276 THE STILL-HUNTER. 



You will also be apt at first to shoot at the middle 

 of your game. Should you hit it there you will then 

 have a long and perhaps futile hunt for it unless shot 

 with a very large or expansive ball. You should aim 

 either directly at the shoulder or just behind it; and 

 in either case low down. About one third of the dis- 

 tance up the body is the right point. In the shoulder 

 is the better place to shoot your game with a small 

 ball, provided it has enough penetration. Just behind 

 the shoulder is the better place for a ball that lacks 

 penetration. Behind the shoulder a ball damages 

 less meat by settling of blood. On the other hand, 

 a trifling error in placing a small ball too far back or 

 too high may allow your game to run a mile or more 

 and even escape you entirely. The same might be 

 the case with a shoulder-shot, but the same amount of 

 variation would not be so apt to let the game escape 

 as in case of a shot back of the shoulder. 



Beware how you shoot unnecessarily through thick 

 brush and twigs at any considerable distance. A 

 pointed ball is especially bad for such shooting, as a 

 small twig may set it wabbling and thus deflect it, 

 whereas a round or flat-headed ball would cut it off 

 without turning. This often spoils long shots in the 

 woods. 



But after all, the most important point is never to 

 be in a hurry. Fire as you would at a target; that is, 

 as coolly and deliberately. Never hasten a second 

 because the game shows signs of starting or because 

 you think it is going to move, or because there is more 

 than one deer or antelope waiting for your bullet. 

 Place no dependence upon speed of fire. No matter 

 how many shots you can fire or how fast you can fire 

 them, shoot every ball just as if it were your last one. 



