SNIPE. 825 
sue them in murky, rainy, or blustry weather, as they 
will not allow man or dog very near them, for they are 
both sharp of vision and hearing. The best days for 
shooting them are those which are soft, hazy, and sunny, 
when the air is fanned by a gentle, southerly breeze. 
They lie well to dogs at such times, and, when flushed, 
may not fly more than a few yards before settling again. 
Any tyro can grass them then, if he will only permit them. 
to get some distance away before firing, in order to let 
the shot spread, and cover them deliberately before the 
trigger is pulled. If they are abundant, one can dispense 
with a dog, as they lie well before a man, but if they are 
not, a staunch, steady setter that will keep its point 
under all circumstances, until the birds are flushed, and 
obey the motions of the hand, is necessary to successful 
shooting. The animal must be prompt in coming to heel 
when ordered, and remain there until set to work again. 
The advantage of this obedience is, that a flushed bird 
will often lie to a man after alighting when it would not 
to a dog, and will therefore afford an opportunity of bag- 
ging it, as it rarely moves more than a few feet from 
where it was marked down. 
Some sportsmen say that the best time to shoot ata 
snipe is when it rises, and poises for a moment before 
darting away, while others think it should not be fired at 
until it reaches a distance of twenty or thirty yards from 
the gun, when it starts off in a direct course. Side-shots 
are the surest, but, as the bird flies quickly, the gun 
should be pointed a foot ahead of it at twenty or twenty- 
five yards, and from two to three feet at from forty to 
fifty yards. Snipe are not near so wild and unsteady in 
the autumn as in the spring, for the reason, perhaps, that 
they are over their family troubles for the year, and have 
few foes to fear except man, for their haunts are usually 
safe from the incursions of the small predaceous ani- 
mals, 
