SUGGESTIONS TO SPOKTSMEN. 279 



even ten or fifteen, ahead of him ; and then you will 

 rarely succeed in discharging your piece before he is 

 abreast of the muzzle, and frequently will lag behind 

 him. The aim must be taken on the line of flight, 

 and a little attention will convince you that the bird 

 is up with the sight ere the trigger is fairly pulled. 

 A knowledge of this principle, and an ability to 

 practise it, may be said to be the art of duck-shoot- 

 ing; as in that there are a vast majority of cross 

 shots, and the birds fly rapidly. 



There is an erroneous idea that the eye must be 

 lowered close down to the breech, in order to have 

 a correct aim ; but, while it is apparent if the neck is 

 not bent at all there can be no aim, a slight inaccuracy 

 will not only make no difierence, but will give an 

 advantage by throwing the shot high. It will be 

 perceived, on fastening the gun in an immovable 

 position, that the eye may be moved from near one 

 hammer to the other, and the aim altered but a few 

 inches, on an object thirty yards distant — an inac- 

 curacy, considering the spread of shot, which is 

 utterly unimportant. 



So also, although by the attraction of gravitation 

 the charge falls somewhat, the deflection is too in- 

 considerable to merit attention. 



After watching himself carefully, reading what 

 the best authors have written, and comparing ex- 

 periences with his friends, the author has concluded 

 that experienced sportsmen miss from hesitation in 

 pulling the trigger, dwelling on the aim, and nerv- 

 ously shrinking from the recoil. The first fault 



