The Complete English Wing Shot by G T TeasdaleBuckell

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Title: The Complete English Wing Shot

Author: G. T. Teasdale-Buckell

Release Date: January 5, 2020 [EBook #61111]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

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THE COMPLETE ENGLISH

WING SHOT

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

THE COMPLETE MOTORIST
THE COMPLETE GOLFER
THE COMPLETE PHOTOGRAPHER

H.M. THE KING AS A BOY

THE

COMPLETE ENGLISH WING SHOT

BY

G. T. TEASDALE-BUCKELL

WITH FIFTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS

NEW YORK: McCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO.

LONDON: METHUEN & CO.

1907

W

PREFACE

HEN THE PUBLISHERS ASKED ME TO WRITE A BOOK UPON SHOOTING AND ITS INTEREST, I AT FIRST DOUBTED
WHETHER I KNEW ENOUGH OF THE MATTER TO FILL A BOOK OF MUCH SIZE WITHOUT REPEATING ALL THE

TRADITIONAL LORE THAT IS TO BE FOUND IN EVERY UNREAD TEXT-BOOK, BUT I HAD NO SOONER UNDERTAKEN THE
BUSINESS THAN I CAME TO A CONCLUSION THAT HAS SINCE BEEN CONFIRMED, THAT TO DEAL AS BEST I COULD, WITH THE
KIND HELP OF MANY SPORTSMEN, WITH THE CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECTS WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE WHOLE SPACE AT MY
DISPOSAL FOR ANY ONE OF THEM. CONSEQUENTLY, EVER AND AGAIN I HAVE HAD TO DECIDE WHAT TO ELIMINATE, AND I
HAVE TRIED TO LEAVE OUT THAT WHICH MOST PEOPLE KNOW ALREADY, AND TO DEAL AS BEST I CAN IN SHORT SPACE
WITH QUESTIONS THAT ARE NOW MORE OR LESS UNDER DISCUSSION, AND CONSEQUENTLY THOSE THAT GAME PRESERVERS
AND SHOOTERS IN THIS AND OTHER COUNTRIES ARE THINKING ABOUT. IT HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO DRAW A LINE
BETWEEN THE CONTROVERSIAL AND CURRENT SUBJECTS AND THE UNCHALLENGED FACTS WHICH HAVE BEEN TOO OFTEN
REPEATED ALREADY, BUT THAT THIS IS THE RIGHT PRINCIPLE IS, I THINK, OBVIOUS FROM THE POSITION THAT THE
OPPOSITE COURSE WOULD INVOLVE. WHAT IS MEANT CAN BE BEST EXPLAINED BY GLANCING AT A FEW TRADITIONAL
SURVIVALS IN GUNNERY AND SHOOTING, AND ITS ACCOMPANYING UNNATURAL HISTORY, WHICH, ALONG WITH MANY
others, would occupy space if one were to attempt to deal with all the accepted, as well as the repudiated,
STATEMENTS UPON THEM. NOBODY WANTS TO BE TOLD THAT HE SHOULD PUT THE POWDER INTO A CARTRIDGE-CASE
BEFORE THE SHOT, BUT TO BEGIN AT THE
BEGINNING WOULD INVOLVE THE NECESSITY OF GIVING THAT AND OTHER PUERILE

INFORMATION. NOBODY WOULD BE THE BETTER FOR A LEARNED CHAPTER ON GUN ACTIONS. IN THE FIRST PLACE, THESE
ACTIONS ARE NO LONGER PATENTS, THEY ARE OPEN TO ANYONE WHO LIKES TO USE THEM, AND CONSEQUENTLY THE DAYS
WHEN ONE SELECTED A GUN-MAKER BECAUSE HIS PATENT ACTION WAS CONCEIVED TO BE THE BETTER, ARE LONG GONE
BY. THE REASON IS THAT EACH GUN-MAKER CAN BE TRUSTED TO USE THE BEST PRINCIPLE WHEN HE HAS A CHOICE OF
THEM ALL, OR AT LEAST THE BEST AVAILABLE FOR THE MONEY TO BE EXPENDED UPON ITS MAKING IN THE GUN. EJECTORS
ARE NEARLY IN THE SAME POSITION; BUT SINGLE TRIGGERS ARE NOT. I WAS SO FORTUNATE AS TO MAKE A DISCOVERY IN
REGARD TO SINGLE TRIGGERS THAT IS NOW ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE OF GREAT ASSISTANCE TO THE GUN TRADE; THE WANT OF
IT HAD FOR A HUNDRED YEARS BEEN THE STUMBLING-BLOCK TO THE PATENT SINGLE TRIGGERS THAT HAD BEGUN TO
TROUBLE GUN-MAKERS IN THE TIME OF THE CELEBRATED COLONEL THORNTON. THAT IS REFERRED TO IN ITS PROPER
CHAPTER, BECAUSE SINGLE TRIGGERS NOW OCCUPY THE PLACE THAT FORMERLY ACTIONS HELD, AND AT A LATER DATE
ejector systems usurped, in assisting to the selection of a gun-maker.

TO BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING IN THE REPUDIATION OF FREQUENTLY ACCEPTED FALLACY POSSIBLY WOULD NOT COMPEL A

REFERENCE TO THE SOMETIME BELIEFS THAT HARES CHANGE THEIR SEX; THAT SKYLARKS FALL INTO SNAKES’ MOUTHS
AFTER THEIR SKYWARD SONG—A STATEMENT THAT TROUBLED MR. SAMUEL PEPYS, WHO, AS SECRETARY TO THE
ADMIRALTY UNDER TWO PROTECTORS AND TWO MONARCHS, AND AS A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, SHOULD HAVE
BEEN IN A POSITION TO GET THE BEST INFORMATION. NOR WOULD SUCH A BEGINNING INVOLVE THE REPUDIATION OF THE
BELIEF ONCE HELD THAT BERNICLE GEESE TURNED INTO “BERNACLE” MOLLUSCS, OR
vice versâ. BUT IT WOULD OBLIGE AN

AUTHOR TO ENTER INTO REPUDIATION OF THE OFT-STATED BELIEF THAT NITRO POWDER IS QUICKER THAN BLACK POWDER,
ALTHOUGH BIG AND HEAVILY CHARGED CAPS HAVE TO BE EMPLOYED FOR THE NITRO, WHEREAS THE SMALL WERE AMPLY
SUFFICIENT FOR BLACK POWDER. ONE WOULD ALSO BE OBLIGED TO POINT OUT THAT THE OFT-REPEATED PROPHECY, THAT
THE SMALLEST STOCK OF GROUSE BRED THE BETTER AUGUST CROP, HAS BEEN DOOMED TO DISASTER ALWAYS, AND THAT
PRECISELY THE REVERSE IS TRUE. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE WHO BY WHAT THEY SAY MUST BE JUDGED TO
hold to the unproved proposition that the stones breed grouse.

COL. THORNTON’S PLUTO (BLACK) AND JUNO. BY GILPIN.

SHOWING WHOLE-COLOURED POINTERS SIMILAR IN

FORMATION TO THOSE OF SUTTON SCARSDALE TO-DAY

IT WOULD BE NECESSARY ALSO TO POINT OUT THAT SOME PARROT CRIES ARE A HUNDRED YEARS OLD AND AT LEAST

FORTY YEARS OUT OF DATE, BUT ARE STILL REPEATED AS IF THEY WERE ORIGINAL AND TRUE. SOME OF THESE ARE THAT
POINTERS HAVE BETTER NOSES THAN SETTERS, AND ALSO REQUIRE LESS WATER; THAT CHEESE AFFECTS DOGS’ NOSES
(SANITATION BY MEANS OF CARBOLIC ACID DOES SO, BUT CHEESE IS HARMLESS ENOUGH); THAT IRISH SETTERS HAVE
MORE STAMINA AND PACE THAN ANY OTHERS. THE LATTER STATEMENT I HAVE SEEN DISPROVED FOR FORTY YEARS AT
THE FIELD TRIALS IN THIS COUNTRY, AND THE FORMER HAS ALWAYS FAILED TO FIND CORROBORATION AT THE CHAMPION
STAMINA TRIALS IN AMERICA. I HAVE HAD GREAT CHANCES OF FORMING AN ACCURATE OPINION, AS I ENTERED AND RAN
DOGS AT THE ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS OVER THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO, AND I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS EVER
judged at the champion trials of both England and America.

IT WOULD BE NECESSARY ALSO TO REPUDIATE THE MISTAKE THAT “FOOT SCENT” IS SOMETHING EXUDING FROM THE

PAD OF AN ANIMAL AND LEFT UPON THE GROUND BY THE CONTACT OF THE FEET. IT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO AFFIRM THAT
FAT FROM THE ADDER IS NOT THE BEST CURE FOR THE POISON WHEN DOG OR MAN IS BITTEN, BUT THAT RAW WHISKY
TAKEN INWARDLY IN LARGE DOSES IS; AND AS DOGS WILL SOMETIMES POINT THESE VIPERS, IT MIGHT BE WELL TO AFFIRM
THAT THESE CREATURES DO NOT SWALLOW THEIR YOUNG, AS IS COMMONLY SUPPOSED. IT WOULD BE NECESSARY ALSO TO
STATE THAT WHEN PARTRIDGES “TOWER” THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY, BUT ONLY SOMETIMES, HIT IN THE LUNGS, BUT
HAVE OFTEN RECEIVED A RAP ON THE HEAD JUST NOT ENOUGH TO RENDER THEM TOTALLY UNCONSCIOUS; AND A CASE HAS
LATELY BEEN REPORTED WHERE TWO UNSHOT-AT PARTRIDGES IN ONE COVEY “TOWERED” AND FELL, AND WERE CAUGHT
ALIVE, GREW STRONGER, AND UPON ONE OF THEM BEING KILLED IT WAS FOUND TO BE BADLY ATTACKED BY ENTERITIS,
AND NOT BY LUNG DISEASE. AND CONSEQUENTLY THE MYTH ABOUT “TOWERED” PARTRIDGES ALWAYS FALLING DEAD AND
ON THEIR BACKS DOES NOT REQUIRE DEALING WITH, AS MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE CASE A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO,
WHEN NEVERTHELESS THE PHENOMENON WAS ONLY MISUNDERSTOOD IN THE LABORATORY, AND NOT IN THE FIELD OF
sport.

v

vi

vii

viii

IT IS HARDLY NECESSARY TO ASSERT THAT “PHEASANT DISEASE” AS COMMONLY SEEN IN THE REARING-FIELDS IS NOT

FOWL ENTERITIS, AS IT IS SO OFTEN SAID TO BE, BECAUSE THE FOSTER-MOTHERS ARE HARDLY EVER AFFECTED BY ANY
ILLNESS WHEN THEIR CHICKS ARE DYING BY HUNDREDS OF the DISEASE. The PHEASANT DISEASE HAS NEVER BEEN
subjected to pathological examination and investigation.

TO START AT THE BEGINNING WOULD MAKE IT NECESSARY TO STATE THAT THE “MUFF ’COCK,” OR THE BIGGER

WOODCOCK, THAT COMES IN A SEPARATE MIGRATION, IS NOT THE HEN OF THE SMALLER BIRDS, AND THAT DISTINCTION CAN
ONLY BE MADE BETWEEN THE SEXES BY INTERNAL EXAMINATION OF THE ORGANS. IT MIGHT BE NECESSARY IN SIMILAR
CIRCUMSTANCES TO SAY THAT WOODCOCK AND SNIPE DO NOT LIVE ON SUCTION, AS IS OFTEN BELIEVED EVEN NOW; THAT
NIGHTJARS AND HEDGEHOGS NEITHER SUCK THE MILK OF GOATS NOR COWS; THAT FOXES DO NOT PREFER RATS AND
BEETLES TO PARTRIDGES AND PHEASANTS; THAT SWALLOWS DO NOT HIBERNATE AT THE BOTTOM OF PONDS; THAT BADGERS
DO NOT PREFER YOUNG ROOTS TO YOUNG RABBITS; THAT PTARMIGAN AND WOODCOCK ARE NOT MUTE, AND THAT THE
FORMER DO NOT LIVE ON EITHER STONES OR HEATHER; THAT BADGERS CAN RUN ELSEWHERE THAN ALONG THE SIDES OF A
HILL, AND THAT THEY ARE NOT COMPELLED, BY HAVING THE LEGS ON ONE SIDE SHORTER THAN ON THE OTHER, TO ALWAYS
TAKE THIS CURIOUS COURSE, WHICH WOULD INVOLVE THEM IN THE DIFFICULTY OF HAVING TO ENTIRELY ENCIRCLE A HILL
BEFORE GETTING BACK TO THEIR HOLES; NEVERTHELESS, THIS FAITH IS STILL HELD IN SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, JUST AS
IT IS SAID THAT THE HEATHER BLEATING OF THE SNIPE IS A VOCAL SOUND, WHEREAS IT IS OFTEN MADE SIMULTANEOUSLY
with the vocal sound.

I HAVE TRIED TO AVOID DEALING WITH ANY SUCH THINGS AS THESE, WHICH MAY BE SUPPOSED TO COME WITHIN THE

REGION OF COMMON KNOWLEDGE OF ANY BEGINNER IN SHOOTING, BUT ANOTHER POINT HAS TROUBLED ME MORE. I
HAVE WRITTEN A GOOD DEAL FOR THE PRESS. ARTICLES OF MINE HAVE APPEARED IN
The Times, The Morning Post,

The Standard, The Daily Telegraph, The County Gentleman, Bailey’s Magazine, The Sporting and
Dramatic, The Badminton Magazine, Country Life, The Field, The Sportsman, The National Review,
The Fortnightly Review, The Monthly Review, AND ELSEWHERE, AND I AM AFRAID THAT I HAVE
UNCONSCIOUSLY REPEATED THE IDEAS RUNNING THROUGH SOME OF THESE ARTICLES, WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO THE
various editors.

AS COLONEL HAWKER WENT TO SCHOOL IN GUNNERY TO JOE MANTON, SO DID JOE MANTON GO TO SCHOOL TO

HAWKER IN THE MATTER OF SPORT. BUT WE HAVE CHANGED. THAT THOSE WHO MAKE GUNS CAN BEST TEACH HOW TO
MAKE GUNS I DO NOT DOUBT FOR A MOMENT; THAT WHEN THEY WRITE BOOKS ON THE MAKING OF GUNS THOSE BOOKS
ARE REGARDED AS AN INDIRECT ADVERTISEMENT IS INEVITABLE, BUT THEY ARE NONE THE WORSE FOR THAT, IF READERS
KNOW HOW TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES, AND IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO GO TO A SHOOTING SCHOOL TO DO THAT. BUT
WHEN GUN-MAKERS ADD TO THEIR BUSINESS BY MEANS OF BOOKS UPON SPORT AND BY “SHOOTING SCHOOLS,” THEY
ARE TURNING THE TABLES ON US. TO THAT I HAVE NO OBJECTION. BUT WHEN IT IS ASSERTED THAT SHOOTING SCHOOLS
TEACH MORE THAN THE SPORT ITSELF, AS HAS LATELY BEEN DONE, THEN I THINK IT IS TIME TO PROTEST THAT EVEN IF
THEY COULD TEACH SHOOTING AT GAME AS WELL AS GAME TEACHES IT (WHICH IS ABSURD), THAT EVEN THEN THEY
CANNOT TEACH SPORTSMANSHIP, OF WHICH WOODCRAFT IS ONE PART AND THE SPIRIT OF SPORT AND FELLOWSHIP
another.

BUT THE GREATEST VALUE OF SPORTSMANSHIP IS, AFTER ALL, THAT IDLE MAN SHOULD BE THE MORE HEALTHY AN

ANIMAL FOR HIS IDLENESS. CONSEQUENTLY, WHEN SHOOTING PARTIES ARE MADE AN EXCUSE FOR MORE SMOKE AND
LATER NIGHTS THAN USUAL, EVEN IF THE SHOOTING IS NOT SPOILED NEXT DAY, LESS ENJOYMENT OF LIFE FOLLOWS, AND
LETHARGICALLY APPARENT BECOMES THE MISSING OF THAT PERFECT DREAM OF HEALTH, THAT REACTION AFTER GREAT
exertion ought to bring to those who have ever felt it.

IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT BIG BAGS HAVE RUINED THE SPORTING SPIRIT. THAT IS NOT SO: BIG BAGS ARE NECESSARY

PROOFS THAT THE SCIENCE OF PRESERVATION OF GAME IS ON THE RIGHT LINES, AND THEIR PUBLICATION IS ALSO
necessary on these grounds. At the same time, it is a fact that hard walking is not appreciated as much as
IT WAS THIRTY YEARS AGO, AND LADIES CAN NOW TAKE JUST AS FORWARD A PLACE IN THE SHOOTING OF GAME AND DEER
AS MEN CAN OR DO. THIS IS NOT ALL BECAUSE LADIES ARE BETTER TRAINED PHYSICALLY, BUT BECAUSE SPORTS HAVE
BEEN MADE MUCH EASIER, THAN FORMERLY THEY WERE. BRIDLE-PATHS ENABLE PONIES TO TRAVERSE THE DEER
FORESTS WITH LADIES ON THEIR BACKS, AND WHERE THAT CAN BE DONE DEER STALKING IS NOT QUITE WHAT IT WAS WHEN
A HIGHLAND LAIRD DECLARED THAT HE SAW NO USE IN PROTECTING THE DEER, SINCE NOBODY COULD DO THEM MUCH
HARM. BUT THE WONDER TO ME IS NOT THAT WE DO NOT LIKE GREAT EXERTION, BUT THAT WE EVER DID LIKE IT FOR
ITSELF. BUT THEN I SPEAK AS A MAN IN YEARS, AND ONE WHO HAS IN THE FOOLISHNESS OF YOUTH KILLED A STAG AND
CARRIED HOME HIS HEAD, CUT LOW DOWN, FOR SIXTEEN MILES, RATHER THAN WAIT FOR THE TARDY PONIES TO BRING IT IN
with the carcase.

I SUSPECT THAT A CHANGE OF IDEAS WILL TAKE PLACE WHEN IT IS DISCOVERED THAT DRIVEN-GAME SHOOTING CAN,

MORE THAN ANY OTHER, BE LEARNT AT THE SHOOTING SCHOOLS, AND THAT WHEN THE TRICK IS KNOWN IT BECOMES THE
EASIEST KIND OF SHOT. IF IT IS TRUE THAT THE SCHOOLS CAN TEACH IT, THEN EVERYBODY WILL LEARN IT, AND WHAT IS
COMMON PROPERTY WILL BECOME AS UNFASHIONABLE AS IT IS THE REVERSE AT PRESENT. I BELIEVE THAT HALF THE
DIFFICULTY IN THE DRIVEN BIRD IS IN THINKING IT IS DIFFICULT. THE FASTEST BIRD AT 30 YARDS RANGE ONE IS LIKELY TO
MEET WITH IN A WHOLE SEASON DOES NOT REQUIRE A SWING OF THE MUZZLE FASTER THAN, OR MUCH MORE THAN HALF
AS FAST AS, A MAN CAN WALK. WHAT IS DIFFICULT IN DRIVEN GAME IS SHOOTING OFTEN, THE SWERVE OF THE GAME, THE
CHANGES OF PACE AND ANGLE OF DIFFERENT BIRDS IN QUICK SUCCESSION, BUT DISTINCTLY NOT THE PACE. BEFORE I HAD
EVER SEEN A GROUSE BUTT, I REMEMBER SITTING DOWN TO WATCH ANOTHER PARTY OF SHOOTERS ON A DISTANT HILL,
MORE THAN HALF A MILE UP WIND OF WHERE I SAT TO WATCH. I SAW THEIR DOGS POINT, AND A SINGLE BIRD RISE,
WHICH, WITH MANY A SWITCHBACK AS IT CAME, I WATCHED TRAVERSE THE WHOLE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, AND I
KILLED IT AS I SAT. THAT WAS MY FIRST DRIVEN GROUSE, BUT IT IS NOT BY ANY MEANS WHY I SAY THAT DRIVEN GAME
OFFERS THE EASIEST KIND OF SHOOTING; IT IS BECAUSE THE AVERAGE OF KILLS TO CARTRIDGES ARE SO MUCH BETTER THAN
THEY ARE IN OTHER KINDS OF SHOOTING. TAKE, FOR INSTANCE, DOUBLE RISES AT PIGEONS, WHICH ARE EASY COMPARED
WITH DOUBLE RISES AT OCTOBER GROUSE, AND IT
WILL BE NOTED THAT THE CRACK PIGEON SHOTS DO NOT GENERALLY KILL

EVEN THEIR FIRST DOUBLE RISE AT 25 YARDS RANGE, AND THAT FOUR OR FIVE DOUBLE RISE KILLS ARE NEARLY ALWAYS
GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN, AS ALSO VERY OFTEN IS A SINGLE DOUBLE RISE WITH BOTH BIRDS KILLED. VERY MODERATE
GROUSE DRIVERS CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT, AND PHEASANTS THAT ARE NOT VERY HIGH ARE SLAIN IN MUCH GREATER

ix

x

xi

PROPORTION. THE FACT IS THAT ALL SHOOTING IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT IF ONE ATTEMPTS TO SATISFY THE MOST SEVERE
CRITIC OF ALL, NAMELY THE MAN WHO SHOOTS. BUT AT MY AGE I WOULD MUCH RATHER THINK MYSELF FIT TO DO A DAY’S
HARD WALKING THAN A DAY’S HARD SHOOTING. I THINK THERE ARE A GOOD MANY PEOPLE OF THAT OPINION, OTHERWISE
DOG MOORS WOULD NOT MAKE MORE RENT PER BRACE THAN THE YORKSHIRE DRIVING MOORS, BUT THEY DO. THE
TROUBLE IS THAT PLACES WHERE BIRDS WILL LIE TO DOGS ARE LIMITED, AND IT IS CHILDISH TO DRIVE PACKS OF BIRDS
AWAY FOR THE SAKE OF THINKING ONE IS SHOOTING OVER DOGS WHEN ONE IS NOT SHOOTING AT ALL, BUT ONLY DOING
MISCHIEF. PERSONALLY, I WOULD NOT TRY TO SHOOT OVER GOOD DOGS ON YORKSHIRE GROUSE. BAD ONES WOULD NOT
matter; but then they would give me no pleasure.

WHEN IT WAS A LITERARY FASHION TO ABUSE COVERT SHOOTING AS BUTCHERY AND GROUSE DRIVING AS NO SPORT, IT

WAS NOT DONE BY SPORTSMEN OF THE OTHER SCHOOL; AND LATER, WHEN THE LITERARY GENIUS OF THE PERIOD WAS
TURNED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, AND WE WERE CONSTANTLY BEING TOLD THAT A WALK WITH A GUN AND DOG WAS
pleasant but no sport, it was only done by those who were a little afraid of being out of the fashion. I have
BEEN SO UNFASHIONABLE AS TO DEFEND BOTH BY TURNS, AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OF OPINION THAT ANY SPORT
WHICH APPEARED TO BE GROWING UNPOPULAR WAS WORTHY OF THE LITTLE SUPPORT I COULD GIVE IT. IT WILL PROBABLY
GREATLY SURPRISE THOSE WHO DARE NOT, WITH IMAGINATIVE PENS, SHOOT AT THE TAIL OF A BIRD, TO BE TOLD THAT MR.
R. H. RIMINGTON WILSON RECENTLY INFORMED ME, THAT IF HE WERE TO BACK HIMSELF TO KILL A NUMBER OF SHOTS
CONSECUTIVELY HE WOULD SELECT DRIVEN BIRDS IN PREFERENCE TO WALKED-UP GAME; AND BESIDES, THAT HE
PREFERRED TO BE LET LOOSE ON A SNIPE BOG TO HIS OWN, OR ANY OTHER, BIG DRIVING DAYS. MY OPINION HAS
been

THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE ANY SORT OF SHOOTING A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT THAN YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE CAN
satisfactorily accomplish to the gratification of your own most critical sense.

Driving game and big bags are often, but not always, acts of game preserving.
ON THIS SUBJECT I HAD WRITTEN A CHAPTER, BUT FEARING THAT I HAD NOT DONE THAT VIEW JUSTICE, AFTER A

CONVERSATION I HAD WITH CAPTAIN TOMASSON, WHO HAS HUNTHILL AND IS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SCOTCH GROUSE
PRESERVER BY THE ALL DRIVING METHOD, I ASKED HIM TO CRITICISE SOME ARTICLES I HAD PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN IN THE
Field, THE SENSE OF WHICH I HAVE TRIED TO EXPRESS AGAIN IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES. HE VERY KINDLY DID SO, OR
RATHER STATED THE CASE FOR THE HIGHLANDS, WHICH I HAVE SUBSTITUTED FOR MINE. IT ONLY DIFFERS IN ONE RESPECT
FROM THE SENSE OF MY OWN SUPPRESSED CHAPTER—NAMELY, IT DOES NOT REMARK ON THE DIFFICULTY OF EXPLAINING
WHY, IF RECENT SCOTCH DRIVING HAS PARTLY DEFEATED DISEASE, EVEN MORE YORKSHIRE DRIVING, PRIOR TO 1873,
NEVERTHELESS PRECEDED THE WORST AND MOST GENERAL SCOTCH AND ENGLISH DISEASE EVER KNOWN. HOWEVER,
EVERYONE WILL ARGUE FOR HIMSELF: I CAN ONLY PRETEND TO PRESENT A MASS OF FACTS TO ASSIST A JUDGMENT, BUT
NOT A QUARTER OF THOSE I SHOULD LIKE TO GIVE HAVE I ROOM FOR, AND I REGRET THAT CAPTAIN TOMASSON IS EVEN
more restricted by space.

I HAVE SHOT OVER SPANIELS IN TEAMS AND AS SINGLE DOGS, BUT AS I CONSIDER THAT I KNOW LESS OF THEM THAN

MR. EVERSFIELD, WHO PROBABLY KNOWS MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE, I ASKED HIM TO READ AND CRITICISE MY ARTICLE,
WHICH HE PROMISED TO DO. BUT IN RETURNING IT HE HAS PROFESSED HIMSELF UNABLE TO CRITICISE, AND VERY KINDLY
says that he likes it all, so I leave it, being thereby assured that it cannot be very wrong.

THERE IS ONE SUBJECT CONNECTED WITH SHOOTING, OR THE ETHICS OF SHOOTING, ABOUT WHICH THERE IS MUCH

MORE TO BE SAID THAN EVER HAS BEEN ATTEMPTED—NAMELY, THAT PARTRIDGE PRESERVERS ARE NOW, AND WILL BE
MORE IN THE FUTURE, INDEBTED TO THE FOX FOR THEIR SPORT. THIS MAY APPEAR A WILD PARADOX, BUT BEFORE I AM
CONDEMNED FOR IT I WOULD, IN THE INTERESTS OF THE GUN, ASK THOSE WHO DISAGREE TO READ MY CHAPTERS ON
PARTRIDGE PRESERVING, WHERE, IF THEY STILL DISAGREE, THEY WILL FIND A PARTRIDGE SUCCESS DESCRIBED THAT WILL
AMPLY REPAY THEIR GOOD NATURE, UNLESS THEY KNOW A PLAN BY WHICH SEASON’S PARTRIDGE BAGS CAN BE
doubled, doubled again, and then again, in three consecutive years.

ON THE SUBJECT OF DOGS, I MAY SAY THAT THIRTY TO THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO I RECOMMENDED TO SOME

AMERICAN SPORTSMEN THREE DIFFERENT SORTS OF SETTERS. EITHER TWO OF THEM HAD BRED WELL TOGETHER IN
ENGLAND. THESE HAVE BEEN CROSSED TOGETHER EVER SINCE IN AMERICA, AND NO OTHER CROSS HAS BEEN ADMITTED
TO THE STUD BOOK DEVOTED TO THEM. THEY HAVE BEEN A REVELATION IN THE SCIENCE OF BREEDING DOMESTIC
ANIMALS, FOR, IN SPITE OF ALL THE IN-BREEDING REPRESENTED THERE, I WAS ENABLED TO SELECT A PUPPY IN 1904
THAT IN CAPTAIN HEYWOOD LONSDALE’S HANDS HAS BEATEN ALL THE ENGLISH POINTERS AND SETTERS AT FIELD TRIALS IN
1906. I HAVE MORE PARTICULARLY REFERRED TO THIS IN A CHAPTER ON ENGLISH SETTERS, AND IN ANOTHER ON
strenuous dogs and sport in America.

I HAVE ALREADY TENDERED MY THANKS, BUT I SHOULD LIKE PUBLICLY TO REPEAT MY INDEBTEDNESS, TO THOSE WHO

HAVE LENT ME THE BEST WORKING DOGS IN ENGLAND FOR MODELS, OR HAVE SENT ME PHOTOGRAPHS OF THEM AND
OTHER PICTURES. THESE INCLUDE MR. ERIC PARKER, EDITOR OF
The County Gentleman, MR. W. ARKWRIGHT, THE

HON. HOLLAND HIBBERT, MR. HERBERT MITCHELL, MR. C. C. EVERSFIELD, MR. A. T. WILLIAMS, CAPTAIN H.
HEYWOOD LONSDALE, MR. B. J. WARWICK, THE EDITOR OF Bailey, MR. ALLAN BROWN, AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE
WORLD’S OLDEST ESTABLISHED, AND NATIONAL, FIELD TRIAL SOCIETY, NAMELY COL. C. J. COTES, OF PITCHFORD HALL,
WHO HAS SENT ME SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF HIS, AND HIS LATE FATHER’S, WOODCOTE POINTERS AND RETRIEVERS,
INCLUDING AN ORIGINAL IMPORTATION OF 1832, AND FOUNDER OF HIS PRESENT BREED OF THE LATTER RACE, AND IN DOING
this he has been kind enough to say:—

“I HAVE ALWAYS CONSIDERED YOU TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BREAKING AND BREEDING OF SETTERS THAN ANY MAN

LIVING, AND THAT IT WAS ENTIRELY THROUGH YOU THAT THE APEX OF SETTER BREEDING WAS REACHED ABOUT TWENTY-
FIVE YEARS AGO, AND THROUGH YOUR
RECOMMENDATION I OBTAINED THE EIGHT SETTERS IN 1881 THAT FOUNDED MY

present breed.”

I AM GLAD TO BE ABLE TO QUOTE THIS, BECAUSE MY NAME IS LITTLE KNOWN TO YOUNGER SHOOTERS, ALTHOUGH I

write many, preferably unsigned, articles upon rural sports and other matters.

G. T. T.-B.

xii

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xiv

CONTENTS

PAGE

Ancient Actions
1

Ancient Pistols to Automatic and Elephant Rifles
4

Ancient and Middle Age Shooting
13

On the Choice of Shot Guns
23

Single-Trigger Double Guns
52

Ammunition
56

The Theory of Shooting
63

The Practice of Shooting
69

Form in Game Shooting—I
76

Form in Game Shooting—II
82

Crack Shots—I
88

Crack Shots—II
94

Pointers and Setters
101

The Pointer
126

English Setters
139

Strenuous Dogs and Sport in America
151

The Irish Setter
160

The Black-and-Tan Setter
168

Retrievers and their Breaking
176

The Labrador Retriever
191

Spaniels
195

Grouse that Lie and Grouse that Fly
204

Red Grouse
214

Methods of Shooting the Red Grouse
235

The Latest Methods of Preservation of Partridges
246

Partridge Bags and Driving
259

Varieties and Species of the Pheasant
267

Pheasants
274

Bringing Pheasants to the Guns
292

xv

xvi

Shooting Wild Ducks Artificially Reared
302

Wild Wild-Duck
308

Rabbit Shooting
318

Hares
323

Snipe
329

Woodcocks
335

Black Game
341

Pigeon Shooting
347

Deer in Scotland
354

Big Game
358

A Varied Bag
361

Diseases of Game Birds
370

Index
377

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

H.M. the King as a Boy
Frontispiece

From a photograph lent by Eric Parker, Esq.

Col. Thornton’s Pluto (Black) and Juno, by Gilpin, showing Whole-Coloured Pointers

similar in formation to those of Sutton Scarsdale to-day
Facing page
vi

From Daniel’s Rural Sports, 1802.

Warter Priory. Lord Savile shooting
〃
32

From a photograph by Mr. H. Lazenby, York.

With Plenty of Freedom for Good Lateral Swing
〃
63

Taking a Step Back with the Left Foot as the Shot is Fired saves the Balance when the

Game has passed far Overhead before being shot at
〃
66

H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and Lord Farquhar riding to the Butts on the Bolton

Abbey Moors, 1906
〃
69

From a photograph by Messrs. Bowden Brothers.

H.R.H. the Prince of Wales waiting for Grouse, showing the much more Forward

Position of the Left Hand than when Shooting
〃
70

From a photograph by Messrs. Bowden Brothers.

H.R.H. the Prince of Wales shooting Grouse at Bolton Abbey, showing the very

Forward Position of the Left Hand
〃
72

From a photograph by Messrs. Bowden Brothers.

Mr. R. H. Rimington Wilson shooting Grouse, showing the Back Position of the Left

Hand
〃
74

From a photograph by Messrs. Bowden Brothers.

Warter Priory. Lord Dalhousie
〃
80

From a photograph by Mr. H. Lazenby, York.

At Warter Priory. Lord Lovat in the Dales
〃
84

From a photograph by Mr. H. Lazenby, York.

Mr. B. J. Warwick’s Compton Pride, a Pointer which twice won the Field Trial

Champion Stake
〃
101

From a photograph by the Author.

The Celebrated Field Trial Winning Setter, Captain H. Heywood Lonsdale’s Ightfield

Duffer
〃
101

From a photograph by the Author.

Captain H. Heywood Lonsdale’s Ightfield Rob Roy pointing, and backed by Pitchford

Ranger
〃
106

From a photograph by Messrs. A. Brown & Co., Lanark.

xvii

xviii

The Famous Field Trial Winner Shamrock belonging to Mr. Arkwright
〃
126

From a photograph by the Owner.

Solomon’s Seal and Sealing Wax trying to get up Higher and feel the Scent
〃
126

From a photograph by the Owner, Mr. Arkwright.

Three of Mr. Arkwright’s Whole-Coloured Pointers: Leader, Despatch, and Largo
〃
127

From photographs by the Owner.

The Spanish Pointer
〃
128

From a painting by G. Stubbs, engraved in Daniel’s Rural Sports, 1802.

Juno, a Fawn-Coloured Pointer, bred by King George IV. It is suggestive of the

Greyhound, and like many modern Whole-Coloured Pointers
〃
129

From an engraving by Richard Parr, after a picture by G. H. Laport, in The

Sporting Magazine, 1834.

An Early Nineteenth-Century Picture of the Woodcote Pointers, the Property of Col.

C. J. Cotes. His Field Trial Winners Pitchford Druce and Pitchford Duke are
descended from his Father’s Woodcote Pointers
〃
132

Col. C. J. Cotes’ Champion Field Trial Pitchford Ranger on Lord Home’s Lanark

Moors
〃
133

From a photograph by the Author.

Col. C. J. Cotes’ Champion Field Trial Pitchford Ranger on the Ruabon Hill
〃
133

From a photograph by Mr. Allan Brown, Ruabon Hill.

Field Trial Winner Pitchford Beauty on the Ruabon Hill
〃
134

From a photograph by Mr. Allan Brown, Ruabon Hill.

Field Trial Winner Pitchford Bang
〃
134

From a photograph by Miss Gladstone.

Captain Stirling’s Brag of Keir (Field Trial Winner)
〃
134

From a photograph by the Author.

Col. C. J. Cotes’ Field Winner Pitchford Duke on the Ruabon Hills
〃
135

From a photograph by Mr. Allan Brown, Ruabon Hill.

Col. C. J. Cotes’ Field Winner Pitchford Duke on Lord Home’s Moors in Lanark
〃
135

From a photograph by the Author.

The First of September, by F. C. Turner
〃
139

Showing the character of the black-and-tan setter before the bloodhound cross.

The English Setter, by Reinagle
〃
144

From Scott’s Sportsman’s Repository, 1820.

xix

With the exception of an ill-drawn hind leg and near fore foot this is the correct

formation. The model had the shoulders, head, back, and back ribs, rarely
seen now except in hard-working dogs.

Mr. Herbert Mitchell’s Lingfield Beryl, Winner of Firsts six times in seven Field Trial

Outings in the Spring of 1906
〃
145

From photographs by the Owner.

Capt. H. Heywood Lonsdale’s Field Trial: Ightfield Dot and Ightfield Rob Roy, with

Scot their Breaker
〃
148

From a photograph by Messrs. A. Brown, Lanark.

Ightfield Rob Roy and Ightfield Mac, belonging to Captain H. Heywood Lonsdale
〃
149

The former was victor on Lord Home’s Moors near Lanark, in July 1906, over

all English-bred pointers and setters. The latter was winner of the Puppy
Stakes at the same time.

From a photograph by the Author.

Mr. John Cotes’ Imported Labrador, Tip, from an Old Picture at Woodcote
〃
176

The dog was whelped in 1832, and presented by Mr. Portman to his owner. From

this dog is descended the field trial winner, Col. C. J. Cotes’ Pitchford Marshal,
and his Monk, an intermediate generation. This dog is more like the dogs at
Netherby 45 years ago than is the present race of Labradors.

From a photograph lent by the Owner of the picture.

Col. C. J. Cotes’ Pitchford Marshal, several times a Field Trial Winner
〃
177

From a photograph lent by the Owner.

Col. C. J. Cotes’ Monk, an Intermediate Link between the Imported Dog Tip, of 1832,

and Marshal, now in full vigour. Monk is said to have been very fast
〃
177

From a picture lent by the Owner.

Mr. A. T. Williams and his celebrated Liver-Coloured Field Trial Retriever Don of

Gerwn
〃
180

From a photograph presented by Col. J. C. Cotes.

Mr. A. T. Williams’ Don of Gerwn (Liver-Coloured)
〃
181

Mr. Lewis Wigan’s Sweep of Glendaruel (Black)
〃
181

The Hon. A. Holland Hibbert’s Kennel of Labrador Retrievers, 1901
〃
191

From a photograph presented by the Owner.

The Hon. A. Holland Hibbert’s Labrador Munden Single
〃
192

From a photograph presented by the Owner.

The Hon. A. Holland Hibbert’s Munden Sovereign
〃
192

From a photograph presented by the Owner.

Col. C. J. Cotes and Pitchford Marshal, with his Breaker Harry Downes
〃
193

xx

From a photograph presented by the Owner.

The Hon. A. Holland Hibbert and Munden Single
〃
193

From a photograph presented by the Owner.

Mr. Eversfield’s Field Trial Winning English Springer Spaniels of a Liver-and-White

Breed kept for work alone in the Family of the Bougheys of Aqualate for a Hundred
Years.
〃
198

Red and White Field Trial Welsh Springer Spaniels belonging to Mr. A. T. Williams
〃
199

From a photograph by Messrs. Bowden Brothers.

Field Trial English Springer Spaniels of the Liver-and-White (Aqualate) Breed

belonging to Mr. C. C. Eversfield
〃
199

From a photograph by Messrs. Bowden Brothers.

Pheasants at Warter Priory. Lord Londesborough at High Cliff
〃
274

From a photograph by Mr. H. Lazenby, York.

A Highland Deer Head of unusually Heavy Beam—a Thirteen Pointer
〃
354

From a photograph by Mrs. Smithson.

A Fine Wildly Typical Nine Point Highland Head of 38–Inch Span
〃
354

From a photograph by Mrs. Smithson.

A Typical Highland Red Deer Imperial Head, Thirteen Points
〃
355

From a photograph by Mrs. Smithson.

A Typical New Zealand Royal Head
〃
355

By permission of the Editor of County Gentleman.

Typical Stag of Ten Points, shot in Kashmir by Col. Smithson
〃
356

From a photograph by Col. Smithson.

Stag of Thirteen Points, shot in Kashmir by Mrs. Smithson
〃
356

From a photograph by Mrs. Smithson.

xxi

THE COMPLETE SHOT