Evening star., 1905-08-20
SHOOTING ON THE WING

whfch abound in the shocks and amid tho
husks OF the standing crop They are SO
the birds creeping through small holes into
their corn cribs and lacking the sense to get
out again by the way they came In fact.
the pigeon. including the domestic dove, has
less sense than any other specimen Of the
feathered tribe. Nature seems to have
clothed them with swift flight and to have
left them without the protective instincts OF
the rest of the feathered tribe.
Pigeons fly usually in pairs. except in
their long migratory journeys from north
to south. They choose out special watering
places and go to them regularly. The gun
! ner. II he Is wise will take advantage Of
this habit of the birds and post himself
In convenient position to bring down both
birds as they are nervously drinking at
some stream or spring. Sometimes it will
hapen that dozen pairs will have the
| same drinking place, coming at different
times to the water. A good No. 10 gun
with well-loaded shell in sufficient to kill
the pigeons The gunner does not need
much concealment. the only requisite being
to- keep still until the birds have alighted
within reach of his gun. This will be side
by side and one shot will be sufficient for
the pair. The flight of the pigeons is amaz-
ingly swift and strong. and the inexperi-
enced hunter is likely to fire six or eight
feet behind the retreatng birds. Pigeon
shooting is by no means easy. and the
gunner who can take home four or six
of these birds after three hours hunting
is doing as well he should expect.
Killing partrdges is also favorite form
of sport in the tidewater and upland sec
tions of Maryland and Virginia. The part
ridge is sometimes called a quail and Is
the bob white of the summer months,
when the male is whistling to his mate or
sounding a challenge to some other VEN
turesome cock of his species. The part
ridge has all sorts of ground for his
Furthermore, nature has endowed the quail
with the instinct of self-preservation to
remarkable degree. A covey of these birds
can so melt Into the ground or surround
ing thicket to deceive the sharpest-eyed
man or dog. When disturbed they rise
from the ground with noisy whirr and fly
in sort of corkscrew fashion that often
enables them to escape the most accurate
aim. Bob White fiourishes rotously in the
grain lands after harvest, running rapidly
through the stubble and picking up the
scattered seeds and fattening thereon. He
eats corn. mounting the standing stalks
and tearing off the husks with voracious-
ness peculiar to his tribe. He thrives in the
meadows, makes the thicket his hiding
place, and frequents the thickest woods
during the hours Of strongest sunshine. A
single family goes to covey, and it is
thus they come to the southland. sim
gle pair raises two broods each year
throughout the north, and they unite in the
fall for the migration to the gulf region
and the CarOlinas.
The best time for shooting quail is after
the reed birds have disappeared. after the
hunter has tired of the pigeon the rail and
the snipe. when the frosts OF October are
tinting the woods with the colors of late
autumn. Then the coveys are In every
field, If the hunter knows where to look
for them. They may be skulkfng in the
grass, hiding in the hedgerow or roosting
in the branches of some low tree. The best
way is to beat the thickets during the mid
die of the day, ever on the alert for the
whirr which announces flight. If near
enough the gunner may bring down one or
more of the covey. 1t will need accurate
aim and a quick eye as well as a steady
finger on the trigger to pull it at the ac-
curate second. Shooting partridges in the
timber is probably the supreme test of
Workmanship. He who waits for good
aim there is lost. as the birds will vanish
like a flash. Bob White flies through the
woods crookedly as the rabbit runs turn
ing this way and that, wheeling and twist
ing in and out among the trees. and after
a short flight settles a high branch, Sc
cure from the keen scent of the dogs nose
and out of reach of the eye of the gunner.
PartridgeS learn that the timber is their
best place of refuge, and when raised in
the meadows or thickets often make for
the woods where they are compare lively
safe. They also learn that safety lies near
dwellings, and In fenced fields where the
treSpaSSing hunters do not to show
themselves or their dogs. In fact, the quail
is of the wisest and wariest of birds
and the hunter who would kill and eat them
must have the attributes of the sportsman
in their highest development.