long, and the hunter's experience begins to tell. 

 The reverse is also true; sometimes a novice will 

 " crumple up " bird after bird like a veteran until his 

 luck changes. The man vv^ho has hunted exclu- 

 sively with a shotgun, always finds it hard to change 

 to a rifle. As a rule he "over shoots" at first, as 

 he forgets the rear sight; but at running game, his 

 knowledge of wing shooting comes to his aid. 



The writer once hunted big game with a shot- 

 gun expert who seemed unable to hit anything with 

 a rifle, until it began to move, and then he would 

 shoot very well. 



Trap shooting is a pleasant sport, and if it is 

 indulged in during the summer months, wifl help a 

 man considerably when he begins to shoot in the 

 field. While trap shooting differs in many ways 

 from field shooting, it will help the sportsman in 

 judging speed and distances. 



A shotgun is comparatively easy to clean. 

 The barrels are large and smooth on the inside, and 

 the cleaning rod can be inserted from either end ; 

 but keeping a gun in good condition requires con- 

 stant watchfulness. The right time to clean a gun 

 is immediately after using it. To get a gun properly 

 clean, it should be thoroughly overhauled at inter- 

 vals of a day or two, for about a week. This 

 should be done always when you are putting a gun 

 away for a long time. 



It seems as if there was moisture in the metal 

 that comes out and rusts, after a gun has been 

 cleaned. Some men oil their guns thoroughly 

 before putting them away, but this is risky, unless 



39 



