240 THE COMPLETE SHOT 



stacking of the peat, it seems that sunk butts are of the most 

 value. The latter are much the more costly to make, because 

 they require draining at a depth of 3 or 4 feet below the 

 surface. The manner of making these sunk butts is not to 

 excavate to the full height of a shooter's gun arm, but to use 

 the turf taken out of a partial excavation for making a gradual 

 slope up bank close to the pit, a foot or two above the 

 surrounding surface the object being that the bank thus 

 made should look like a natural heather bank, and not present 

 a black surface of peats to the sight of approaching grouse. 

 The biggest bags ever made have been obtained with the 

 upright peat butts ; but The Mackintosh, who has had the 

 largest day's bag in Scotland, prefers sunk butts. 



The latter gentleman also puts his butts nearer together 

 than anyone else. The nearest are about 15 yards apart. 

 This would not suit most people. Possibly, though, this too 

 greatly depends upon the nature of the driving. Twenty yards 

 apart may be far enough for very high pheasants, and may 

 prevent two guns shooting at one bird. If grouse happened to 

 be equally high, as some ground might easily make them, the 

 danger of shooting other's birds would be lessened, and butts 

 could with advantage be nearer together than where the grouse 

 flew low. In the beginning of driving, butts were built 80 yards 

 apart, now they are usually made at 50 yards intervals. 

 Low flying grouse, going half-way between butts 80 yards 

 apart, cannot be dealt with ; their nearest point to a gun is 

 40 yards, but at the moment when they are between the butts 

 they cannot be safely shot at, and before they get there they 

 are out of range. 



No doubt most missing of driven grouse is caused by 

 shooting at them too far away. This is the greatest fault of 

 the novice. The next most productive source of missing is 

 shooting under coming birds and over those that have passed 

 the butts. After this, failure to allow enough ahead of fast 

 birds, to compensate for their movement while the shot is 

 going up, is the next most productive of missing, and shooting 

 too much in front of slow up-wind birds runs it hard. 



