362 MY SPORTING HOLIDAYS 



and the marksman in a quiet, peaceful frame of mind, 

 the bullet would probably be placed right, or right 

 enough, almost every shot. In the excitement of the 

 chase the youthful hunter is apt to fire in a hurry, 

 without taking proper aim, and frequently from an 

 awkward position. Hence he does not do himself 

 or his rifle justice, and a clean miss is often the 

 result. 



In the case of men of keen and sanguine tempera- 

 ment it requires a distinct effort of the will and some 

 practice quietly and quickly to assume a good position 

 when the opportunity for a shot arrives. The too 

 eager desire to get the rifle off at the earliest possible 

 moment requires to be sternly controlled. The shot 

 may have to be taken quickly, but it must not be 

 taken hastily. There is a subtle difference in the two 

 processes which all sportsmen who have done much 

 big-game hunting will readily recognise. What it 

 consists in can better be learnt by experience than 

 taught by precept. 



Occasionally, and particularly in woodland hunting, 

 it is necessary to fire from the shoulder, without any 

 elbow-rest at all. Therefore, this kind of shot should 

 be frequently practised, for at times it may come in 

 very useful. It is always as well to take some kind of 

 elbow-rest where circumstances permit. But it often 

 happens that circumstances do not permit, and so 

 it is as well to be prepared. 



Having now written down something of what is in 

 my mind, and for what it is worth, concerning the use 

 of a sporting rifle in the field, I feel constrained to 

 repeat my previous remark, that the one thing really 

 needful is constant practice. The actual shot at big- 

 game is often a quick, sometimes even a snap-shot, 



