XM. GROUSE SHOOTING (PART F7), ' DRIVING* 349 



shelter, whenever he has a chance of doing so, whether 

 this be at birds flying straight to him or as they 

 approach within shot on his right or left. 



A grouse that has flown fair over the shelter you 

 are in, especially with a strong wind, is rarely under 

 forty yards by the time you have pirouetted round 

 nml steadied your gun on him. The bird is then 

 flying with its tail next you, and its head and neck 

 protected a bad mark to aim at ; and these are the 

 birds, too, that are always liable to be wounded, 

 whilst in the case of a grouse flying toward you it is 

 generally dropped dead or clean missed. For these 

 reasons it is best, when you miss a bird out of several 

 flying to you, to think no more of that one, but to at 

 once transfer your attentions to another. 



There are, however, exceptions to every rule, for if 

 very few grouse are being driven, as one or two at 

 intervals of several minutes, you will, of course, have 

 to fire at a single bird after it has passed overhead, 

 should you miss it in front, or it may not be bagged. 

 Or, again, if the grouse slant across the front of one 

 of the shelters next you, and then fly on between you 

 .and it towards the ground behind you, as they fre- 

 quently will with a side wind, they often cannot be 

 safely fired at till they have flown by. 



Driven grouse flying against the wind will occa- 

 sionally settle just in front of your shelter. Do not 



