IN THEORY AND PRACTICE 
45 
they afford most sporting ^ and tall shots, I cannot say I have 
ever seen one that I should regard as beyond the reach of 
a gun, or at a height even of 40 yds. 
Series V 
Twenty exceptionally High Pheasants and how they were killed. 
1. Cock bird struck by two pellets. One pellet hit the 
head near the left ear, but did not fracture the bone. The 
other pellet struck the right side of the breast, and, passing 
through the pectoral muscle for a distance of ij in. at a depth 
of J in., passed out again. The bird was stunned by the 
pellet that struck its head, and was killed by its violent 
contact with the ground. 
2. Cock bird struck by five pellets. One pellet lodged 
between the skin and the flesh of the inner surface of the 
right thigh, inflicting only superficial injury. Three pellets 
struck the right side of the breast, near the middle line, and 
one of these would have reached the heart if the bird had 
been nearer the gun, but, as it was, it only partially penetrated 
the pectoral muscle. The remaining pellet fractured the base 
of the skull, and, causing haemorrhage of the brain, killed the 
bird. No. 7 shot was found in this specimen. 
3. Hen bird, hit and killed by one pellet. This struck 
just beneath the left eye, and passed out above the right eye. 
It did not touch the brain, but the skull was fractured. 
4. Hen bird, struck by five pellets — three pellets on the 
right side of the under surface of the body, and one in its centre. 
^ I use the word ' sporting ' here only in reference to a ' sporting chance ' of 
kilHng ; for with all driven game it is a question of skill with the gun, rather than 
actual sport with it. 
