THE WHITE-TAILED OR VIRGINIA DEER 



tracking is more difficult than when snow covers 

 the ground, it is advisable to watch the deer 

 closely for the signs at the moment of firing. 



The most important sign to observe is the 

 action of the game when it receives the missile, 

 since it is an evidence of where it was hit. If struck 

 somewhere in the front half, it usually jumps into 

 the air that is, if it does not drop instantly, 

 which incident we have no need to consider in this 

 connection and if struck in the hind half, it will 

 kick out with the hind legs. A deer shot through 

 the heart seldom drops immediately. After the 

 first jump, which is often hardly perceptible and 

 no doubt overlooked by the average hunter, it gen- 

 erally makes off at top speed, running close down 

 to the ground. It may run only fifty yards, and 

 it may run five hundred, but one thing is certain 

 the hunter can follow at once, and the animal 

 will be dead by the time he reaches it. 



The most striking exception to the rule of 

 heart shots the writer saw in the Snowy Moun- 

 tains, Montana, during 1904. A buck was gal- 

 loping, broadside exposed, at a distance of about 

 one hundred and twenty yards, and was fired at. 



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