172 SHOOTING THE PHEASANT 



when pheasants are coming over at easy killable dis- 

 tance — that they are not really skilled and experienced 

 sportsmen. 



I would venture to implore those who, from de- 

 fective vision or lack of some other qualities, find that 

 they cannot succeed even so far as I have just de- 

 scribed, not to attempt the heavy pheasant shooting of 

 the present day. They may take their pleasure with 

 grouse and partridges, at wild walking-up or driving ; 

 they will kill only a few, but they will wound still fewer, 

 while they get healthy exercise and enjoyment. But 

 they will commit the cruelty of wounding a great 

 many pheasants where these come thick and easy, 

 and never be safe or satisfactory participators in a 

 pursuit which, unless well done, had better not be 

 done at all. 



To return to the various difficulties and how to 

 surmount them. If you are standing among trees, 

 where it is hardly possible to get an absolutely clear 

 shot, you will never do any good by hanging on and 

 waiting for the bird to cross an open space. I do 

 not suggest that you should deliberately fire through 

 a thick tree top, yet you must more or less ignore 

 the branches, and shoot exactly as though the bird 

 were in the open. When you are in really good form 

 it is curious how seldom you will find the twigs and 



