The Common Ptarmigan 
7i 
different points of view. The former is now becoming a pampered individual, for whom 
sport is made too easy ; whilst the latter does not look with favour on the reports of 
guns about the high tops, where if the wind is wrong the presence of one man may do 
considerable damage in moving deer off the ground. But for the young sportsman of 
the right sort who loves a good climb and to work for his game, Ptarmigan shooting, 
when practised on favourable days, offers very attractive sport. In a few places it is 
possible to drive Ptarmigan, and I have heard of as many as sixty brace being killed 
in one day, but the pleasantest way is to go out alone with one keeper and a steady 
old dog. An early start must be made, and if the day is fine, the gun held straight, 
and the gunner does not fear some stiff climbing, he will be rewarded with ten or 
fifteen brace. If you have an old gun it is best to take it, or the shooter may 
experience the horror of seeing his gillie tumbling down the rocks or over a snow- 
slide with his best sixty-guinea weapon flying through space. This happened to me 
in Norway in 1907, and the gun would have been reduced to fragments but that it 
fell on soft snow after a flight of about fifty feet. If it had gone three yards farther 
a sharp rock would have reduced it to atoms. August and early September are the 
best months to make a bag, but it is not always possible to shoot at this season owing 
to the exigencies of grouse and deer, but very pleasant days may be enjoyed on the 
tops in October after the stalking is over, although the weather cannot be depended 
on at this season. Even to the practised eye, Ptarmigan are most difficult to see unless 
they move or call. If suddenly come upon they usually rise and run a few yards, 
quivering the tail, and this at once attracts attention. At all seasons Ptarmigan may 
be found in pairs, so that the game is generally well scattered. There is a beautiful 
uncertainty about Ptarmigan shooting that is very attractive. The weather may be all 
that can be desired when the start is made, and even to half-way up the ascent. Then 
comes a sudden snow shower and the birds seem to vary their disposition according to 
the elements, and what looked like a good day may turn out to be a very poor one, 
with a procession of wild birds passing far out of shot, and taking flights of such 
length that it is impossible to find them again. I have often followed wild grouse all 
day, and by dint of pegging away have made a good bag in the evening, when the 
weather settled and the birds got " on feed." With Ptarmigan it is otherwise, and they 
seem to be "kittle" for hours before and after a storm. When Ptarmigan are only 
" half wild " they are difficult to shoot, as they turn and glide more rapidly than grouse. 
There seem to be few records of Ptarmigan shooting. The Hon. Geoffrey Hill killed 
in three days at Auchnashellach, 122, 82, and 60 Ptarmigan, and with two other guns, 
92 in one day. Forty birds have often been shot in a day, but a larger bag is rare. 
In a single drive at Gaick twenty-seven have been killed, whilst sixty brace have been 
bagged there in one day. 
In the case of Ptarmigan, Nature maintains an even balance, for though so little 
shot they do not increase to any extent, except for short periods. As soon as a large 
stock is created after one or two favourable seasons, vermin of all sorts find them 
out and harass them unceasingly at all times of the year. 
In Game Birds (p. 175) I gave some illustration of a clever ruse sometimes adopted 
by poachers for trapping Ptarmigan. A bottle is thrust several times into soft snow, 
