ROCKETING BIRDS 177 



and so I was forced to relinquish it, although I 

 at times found it a sufficiently remunerative amuse- 

 ment. Indeed, I never quite got over the quick, 

 flashy style of snap-shooting which I acquired from 

 shooting at the Gun Clubs, despite some considerable 

 time spent in endeavouring to overcome it ; and I 

 was never able to become a first-class shot at rocketing 

 birds. 



This shooting at ' rocketers ' is, especially with 

 impatient shots, more difficult to attain perfection at 

 than perhaps any other kind of shooting. Shooting 

 at wild pigeons, when the wind is high and the birds 

 are coming in to roost in the larch-trees towards 

 evening, is excellent practice ; and driven partridges, 

 flying overhead, or even starlings occasionally, are 

 worth any amount of artificial substitutes. 



On very bright days, when pheasants or partridges 

 rise high over the shooter, there is always, if they are 

 flying towards the sun, what may be termed a certain 

 'shade of light' (if such a term is admissible), which is 

 for an instant shown on the neck and breast of the 

 bird, at one angle, being visible just as the bird rises 

 on catching sight of the 'stop' or 'heading gun' 

 behind the 'stop;' and to a good shot this light is a 

 deadly mark, and the prettiest shots are made by 

 using it as a guide to the neck of the bird. On dark, 

 foggy days this spot is naturally not so easily visible ; 

 but from constant practice the shooter knows where 

 to look for it, and even if it is not perceptible the 

 well-known spot is there, and he fancies he can discern 

 it as the bird comes swinging over his head towards 

 him. Even on the breasts of hen-birds this deadly 

 ' shine' is at times visible, but it is of course more 



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