SHOOTING THE WOODS GROUSE 383 



Many sportsmen will not agree with Mr. Waters' be- 

 lief that a ruffed grouse in the open is as easily brought 

 to bag as a prairie chicken. They even declare that the 

 ruffed grouse flies three times as fast as his pinnated 

 cousin, and is at least twice as difficult to hit. 



In his recent volume on "Life and Sport on the 

 North Shore of the St. Lawrence River/' Mr. Nap. A. 

 Comeau says : 



"Ruffed grouse shooting in this section is not sport, 

 and is not regarded as such by the residents, for the 

 reason that neither the people nor the birds have been 

 educated to it. I can count on less than the fingers 

 of one hand all the men I know on this shore who will 

 deliberately flush a grouse to shoot it on the wing. As 

 for the birds themselves, unless they happen to be in 

 an open spot, they will not fly any distance. In the 

 woods, which are pretty dense here, when flushed they 

 simply rise off the ground, perching in the nearest tree 

 and stretching their necks to see you walking under 

 them. If it happens that a covey is started they will 

 frequently be all killed without any of the others around 

 taking flight. Many a time when in the woods trap- 

 ping we would not waste a shot on them, but simply 

 go to work and cut down a small sapling, tie a noose 

 or string at one end, slip it over their head and pull 

 them off the branch. At other times, for amusement, 

 we would go out with a bow and a blunt-headed arrow 

 and whack them off the trees at twenty feet range, 

 which is about the usual one that they are shot at here. 



"What a contrast to the educated ones! Some years 



