expecting a shot, carry your gun 

 on your shoulder, with the muzzle pointing upwards. 

 When you stop for a moment never rest with your hands 

 over the muzzle of the gun, this is a dangerous, reckless 

 fashion. Some sportsmen have this habit, and it has been 

 the cause of many accidents. For instance, when the dog 

 comes in he may run and jump up against you, 'and should 

 his foot happen to slip and strike and raise the hammer the 

 gun will be discharged, and the probability is you may lose 

 your hand, or perhaps both by the explosion. In conclu- 

 sion I shall say, not only to reckless sportsmen, but to all 

 gunners, and to all shooters, and to all those who handle 

 guns, be careful when handling a gun, and never forget for 

 one moment, not even if you have been told that the gun 



