THE NEW FOREST DEER 89 



hardier, better constitutioned dog, and I left 

 some good ones behind me when I bade farewell 

 to the New Forest. 



But besides this form of sport, I have spent 

 some most enjoyable evenings in summer, "creep- 

 ing " the woods for bucks with a rifle. It cannot 

 be called stalking, for there can be no " spying," 

 and without spying there cannot be stalking. 

 One can only walk very quietly in the woods, 

 towards dusk, in particular parts where certain 

 good bucks are known to lie. 



In August and the earlier part of September, 

 especially before they have burnished, bucks do 

 not go very far afield, and from about fifty 

 minutes before dark they move out of the thickets 

 where they have lain all day, and begin to draw 

 to their feeding ground. Just for that space of 

 time a careful "creeper" may encounter one, and 

 get a shot. It is rather difficult, for a man must 

 have a very quick eye to " pick up " a deer, 

 standing generally in the shade of covert. More- 

 over, the shot must be taken at once as you 

 both stand and generally from the shoulder. It 

 is almost always the case that the buck has 

 "got" you just as soon as you "got" him, and, 

 though they generally stand for a minute to 

 stare and see what has alarmed them, it is but a 

 short minute, and he must be taken just as he 



