are more reasonable in price, and are put through 

 the hands of experts before leaving the factories. 



A great deal has been written on how to shoot 

 with a rifle or shotgun. Marksmanship is a fasci- 

 nating study, and is always of interest to the sports- 

 man; but the writer's experience has been that 

 the more you use a shotgun the fewer theories you 

 have about shooting. 



Shooting with a shotgun differs from rifle shoot- 

 ing in certain particulars. Where rifle shooting is 

 methodical calculation and precision, shotgun shoot- 

 ing is guesswork and quickness. When a grouse 

 thunders upward through the autumn leaves, the 

 sportsman has a dim blur, occasionally completely 

 hidden, for a target. Sometimes he knows where 

 he aims, but usually he pulls the trigger when he 

 " feels " the gun is pointing correctly. 



If a companion "pulls down'' a high, strong 

 flying mallard, and you ask him how much he led 

 the bird, he will answer: "about six feet;" but he 

 did not really measure the distance when he shot, 

 but discharged his gun when he " feU " that the gun 

 was aimed correctly. This guess-work or judg- 

 ment enters largely into shotgun shooting. Many 

 men shoot with both eyes open, paying more atten- 

 tion to the mark than to the gun. 



One celebrated Western wildfowler shoots as 

 easily from the waist, or hip, as he does from the 

 shoulder. 



Shooting, with him, is a " feeling','^ he has no 

 theories. When he feels his gun is pointing right, 

 he " cuts loose. " 



37 



