HINTS ON SHOOTING. 189 



bird, but when this took place it either was lost or 

 took no end of trouble to secure. I remember one in- 

 stance in a marsh where we were snipe-shooting, a num- 

 ber of mallards flushed within easy range ; following 

 the report of his gun, one of the greenheads left his 

 companions, sailed round several times, each circle 

 becoming lower and less contracted, till he dropped. 

 Half-an-hour was fruitlessly wasted in search, my 

 friend would not give up, so I went forward alone ; 

 some time afterward he joined me, but his perseve- 

 rance had not been rewarded. All that day he la- 

 mented over this lost bird, for, like many of our fish- 

 ing friends, he doubtlessly thought it (because it was 

 not bagged) far larger and far finer than any obtained. 

 The reason for the so frequent loss of the few birds 

 he hit was this, the victim seldom received more than 

 a stray grain outside the disk described by the shot, 

 and therefore was not generally seriously wounded. 

 That there are many like my friend I know, and 

 I fear it will be a hopeless task to endeavor to 

 make them good shots ; at the same time I think 

 there are many bad shots who might be much im- 

 proved. 



I believe that too much importance can not be 

 attached to the stocking of your gun. Occasional- 



