54 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



stand that any one can acquire the art of shooting on the wing 

 without patience, practice, and study, as we do not believe any 

 such thing, and would be sorry to attempt the promulgation of 

 such a fallacy. But we do assert that the young beginner will 

 much sooner, and with much more pleasure to himself, arrive at 

 this desirable end, by giving heed to the experience of those who 

 have gone before him, no matter whether the instruction be im- 

 parted orally or by means of the pen. That there are certain 

 fundamental rules for acquiring this accomplishment no one will 

 deny; and these rules should be made as simple and as few as 

 possible ; in fact, reduced down to a few words of caution, which 

 may be embodied in the following line : Be cool and deliberate, 

 and never draw the trigger till the bird is well covered. We do 

 not wish to bother the novice with a long array of written instruc- 

 tions for shooting, as information obtained in this way is too often 

 a mere matter of rote, and cannot be of any great practical utility ; 

 we desire, however, to impress upon his memory a few short rules 

 that will secure him from the commission of many faults and pre- 

 vent him from falling into the common errors of most beginners. 

 This end being accomplished, we abandon him to the practical 

 operations of the field, which of themselves will soon make him 

 skilful, if he possess any of that aptness for sport which seems in- 

 herent in many of those who follow the dog and gun as a source 

 of the most healthful and exhilarating amusement. 



Although by strictly adhering to the golden rule, be cool and 

 deliberate, and never draw the trigger till the bird is well covered, 

 the novice without doubt will miss many birds, as they will often 

 get beyond the reach of his shot long before he has fairly covered 

 them, more particularly if shooting in thickets or woods, never- 

 theless, he will find, at the conclusion of the day, that he has not 

 made out so very bad, and, we can assure him, much better than 

 if he had shot at every bird before it had flown ten steps from the 

 spot whence it sprang. To-be-sure, he will often feel mortification 

 and disappointment at the sight of a partridge sailing off untouched 

 by his fire, although well covered by the gun : this chagrin, how- 



