154 WILD FOWL siiooriA'a. 



he flies by, dropping at an angle of about thirty degrees, 

 he presents the most difficult shot imaginable to make. 

 The twisting, writhing snipe isn't to be compared to 

 him ; you can wait on the snipe until it steadies its 

 flight, but the longer you wait on a blue-bill, the worse 

 you are off. On such a bird one must " let drive " 

 quickly ; hold as near as you can guess about two feet 

 under, four feet ahead, and you may hit him. If you 

 don't, rest assured, he couldn't be hit shooting in any 

 other way. Should you have the satisfaction of seeing 

 him double up, throw his head on his back, and drop 

 like a chunk of lead, his dead body carried by the 

 inertia of his now still wings, following the same angle 

 he mapped out when alive, you can illuminate your 

 blind with your sweetest smile, pat your dog fondly, 

 and mark my word, if the dog is an old duck retriever, 

 you will plainly see in his honest eyes an expressive 

 feeling, showing he appreciates the shot. Don't try 

 this shot too often, lest you fall from grace in the dog's 

 estimation. I know of no way in which the conceit 

 will so quickly, so surely, be taken out of a man who 

 thinks he is a good shot, as to let him try a few of 

 these shots in the presence of an old duck-hunter. 



As the birds begin to come into the decoys, they will 

 fly against the wind, fearlessly, but swiftly ; then keep 

 cool, hold well ahead of them and always try to get one 

 with each barrel. If you are anxious for a big " bag," 

 and don't care just how you make it, let them light 

 and get two or three in range for the first barrel, but 

 if you are out for recreation and fun, don't let them 

 light, but just as they are about to light, with wings 

 fluttering and feet extended, coolly and quickly draw 

 aim about ti foot ahead of some bright-eyed, black- 



