THE THEORY OF SHOOTING 67 



20 yards. But as all game varies in speed, and as all shooters see 

 what they do differently, this has no educational value for any- 

 one, except so far as it sets out a principle that has not hitherto 

 been dealt with, except in some newspaper articles namely, the 

 principle that swing regulated automatically by the pace of the 

 bird has more effect at short range than at long range. This is 

 so whether the nature of the swing is merely to follow and catch 

 the game, or to race it and get past it, or to race past it to a 

 selected point or distance in front. 



To attempt to bring home this truth to those who do not 

 agree with these remarks, it may be expedient to point out that 

 they explain a very common experience. One sometimes gives 

 ample apparent allowance in front of a crossing bird, and shoots 

 well behind him ; then, with the second barrel, one races to catch 

 him before he disappears over a hedge, fires apparently a foot or 

 a yard before the game is caught up, and nevertheless kills 

 dead. 



The judgment of speed is not very important if one allows 

 the speed of the game to regulate the rate of the swinging gun, 

 and although it is frequently discussed as if no one could shoot 

 well without a perfect knowledge of speed, it seems doubtful 

 whether it is necessary to worry about it, when the act of getting 

 on the game is really an automatic regulation of swinging to the 

 movement of the bird. 



But as there are very likely some shooters who would like to 

 be able to calculate speed as accurately as may be, here is a plan 

 which is never very much out for heavy short-winged game, such 

 as pheasants, partridges, grouse, black game, and wild duck of 

 kinds. 



Estimate the height of the game at the moment it was shot, 

 then measure, by stepping, the distance the dead (not wounded) 

 bird travels before it touches the flat ground. Air resistance to 

 the fall of the bird will be practically just equal to air resistance 

 to its onward movement after it is dead, and the time it takes to 

 fall, and necessarily also to go forward the measured distance, 

 are the same. The time taken for the fall may be safely 

 calculated by the height in feet divided by 16, and the square 



