FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



129 



if as well with both open then that is the 

 way for that person to shoot. 



If you miss with the first barrel, recover 

 your aim and fire the other. Or, if there 

 be 2 or more birds, and you hit with the 

 first, instantly select another bird and fire 

 the second barrel. 



When your dog stands or points game, 

 do not hurry to flush it. Always try to 

 drive the birds toward low, light covert in- 

 stead of high or dense. 



Giddy-flying birds, such as snipe and 

 plover, will rise against the wind, so the 

 time to. shoot them is just as they turn. 

 To do this, hunt down wind, if possible. 



Always wait, when the field is open* for 

 a bird to steady its flight before firing. 

 Game generally appears to be farther from 

 you than it really is. At 30 yards all kinds 

 of birds are most easily killed, and at that 

 distance the shot do not tear. 



In quail and prairie chicken shooting, 

 the dog should always retrieve the game 

 as soon as it falls. If he does not, a 

 wounded bird may run and be lost. 



Snap-shooting is done by raising the gun 

 and firing as soon as it can be leveled — ab- 

 solutely necessary for woodcock, and quail, 

 in covert. 



Teal and canvasback ducks are rapid fly- 

 ers, sometimes going 65 miles an hour. If 

 the shot travel at the average rate of 800 

 feet a second, how far ahead of a green- 

 wing teal, flying at a right angle to the 

 shooter, must one aim when the bird is 40 

 yards away? 



It takes the shot, practically, 1-6 of a sec- 

 ond to go 40 yards. In 1-6 of a second the 

 duck flies about 15 feet. Then this is the 

 distance one must hold -ahead. Of course 

 this is not exact, but is near enough. A 

 few trials will help one, and the eye soon 

 becomes trained in judging distances. Per- 

 haps, under ordinary circumstances, at 

 what appears to be 40 yards, the lead 

 should be about 10 feet, if it is a cross-shot. 

 Less if the flight is diagonal. 



When the bird is flying toward you, al- 

 low it to pass, before shooting. The breast 

 feathers of water fowl are thick; then, too, 

 it is difficult to allow for the flight of an in- 

 coming bird. 



In quail shooting, bear in mind that the 

 game is rarely killed at longer range than 

 30 yards. Ordinarily the lead for a cross- 

 flying quail should be about 3 feet, though 

 no fixed rule can be laid down. 



In hunting with a companion, always re- 

 frain from shooting birds flushed nearer 

 him than to yourself. Remember " there 

 are others." 



Treat an unloaded gun with the same 

 care you would if it were loaded. Never 

 drag a gun toward you from a boat or 

 wagon. Many accidents have been caused 

 in this way. 



Be very cautious when in thick covert; 

 for, in such places, one may be near an- 

 other shooter and not see him. 



ABOUT THOSE COYOTES. 



Gardiner, Mont. 



Editor Recreation: Your letter of May 

 15th, informing me that my picture of 

 " Game Keeper and Antelope " won 12th 

 prize, at hand. In reply beg to state that 

 in making the picture I used a No. 4 Bulls- 

 eye Kodak, size 4x6 inches, with the regu- 

 lar lens furnished with that instrument, and 

 the film furnished by the Eastman Kodak 

 Co., Rochester, N. Y. 



Since writing you before I have left the 

 army and am now located here, prepared 

 to handle tourist parties for the Yellow- 

 stone Park, and hunting parties for the 

 game ranges of Montana, Eastern Idaho, 

 and Wyoming. 



In June Recreation R. G. W., of Horr, 

 Mont., quotes me as saying " I can stand 

 in the streets of Gardiner and see coyotes 

 kill antelope." He also says " I don't say 

 anything about seeing or hearing of the 2- 

 legged coyotes killing elk, for their teeth 

 or horns," and that " when you hear of 

 antelope being killed by coyotes you can 

 bet the most of the killers have but 2 legs; " 

 that " when the antelope got outside of the 

 park, last winter, a party of brave guides 

 and hunters (of Gardiner), surrounded 

 them and killed about 100." 



I would like to say to R. G. W., and in- 

 cidentally to the readers of Recreation, 

 that when the antelope left the park, last 

 November, it was still the open season for 

 that game, in Montana; that certain resi- 

 dents of this town, among them only one 

 professional guide and hunter, killed an- 

 telope for their winter's supply of meat; 

 that none of the men killed any in excess of 

 the number allowed by the law of Mon- 

 tana; that previous to that time, and since 

 then, I have seen the remains of antelope, 

 killed by coyotes; that I have stood in the 

 streets of this town and seen them killed, in 

 the park; that I have seen (and can bring 

 as witnesses a whole troop of cavalry) the 

 remains of antelope, killed by coyotes, with- 

 in 1 y 2 miles of Mammoth Hot Springs. If 

 " R. G. W." is the man I think he is, he is 

 one of the class he is pleased to term " 2- 

 legged coyotes." I have heard that he 

 killed antelope in his yard, at the time they 

 left the park, last November, they having 

 been driven out by the deep snow and the 

 coyotes. 



As regards Geo. Scott and Will Decker, 

 neither of them was a resident of this 

 town. Mr. Scott lived at Aldridge, a coal 

 camp adjoining Horr, and Decker lived at 

 Cinnabar. It was proven on the trial that 

 Decker did not kill any elk, but that he 

 was employed by Scott to help pack out 

 the meat. Decker, being only a boy and 

 not knowing the park lines, was brought 

 into this trouble through no fault of his 

 own. 



The elk which " R. G. W." claims was 

 killed by the residents of Gardiner, was 



