16 
HIGH PHEASANTS : 
elevation of 40 yds., in a small space equivalent to the outline 
of a pheasant, than would have struck this space if it had 
been a fast-flying bird at the same height (see p. 60). 
In the latter case, even with a correct aim and proper 
forward allowance, it may be taken that from one-fifth to 
one-quarter of the charge would pass behind the tail of the 
bird. A charge of shot leaves a gun in a detached column 
or stream, that is several yards in length by the time the 
first pellets of it reach a pheasant that is 40 yds. high. 
A portion of this stream, that nearest the gun, consists of 
the weaker, slower, and most diverging pellets, or those which 
are the latest to arrive at the bird, or rather where the bird was. 
For instance, in Series I. the perpendicular pattern at 40 yds. 
is 132, and after deducting one-fifth of these there are only 
106 pellets left in the 30-in. circle, of which not more than 
three, or at most four, would be likely to strike a pheasant 
in the body at a height of 38 to 40 yds. 
If the shooter chanced to aim so far forward of his bird that 
the first half of the stream of shot passed in front of it, then a 
proportion of the last or slower part of the charge might arrive 
in time to score a kill ; though, as far as the number and 
force of the pellets striking the bird was concerned, it would 
not be the same thing as if he had hit it with the first part 
of the shot-stream. From this it will be seen that in the 
case of a high-flying bird, or even a distant crossing one, it 
is impossible to use the entire charge of shot as a means 
of killing (see Stringing of Shot, p. 59). 
In the case of a running bird on hard ground, a bird on the 
water or ice, or a bird flying directly towards, or from the shooter, 
the bulk of the shot-charge is, however, effective. If a bird is 
flying straight from you, any of the more central pellets of the 
