396 CRA WLING UP AND DO WN HILL 



may be necessary to afford a comfortable and sufficient 

 support for the glass ; but if the sun is up and shining, 

 the glass must be shut quietly when being taken down, 

 or else the deer will catch sight of the reflection, espe- 

 cially if the sun is behind the user, and the fittings of 

 the gun are not properly browned, but of bright metal. 



When crawling up-hill, the head must naturally go 

 hrst, but when down-hill, the feet must precede the 

 rest of the body, the heels being next to the ground, 

 thus offering a chance to the stalker, by slightly rais- 

 ing his head now and again, to obtain a full view of 

 the deer, and to determine how best to approach them. 

 Thus every inequality of the ground can be taken 

 advantage of This position is also a good one for 

 firing, as by raising the knee and supporting the head, 

 a nice steady rest is afforded. 



If a stag is standing still, broadside on, the sight 

 should be laid on the foreleg ; but a finer sight must 

 be taken when shooting down-hill, according to the 

 degree of the slope, the sight being gradually raised 

 and covering the inside of the leg until the shoulder is 

 reached, when a fine sight should be aligned, as it 

 were, well inside the foreleg under the heart ; and a 

 gradual squeeze of the trigger should send the bullet 

 straight to the heart, if the sight is taken so that the 

 desired spot appears to be, so to speak, just resting on 

 the tip of it. 



All express bullets * throw up ' very much, so that 

 it is impossible to instruct a novice how to judge the 

 distance and what sort of sight to use. He must, at 

 first, refer to his guide ; practice alone will teach 

 him. 



When deer are travelling fast, two or three feet 



