CHAPTER V. 



VITAL SHOTS. 



THE question of vital shots is a most important one, for, after the game is 

 sighted, it is necessary that the sportsman should know exactly where to hit 

 it, so as to kill it quickly, saving the animal perhaps many days of suffering, 

 and the hunter the time and trouble of following it up. 



Nothing is more distressing to the man with humane sporting instincts than to 



feel that he has sent an animal off with a painful wound to die slowly, tormented by flies, 



maggots, and the nightly terror it will suffer from lions, hyaenas, jackals, or hunting dogs. 



It would be well, then, to shoot coolly, and not to aim at an animal's whole body, 



but at the exact spot you wish to hit. 



Never jerk the rifle off, but press the trigger gently, and, when possible, sit down. 

 When this is impossible, if a tree is handy, rest the rifle against it, taking care to 

 have the arm or hand between the barrel and tree to prevent jump. 



It would, perhaps, be better to take the animals in order of size and the difficulty 

 in killing them. 



ELEPHANT. 



A few years ago a head shot was seldom tried at these animals, as big bore 

 black powder rifles and guns often lacked the necessary penetration to pierce the 

 heavy bone in an elephant's head, but since the introduction of cordite and other 

 high velocity rifles the task is easy. 



To hit an elephant's brain is not so easy as it seems, for it is very small 

 in proportion to the amount of bone surrounding it. One must know exactly where 

 the brain lies and endeavour to cut an imaginary line passing through the centre 

 of it, for no two shots can ever be obtained at precisely the same angle. 



The brain lies fairly low and back, and the ear orifice is a good index to its 

 position. 



In a broadside shot an inch or two forward of the earhole in a line with the eye, 

 but low if anything, would be the place to aim, remembering that you are generally at 

 the time of firing lower than the animal, and must therefore aim a little lower 

 than the centre of the brain, as your line of fire slants upwards. 



