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Shooting WOODCOCK IN THE HUCHOW DISTRICT The first news we have had this season of woodcock in any quantities has been brought in by a party who spent the period from and including the Christmas to the New Year holidays in the Huchow district. This party bagged Some 24 cock, which suggests that the birds were fairly plentiful. It has already been stated in these notes that the exceptional dryness of the present season has not favoured the abundance of woodcocks in such districts as Raise, where in normal years they have always proved plentiful. It is, therefore, gratifying to find that even in such abnormally dry seasons as the present there are areas in the territory lying between the Yantze and the Chientang River mouths, that is, the country mainly accessible to Shanghai sportsmen, where woodcock may still be found. This whole area appears to 'represent a favourite winter resort of this species, which, during the migration season is abundant at Chefoo and Wei-haiwei and other spots on the Shantung Promontory, as well as at Antung at the mouth of the Yalu, and breeds in Manchuria and Eastern Siberia. One cannot help wondering whither this most sporting of all birds betakes himself in such dry seasons as the present during the winter months, and we would be glad of any information on this point with which our readers can supply us. THE YANGTZE RIVER DEER: The China Press of January 3 gave an illustration of a bag made by two Chinese sportsmen of five river deer (Hydropotes inermis) in the Nanking district some time in the month of December. This little animal, ever since European sportsmen first began shooting in the region of the Yangtze Delta and Estuary, has been an agreeable addition to the day's bag. There are those who refuse to shoot at the river deer, feeling that it satisfies the desires of neither the big-game hunter nor the devotee of the fowling piece, and with these we confess to more than a little sympathy, notwithstanding the fact that we ourselves find it difficult to refuse a shot at this animal whenever it breaks cover. It usually affords no little excitement in the shooting, and, whatever some epicures may maintain, is a welcome addition to the menu. On the other hand, in country where it is plentiful, it becomes a nuisance to the sportsman who is out for a bag of pheasants, since its appearance is usually altogether too much for his dogs, causing no little confusion. Few dogs, even if well trained, can resists a wild run after a deer of which they may have gained the scent as it sprang from cover, and the result is demoralizing in the extreme.
ASTRANGE ACCIDENT: A correspondent, Mr. F. H. Williams, of Peking, sends us the following; "I saw an account of an English sportsman in Oxfordshire, having killed two partridges at one shot, and was in the act of picking the bird up, when the other fell with such force and broke two of his ribs. Many sportsmen would say it is impossible, but it is the truth. I wonder how many of your readers can explain how this happened. The sportsman only saw one bird fall and felt the other with disastrous results. I can explain how it happened and it is true enough . . . . "I had something of the same thing happen to me once when out partridge shooting in Shropshire, England, but the dead bird struck me right on the neck and came very near knocking me out. I felt the results of the shock for a week afterwards and had a stiff neck." We would be glad to have accounts from our readers of any similar occurrences. WORLD'S RECORD IBEX: A Reuter's telegram dated December 8 from Chicago states that Mr. Kermit Roosevelt, who is on a biological expedition in Central Asia and India on behalf of the Field Museum, has secured an ibex, presumably some race of the Asiatic species Caprea sibirica, with horns measuring 591/2 inches in length. This beats the previous world record, a specimen from the Tien Shan in the collection of the United States National Museum with horns 58 inches in length (Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game), by an inch and a half. The explorer is to be congratulated on securing so fine a trophy. THE BEST SIZES OF SHOT TO USE: A correspondent writing in The Field of December 17 in regard to the best size of shot to use in shooting mallards, states that in his recent experience No.6 shot yield better results in killing these birds than No.5 shot, pointing out, however, that "Some people recommend No.4 shot for mallards, and say anything less than No.5 should not be used for these strongly feathered birds The question of what sized shot to use is one of perennial interest to sportsmen the world over, and it would ho interesting to have some actual experiences from some of our many readers in China who go in for bird shooting. Our own experience is entirely in accord with The Field's correspondent. We can safely say that we have had more success with No.6 shot than any other, especially with the various species of duck and with pheasants. It would probably surprise some to learn that we have found No.5 shot more effective on geese than, say, BB, or Nos. I and 2 shot, except in cases of unusually long range. We have seen good shooting at geese done with No.6 shot. In our opinion there are two main causes contributing to this state of affairs, namely (1) the closer pattern given by the smaller sized shot, and (2) their greater penetrating power up to certain ranges
A. DE. C. S.
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Nevertheless, for those who like shooting the river deer, good sport may be had in the Nanking and Chinkiang districts, as well as along the banks of the Yangtze up to and beyond Wuhu. No.4 shot is fully large enough to use on this deer, but the sportsman should make it his aim to get the little animal in the head or shout the region of the shoulder. The head of a full grown male, with its well developed tusks, makes a handsome enough trophy. Wade, in his "With Boat and Gun in the Yangtze Valley," says that "No.8 shot is quite large enough to knock over a deer at 25 yards," but in the interest of humanity, we would suggest that the sportsman with his gun loaded with shot of this size should refrain from discharging it at a deer, unless he were so close as to be sure that the charge would penetrate en masse and not- scatter appreciably.