172 The Grouse Family 



depended upon for sport with the gun, although 

 an occasional warm spell may cause a good day. 

 A pack will seldom allow a man to approach 

 within anything like shotgun range, and, if 

 flushed, it rises with an astounding roar of wings 

 and streams away at an electric clip for perhaps a 

 mile, or more. To follow is well-nigh useless, for 

 the birds will not lie, and the pursuer may rest 

 assured that a lot of keen eyes are following his 

 every movement. Under such conditions it is 

 possible to have a bit of sport with a rifle of 

 medium calibre, and this is not to be despised 

 by the energetic man who craves a hard, health- 

 giving tramp and who can content himself with 

 a brace or so of birds. Quite often it is possible 

 to get fair chances at from fifty to seventy-five 

 yards, when the man possessed of that rare gift — 

 the power to correctly estimate distance on the 

 plains — and the skill to put his lead where he 

 wants it, may kill enough birds to keep his 

 interest from waning. 



The best dog for chicken-shooting is the best 

 dog for any form of upland shooting, i.e. a thor- 

 oughly broken pointer or setter. Both breeds 

 have stanch admirers, who do not hesitate to 

 claim a marked superiority for their favorite. In , 

 my opinion, and I have had much to do with both 

 dogs, there is no perceptible difference in the 

 quality of the actual field work. To any one but 



