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a little below the object. It is obvious that 

 this is with a view of giving you an opportunity 

 of making a trifling alteration, as you bring the 

 muzzle up to mark ; which, either from a little 

 inaccuracy in your own present, or by a devia- 

 tion of your bird from the first line of flight, 

 may become necessary : but this should always 

 be as little as possible ; and you must ever be 

 regulated by your own cool, but instant, judg- 

 ment upon the amount of that deviation, as 

 resulting from the nature of the flight. If your 

 first present be too low, under the notion of 

 seeing so much more of your way before you, 

 you will incur some risk of coming up wide of 

 the mark, from the difficulty of effecting, with 

 your barrel already on level, a due coincidence 

 in the ascending line of sight with the transverse 

 or diagonal direction of the line of flight. An 

 early practitioner is very apt to err in this way. 

 He is apprehensive, and justly too, of taking 

 his level too near the range of the bird, lest it 

 should get beneath his muzzle, and leave him 

 floundering in the fruitless attempt of regaining 

 sight. He has therefore his hedge-popping 

 adjustments to make, in order to effect the 

 coincidence required ; and in doing this, he is 

 very liable to get out. As he advances in skill, 

 he acquires not only a more correct measure 

 of his mark, but a confidence in bringing up his 



