GROUSE SHOOTING 
C OMPARATIVELY few grouse are now shot in England ex- 
cept by driving, though in many parts of Scotland shooting 
over dogs is still enjoyed, where grouse lie well. If driving 
is to be practised on a moor it is not advisable to begin with 
pointers or setters, for then it becomes a case of burning the 
candle at both ends, the young birds which lie well, and 
which should provide the future stock -birds, being killed over the dogs ; 
whilst when driving commences, the more forward birds are killed also 
in considerable numbers. “Driving” moors, and “dogging” moors should 
be kept quite distinct. There is no more enjoyable form of sport, where 
the birds are sufficiently plentiful and lie well, than shooting over dogs, 
and for this purpose the setter is perhaps to be preferred to the pointer, 
being generally hardier, whilst the feather between the toes protects the 
feet better from the friction of the heather. But whatever the kind of dogs 
their training must be irreproachable, for badly broken dogs add much 
to the weariness of the flesh on a hot August day, on a steep hillside! 
The largest bag ever made by one gun over dogs was that credited to 
the late Maharajah Duleep Singh, at Grantully, in Perthshire, on August 12, 
1871, when he killed 220 brace. According to Greener in “ The Gun and its 
Development ” (p. 535), “ His Highness used three guns, and only one brace 
of dogs working at a time. He commenced at 5 o’clock, and continued till 
late in the afternoon.” Part of the time the Maharajah certainly had more 
than one brace of dogs at work, I believe three brace, for he wrote an 
enthusiastic letter to my father, describing the day, and how he rode a 
pony, and went from one brace of dogs to another as they found game, 
dismounting in order to shoot. 
Another way of shooting grouse is stalking them amongst broken 
ground, and amongst the peat-hags on the high tops, when the gunner 
needs to be very cautious and very quick to be successful. Moreover, 
he must be on his guard against the treacherous mist, or he may not be 
able to find his way home, unless he is very well acquainted with the 
locality. If running water can be found, he will probably be able to follow 
that till he reaches a clearer atmosphere, or some landmark which tells 
him where he is ; or if there is a wind blowing he should also have a sense 
of the right direction. But a misty day is often a calm one, without any 
sun to show the points of the compass, and then he must look at any patches 
of heather he may meet, and observe the way in which it grows, 
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