2o6 



RECREA TION. 



front or rear, should involve the 

 shoulders, and is fully as effective, ordi- 

 narily, as the straight shoulder shot. It is 

 very apt to involve the lungs, heart or 

 great vessels as well as the bony parts. 

 In this way it offers some advantages 

 over the transverse shot through the 

 shoulders, although possibly a little less 



traversing a given distance, during 

 which time it falls downward. 



If above or below, with the game 

 either head or tail toward the shooter, 

 the shot should be for the centre line of 

 the body, for one would almost certainly 

 break the spine in this manner. Then a 

 failure to conectly estimate the elevation 

 likely to instantly stop locomotion on would be of little moment, as practically 



the part of the animal. Yet I have 

 broken a bull elk's shoulder, on the 

 opposite side, with a 40-82 Winchester 

 rifle, with such a quartering shot, in- 

 stantly bringing him down, in spite of 

 the fact that such a cartridge is rather 

 light for this game. 



If the game be above or below the 

 shooter, and standing sidewise, or quar- 

 tering, the aim would be as if on a level, 



the animal would be helpless if the spine 

 were broken anywhere from its origin 

 to the loins. If through the head the 

 shot would, if anything, be even more 

 effective Through the portion of the 

 body back of the loins, however, it 

 would be much less so, as it would crip- 

 ple the posterior limbs only in accord- 

 ance with the actual injury inflicted 

 upon them, and not through its action in 



only remembering that less elevation for severing or destroying the spinal cord, 



as in injuries farther forward, for the 

 reason that the cord does not ex- 

 tend so far to the rear. 



When shooting at grouse or other 

 game birds with the rifle, and es- 

 pecially with the revolver, if not 

 equal to the test of shooting off the 

 head, I should recommend a plan 

 which I have followed for some 

 years with my 38 revolver, when 

 I have feared to alarm other game 

 jy using the heavy rifle. One is 

 likely to miss in his elevation with 

 a weapon having but a three or 

 four-inch barrel. Should he shoot 

 transversely through the body, he 

 would ruin the breast of the bird, 

 almost the only valuable parts. But 

 by getting either in front or rear, 

 as may easily be done with the 

 mountain grouse, and taking a cen- 

 tre shot, even if the elevation be in 

 error to a considerable extent, one 

 is pretty certain to get his bird 

 in edible shape, so far as the wound 

 affects it, for he injures some part of the 

 central nervous system. The shot is 

 much less effective so far as stopping 

 locomotion is concerned than in the 

 mammalia, however, for birds will often 

 get under cover and hence be difficult to 

 find, even after being shot through the 

 centre of the body by a heavy ball. 



One thoroughly familiar with his rifle 

 and its trajectory, may occasionally aim, 

 with level sights, at a visible but non- 

 vulnerable part of an animal, trusting to 

 the fall of the bullet for an effective shot. 



WHEN THE GAME IS ABOVE THE HUNTER.' 



distance is needed when shooting down- 

 ward, and none at all if directly down- 

 ward. In shooting directly upward, 

 gravity acts solely to retard the bullet, 

 so that no elevation would be called for, 

 no matter what the distance. Such 

 shots must be extremely rare, however, 

 except in shooting at birds on the 

 wing, high in the air, as we are all 

 tempted to do when we see an eagle 

 soaring slowly overhead. For moderate 

 heights above one's stand, the eleva- 

 tion of the sight must be increased, as 

 the ball is retarded in its flight by grav- 

 ity, and hence occupies more time in 



A friend of mine was hunting antelope, 



