UTILIT V OF HAMMERS 209 



sight all require to be level, the first as a guide to the 

 last, the second to the first ; and unless the wind is 

 very hig^h and causes birds to swing over-much in 

 their flight, there is always time to run the eye up the 

 rib between the hammers and observe if they are level 

 or not. 



I have found hammers invaluable for rifle-shooting at 

 deer in this respect. A stag will not always stand 

 still for our accommodation, and give us five minutes 

 in which to take a careful, steady aim ; and it is very 

 frequently necessary to shoot at it when there is no 

 more time given than to obtain a snap-shot just as it 

 is disappearing into thick woods. I have at times 

 been fortunate enough to get on to a roe-deer going 

 full gallop, and in such instances have had to trust 

 very much to the hammers to guide me in keeping my 

 rifle level, for there has been only time to swing forward 

 to the spot the deer has been making for, of course, 

 making use of the sight as best I could to secure the 

 proper elevation. The same principle applies equally 

 to cylinder-shot guns, whether shooting at ground or 

 winged game, for, in the former case, there is probably 

 but a narrow ride of some two or three feet in width, 

 or an equally constricted space between the trees in 

 the latter, in which to get a barrel in. 



In the Highlands, where the woods of Scotch firs 

 extend for miles and there is an utter absence of cut 

 * rides,' or where walking in line through young woods, 

 it is necessarily all ' snap-shooting,' and everything 

 depends upon the perfect balance and fit of a gun ; 

 and it frequently happens in such thick coverts that 

 there is not even time to bring the gun to the shoulder, 

 it being necessary to fire from the hip as often as not. 



