shooter. Where the angle of flight of 
a going-away bird is inclined to the 
right or the left it represents some¬ 
thing between a true going-away bird 
and a crossing bird and the actual dis¬ 
placement of the true line of aim, due 
to the causes mentioned, necessarily 
must be small. The shooter may thus 
accept the above table of allowances 
as satisfying all requirements. 
HOW TO MAKE VARIOUS SHOTS 
Rising Shots 
Don’t try to shoot on the drop. 
Train yourself to bring the muzzle of 
your gun up to your bird. Dropping 
on your bird will never make you a 
good shot; most birds are rising and 
you want to catch their line of flight 
so as to swing your gun ahead of them 
and lay down a barrage of shot into 
which they will fly. If you try drop¬ 
ping onto them it simply means that 
your gun is falling while the bird is 
rising and the chances are twenty to 
one against you picking out a point 
where the bird and th eshot will con¬ 
nect, therefore always bring the muz¬ 
zle of your gun up on your bird from 
below if rising shots— and they almost 
all are. 
Ground Shots 
The shots usually presented in 
ground shooting are either a straight 
away or a crossing rabbit dodging 
through the brush where you get only 
a brief glimpse of his passing form. 
If the rabbit is jumped from the brush 
pile or close under feet it will usually 
take a straight away course. Do not 
shoot to quickly, let it get straight¬ 
ened out and also give the pattern of 
your gun time to open; aim four or 
five inches above his ears. In the case 
of a crossing shot, swing your gun a 
few inches in front of him and press 
the trigger. Do not be in too great a 
hurry, even in thick cover there are 
usually openings where you can catch 
sight of him long enough to shoot. 
Straightaway Shots 
When a grouse starts, nine times out 
of ten he will start from the ground. 
If he is going straightaway from you, 
throw up your gun so as to shoot a 
little over where you see him, and by 
the time your gun gets up and dis¬ 
charged, he will have flown right into 
the shower of shot. 
Crossing Shots 
If a bird starts toward the right or 
left, throw up your gun so as to shoot 
a little high and in advance of him, 
say from 1 to 3 feet; you must use 
your judgment about this, and be gov¬ 
erned by the speed of the bird and the 
surroundings, etc. Follow the bird 
with your eyes, and your hands will 
unconsciously follow your eyes with the 
gun. A “right-handed” hunter has to 
make more allowance for speed when a 
bird is flying to the right, generally, 
and vice versa. 
Old shooters declare that a crossing 
bird is never missed by being lead too 
much. In the case of a fast flying bird 
it is almost impossible to shoot too far 
ahead. A charge of shot does not move 
in a solid mass but strings out for sev¬ 
eral yards and success depends upon 
placing this barrage well ahead of the 
flying bird. This particularly applies 
to duck shooting, therefore bring your 
gun up along the bird’s line of flight 
and as you pass it swing well ahead 
and press the trigger without checking 
the movement of the gun in the slight¬ 
est degree. 
Incomers 
This common shot bothers many old 
duck shooters as well as beginners. To 
negotiate the overhead incomer, bring 
the gun up with a steady swing be¬ 
neath the flying bird and continue the 
swing until the bird is hidden fiom 
view by the barrels, then press the 
trigger without checking the swing of 
the gun and the bird comes down. It 
all depends upon pressing the trigger 
while the bird is out of sight. The 
misses come in from a reluctance to do 
so. If as the bird disappeared from 
view you slow up your swing until the 
bird is in view again you are sure to 
miss. 
Birds Coming Head On 
If a bird is flying toward you get onto 
it as quickly as possible and press the 
trigger, for there is danger of its get¬ 
ting in so close that your charge of 
shot will not have time to open up, and 
you will either score a complete miss 
or tear your bird to pieces. If a bird 
gets very close in sometimes it is best 
to allow it to pass by and turn and 
take a shot at it going away. On the 
whole, however, it is better to accept 
these shots coming on. It is in duck¬ 
ing that they are most likely to occur. 
If you are in a small boat there is 
always danger of turning too quickly. 
Doubles 
There is no particular rule for mak¬ 
ing a double. Different conditions call 
for different procedures. There is one 
thing, however, to bear in mind. If 
two birds are coming in to you and 
one is closer than the other, first shoot 
the one that is farthest out so that 
the one close in will not have so much 
time to get out of range. If the one 
closest in is killed first those farther 
out will have a better chance of climb¬ 
ing out of the reach of your gun. The 
Double calls for a great deal of skill 
and shooting judgment. 
Flock Shooting 
In shooting at a number of birds fly¬ 
ing together, always select one bird for 
the aim, as near the head of the flight 
as possible, unless shooting in com¬ 
pany, when each hunter aims at the 
position of the flock nearest his station. 
Never shoot into a flock. This is the 
first principle of all experienced gun¬ 
ner^. Do so and nine times out of ten 
you will miss. If you get a bird it will 
be by a scratch. Always pick out a 
particular bird to shoot at, and having 
decided on your bird do not allow your 
mind or eye to wander from it. If you 
are shooting alone select a bird as near 
the head of the flock as possible. If 
shooting in company, each hunter se¬ 
lects a bird whose position in the flock 
is nearest to his station. 
Birds Rising to Flight 
Birds rise to flight against the wind. 
Shoot when the bird is just on the turn 
or is steadying itself in the air after 
rising. 
Birds About to Alight 
A bird about to alight on the ground 
is falling, and at such time your aim 
should be under. 
Variation in Flight 
Not all game birds fly at the same 
speed, nor in the same manner. Con¬ 
sequently, it is impossible to set down 
any hard and fast rules governing the 
amount of lead to be given a bird under 
all conditions. 
Ruffed grouse ordinarily rise sud¬ 
denly into the air, following a short 
run. They rarely ascend more than 
thirty feet from the ground, and in 
reaching this height they travel from 
ten to twenty yards. As most upland 
game is killed under forty yards, the 
gun must be held high in order that the 
shooter may score. Grouse flushed in 
comparatively open cover, passing the 
shooter at right angles, are generally 
flying at a maximum speed and seldom 
deviate from a line parallel with the 
ground. On such shots, the gun must 
be held well forward, and a steady 
swing persisted in until after the cart¬ 
ridge has exploded. 
In heavy cover such as a cedar 
swamp, grouse will often flush from 
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