THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
as well as profit in it. The sport, too, takes place at a time of the year 
(from June 20 to August 20) when there is no other form of rifle shooting 
to be had, and, in itself, it is one of the best to be found in Europe. In 
England, Ireland, and Scotland there are to-day tens of thousands of 
acres where little game of any kind is to be found, and which would support 
a considerable head of Roe. Roe will flourish even in southern English 
coverts, as is proved by their existence in West Sussex, where they are 
now spreading beyond Petworth. In moderate numbers they do little 
damage. 
I consider there is more sport in hunting for a week one good roebuck 
than several half -tame Stags in the height of the rut, for in the first case 
you must work hard and employ woodcraft to achieve your end, whilst 
in the other no skill whatever is required either in stalking or the 
use of your rifle. A first-class Roe head, too, is a rare, as well as a 
desirable, trophy, and the man who possesses three or four of these, 
shot with the rifle, must have worked long at dawn and eve to obtain 
them. 
The best places to stalk Roe are the edges of those long glades in Ross 
and Inverness-shire, that join the deer forests in the higher altitudes. 
Here it is delightful to spend a few days at the stalker’s house, live on 
simple Highland fare, and go to the wood edges at dawn and sunset. 
Roe have a habit of feeding out in little glades or on the wood edge itself 
in July and August, and often repair to the same spot day after day, but 
to approach them successfully is often a somewhat difficult matter. In 
woods sounds are always exaggerated, and winds shifty, and Roe can hear 
every bit as well as a Stag. Their sight, too, without being very long, 
is marvellously sharp. If you tread on a stick or move suddenly in the 
open, they will detect you, and their noses are also keen. It is only the 
fact that they do not look about so much as Red deer, nor are there so 
many prying eyes to avoid, that makes their chase easier in one respect, 
otherwise the stalker has to use his wits to their utmost to obtain a shot. 
Roe, too, rely on the fact that they are not easily seen, and will stand at 
gaze, watching a man as he passes along a road or well-known foot-path, 
and so offer a fair chance. What delightful hunts I used to have at dawn 
in the lovely woods of Boblainey and Cawdor in the early summer morn- 
ings of 1888-1892. Dear old Lord Cawdor, most charming of men, and 
a keen naturalist, used to wonder at my love for Roe stalking, but after 
a while he ceased to think it strange, and used to give me a morning at 
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