10 



One man relies on the instincts of his hounds to 

 follow the hunted animal to its death, whilst the 

 other depends solely on his own woodcraft to find the 

 game, and his skill in shooting to compass its end. 

 The kill is, of course, the crowning achievement of 

 every chase, but there is little satisfaction in attaining 

 that end unless the hunt leading up to it has been 

 good. 



Before the era of the breech-loader the shooter's 

 happiest moments were in looking for or hunting for 

 his game, so that an easily found and acquired heavy 

 bag was less valued than a light one that had taken 

 him all his skill to obtain. 



Modem and artificial conditions have probably 

 robbed the sportsman to-day of the glamour our 

 forefathers enjoyed in shooting. The excitement of 

 finding the game, except on rough shoots, is now 

 practically a thing of the past, and thus the truest 

 form of the sport is lost. This does not mean that the 

 average shooting man is any worse sportsman than his 

 predecessors, but instead of deriving his chief pleasure 

 from hunting for his game, he now has to depend on 

 his skill in straight and clean shooting to satisfy his 

 sporting instincts. To accomplish successfully difficult 

 shots, and to drop his birds stone dead, is at the 

 present day the highest ideal of the shooter. The 

 mere act of killing does not appeal to the experienced 

 shot and must eventually satiate the appetite of the 

 most bloodthirsty. 



The head-keeper who by his knowledge of woodcraft 

 is able to engineer a drive or beat so that the birds 

 are brought to the desired points, must enjoy better 

 sport and greater satisfaction than those who do the 

 actual killing. In the same way a stalker has the 



