Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-29
WING SHOOT|NGSP SPORT
Marsh and Upland in the
South Offer Many Birds.
PARTRIDGES ABUNDANT
WHERE TO FIND AND BEST WAYS
TO BAG THE GAME.
woodcock, BLACK Birds, snipe, Doves
and All the Rest on the
Wing.
PARTRIDGES ABUNDANT

Wing shooting In the south may be broad
ly divided into marsh and upland shooting.
Strict marsh shooting is confined to rice
birds, also called reed birds; black birds and
sora, or Virginia rail- All these come in
flights Of thousands to feed in brackish
Enthusiastically those which cover the Po-
tomac flats-and spread about the estuaries
of tidewater streams from the Potomac to
the Florida coast.
There are two ways Of getting at the
birds. One is to put on hip boots and wade
the marsh edges, shooting as the fiocks rise
overhead. This is uresome and withal un-
safe to a man who does not know every
foot Of the ground. The marsh mud has a
tremendous holding power and also knack
of developing holes deep enough to swallow
UP the unwary. Besides the best shooting
Is always further in-rnid-marsh, in fact, es-
pecially If the marsh is broad, with shallow
edges.
The better way Is to shoot from a marsh
boat, a shallow but seaworthy affair, very
sharp at both ends. but Of fairly broad
beam in the middle It Is propelled by q
long pole tipped with an iron prong,
which Is to save the pole from going too
deep into the mud. Local boatmen own and
pole the boats. charging for their use 81 a
tide. This Is not exorbitant in considera-
ton Of the work involved in polling and the
extra vigilance required to mark game and
retrieve it before crabs and crayflsh
steal It.
The boats go in on rising tide and stay
| only until it turns for at low tide the craft
would rest on the muddy bottom. AS the
PROV parts reeds, rishes and wild oats, the
birds feeding there in f1ocks rise after the
manner Of feathered clouds Workmanship
Is hardly required to bring them down in
dozens. All one needs to do is to shoot
| quickly In their direction before they get out
6xy1 Ito Hcn1of vfy, 1ollx
the rice birds.
Woodcock Hard to Bag.
Rail. which is a little larger than rice
birds, are sometimes shot upland and
far from the coast line. They are, indeed,
west Of the Appalachians, where no doubt
| they have Jagged from flights between gulf
| marshes and those Of the great lakes In
| their season the marsh birds are delicate
eating, tender and tempting morsels. al
most smothered in their own fat.
Snipe and woodcock, which almost haunt
these tidal marshes, are found pretty well
everywhere I'll. there is rich. damp, low
though a moiety breed near their feeding
| haunts in the river valleys Of the middle
| south. The breeding is early. and by mid
July the broods are as strong on the wing
as the parent birds.
Old river bottom meadows Astounding in
sloughs and thickets are the best ground
| for either sn1pe or woodcock. Both birds
feed late. from shutdown well forward.
Throughout the hours Of strong sunshine
| they keep SO close that the best dogs often
fail to nose them out. Once up they fly so
| strong that there is great chance of
missing. especially as both have a most err
| ratio line Of flight. 1t is no feat at all for a
| lively woodcock to make himself feath-
cred corkscrew, twisting his way through
air. Still, with patience, craftsmanship and
| a bit of luck one may make a fair bag but
rarely big one.
| Summer shooting Is practiced in many
| places. but the best sport comes in autumn,
when migrating birds halt for rest and re-
should account for several brace each time
out. At other times one brace, or even a
single bird to half dozen misses, is no dis
credit to sportsman skill.
Doves Are Plentiful.
For every snipe or woodcock the south
| land shows there are at least hundred
doves and very probably five hundred
| cartridges. Partridge Is there the COM
mon name Of quail. The true partridge Is
| called pheasant, and is so rare except in
the mountain regions that 1t Is practically
beyond consideration. Like the wild tur-
| key 1t has disappeared before the ak rather
than the rifle. Cleared fields might fur
| nish 1t food in greater plenty than ever,
but they have taken away the sylvan soli-
tude within which 1t breeds and fiourishes.
Doves increase almost inversely to the
spread of cortland, although they are
wood birds, haunting and nesting there.
The nest Is ramshackle affair, thin hud-
die Of crossed stick, with no pretense Of
lining, set high or low beside a big bough
according to the builders caprice. Not
withstanding, 1t suff1ces to rear two young
| broods each season. The first eggs are
laid in March. By September. when dove
shooting begins. the first broods are as
plump and well-feathered as their elders
and only to be distinguished from them
when it comes to eating. Young birds are
tender enough for broiling; old ones re-
quire to be stewed, or else parboiled and
| then baked in a pie.
killing This is not SO easy. Doves fly
strongly. They are, further, so armored In
feathers that a glancing shot Is apt to be
turned aside. The best place for dove
shooting Is beside stream or pond close
to a corn field. The doves feed in the corn.
pecking much grain. and searching out
more of the fields insect haunters. They
are so fond of corn that In winter they
will creep through hooks and crannies In
crib walls to feast on 1t, and then lack the
wit to go back the way they came. Some
times they die Of thirst when thus en-
| trapped. Oftenef they end by having their
necks wrung In punishment Of their greed.
Where to Find Dove Shooting.
Doves fly commonly in company; there
| may be two or twenty in a flight They
| choose out special watering, places and
come to them steadily, unless much dis
turbed. A good light breech-loader, right
barrel straight. left choke bored. with No.
| shot, and strong. quick burning powder,
are requisite for the best sport, The gunner
does not build blind. but melts as nearly
as he may into some such familiar object
as a tree trunk. salt trough, or even a
fodder stack. He stands stock still beside
1t and until he moves the doves regard him
as part Of the landscape.
In flight their wings make a soft, flittery
| noise suggestive of their cooling. Sometimes
the noise is loud enough to warn the gun
ner Of birds approaching behind him or
right over his head. They fly determinedly
There is no wheeling and circling before
they settle. Sometimes the line Of fight Is
straight: at others 1t describes a wide curve
Whatever the line the flight itself Ii strong
and amazingly swift. Thus a novice at
dove shooting commonly puts his pellets
ten to fifteen yards behind the game
Dove shooting is by no means easy. Two
clean kills to a miss Is good work Only
exceptional wing shots under exceptional
conditions bring down five birds In six.
Some years. when doves are very plenty,
there Is excellent sport in walking them up
and shooting over standing corn. In such
shooting bird to three shots should con-