THE SHOT. 37 



aimed at ; whether a few inches to the right or left 

 matters not, it will be equally fatal. Do not fire at 

 deer standing end on or facing you ; even if they 

 appear alarmed, wait quietly, and they will usually 

 give a fair chance*. In shooting down-hill sit up and 

 plant the heels firmly in the ground, resting both 

 the elbows on the thighs; in shooting up-hill seek 

 for a tussock or a big stone round which to push 

 the rifle, and lie flat behind it, but do not on any 

 account fire off the shoulder as if shooting at a cock 

 grouse. Especially do not sit up and fire off the 

 shoulder if it is an up-hill shot; for you will be so 

 inclined to fall backwards that it becomes impossible 

 to hold the rifle steady. Crawl in and get a rest : 

 do this if even there are a hundred eyes apparently 

 all looking at you ; the cap is all they can see, and if 

 that is of a good colour, and moves slowly, deer will 

 stay staring at it and trying to make out what it is, and 

 before they have done that a shot can generally be 

 taken. In firing at moving deer practice alone will 

 teach how far to hold in front. In the event of the too 

 frequent miss, note if the deer was trotting slowly or 

 fast, or galloping best pace, and always ask the stalker 

 where the bullet struck, and, profiting by the observa- 

 tion, the next time a like chance presents it will most 

 likely end in a kill. As a rule shoot right at a walking 

 deer; the bullet goes up so quickly from the express 

 rifle, that even if it strikes an inch or two behind the 

 heart it is fatal. At a deer trotting slowly fire at the 

 point of the shoulder, but if he be trotting very fast, 

 j ust see daylight in front of him and then pull ; but for 



