334 THE KEEPERS BOOK 



hole in the ground." The gun should never be closed, 

 if loaded, while the loader is turned towards the shooter. 

 Guns should never be loaded until the shooter takes his 

 place at his stand, and should always be unloaded as 

 soon as the drive is over. 



It is highly desirable that a little rehearsal should 

 take place between the shooter and the loader, if they 

 are strangers to each other at the game. When the 

 loader is the shooter's own servant, five or ten minutes' 

 practice in the gunroom on "off" days should be in- 

 dulged in, and also now and again during the summer. 

 This will save a lot of bother, wasteful movements, and 

 irritation when "the trouble " begins. The loader must 

 always be keen and on the look-out, not at the birds, 

 but at the man who is using the guns. He is not in- 

 tended to spot the birds and call "left," "right," or 

 "over " ; he is only there to see that his shooter gets 

 a loaded gun with the least degree of trouble. He 

 must be on the alert to get out of the way, as the shooter 

 varies his position so as to get a suitable angle to loose 

 on his bird. The position varies most in partridge- 

 driving, at which practice the capacity of the loader 

 will be tried to the utmost. Coolness is a most valu- 

 able quality, and this is demanded most when rapidity 

 of loading is an essential. All guns should be loaded 

 as if they were wanted quickly, even though the loader 

 is aware that there is no particular hurry. He errs 

 then only on the safe side, and the practice of quick 

 loading at all times will perfect his art in general. To 



