FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



457 



made more stringent laws, and have li- 

 censed the guides, which I hope will have 

 the desired effect on game and fish hogs. 

 Our laws are severe in comparison with 

 those of the neighboring province of New 

 Brunswick. Their law fixes the date at 

 which the shooting of all kinds of game 

 shall commence as September ist, the open 

 season to continue until December 31st. 

 After that no one is allowed to go in the 

 woods with a gun without a special permit 

 from the Surveyor General. 



In Maine the shooting of big game com- 

 mences on October ist, and continues to 

 December ist, which is 2 months shorter 

 than in the provinces. The sportsman over 

 the line is limited to one moose, 2 caribou 

 and 2 deer; but if he kills in excess of that 

 number, he gets off by paying a much 

 smaller fine than in Maine. Here the 

 sportsmen can kill only one caribou, 2 deer 

 and one moose. For killing in excess of 

 the legal number of moose, deer and cari- 

 bou, the fine in the province is not less than 

 $20 nor more than $40, and in default of 

 payment of these penalties, imprisonment 

 for a period not exceeding one month, nor 

 less than 15 days. No one is permitted to 

 kill any cow or female calf moose, within 

 the province. Penalty $200, and not less 

 than $100. The province fishing laws are 

 similar to those in Maine. 



It is estimated that 50,000 persons visited 

 Maine in 1896. The number of deer taken 

 by them is placed at 2,245; moose 133, cari- 

 bou 130. 



Granville M. Gray, Oldtown, Me. 



LEARNING TO SHOOT ON THE 

 WING. 



I saw in your March number a request 

 for advice as to how to learn to shoot on the 

 wing. An experience of over 60 years has 

 convinced me that every one must learn 

 this for himself. It cannot be taught, for 

 the following reasons: 



ist. The difference in mental sight. To 

 some people the full moon looks no larger 

 than a quart cup; while to others it looks 

 as big as a peck measure. 



I have tried to instruct several young as- 

 pirants, with indifferent success. When I 

 try to impress them with the need of fore- 

 laying a crossing bird 5 or 10 inches, it may 

 look to them 5 or 10 feet. The difference 

 of nerve and temperament, in different peo- 

 ple, is as important as quality of powder 

 and gun. I was once shooting in Wiscon- 

 sin, with another man and was not making 

 a good record. 



" Where are you shooting? " he asked. 

 ' You were sure death on prairie chickens 

 yesterday." 



" About 6 feet ahead," I said. 



" Too slow," said he, " with your slow 

 gun, Peterson's powder and the ducks go- 

 ing before this high wind. You ought to 

 forelay all of 10 feet." I did so and they 

 died. 



Another difficulty is the excess or defi- 

 ciency of " decision of character." Some 

 slow men are good shots, but they are those 

 who never pull till they are ready, and al- 

 ways do pull when they are ready. They 

 seldom make good snap shots in thick 

 cover; while the man who can think and 

 act almost simultaneously is not so good 

 at open field shooting. 



The boy's first gun should be a model 

 of what he is likely to use later in life. I 

 first shot a single barreled, 20 gauge gun, 

 and can now do my best work with that 

 same arm; while to men who have learned 

 with double guns a single barrel always 

 feels like a stick. Beginners should early 

 form the habit of shooting in advance of the 

 game. No moving object in space is where 

 it looks to be. The sun and moon are miles 

 in advance of their apparent position at the 

 moment the rays catch our eye and brain. 

 So a bird in flight is in advance of where we 

 think it is. Powder and nerve are quick; 

 but some time must elapse, and that time is 

 well improved when a duck is going down 

 wind at the rate of a mile a minute — and 

 they often do it. That rate gives them a 

 flight of 88 feet a second and a second .is 

 only about 2 winks of the eyelids. 



Now suppose a flock of 20 or 30 ducks 

 are moving at that rate. They will probably 

 occupy a range of 60 feet and are leaving 

 more than that space behind them every 

 second. How can you hope to hit any of 

 them if you do not shoot well ahead? I 

 have been in a position to notice beach 

 shooters; and when they shoot well ahead 

 it is most always the rear ducks that fall, if 

 any. In early times in California, before 

 quail were shot at, they would take to the 

 trees and when they came down, in a para- 

 bolic curve, it required a guessing advance 

 of 15 or 20 feet to tell where they would 

 land. Another factor in wing shooting is 

 optical illusion. Let a quart cup be sus- 

 pended by an invisible thread, at a fair gun- 

 shot away, with the sky for a background, 

 and the most expert rifleman will stand but 

 a poor show of hitting it for the reason that 

 he can see quart cups anywhere in space. 



Learn to shoot in advance of a moving 

 object, and practice will eventually tell you 

 how far ahead better than I can. The rea- 

 son so many birds are winged, and not 

 killed, is because they are hit by the rim of 

 the charge, .and not with the centre — a sure 

 ■*idication of a poor shot. 



Boys, you should commence with a 12, 14 

 :>r 16 gauge and load it right. Always use 

 the same quality as well as quantity. Make 

 up your minds to throw away a certain 

 amount of ammunition. Blaze away till you 

 acquire decision and knowledge as to where 



