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IJV FIHLI), WOOD, AM) W A T H R. 



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instance, a little below that which, ns already 

 dniwn by tlie eye to the object, wo may dis- 

 tin"uisli by tho imino of the linfi of s'njht. 

 The latter should bo lirir rfiul immovable ; to 

 which a preciao udjusLii'vnt of the line of level 

 must tiiially bo made by an easy llexure of tho 

 upper part of tho body altogether, but without 

 any looscniiig or twisting of tho butt from its 

 firm hold within tho shoulder ; ami on tho in- 

 staut that you get these two lines in contact, 

 or, in other words, at the moment that you 

 bring the muzzle of your gun from your lirst 

 level below, bear direct upon tho object. 



In all these directions, examples, or illustra- 

 tions of them, should be given by the expe- 

 rienced shooter, when the eye of tho pupil 

 would far more readily embrace their scope, 

 and the understanding comprehend their appli- 

 cation much easier than by any other mode of 

 tuition. Hence, if the tyro can be taken to the 

 field in company with a tried hand, or, in other 

 words, a practical sportsman, he will much 

 sooner attain a mastery over his gun, than he 

 will be able to do if he pursues his sport 

 entirely alone, and depending for success only 

 on the necessarily tardy progress of his own 

 experience.. However acute may be his un- 

 assisted perceptions, his progress will still be 

 comparatively slow ; therefore, he sliould en- 

 deavour to court the experience of another, 

 who is an adept in his art, and who, generally 

 speaking, will afford him all the assistance 

 that lies in his power. There is this charac- 

 teristic of sportsmen — that they are rarely 

 niggardly in giving instruction in tlie use of 

 the arm in which they take such delight them- 

 selves. Their opinions, too, no matter how 

 widely they may differ, are always more or 

 less valuable. They are so much added to the 

 general stock of experience, and afford to the 

 tyro the greater variety to choose from. His 

 own practice must confirm him in the use of 

 the one or the other ; and, no doubt, he will 

 act upon the one which, in his judgment, 

 appears the best. In giving his directions to 

 the tyro, Colonel Hawker thus writes, in 

 reference to the movements of the gun : — 



" Before an object crossing — full high for a 

 oird rising up, or flying away very low, and 

 between the ears of liares and rabbits running 

 straight away ; all this, of course, in propor- 

 tion to the distance ; and if we consider the 



velocity with which a bird flies, we shall rarely 

 err by firing at tho crosHing bird, when 

 at furty yards, at least five or six inches 

 before it. A a tho barrels of double guns 

 usually shoot a little inwards at long dis- 

 tances, there is, so far, a preference in fav.mr 

 of tho right barrel for an object crossing to tho 

 left, and vice versa,; so that, if we were beating 

 along tho sides of a hedge, it would bo beat to 

 keep the barrel next to it in a state of pre- 

 paration. Till the pupil is fully master of all 

 this, he will find great assistance from the 

 sight, which he should have precisely on tlie 

 intended point when he fires ; he will thus, by 

 degrees, attain the art of killing game in good 

 stylo, which is done by fixing his eyes on tho 

 object, and firing tho moment he has brought up 

 the gun. He may then, ultimately, acquire the 

 knack of killing snap-shots, and bring down a 

 November bird the moment he tops the 

 stubble, or a rabbit popping in a furze-brake, 

 with more certainty than he once used to shoot 

 a young grouse in August^ or a partridge in 

 September." 



To young sportsmen, the Ecv. B. Sy- 

 monds says — " When a bird gets up he is 

 certain he cannot kill it (we must premise 

 that his gun is uncharged), therefore he can 

 wait until lie gets the bird at the end of 

 his gun. He must never draw unless posi- 

 tive of seeing the bird in that very point of 

 situation. Let it go ; every fresh spring of 

 the bird will make the sportsman more com- 

 posed ; and, as tho tremor wears off, he will 

 grow more uniform in his manner of getting 

 to it, till, at last, he will cover it almost to a 

 certainty, or very near the same distance. 

 Let him accustom himself not to take his gun 

 from his arm till the bird is on the wing, and 

 never to vary his eye from tho very one he 

 first fixed upon. Three words should be men- 

 tally used, with a pause between, before he 

 puts his piece to his shoulder; this will keep 

 him, as it were, in awe of himself; and as 

 there is no charm in any particular combina- 

 tion of letters at this time. Hold! Hall! 

 Kow ! may serve as well as any. A day thus 

 spent, he may put some powder in the pan, 

 and flash away in that manner ; the next, pur- 

 suing the former direction, till he can stare 

 with steadiness, and pull with a wink. Tho 

 day following, load with powder only ; and he 



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