SHOOTING 93 



sportsman. The gun should be aimed well up, above 

 the black tip of the ears ; the least dwelling on the aim, 

 or failure to keep the gun well up, will result in broken 

 backs or smashed hind legs, and a series of those 

 piteous screams that give such a sickening feeling to 

 every good sportsman, no matter how old, or how well 

 accustomed to such scenes he may have become. 

 When the hare is crossing the gun she may easily be 

 killed ten yards further off than when going directly 

 away. In this case the gun must be held well 

 forward and slightly ' swung,' or kept moving in the 

 direction in which the hare is running. Nothing 

 should be looked at except the head ; indeed, for 

 shooting purposes rabbits and hares should be 

 regarded as consisting of their heads alone — all the 

 rest is of no account. Few men have ever yet missed 

 ground game by shooting too far in front of it, and my 

 advice to a novice who found himself frequently 

 ' tailoring ' and maiming his hares, or missing them 

 altogether, would be to try if for a few shots he could 

 not succeed in putting the charge into the ground one 

 yard in front of the hare's nose. A few experiments 

 of this kind would soon show him where he was in 

 the habit of shooting, and if he were a pupil capable 

 of reflection, and willing to be instructed, it would not 

 be long before he began, not only to kill ground game. 



