THE PRACTICE OF DEER-STALKING 163 



with a woe-begone countenance and the admission 

 that he had missed two good chances. ' And yet,' 

 he would add, 'I tried a shot before starting, and 

 hit a bottle at a hundred yards.' That is just it. 

 Shooting at a bottle is very different from shooting 

 at a stag. If everyone who can hit a mark even a 

 foot square at a hundred yards was equally successful 

 at deer there would be no missing in the forest, for 

 those who could not accomplish that feat would pro- 

 bably not attempt stalking. 



Coolness is the great desideratum in firing at a 

 stag. This quality is generally supposed to be ac- 

 quired by practice. It is not always so. I have 

 known men, who never were and never will be even 

 fair shots, and who are so fond of the sport that they go 

 on year after year with very varying success. On 

 the other hand, two of the steadiest shots that ever 

 came to this forest were men who began to stalk 

 comparatively late in life, and who never got any 

 practice at deer in other places. 



For my own part, I am no believer in practising 

 with a rifle -at a mark after your weapon has been 

 well tried. It may do no harm, but it certainly does 

 no good. If coolness is the quality most required, 

 what can the young shooter learn by blazing away at 

 a bottle ? We have all heard of stag fever, but who 



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