DEER IN SCOTLAND 357 



The echo may often confuse stags, and so make them mistrust 

 their own sense of hearing. They will often apparently gaze 

 at a man in full view of them and appear not to see him unless 

 he moves. The very slightest movement is enough. But 

 although the wind in the corries often plays curious tricks 

 in warning a stag that is apparently safely up wind of the 

 stalker, it is doubtful whether it ever plays tricks against the 

 stag and sends him back into the arms of the stalker, as a 

 splash from a ball in the water does sometimes. 



It may be remarked that since the Government have cut 

 down the .303 to 25 inches, instead of its previous 30 inches, 

 it makes a very fair stalking rifle, although it is no longer the 

 arm of precision it was at long range. In order to maintain 

 the velocity, they have been obliged to cause more pressure 

 in the chamber by altering the shape of the " lead," or leading 

 passage for the bullet, from the chamber to the bore of the 

 rifling. If, however, they have been able to do this by this 

 means, what could they not have done by applying the same 

 improvement to the long barrel ! Only in the last year before 

 its condemnation, the latter had been discovered to be the 

 best barrel in the world when properly loaded. But it 

 required a bigger charge than the Government ever gave to 

 it. Messrs. Kynoch claim a great improvement for this rifle 

 by the discovery of their axite powder, and with all these 

 improvements there seems now to be no reason why the 

 sportsman in ordering new rifles should be satisfied with any 

 less flat trajectory than that given by the Mannlicher with 

 its initial 2350 foot-seconds velocity. The author will not 

 discuss trajectories in this work, because he has reason to 

 question the accuracy of the text-books, including the last 

 issued by the Government ; and it would be clearly unwise 

 to challenge criticism here, without having the space to enter 

 fully into the matter. 



