140 RANGE OF THE RIFLE. 



certain distance is gained, no one but he and his Achates, 

 who holds the spare rifles, should come forward at all. 



The most perfect shots and celebrated sportsmen never 

 succeed in killing deer without practice ; indeed, at first 

 they are quite sure to miss the fairest running shots. 

 This arises, I think, from their firing at distances to which 

 they have been wholly unaccustomed, and is no reflection 

 upon their skill. It is seldom that you fire at a less dis- 

 tance than a hundred yards, and this is as near as I would 

 wish to get. The usual range will be between this and two 

 hundred yards, beyond which, as a general rule, I never think 

 it prudent to fire, lest I should hit the wrong animal 

 though deer may be killed at a much greater distance. 



Now the sportsman who has been accustomed to shot 

 guns, is apt to fire with the same sort of aim that he takes 

 at a grouse or any other common game ; thus, he in- 

 variably fires behind the quarry ; for he does not consider 

 that the ball having three, four, or perhaps five times the 

 distance to travel that his shot has, will not arrive at its 

 destination nearly so soon; consequently, in a cross shot, 

 he must keep his rifle more in advance. The exact degree 

 (as he well knows) will depend upon the pace and remote- 

 ness of the object. 



Deer go much faster than they appear to do, and their 

 pace is not uniform like the flying of a bird ; but they 

 pitch in running, and this pitch must be calculated upon. 



Firing at a target is a very necessary practice in the 

 first instance, partly to gain steadiness and confidence, but 

 principally to ascertain the shooting of your rifles at all 

 distances. You can make no use of a change of eleva- 

 tion in your sights when deer are running ; the best way, 



