294 PHEASANTS 



sixty-two pellets in all, of which only 

 thirteen reached a vital spot; one bird 

 received two fatal pellets, while eight 

 were merely stunned and killed by the 

 violence of their fall to the ground. 



At 30 yards every bird should be killed 

 when the gun is held straight, and about 

 5 yards higher, or little more than 100 

 feet from the ground is probably the 

 extreme range at which it is fair to pit 

 the gun against the pheasant. 



Sir Ralph gives diagrams, obtained by 

 careful measurement, to show that an 

 object 40 yards overhead appears less 

 than one-third the size of the same object 

 40 yards away but close to the ground, 

 which partly accounts for the high 

 pheasant being the difficult mark it is 

 for the gun ; other causes being the 

 absence of all background with conse- 

 quent uncertainty in allowing for pace 

 and curl ; the inevitable handicap of all 

 overhead birds being covered by the gun 

 at the moment of firing ; the tendency 

 to cant the barrels out of the straight 



