Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

SNAPSHOTS

Robin Scott argues that not much has changed in shooting over the past 200 years,

that the preoccupations of our forefathers are similar to those that exercise us today

Same as it ever was

R

ead a selection of books on guns

and shooting from the 19th

century and you’ll soon twig that

there’s actually very little new to

discover about this wonderful sport of ours.

Over-bored guns? Light loads? One-piece

shot cups? Chokes? Shooting techniques?

Best cover crops and game-rearing

practices? Vermin control? Habitat and

conservation? Antis? Or what about suitable

attire for Lady Guns?

The fact is that most of the why, what and

wherefores of shooting we ponder over now

exercised our forefathers’ minds all those

years ago as well. Take, for instance, the

current debate about shooting game at ever-

greater ranges. While a vociferous minority

sees nothing wrong in trying to shoot

pheasants 70 yards up, the quiet majority

frownsonit.But’twaseverthus.

Conduct

Goback 200 yearsandtheRevWilliam

Danielwasdiscussingthisparticular‘sin’

inhisbook,RuralSports. Takinghiscue

froma codeofconductdisplayedina south

countryshootinglodgeatthetime,thegood

reverendgavesupporttoa setofpenalties

aimedatthelong-rangegunner.Namely:

• A fiveshillingfineforfiringata hen
  pheasantmorethan 40 yardsaway(45yards
  inthecaseofa partridge)


• Tenshillingsandsixpenceforshootingat

anyhenregardlessofrange

• Killinga henbird,oneguinea(£11s0d)
  I don’tknowwhattheequivalentisin
  today ’smoneybutbackthena guinea
  probablyrepresentedoneortwoweeks’
  wagestotheaverageworkingman.Maybe
  more.Canyouthinkofa betterincentivenot
  tofirea speculativeshotonyourSaturdayoff
  thanit costingyouhalfa month’spay?
  I betit wouldstopmostoftoday ’s‘extreme
  pheasant ’shootersdeadintheirtracks.

Accordingtothereverend,monies raised

frompeoplepoppingoffatrange were

distributedamongthepoor.So the act of

givingtocharity(through‘fines’, usually

leviedtodayonkillinga whitepheasant) isn’t

new,either.Nor,it seems,isthe yardstick by

whichwejudgea poor,goodor crack shot.

Averages

LastmonthinSportingGunI noted that a

leadinggameshooterhadrecently gone

Lord and Lady Granard on a pheasant shoot at Warter Priory in 1910

RICHARD FAULKS, GET T Y, AL AMY