7 o HUNTING TRIPS 



of an extraordinary shot by which he killed 

 a deer at four hundred yards. A couple of 

 days afterward we happened to pass the 

 place, and I had the curiosity to step off 

 the distance, finding it a trifle over a hundred 

 and ninety. I always make it a rule to pace 

 off the distance after a successful shot, when- 

 ever practicable that is, when the animal 

 has not run too far before dropping, and I 

 was at first both amused and somewhat 

 chagrined to see how rapidly what I had 

 supposed to be remarkably long shots shrank 

 under actual pacing. It is a good rule al- 

 ways to try to get as near the game as pos- 

 sible, and in most cases it is best to risk 

 startling it in the effort to get closer rather 

 than to risk missing it by a shot at long 

 range. At the same time, I am a great be- 

 liever in powder-burning, and if I cannot 

 get near, will generally try a shot anyhow, 

 if there is a chance of the rifle's carrying to 

 it. In this way a man will now and then, 

 in the midst of many misses, make a very 

 good long shot, but he should not try to 



