DEER STALKING. 321 



manoeuvres to approach a herd or solitary stag. 

 The animals are usually descried at a long distance, 

 either by the naked eye, or by the aid of an achro- 

 matic telescope, and the mode of approaching them 

 entirely depends upon the situation in which they 

 are discovered/ Should it seem impracticable to 

 steal upon them while at rest, the stalkers, armed 

 with rifles, wait in the defiles through which the 

 deer are expected to pass, whilst the attendants 

 make a circuitous movement to get beyond the deer 

 and drive them in the direction required. The 

 deer-stalker, besides being an excellent shot, should 

 have good judgment of ground and a hardy frame, 

 combined with the patience and power to undergo 

 extreme fatigue and privation. 



When the red deer is fired at, he is usually at a 

 considerable distance, and perhaps bounding away 

 at full speed. Behind the shoulder, therefore, is 

 the favourite mark. " In killing deer,"* says Mr. 

 Maxwell, "it is necessary to select the head, or 

 aim directly behind the shoulder. A body-wound 

 may eventually destroy the animal, but the chances 

 are that he will carry off the ball." Mr. Scrope,-f- 

 whose experience and success in deer-stalking render 

 his remarks valuable, says, " the most perfect shots 

 and celebrated sportsmen never succeed in killing 

 deer without practice ; indeed, at first, they are 

 quite sure to miss the fairest running shots. This 

 arises, I think, from their firing at distances to 

 which they have been wholly unaccustomed, and 



* Wild Sports in the West, by W. H. Maxwell, Esq. London, 1833. 

 f The Art of Deer-Stalking, by William Scrope, Esq., F.L.S. 

 London, 1839. 



