IN HIGH WIND 397 



must be borrowed in front, a fine sight being taken in 

 adv^ance of the lower part of the shoulder. 



In a high wind it is very much a case of guesswork, 

 but with a double rifle the first barrel will generally tell 

 its own tale, and inform the stalker what to do with the 

 second barrel, and show him whether he fired too 

 much in front or behind, the latter being the general 

 error. 



In a gale I have had to make an allowance of yards, 

 and at times have had to fire behind deer at a long 

 range when wounded, and allow the wind to do the 

 rest. 



The first barrel should not be fired at a greater dis- 

 tance than one hundred yards if it is possible to approach 

 nearer, for if so, it frequently happens that the poor 

 beast is struck in the wrong place, and unless finished 

 by a still longer shot, is left to linger in misery for, it 

 may be, years, 



I once saw a stag which had only one jaw, the lower 

 one having been shot off several years before. How 

 the poor animal managed to exist so long no one could 

 make out, but the keeper could never succeed in getting 

 a shot at it to finish it, and they declared that the hinds 

 took care of it, and even masticated its food for it. 



Sir E. Landseer avowed his belief in these state- 

 ments, as he said he had often observed the hinds 

 licking the wounds of a disabled stag, when the latter 

 was with his harem, and one of his most celebrated 

 pictures represents a hind which is licking the wounds 

 of a doomed ' royal.' Long shots should, therefore, 

 never be fired at stags unless they are wounded and 

 require finishing. 



When a stag is wounded the stalker should take care 



