Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-05

your game when it drops and pick 1t up
when you are done shooting. When you do
move. do SO cautiously, go to the next likely
locality you have selected and repeat the
performance, and, my word for it, If you
have never tried this method you will have
better sport and more game than you ever
dreamed of. -.-~----
Probably the acme of this sport is attain
ed-With the rifle. A 22-caliber is the
best weapon, but il, requires a steady
hand, good Judgment and a quick fin
ger on the trigger to be successful.
The prettiest and neatest way of kill
ing squirrels was that previously mention
ed-that of barking them. 1t was in
augurated by Daniel Boone-and consisted
of killing the squirrel without even touch
ing him with the bullet, the object being to
strike the bark of the tree just beneath the
squirrel, the animal being killed by the
force of the conclusion. Many hunters have
tried to follow in his footsteps. some with
more and some with less success; but an
eye witness of Boone's shooting says that
it was simply beautiful to watch the pre-
cision with which he brought down squirrel
after squirrel. He could see the bark fly
from the tree. the squirrel would drop
without a blemsh on him. How many of
us can do that?
In This Locality.
Squirrels are game, too, as a few days
spent among them will abundantly demon
strate. The writer has seen more than one
animal shot through the back or with both
hind legs broken, laboriously crawl to a
near by hole and slowly disappear, only to
die out of reach.
The vicinity Of Washington is especially
favorable for this kind of sport, and more
SO this season than usual, for it is a nut
year, and the trees are fairly groaning un-
der their burdens. Fairly good sport may
be had within a very short distance of the
city.
Nut trees are almost invariably found on
ridges, and here is where the best shooting
is to be had. The ridges in the neghbor-
hood of Kensington afford fairly good sport,
as do also those just below Buzzard's Point
and back Of ST. Elzabeth's. Back of Fort
Myer are some excellent beech woods, and
in the heavy timber near BallSton the
squirrels are fairly abundant. If one will go
to Falls Church and spend the night, strik-
ing out southwark from the village at day
light piece of virgin timber country,
regular old genuine forest, will be found
it contains some of the finest squirrel woods
1 know of, and a day spent here is in
variably successful.
Further away. from home, most excellent
sport can be had at Great Falls and on the
ridges back CT Fort Washington and Mar
shall Hail. Back of Mount Vernon one
strikes again some primeval forest, which
Is among the very best squirrel ground l
know Of and even the low woods in the
vicinity of Little Hunting creek are fairly
well populated.
But if enc really desires rich sport let him
take two or three days and go down the
river about fifty miles. The writer spent
two days at Stuart's Wharf last week on
business; three hours of this time were
spent in hunting, and nine gray squirrels
was the result. They were more common
than l have ever seen them before, and
careful inquiry developed the fact that they
are equally as numerous on the Maryland
side of the river all through that portion of
the country. The people are kind and hos
pitable, and a good days sport can be en-
joyed by any enc who will take the trip
down the river. The cost is purely nominal,
a five-dollar bill covering every expense.