176 GROUSE SHOOTING. 



no excuse for a habit that is unsportsmanlike 

 and unpleasant to your companion in the 

 field. We say companion, because in all open 

 shooting we hold by the proverb, " two are 

 company, three are none." If the moor is 

 large enough for more than two guns, the 

 party should divide. 



On the moors in the west of Scotland, 

 where grouse are thinly scattered, they shift 

 about according to the wind and weather, 

 so that local knowledge is invaluable in making 

 a good bag. Of course, with a strong breeze 

 blowing, the grouse will be found usually on 

 the sheltered sides of the hills, and if stormy 

 weather has made them wild, the best chance 

 of securing your game lies in beating the most 

 broken ground, where you can come suddenly 

 upon the birds round knolls, or by the sides of 

 gullies. In many places on the east coast 

 grouse are as thick as sparrows in a rick-yard, 

 and they lie so close at the beginning of the 

 season that shooting becomes monotonous, 

 particularly as they are seldom relieved by any 

 other sort of game. However, even then, after 

 they have been shot at for a fortnight, and if 



