Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-11-11
BOB WHITE IS GAMEY
SOME FACTS RELATIvE 10 TIN
DELnCrous It'd Bat.

SOME FACTS RkLATlvE no TBk
DELICIOUS It'd Bat.
The season For Quail or Partridge
Brings Forth some Things of
| Interest to sporssmen.
The partride or quail, as he is call
ed n the North. is one of tile most
widely diffused birds Of the United
States, bat, a. though breeding condi-
lions were more favorable, these biras
are most numerous from the south IN
boundary of Pennsylvania 10 the
northern boundary of South Carolina.
They abound through all this reeion.
and never leave il, even in the coolest
winters. The birds seem to pass the
entire period OF their lives within five
miles Of tho places where they were
Matched They are essentlally home
bird, aud the only reason for their
scarcity in any given locality is oe-
cause they are hunted too closely The
partridge aboupds in southern Mary
land and along 10th sides OF the Pota-
mac, a little lack from the marshes,
in the moist meadows and among the
farms of that territory. Frederick
county, Maryland, is noted resort
for partridge hunters, aud the birds
seem to abound Throughout the Shen-
andoah Valley.
The proper outfit for bunting the
partridge is light gun which can be
handled quickly, shells loaded with
one-ounce of No. stot and three
drains of powder. Plenty of aalmnhl.
tion and "a good bird dog are the es-
sential things for this sport.
Bob White is "a tough little fellow,
and the humane hunter will endeasoi
to kill him outright. This can be done
only by hitting him fairly, and even
then, so great is the yigor of these
birds, that one mortallv wounded has
been known to fly a HUNDRED yards
after being shot.
w uEl III SONOf VI douih - 6te"A 49,
the birds rise from the ground with a
loud whirr of their wings. scatter and
fly like bullets away from the point Of
disturbance. They seem to know pref
ty well where they are going and fly in
nearly an unerring line to that point.
The shot will be, in nine cases out OF
ten, a trap shot. 1t will not do to
wait. Especially is this so if the aim
is at an incoming bird or on a cross
shot. The latter is among the most
difficult feats of the hunter. The
partridge flies with such rapiditv that
it is we'll near impossible to Judge ac-
curately where to hold the gun TO hit |
the bird as he is flashing by. The
velocity of No. 8 shot fired from a |
cartridge of three drains of powder is |
about 900 feet second. The flight |
of partridge under full Roadway is
estimated at 80 feet a second.
If the bird happens to be flying di- |
rectly across the line of sight and is |
thirty yards away it will take one
tenth of second for the shot to hit |
after leaving the gun. In that time |
the bird has moved eight feet from |
the line of sight. The problem, there
fore. before the hunter, of accurately |
gauging the distance the bird is from |
him and how far ahead to fire on a !
GLOSS shot is one that defies every |
thing but luck and experience. The
average of the best wing shooters who |
hunt quail is one shot out of three |
and about three birds to each covey |
flushed.
There are many opinions as TO the
best method of shooting On the wing.
Some hold to snap shooung-that is
firing the moment the gun is on the
object; others hold that aim should
be taken along the line of flight and
the gun moved as it is fired, in the
same velocity the bird is moving. In
short, the hunter of experience will
figure out method of his own. and
any rules he or others could give are
of little use to the beginner. He must
simply go on rousing cUveys and try
Jug his hand at killing the birds until
he has acquired the knack for him
elf.