File:American game bird shooting (1882) (14732571136) (cropped).jpg

Identifier: americangamebird00murp (find matches)
Title: American game bird shooting
Year: 1882 (1880s)
Authors: Murphy, John Mortimer
Subjects: Game and game-birds Hunting
Publisher: New York, Orange Judd
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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lush, they rise like a rocket and skim along the tops ofthe trees, only to sink like a lump of lead after flying afew yards. This habit of theirs makes shooting themrather difficult, as persons have no time to take aim, andmust therefore be content with snapshots. If they fly inpartially open ground, a man can afford to take deliber-ate aim at them, but he must fire the moment he catchessight of them in cover. The best dogs for woodcock workare Cocker spaniels, as they can penetrate the thickets,owing to their small size and thick coat, and being slow,one can easily keep up with them. If they run mute, abell can be tied to their necks, and that will inform thesportsman were tbey are; and should it cease jingling, itis a sign that they have come to a point. Some dogs donot at first take kindly to this sort of work, on account,it is supposed, of the disagreeable scent of the woodcock,but they get over their repugnance after a while ifthey are thoroughbred, though they may always dislike
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THE WOODCOCK. 317 retrieving the bird. The best time for making a big bag ofwoodcocks is the mating period, as the males may thenbe readily seen against the starlit sky, when they rise tohover and to serenade the gentle sex with their hoarsesong of bisweet, bisweet, crock wank. Very large bagsare rarely made, however, owing to the scarcity of thebirds, and the difficulty of getting fair shots at them.Ten couples a day is considered good work even whenthey are comparatively numerous, but I have heard ofpersons who were said to have bagged twenty couplesin that time. The ordinary charge used in woodcockshooting is two and a half drachms of powder and anounce of No, 10 or 13 shot. Woodcocks are very numerous in Florida and Texasduring the winter, being frequenters of the banks ofevery lagoon where food can be procured. The negroesoften kill large numbers by fire-hunting them at iiight,as all they have to do is to knock them on the head withclubs. I was out with a party one night in Flori

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