38 ROE-SHOOTING. 



right out of your beat, you must await its return, which, 

 if it has not been alarmed or shot at, you may pretty 

 confidently expect. 



In recommending the above manner of roe-shooting, it 

 must be remembered that I do not say it is easy ; but I 

 do say that, when thoroughly understood, it will be 

 attended with much greater success in the long run, and 

 the roes will be less disturbed, than when many of the 

 passes are kept by novices in the sport. I once, in Ken- 

 mure wood, at the head of Loch Lomond, by this mode 

 killed two in a few hours, one of them a very fine old 

 buck, without harassing any others ; while a party of five 

 or six of us, and beaters to correspond, after alarming 

 the whole wood, and firing many shots, only got three 

 yearling fawns in four whole days. 



Many gentlemen have a great prejudice against allow- 

 ing hounds to enter their covers, for fear of driving the 

 roes away, when the blame should rather be laid on their 

 large party, unskilful mano3uvring, and long random shots. 

 I have had good proof that roes are not so much afraid 

 of fox-hounds as people suppose. A gentleman of my 

 acquaintance had a newly-planted wood much injured by 

 them : he desired the gamekeeper to hunt them out ; so 

 little, however, did this frighten them, that they have 

 been known to return within an hour after the hounds 

 were taken off, nor would they leave the place until one 

 or two had been shot. 



Nor is this the only instance which has come within 



