16 BIG GAME SHOOTING — 
leg I was hauling upon as sent me flying some yards into the 
scrub. Ifthe deer had had free play for his leg, he might have 
done worse than make me a laughing stock for my Indians. 
When you get your shot be careful where you place it, and 
if the beast is moving towards you, let him pass before firing, if 
possible. If it is only a deer, a raking shot, striking him even 
a little far back and travelling transversely through him, will be 
much more likely to go through vital organs and stop him than 
one fired from in front ; and, besides, a shot of this kind is not 
so likely to reveal the shooter at once to the beast and elicit a 
charge, if the beast is a dangerous one, as when fired right into 
his face. 
Don’t, unless absolutely compelled to, fire at dangerous 
game above you. A wounded beast naturally comes down 
hill, and you are likely to be in its way if you fire from below ; 
besides, a wounded beast will come quicker down hill than up. 
If your beast should charge you, stand still and go on shooting. 
Your chance may be a poor one, but in nine cases out of ten 
it is the best you have got. 
But if after all your care, and even after you have heard (or 
think that you have heard) the bullet smack upon your stag’s 
shoulder, he should show absolutely no sign of being hit, except 
perhaps a slight shiver or contraction of his muscles—if even he 
should turn and bolt at headlong speed—do not beat once dis- 
couraged ; no, not even if you should follow him for many 
hundred yards without finding a single splash of blood upon 
the trail. Don’t listen to your Indian, if you have reason to 
think that you held straight, even though appearances justify 
his assertion that you madea clean miss. That little spasmodic 
shiver is a hopeful sign. When you see your stag do this, you 
may be very sure that he is hard hit in a vital spot, and he will not 
go far. It he starts off at racing pace, he will probably pitch 
over on his head, dead, at the end of a hundred yards ; and 
even if he does not bleed at first, follow him persistently : flesh 
wounds often bleed more freely than more dangerous ones, 
and it is quite on the cards that you will at last find that your 
