68 THE COMPLETE SHOT 



root of the dividend is the number of seconds of the fall. Thus, 

 if the bird falls 64 feet, then "-^- = 4, and the square root of 4 is 

 2 seconds. In 3 seconds the game falls 48 yards, so that prac- 

 tically all pheasants take between 2 and 3 seconds to fall, or 

 ought to do so. 



The velocity the bird is travelling before being shot does not 

 affect the time it takes to reach the ground, but wind, with or 

 against the game, slightly alters the distance it goes forward 

 after being killed. With the wind the game will always be 

 going faster than the air, and will therefore be getting air 

 resistance from the front, and the method only partially 

 breaks down when a heavy wind is blowing directly against 

 the game. 



