many will not even take the triable to use the larger sizes o f shat, the result is that more
beasts are wounded than killed. Now this is manifestly unfair, and fairness in sport being a
quality we especially pride ourselves upon, i t . i s l l lt lg h to make any right-thinking sportsman
blush to know that such things go on year after year, and that another nation (the
Germans) set us an example we might follow to; .a'ÉySntage. T hey stalk him wherever
possible, and in that country, wherS ro|-hunting i| largely practised, any member of a party
who used small shot would scarcely be regarded with favour.
A roe-hunt as it is now carried out is often about as unsportsmanlike a series o f blunders,
as could well be imagined, and m o f its chief faults is the fact that that individual exercise
o f woodcraft, which is the chief glory of aH'ïforms of hunting,;is entirely done away with.
Some o f the happiest days of my life have been spent pottering about in our Northern
woods, with only the companionship of the keepers and a f riace o f good dogs, and picking
up an occasional roebuck, wh«|Se passes andAy.&s o f life I have made it my business» stud®
On the other hand, what a lot. o f roe-hunts I have seen where the little deer were driven by
a whole crowd o f shouting beaters, whose only object— generally unsuccessful— was to force
them to the guns, who were simply stationed and |tj|ok as much care tqyonceal themselves
as i f they were shooting rabbits. Though all the deer in the various beats may be seen, one
half will break back, whilst most o f the others will have slipped away at Odd Corners, and
the result 00 the whole day would be one or two does and several half-grown calves.
The best time to hunt rop with the shot-gunlS from the beginning o f October till the
■ .loth of November, that is to say i f heads are desired; but the animals themselves are in the
best condition from Christmas till the end o# February. By ascertaining the passes used by
the roe, and having the assistance o f only three beaters, one, or at most two guns can in October
Roe-Stalking and Roe Heads
and November shoot the roebucks that they wish for without disturbing the covers. But this
must be done by men who know every bit o f the ground. It may be properly termed
“ roe-moving ” and not “ roe-driving.”
During the thirteen years we were at Murthly, I only remember two old roebucks
being killed, at the annual two days’ cover shoot about the middle o f October, when, by the
way, every one expected to shoot them. I therefore had the pleasure o f hunting bucks after
it was over, and generally managed to get two or three good ones every season. In the last
six years o f our tenancy we killed no does, unless an occasional visitor wished to shoot one,
so the stock increased rapidly and wandering bucks from the hills were induced to stay.
These crisp autumn days are delightful in the big fir woods o f Perthshire, and there is far
more real sport, and consequently real enjoyment, in wandering about, with perhaps one
companion, and studying at leisure the ways o f the wild creatures and their surroundings,
than amid the bustle and management that have to take place at every big cover shoot.
The roe is generally looked upon as a stupid, easy beast to shoot, and so he is:— sometimes.
Still, for all that, I have seen more roe missed than woodcocks, and by good shots too.
Their peculiar bounding gait, being so entirely different from anything else in the game
list, is apt to be confusing to those who have not shot many. One meets keepers who can
shoot rabbits well and are duffers at driven birds, so an old friend o f mine, Mr. A , is a very
ordinary shot, but rarely misses a roe ; he loves roe-hunting in its proper sense, and knows
all about the deer and their habits. One day at Dupplin a remark o f his to another friend,
Mr. B, a capital shot and most anxious to kill a roe, was both characteristic and to the point.
There had been two or three drives, and B had been put in the passes where the roe would
most likely come, but he showed himself at the critical moments, frightening one lot
back, whilst in another drive a good buck had detected him and come to me. Lamenting
his ill-luck to A at lunch, the only consolation he received was, “ Well, old chap, when I
want to shoot a roe I don’t light my pipe with a lucifer in the first drive, nor blow my nose
with a blankety-blank pocket-handkerchief in the second just as the deer are coming on.”
He had spotted B committing both these enormities.
This work is o f necessity becoming long, as one thing leads to another, but I cannot
help telling just one little yarn about roe-shooting that is beautifully illustrative o f Scotch
caution. Every year at Stobhall, at the end o f the season, my father used to give the
tenants and little farmers a day through the woods. Some o f them could shoot, and others
were only dangerous to their friends. One winter the party included the local “ w ut,” Jock
M ‘Donald, who, like the rest, thirsted for the blood o f a roe. After lunch (during which
several healths had been drunk) Jock was placed at the end o f a wood, where, on the
approach o f the beat, he was seen to fire several shots into one spot. The small boys, who
were exceedingly thick on the ground, asked Jock what he had been blazing at, as he
appeared to be nervous and excited ; but his reply was that it was “ naethin’,” he was “ jist
shutin’ to while awa’ the time.”
Two days afterwards Jock appeared, looking crestfallen, at the head keeper’s house.
There was no fire in his eye, and his cheery impudence had deserted him for once.
“ Weel, Jeames, that wus a graun’ day’s shutin’ twa days syne,” he suggested.
“ Yes, Jock, I’m glad ye enjoyed it,” was the reply.