98 THE COMPLETE SHOT 



Mr. Duryea claims to be the better turkey shot, a claim which 

 the lady admits. Mr. Duryea can even make the decoy turkey 

 gobble by the accuracy of his shooting upon occasion. In 

 Tennessee the author was by their kindness introduced to the 

 old English fashion of shooting by the use of shooting ponies. 

 The mounted guns, whether one or three, had three handlers 

 of dogs, each mounted also, and each working a brace of speedy 

 dogs, and by that means covering three-quarters to a mile of 

 country at a beat. The horn is used to sound " a point," and 

 then the six miles an hour " fox trot " is increased to hunting 

 speed, until the point is reached, when the shooters slide off 

 and shoot. The useless (?) nigger can, at such times, manage 

 to lead six horses. This sport is a sort of cross between 

 hunting and shooting, as also was that of ancient England, if 

 all accounts are true. So was hunting in the New Forest, when 

 William Rufus missed his way, and ran up against an arrow 

 by mistake. 



All good shots at their best must shoot in the same way : 

 what differs is the way they see their own performances and 

 the way they describe them. This has been dealt with on 

 other pages. But likenesses do not end with actual aiming, 

 for somewhat similar to the American quail shooting described 

 above was the method by which the late Maharajah Duleep 

 Singh killed his 440 grouse in the day. That is to say, he had 

 several brace of dogs with as many handlers going at the 

 same time, and rode from point to point. But for quickness of 

 shooting and changing guns he has probably never been beaten. 



Every shooter, as far as the author can learn, is sometimes 

 surprised at missing with the first barrel, and at the ease with 

 which the second barrel accomplishes the more difficult task. 

 Surely we may take a lesson from the crack shots who have 

 this experience. The pace at which they are obliged to swing 

 to catch up for the second shot necessitates an uncontrollable 

 gun at the end of the swing a gun going faster than merely 

 keeping up with the bird, and they kill because they are more 

 forward than they thought. But if so, it may be asked, " What 

 then is the use of alignment?" Precious little for that shot 



