i 9 2 LETTERS TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 



always gets put in the best place, but this is obviously im- 

 possible where places are drawn for. A more charitable 

 imputation is that the " lucky " sportsman attracts the game, 

 and this is much nearer the mark. He allures the game, as it 

 were, by his habit of total self-concealment, and never misses 

 a chance through being unready or absent-minded : eye and 

 ear are alert from the instant he takes up his position. Regard 

 him as your model, rather than the gay conversationalist 

 accompanied by a bevy of garrulous ladies who are just a 

 little apt to forget that birds are neither blind, deaf nor 

 stupid. When your stand is indicated by a stick, do not 

 change your position unless instructed to use your own 

 judgment as circumstances require. But on the less stereo- 

 typed and, therefore, more enjoyable occasions, when you 

 are allowed a reasonable amount of latitude, be careful to 

 choose a spot where you are least hampered by thick trees 

 and can best command any probable line of approach. Need 

 I emphasise the paramount importance of noting the exact 

 position of neighbouring guns, and taking care that they note 

 yours ? If you hear the tapping of a stop, but cannot see 

 him, tell him to come out and stand in sight. A bush may 

 protect him from view, but not from danger. You will at 

 times be told to walk with the beaters or to stand back behind 

 them. Disabuse yourself of the idea that either proceeding is 

 derogatory or devoid of possibilities. It is always interesting 

 to see the proper execution of a beat and to note the beaters' 

 difficulties and the behaviour of the beaten game. Do not 

 shoot pheasants or anything else, bar ground game, going to 

 the forward guns unless specially told to do so, and desist 

 from firing, in any circumstances, before coming within 

 range of them. Ascertain their position without having 

 your attention drawn thereto by expostulation. And 

 remember that there are beats, e.g., little glens or dingles 

 running up hill where the guns walking with or standing 

 behind the beaters get the finest and most difficult shots 

 in the world of covert-shooting. 



I wrote a letter recently dealing mainly with the woodcock 

 and how he ought to be shot. How he ought not to be shot, 

 or shot at, you may, I fear, have many opportunities of 

 observing in the course of covert-shooting days. The more 



