492 BOB WHITE, THE GAME BIRD OF AMERICA. 
them, and we saw them sail with extended 
wings over a large field on the valley slope, 
into which they dropped after a few flutters 
of their wings. There could be no doubt as 
to the whereabouts of the birds, because the 
whole field, from its inclination to our line of 
sight, was in full view, and was quite an open 
sedge field with its surface sparsely studded 
with stunted pines. On our approach to the 
field, the dogs quartered it, but they did not 
come to a stand. One dog flushed a bird on 
which he came suddenly, and he at once 
“charged.” We found the dogs useless, andcall- 
ing them to “ heel,” we walked slowly into the 
sedge. When we were about in the center of the 
field, the birds began to rise successively and 
singly in all directions; in front, on our side, and 
sometimes behind us, giving us delightful shots. 
Similar experiences recurring so often have 
made some sportsmen suppose that Bob White 
has a voluntary power of retaining his scent, 
and thus in time of danger eludes the dogs. 
But this well known occurrence can be ex- 
plained otherwise. Often when the frightened 
birds alight, they do not run but instantly 
crouch with their Avings closely pressed against 
their bodies, so as to squeeze themselves into 
the smallest compass. This act, no doubt,causes 
a diminution in the emission of their effluvia. 
But if the birds have run after alighting, the 
dogs will surely find them, provided they do 
not run rapidly and to great distances; in 
which case the dogs are baffled by the mul- 
tiplicity of scents ; and especially will this be 
so if the dog gets on the trail of a bird which 
doubles like a hare on its track. 
This baffling of a dog on ground contain- 
ing a recently scattered covey shows that time 
should be allowed for the birds to recover 
from their confusion and to begin to run to- 
gether, before you “ hie on ” the dogs to find 
them. If you are familiar with the country 
and can remember the landmarks, the proper 
method is to flush two or three coveys, and 
then begin to hunt the scattered birds of the 
respective coveys in the order in which you 
flushed them. 
To become a successful shot at Bob White, 
the sportsman .should bear in mind that Bob, 
immediately after he has .sprung, flies with a 
velocity Avhich probably exceeds that of any 
other bird ; and also that, unless fairly hit, he 
can carry off a large number of pellets. When 
a covey springs, it rises at a considerable 
angle with the ground. Hence, in shooting at 
a bird in a flushed covey, the sportsman of 
unsteady nerve and sluggish muscles is apt 
to undershoot, the bird rising Avith such ve- 
locity that by the time the gunner has brought 
his gun into position the bird has passed above 
his line of sight. As a rule, I think that about 
one second generally elapses betAveen the in- 
stant of springing of the bird and the moment 
of fire. This interval gives the bird time to 
gain a moderately horizontal line of flight, 
and alloAvs the sportsman to get a fair 
aim. 
In shooting at an incoming bird, let him 
be out of sight and just beloAV the rib of your 
gun at the moment of firing. At a bird going 
overhead, Avait till he has passed Avell over ; 
then shoot under him. At straightaAvay shots 
hold a little high, so that you just catch a 
glimpse of the bird over your barrels. 
In shooting at cross shots, it should be 
understood that the velocity of an ounce 
of No. 8 shot driven Avith three drams of 
poAvder is near to 900 feet per second. In 
that second a Bob White, if under full head- 
way, will go 88 feet, if Ave estimate the 
velocity of his flight so low as only a mile a 
minute. If he is flying directly across your 
line of sight and thirty yards off, the shot Avill 
take one-tenth of a second to reach that dis- 
tance, and in one-tenth of a second the bird 
has gone over eight and eight-tenths feet. 
So, if we should fire a snap-shot directly at 
a cross-flying bird thirty yards distant, the 
center of the cloud of shot Avould fall about 
nine feet behind him, and he Avould pass by 
unscathed. To kill him “ clean,” you must 
hold nine feet ahead of him. To some sports- 
men, nine feet may seem a great distance to 
“ hold ahead ” on a cross-flying bird thirty 
yards aAvay, but not to those Avho have no- 
ticed attentively the relations of the line of 
their aim to the position of the bird at the 
very mo77icnt they hear the 7-eport of their gun. 
Also, estimations of distances in the air be- 
side a small and quickly moving object are 
very unreliable, and often Avhen the sportsman 
thinks he has fired only one foot ahead of a 
bird he has really held ahead three feet. Let 
some one suspend horizontally in the air 
an unfamiliar object that must be distant 
from fence rails and other things Avhose di- 
mensions you knoAv, and then guess its 
length. You will, after a few trials, be satis- 
fied that the estimation of actual lengths at 
thirty yards is very loose guess-Avork. 
Bob White is a tough and hardy little fellow, 
and the true sportsman, ahvays a humane 
man, Avill remember this and endeavor to 
kill him outright. This can be done only 
by hitting him fairly Avith the center of the 
charge. Often a bird Avill fly tAvo or three hun- 
dred yards though mortally Avounded. It is the 
duty of all sportsmen to Avatch carefully the 
flight of the birds he has shot at, and his ex- 
perience of the nature of their flight Avill tell 
him if the bird has been struck. If he con- 
cludes that he has been, then it is his bounden 
