These birds usually fly against the wind, therefore every snipe-shooter should walk down it, as by that means the bird, if he rises before him, will fly back, and coming round him, describe a kind of circle; or at least his flight, for a certain distance, will not lengthen the shot, allowing him a certain time to cover the bird and take good aim; for if he gets up before him, and should by chance go down the wind, or from him, it is then the most difficult shot. It will be proper, in this case, to let the bird get a little distance from him, as then he will fly steadier and the slightest grain will fetch him to the ground.
When shooting snipes in the vicinity of Gottenburg, one’s sport mainly depends on the weather. If it blows hard from the westward, a strong current sets into the river from the North Sea; this impedes its course, and causes it to overflow its bounds, in which case many of the marshes become partially overflown, when the snipes, from finding little shelter, usually lie light, and are difficult to approach. If, on the countrary, the wind should be moderate, or from the eastward, and the water consequently low, those birds have abundance of cover, and it is easy therefore to get within range of them.
Pointers are made use of by many in shooting this species of birds, and, what is very singular, although these birds are so diminutive, in comparison with game which pointers are most accustomed to, yet they will stand equally staunch to them; even to the jack-snipe, which is the smallest of these birds. If you make use of a pointer it ought to be a very old staunch one, for two reasons; the first is, that this diversion not only spoils young ones, but slacks their mettle, as the points come so fast upon them, that if they become habituated to snipes, they will not look for other game, by reason of their getting a number of points without any exertion; secondly, a young pointer will be too quick for the snipe,—on the contrary, an old one would not be able to go out of a very slow pace, and, if under good command, will give the most satisfaction. When these birds are very plenty, the snipe-shooters never make use of a dog, as they always walk them up, which is found to answer best, and afford the most sport.
A pointer that is much used for grouse or partridge, should never be taken out snipe or pheasant shooting; for if he once gets accustomed to snipes, he will often baulk you on the moors in the grousing season; for as snipes are frequently met with at that time on them, if he points one, he may often give you a good walk and trouble, before you get to him, supposing it is game, and you are not a little mortified to find it only a snipe: and if accustomed to pheasants, he will be always puzzling about hedges, and not beat his ground as he ought to do. An old pointer may also be made use of for pheasants, as well as snipes.
The jack-snipe (Vide Judcock) is esteemed the most difficult shot, although he seldom, on rising, makes any twistings or twinings, and will alight or pitch again, after being fired at, within a couple of hundred yards. Every sportsman that has been much accustomed to snipe-shooting, will allow, that a jack-snipe will suffer himself to be fired at twenty times in the same field, and will pitch each time so close to the shooter, that he frequently conceives that he has wounded him. They lie so close, that a staunch pointer might remain at his point until the moon changed, as this bird will not rise until forced to do so. A most curious circumstance which occurred respecting a jack-snipe that was sprung several times by a Mr. Molloy, formerly a quarter-master of the 64th regiment, while he was quartered at Geneva barracks, Ireland, is well worth relating: he regularly, after his duty was done, or if he could possibly obtain leave for a day, used to equip himself for shooting, and always sprung this jack-snipe, at which he fired and followed, and the bird used to pitch so close to him at times, that he was confident he had shot it, and used to run to take it up, when, to his great surprise, it would rise and fly a little farther; he actually acknowledged he fired, one day, eighteen times at this bird, and after shooting at it for the whole season, he happened to be crossing the bog it lay in, when he put it up, and exclaiming, “there’s my old friend,” threw his stick at it, and killed it on the spot. Whenever, after, any of his brother officers found a jack-snipe, they were always sure to say, “there goes Quartermaster Molloy.”
In Ireland, in the bottoms of the county of Limerick, about Charleville, these birds are in the greatest abundance, as it is not uncommon to hear of a person shooting twenty brace of them in the morning. The late Sir George Dunbar, of the 14th regiment of Light Dragoons, when quartered at Charleville, won a considerable wager by shooting forty-three brace between ten o’clock in the morning and four in the afternoon; and what appears still more extraordinary is, that although there are so many sportsmen about that place, who follow these birds, and others who net them, yet you find always enough of sport the day following; for there seem to be as many snipes, after two months’ destruction, as there were at the beginning of the season. The compiler himself has shot twenty brace, frequently, in a day, in the county of Cork; and, in the county of Limerick, has fired so often, that he has been forced to wait for the barrel of the gun to cool, before he durst attempt to reload.—Thornville—Daniel—Lloyd—Latham—Grieff.
Snort, v. To blow through the nose, as a high-mettled horse.
Snoud, s. The finer part of the line to which, in sea-fishing, the hook is immediately attached.