278 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



retiring to the heads of the valleys. The altitude of the birch 

 copses just above the limit of the pines is what they seek, and 

 this they can find close at hand on the north and east of the 

 valley, but they have to travel some distance to it on the west. 

 About September i the horns should be nearly free from velvet, 

 and as a delicious wild black currant ripens at the same time, 

 the shikaris associate the two. Up to September 20 the old stags 

 are either alone or accompanied by a youngster who acts as fag, 

 and they are not easy to find ; in fact, as a rule, shikaris declare 

 that it is useless trying to find them. But when the sportsman 

 knows, from seeing tracks, that there are big stags on the ground, 

 and the heads of the valleys (not the calling grounds) are the 

 places to look for them, then, by carefully watching some glen 

 where tracks have been seen, particularly just about 8 A.M. when 

 the sun is getting hot, a stag may often be discovered as he 

 rises from where he had lain down shortly after sunrise. He 

 is about to move to a more sheltered spot to spend the day 

 and it is so satisfactory to have a stag or two to one's credit before 

 they begin to call. Unfortunately it is not always possible. 

 Some of the best valleys during the calling season do not hold 

 stags before that season begins, as the deer move on to them 

 just then, and very often leave immediately afterwards. Good 

 local information is absolutely necessary, and a shikari who 

 does not know every soiling pool, every deer-path, or likely 

 copse for a stag to lie up in is useless. 



The calling season generally begins about September 20, 

 and varies according to the weather, and also according to the 

 moon. Fine hot weather and a full moon about the 2oth 

 mean that every stag in the place will be calling freely. Wet 

 cold weather and no moon mean the reverse, the weather 

 having more effect than the moon. The idea of the stage of 

 the moon having any effect may be considered fanciful, but if 

 it is taken into consideration that the stags usually begin calling 

 at night and almost invariably fight their battles for supremacy 

 then, it follows that the light of the moon is a decided advan- 

 tage. A good set-to between two old barasingh stags would be 



