294 TRAP-SHOOTING. 



of the smaller feathers under the tail, or to stick a 

 pin in the gristle of the rump, with a view of mak- 

 ing them fly better ; as a bird that remains in the 

 trap, when a ground-trap is used, after it is pulled, 

 and refuses to rise, baulks the shooter, and any pain 

 inflicted on them just as they are being used will 

 make them wild and anxious to escape. 



There are three kinds of traps used, called the 

 ground, spring, and plunge traps ; the former is so 

 arranged that when the string is drawn, the trap, 

 which is composed of tin plates, falls over and lies 

 flat on the ground ; while the others, through the 

 instrumentality of a spring, or by a vigorous jerk on 

 the line, throw the birds into the air. The ground- 

 traps are considered by many the most scientific, 

 leaving the shooter in doubt as to the direction of 

 the bird's flight, and preventing his shooting on the 

 calculation which can be made very accurately with 

 a spring-trap — that the bird wUl invariably be 

 thrown to a certain place, and may bo killed there, 

 nominally on the wing, but before he has really 

 got under weigh ; but in the West the plunge-traps 

 are generally preferred, as they insure the bird's 

 flying at once. 



The traps are also spoken of as " H and T," or 

 "head and tail" traps, and are usually marked with 

 a large H or T ; but this means merely that the 

 shooter may select the trap to be pulled by the toss, 

 in case the terms of the contest permit it. The 

 sportsmanlike mode, however, as claimed by Eastern 

 sportsmen, is to allow the trapper, provided he can 



