76 
HIGH PHEASANTS : 
it. The shot-charge, as it rises, will then have a chance of 
intercepting the head and neck of the bird. 
There is no swing here, merely a very quick aim and 
instant discharge of the gun. 
If a shooter is missing overhead pheasants coming straight 
above him, let him swing forward of the left wings of the 
birds, instead of forward of their heads. i 
If he shoots for the head and neck, the chances are he 
will place much of the shot-charge in the right wing. 
The reason is, that it is difficult to regularly swing the 
muzzle of a gun in a true line with a straight overhead bird, 
as the left arm, towards the end of the movement, nearly 
always pulls the barrels to the left, or towards the bird's 
right wing. 
By shooting for the left wing, or the one opposite to, or, 
over, your right shoulder, the pull of the left arm is allowed 
for — if such a fault is present — and you are more likely to hit 
the bird in the head and neck. In the case of a left-handed 
sportsman the above directions will have to be reversed. 
You can test the above by standing at right- angles to a 
straight line directly above you, such as a cornice in a room, 
the edge of a sky-light, or an over-hanging roof. Then swing 
the muzzle of a gun along this line from a few feet in front 
of you back to a point over your head. If you swing slowly, 
it is easy to avoid swinging off the line ; but if you swing 
^ It is hardly necessary to explain that the wing alluded to is the bird's 
proper right or left wing. 
