shooting and skill
in one branch of the sport of marksmanship does not mean much in the
other. A boy may be an excellent rifle shot at a stationary target and
still not be able to hit "a flock of barns," as the country boys say,
with a shot-gun. Skill with a rifle is chiefly of value to those who
are interested in military affairs and more rarely to those who are
fortunate enough to have an opportunity for hunting big game. In
settled communities there is a strong feeling against allowing boys to
have rifles. Practically the only game that can be hunted will be our
little friends, the song birds, and no self-respecting boy will shoot
them. A small calibre rifle such as a 22-calibre Flobert will afford
considerable pastime at target practice and is also excellent to hunt
snakes and frogs along some brook or creek, but generally a boy with a
rifle is a public nuisance, and as a rule is liable to arrest in
possessing it. If we fix up a rifle range where there are no dangers
of damage from spent bullets or badly aimed shots it is well enough to
practise with a small rifle.

A real sporting rifle, such as is used for big game, is a very
dangerous fire-arm and cannot be used with safety anywhere but in an
absolute wilderness or on a target range. Such guns will kill at a
mile and go through a tree a foot or two in diameter; to use such a
weapon in even a sparsely settled section is very dangerous indeed. If
a boy has any chance of going hunting for deer or moose, he will
surely need practice and for this purpose a range will have to be
selected where there is absolutely no danger to any one within a mile
or two. A good practice range is across a lake or river with a bank
of earth or clay to stop the bullets. Big game hunting is done so
frequently from canoes that it is well to get practice from a boat,
both moving and stationary. To shoot successfully from a sitting
position in a canoe is a very difficult feat. Just as with a shot-gun
the universal tendency is to shoot too quickly, with a rifle it is to
shoot too high. The reason is that we hold our head so high up in
looking at our game that we fail to see the rear sight at all. Be sure
your head is low enough to see both sights.

[Illustration: The modern sporting rifle that will kill at a mile. An
unsafe weapon for boys]

Always hold your breath while you are taking aim. Learn to shoot from
all sorts of positions, lying, sitting, kneeling, and standing. If the
shot is