286 lewis' AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



on the water, within, we will say, fifty or a hundred 3^^,rds of 

 our ambush. Nevertheless, we can assure him that it is not 

 such an easy matter as he supposes, and he will upon trial soon 

 find to his satisfaction what we say to be true ; and without 

 paying proper regard to our instructions on this point, he will 

 often have the mortification of seeing the Ducks escape from 

 his fire when he ought, by due management, to have killed at 

 least a dozen or more. It seems to be a very simple thing to 

 point the gun in the direct range of a flock of Ducks, and cut a 

 complete lane, as it were, through their ranks, with a heavy 

 charge of powder and shot; but such, unfoi'tunately for the 

 Tyro, is not the case. The young Sportsman generally commits 

 one of two errors in shooting Wild Fowl ; that is, he either 

 undershoots or overshoots the game, according to the distance 

 they are from him ; if within thirty, forty, or fifty, or even 

 seventy yards, the shot almost invariably passes over the 

 Ducks; if beyond this distance, the load most frequently frills 

 fiu' short of the intended mark. 



AVhen the shot is first impelled from the mouth of a large 

 Duck-gun held on a level, it has an upward tendency from a 

 point-blank range, which it preserves for an indefinite distance, 

 according to the quantity of powder used, and the force with 

 wdiich the weapon shoots. When it has reached a certain dis- 

 tance it begins to lose the upward tendency, and, therefore, must 

 fall sooner or later before losing entirely its projectile force. 

 Any one can easily ascertain this fact by trying the experiment 

 on the water, if not convinced of it by previous observation. This 

 being the case, the force of our assertion will be readily seen; 

 that is, when the Ducks are but a short distance off, the load 

 will most likely pass over the spot within the point-blank 

 range of the gun, and be distributed some distance beyond ; 

 while, on the other hand, the Ducks being much further off, the 

 shot will most likely fall short of their intended destination, or, 

 in other words, drop within the point-blank range of the eye. 



How often is the young Ducker disappointed in the results 

 of a long and tedious watch upon the cold shore, when he 

 might crown all his fond expectations with success at the very 

 moment, if he would give the proper attention to these facts! 



When the Ducks are a short distance from our station, the 



