On the Various Methods of Shooting Ducks 131 
made a good stalk with two other guns at them, being aided by a green bank which screened 
the advance until they were within 25 yards. Then rising together the six barrels were 
discharged in different parts of the flock as the birds spread their wings and rose off the 
land. The result was that forty-four Wigeon lay dead. I doubt if such a number of duck 
have ever been killed before with six 12-bore cartridges. It meant that the six shots were all 
placed at different parts of the flock, exactly at the right moment and amongst the greatest 
number of birds. 
Lord Dalrymple writes : 
"The guns were Mr. J. A. Wallace, Mr. G. M'D. Stewart, and myself I do not think that the 
whole flock contained more than 200 Wigeon. The day was fine, with a touch of frost in the air and a 
gentle breeze from the north or north-west. On January 16, 191 1, at the same loch Gerald Legge and 
I killed twenty-four in the same manner, giving an average of six per barrel against per shot in the 
other case. In the second instance there were not more than fifty or sixty Wigeon in the flock. The 
only cartridges used were ordinary 12-bore, loaded in my case with 5! shot, and I think Gerald Legge 
had the same charge. We were out after Woodcock, and noticed the duck whilst on our way to lunch. 
In the case of the big shot we never even crawled at all, and only crouched a little as we walked up to 
the firing point side by side. The Wigeon were on a steep bank of the loch covered with coarse grass, 
on which they were feeding. They only take to this form of food about the end of January every year, 
and seem keen on it only in frosty weather, but under such circumstances they are very fidgety, often 
returning suddenly to the water as if in alarm. In the second case the Wigeon had returned two or 
three times to the water before we approached, and if we had crawled another yard or two before rising 
to fire we should have met the birds on the brow of the hill, about 30 yards from the water and 15 feet 
above it." 
Moonlight shooting is another form of sport which I must confess that I do not fancy 
very much, although large numbers of Mallard and Wigeon are killed by coast gunners. 
The birds are very difficult to see, and fly very high on fine nights when, in fact, it is only 
possible to observe them. Geese may be successfully stalked and shot by this method, but 
I must confess that I have been singularly unsuccessful on the few occasions that I have 
watched the clouds at night for duck, and can only admire the enthusiasm of those that 
enjoy this sport. Punt-shooting at night, too, is both difficult and somewhat dangerous. 
It is not pleasant to find you have been pointing your gun at a brother sportsman, or he at 
you ; and this frequently occurs to those who hunt at night. The day always is long 
enough in which to shoot ducks. 
Stalking both surface-feeding and diving ducks off the shores of a lake, river, or the 
sea is another delightful form of sport, and one that gives the naturalist many happy days 
and specimens for his collection. The methods of stalking the surface-feeders are such that 
may be employed in any form of approach to wild birds and animals, and call for no further 
comment ; but to successfully shoot Golden-Eyes, Long-tails, Eiders, and the Mergansers a 
special knowledge of each and every species is desirable. 
On the east coasts of England and Scotland the three last-named seldom approach the 
main coasts, so that they may be stalked from the shore, and I have only killed Eiders and 
Long-tails by this method on the coast of Sutherland ; but in the northern and western 
isles the case is different, and they may often be approached to within gunshot by taking 
advantage of rock-cover, for here they dive and feed close in to the land in many places. 
Where birds of other species, such as large Gulls, Herons, and Waders are numerous, it 
