There are certain staples that a Field gentleman simply must have in his wardrobe. Quality definitely reigns over quantity, so a few choice items will last for decades and carry one though most social situations. Not to mention facilitating the instant transformation of becoming more attractive to the fairer sex… Here is our pick of what a gentleman should wear.
Leather and canvas bag from Westley Richards
A gentleman’s wardrobe is simply not complete if it does not contain our selection below. With over 160 years in publication, we at The Field like to think we know what a gentleman should wear…
Overcoat A decent overcoat will last a lifetime – and this is a pretty decent 3/4 length overcoat from Holland & Holland, with double-faced waterproof Loden cloth, deep pockets and a bright orange lining for some cheer on a dull day. £1200
Loden coat from Holland & Holland
Jacket A well cut sports jacket can instantly lift a casual look into something a little smarter – be it with jeans or chinos. Make sure the cut suits your shape, most men benefit from a jacket that is ever so slightly fitted, as opposed to straight. This jacket from Purdey is extremely flattering. £875
Purdey Tweed Jacket
Jumper No man looks bad in a soft v-neck jumper. It simply isn’t possible. Worn with a white t shirt underneath and a pair of dark jeans, this look can be dressed up with the addition of a sports jacket, or down without. This beautifully soft cashmere number from Holland & Holland is wonderfully tactile. £395
Holland & Holland cashmere jumper
Shirt A linen shirt, actually. Most linen shirts are cut rather unflatteringly, but not this one from Dundas London. It will hang beautifully and comes in a range of colours – an absolute necessity for any man’s wardrobe. What else are you going to wear in St Barths this winter or in the country next summer? £110
White linen shirt fron Dundas London
Watch No man can consider himself to be dressed without a watch. And no one does watches better than the Swiss – Patek Philippe in particular. Pass this one down to your son when your own ticker ceases to…tick.
This model is timeless, elegant and can be worn with anything, anywhere. Men’s Calatrava watch with alligator strap. £14,520
Patek Philippe Calatrava Watch
Belt A plain brown belt is the most versatile accessory you can own. This one from the British Belt Company is reasonable and beautifully well made. £75
Burford Belt from the British Belt Company
Chinos Well cut chinos can take you from the side of a polo field to a street in Mayfair to a yacht in Cannes. Buy quality and the cotton will retain its shape for years to come. This pair from Cordings are just the job, £89
Cordings Chinos
Weekend Bag A fine weekend bag is the penultimate essential item on this list. Whether for a frisky weekend away or an overnight stay with friends, this leather and canvas bag from Westley Richards will last for decades and look the part. £545
Leather and canvas bag from Westley Richards
Brogues They may be the last item you don, but one of the most important. For the best selection of brogues, The Field has the ultimate compilation. Look no further:
Forays into the city needn’t mean that all memories of the shire must be left at the periphery of the M25. Tweed is now indisputably stylish, the countryside is fashionable and ladies can look sharp yet traditional at the same time.
Tweed waistcoat from Great Scot
The Field has compiled a sharp little selection of items that can be used together or separately for a look that works in both city and country. Tweed is very much on trend, especially now that classic styles have been updated with modern, flattering cuts. Country style for ladies in the city? Look no further.
Coat
Who doesn’t love a long tweed coat? This one from Holland Cooper is flattering to all figures, with a nipped in waist and is trimmed with faux snake skin for a bit of a twist. Team with a raccoon fur collar to complete the look. £649
Mocha Chelsea Coat and Collar
Waistcoat A well cut white shirt and a fitted waistcoat looks good on absolutely everyone. This, from Great Scot is really rather fabulous. Wear a ruffled shirt underneath for extra impact and it will take you from a point to point to Centre Point with ease. For The Field readers only, if you enter THEFIELDSTYLE at the checkout you will get £20 off the RRP of £179
Reiver waistcoat from Great Scot
Shawl
Add another dynamic to an outfit with a scarf or shawl. This cashmere shawl from Holland & Holland is somewhat extravagent, but it is just so beautiful, it has to be included. It’s huge, so if you get tired of wearing it, use it as a throw. £850
Vintage Animal Cashmere Shawl from Holland & Holland
Watch
A beautiful watch finishes off any outfit, and the Grand Reverso from Jaeger Le Coultre can be worn for any activity, as the face can be neatly turned around to prevent damage. What better reason do you need to head down to the Bond Street store?
£8250
Bag
This simple, elegant felt and leather bag from William & Son will look the part at any daytime occasion, rural or city. Plus, it’s big enough for all manner of essential accoutrements. £130
What a shotgun choke is, what the choke does, how it affects your shooting and how to both choose and measure your shotgun choke.
Make sure you have the best barrels and the correct shotgun choke
Shotgun choke can be somewhat mystifying to anyone not totally au fait with the sport. Have no fear – The Field is here to help. Choke is an issue that everyone who shoots should be aware of, as it not only affects beginners but experienced shots alike. Tinkering can become something of an obsession and lead, in some cases, to a state of near neurosis.
So what is the correct shotgun choke for grouse shooting? And if you find the gun of your dreams in our gun reviews section, what choke would suit best?
WHAT IS SHOTGUN CHOKE?
Shotgun choke is the constriction at the muzzle end of the gun that tightens the pattern of pellets. In an average cartridge there are approximately 300 pellets, so how wide the shot pattern or how restricted is a matter than will make all the difference to your shooting.
There is no need to become neurotic about shotgun choke, even though some people do. What is most important is that regular misses in the field are rarely down to choke. The cause is far more likely to be the direction the barrels are pointing.
Choke is one of those things, like gunfit, that should be visited occasionally and put out of mind once an informed decision has been reached concerning what best suits your needs.
With that on record, let us move forward.
DOES YOUR SHOTGUN CHOKE WORK FOR YOU?
You should take your gun to a pattern plate (or improvise one with paper or card sheets and a suitable frame and safe back-drop) and shoot it at different ranges – 20yd, 30yd and 40yd – using the cartridge you prefer. You hope to see an even pattern without too many clusters, gaps or excessive central concentration.
If there are holes a bird could fly through – a 5in circle test is sometimes applied – or if the pattern is obviously too tight, your shotgun and its chokes may be working against you.
Once you have tested with your usual ammunition, experiment with different cartridges. You might, for example, try to observe the terminal effects of switching between fibre and plastic wads (the former often throw more open patterns) or increasing pellet payload (which may be an alternative to increasing choke). If your gun has multi-chokes, try different tubes.
The tools of the trade for measuring shotgun choke
REVERSE CHOKE
Sportsmen develop strange prejudices concerning shotgun choke. My approach, and I happily admit to passing through the stage of confusion, is practical. I have discovered what works for me in different situations and now stick with it. For general game-shooting, I like a bit of choke in the first barrel but not too much – it is the first few thou that makes the most obvious difference. A slightly choked barrel is much more efficient than a true cylinder and inspires confidence, too.
Many 12- and 20-bore game guns are over-choked for their task. Tight patterns may be a means to cleaner kills at longer range but they are an impediment at shorter distances because they demand more accuracy.
There seems to be something in many sportsman’s psychology that erroneously suggests more choke good, less choke bad. If you are going out on the average driven day or walking-up, you do not need much choke in a 12-bore. The first few thou does make a real difference; thereafter the law of diminishing returns takes effect. Those who can see shot will confirm this. You can often observe what looks like a tennis ball-sized cluster of shot moving past the bird at short range. I have seen this many times and thought: “It’s much tighter than I expected, one might as well be using a rifle.”
Some years ago, I put together what came to be called my “duffer’s gun” based on an old, plain-Jane Beretta Essential over-and-under. The initial idea was to create a workhorse without regard to aesthetics that would be as forgiving to shoot as possible on normal days. It was based on an over-and-under because, though I love side-by sides, over-and-unders are usually easier to control and easier to point. The Beretta action is supremely reliable, moreover, and the Essential, though a budget gun, had livelier barrels than the average because it dispensed with side ribs.
The gun was a multi-choked model and this allowed for much experiment with shotgun chokes at the pattern plates and, later, in hides and on the shooting field. After some months of experiment, I determined that I had the most consistent first-shot success with something called a Seminole spreader choke. This device is made in the USA. It might be described as a reverse choke: it has a section that extends from the muzzles and trumpets out to a greater size than the bore.
The form of this section is conical. The concept of reverse constriction is not new. In the muzzle-loading era, before the general adoption of choke boring, many guns were “relieved” at the muzzles because it was found that they shot better than a true cylinder. My experience would seem to confirm this; the Seminole choke still works on clay birds 50yd out, yet it is very forgiving close in.
The second shotgun choke that worked really well in the field – in that it was effective and forgiving in use – was a standard Beretta Improved Cylinder Mobilchoke tube. This is a conventional shotgun choke with about five thou of constriction. With the duffer’s gun, I once accounted for 18 average pheasants for 17 shots. They were not testing, but it really was quite difficult to miss with it. I have since lent it to friends in distress and they have always shot it better than other, more traditional weapons. I have had similar unnatural success with another open-choked Beretta over-and-under using mid-velocity, heavy payload cartridges (11⁄4oz, No 6).
The gun and the cartridges were lent to me in Italy. It was extremely effective on easy birds but the experience was notable because the 36g cartridges had a lot of shot in them but did not recoil excessively (the lower velocity, heavy-payload cartridge was explored by the wildfowler Dr Charles Heath years ago).
OPEN CHOKES?
Does this mean that everyone should open up their chokes? No, not unless one is shooting at close- to mid-range birds routinely. Shotgun choke can certainly be useful when shooting at longer range its effects break down at extreme range and if birds are especially tough – such as wild guineafowl in Africa. A bit more choke than is really required may also in-crease confidence – no small factor in shooting – and give one the sense if not the actual ability to pick one’s birds better. If your confidence slips because of concerns about choke, or anything else, your focus may come off the bird and your movements may be hesitant (resulting in misses behind).
WHAT CHOKE FOR HIGH BIRDS?
Nigel Teague, a man who has experimented more with shotgun choke than perhaps anyone else in Britain today, advocates 7⁄8ths of choke – about 35 thou – in both barrels for the really tall stuff. This concurs with my high-bird experience where I have found three-quarters and three-quarters works well in a 12, better than full and full. With many modern cartridges optimum pattern performance requires less than full constriction; excessive choke can blow a pattern.
Many foreign guns, especially small bores, may be ridiculously over-choked. This stated, I think 20s and, especially, 28s perform a bit better with a little more shotgun choke than I would advocate for a 12. My 30in Beretta EELL 28-bore, for example, shoots particularly well with two three-quarter chokes fitted (about 20 thou constriction in a 28).
Although, one can try to state general principles concerning choke, I find that some guns just seem to shoot well with a particular constriction and there is no real science – none that is available at least – to support why this should be.
Shotgun ballistics are much more complex than one might think because there are so many variables: atmospheric conditions; shot size; shot density; shot coating; wad, primer, powder and case type; barrel diameter (a nominal 12 might be anything from .710 to .740 in internal diameter) and internal geometric form; barrel steel and wall thickness; and, not least, the length and form of the choke constrictions themselves. Some chokes are short, others long. Some are simple conic constrictions, others have a cone that leads into a parallel section, yet others have complex forms, including features such as radiused walls, relieved sections or expansion chambers.
While we are getting technical, let me note that tight shotgun choke increase pressures, and hence velocity. A point of choke is worth about 1ft per second on velocity.
As barrel length has a small effect on velocity too – about 5fps per inch in a 12-bore – this may become more significant when extremes of choke and barrel length are combined. For example, it is interesting to note that a 32in full-choke gun might have a velocity as much as 100fps faster than a 25in open-bored one, all other things being equal.
Most intriguingly, constriction of the muzzles also has the effect of reducing the stringing of shot once it is significantly forward of the muzzles (just forward of the muzzles there may some elongation of the shot column, but the terminal effect of choke is to reduce the length of the shot string and thus improve its efficiency). This may seem counter intuitive but it was neatly demonstrated by Mr Griffiths of the Schultz Powder Company more than a hundred years ago by means of shooting choked and unchoked guns at a spinning disc. The results were published in The Field, like much else concerning choke and shotgun ballistics in the Golden Age.
CHOOSE YOUR SHOTGUN CHOKE AND FORGET IT
Cutting to the chase and avoiding the danger of getting too complicated, my all-round choice in a 12-bore game-gun would usually be improved and half or improved and three-quarters (a useful choking if combined with the instant selection of a double trigger). I would not argue with those, such as my friend and former Olympian Kevin Gill, who advocate quarter and half for all-round shooting. (Kevin shifts to half and three-quarters for higher birds.) My rationale is that I like to engage average birds instinctively but it is also good to have the option of a more precise approach at range.
CHOKE FOR HIGH BIRDS
Two tight but not extreme shotgun chokes are in order (teamed with a high-performance cartridge; the choke may never be separated from the cartridge used with it).
CHOKE FOR PIGEON
Quarter and quarter or half and half usually works well. For smaller bores my preference is a bit more choke than commonly advised. I have to say, though, that I have not a clue what is in my 32in Guerini 20s, the guns I use most for game. I put the chokes in some while back after playing at the plates and have not looked at them since. They work.
MEASURING SHOTGUN CHOKE
A shotgun multichoke
Commonly, one refers to the choke in a barrel as being true cylinder, improved, quarter, half, three-quarter or full. Gunmakers talk about “points” of choke. They measure shotgun choke relative to the bore diameter (which may vary considerably within any designated bore size rather than at the muzzle alone).
One point equates to a constriction of one thousandth of an inch. Below is what one would expect in a 12-bore gun.
True Cylinder 0-1 points
Improved cylinder 3-6
Quarter (American Improved) 8-12
Half (American Modified) 17-23
Three-quarters (Improved Modified) 25-30
Full 35-40
Super full 40+
These descriptions should not be appraised in isolation of their observed effects, though. Properly considered, choke concerns the number of pellets any given barrel/constriction throws into a 30in circle at40yd. The quality of shot, the type of wad and other factors such as precise bore diameter and the form of choke – short or long, simple conic or conic cone plus parallel section (the favourite of British gunmakers) may all be significant.
Percentage of pellets inside
30in circle at 40yd
True Cylinder 30-40
Improved 50
Quarter 55
Half 60
Three-quarters 65
Full 70-75
Super full 76+
Shotgun choke can be definitively determined only at the pattern plates and in relation to a specific cartridge. Measurement of constriction alone can be misleading. In days past, a gunmaker would always ask his client what cartridges he intended to use and then regulate the chokes according to the desired percentage. If the client opted for the gunsmith’s own brand, he would have to continue to use the gunmaker’s cartridges to ensure consistency of performance.
Now you have your gun ready to go, make sure your shots are up to it with our essential 11 pheasant shooting tips.
Black Friday offer - Save a whopping 52% on a subscription to The Field - a year’s subscription is only £27.70! But hurry – the offer only lasts till midnight on Monday.
Black Friday subscription offer
An American import we like very much – Black Friday! Save on a subscription with our incredible Black Friday offer – 52% off a subscription to The Field. A six month subscription is only £13.85 and a whole year is £27.70. This works out at just £2.30 per issue, which is a saving of almost 50% on the cover price.
What better reason to buy a subscription as a present? Or one for yourself? No more driving around in the rain looking for a newsagent – get The Field delivered straight to your door and even better, see it before it hits the shops.
Black Friday – save 52% on a subscription!
The Field is the oldest and best country and field sports magazine in the world. Over 160 years in print, with the finest features, columnists and articles. Where else can you find shooting, fishing, hunting, art, food, property, cars, wit and humour and of course incredible photography, all in one place?
Subscribe now – and remember the offer only lasts till midnight on Monday.
If you still need convincing, have a look at some articles below:
Is your dog insured? It’s often the first question a vet will ask you, but even if you do have dog insurance it might not cover the cost of specialist treatment. Take advantage of the special offer with Pet Guard for Field readers.
The writer's spaniel, Fleur
It pays to have dog insurance. Five years ago, on a bright spring morning, I met up with friends to walk our spaniels on Dunwich beach. My seven-year-old springer, Fleur, was on fine form but just hours later she had lost her appetite and was looking unhappy. The vet confirmed she had a temperature and prescribed a course of antibiotics.
Her condition got steadily worse, despite daily visits to the vet. Numerous tests were undertaken, the most significant showing a high count of white cells in her blood. Pyrometra, a serious infection of the uterus, was ruled out through ultrasound. Her temperature rose and fell, peaking at 105°F (102°F is normal for a dog); six days after falling ill she was declining fast while our vet remained baffled.
It was the vet who suggested that emergency treatment at Dick White Referrals, East Anglia’s leading veterinary hospital, was her last chance. She was booked in and delivered by noon. Inspection by a specialist vet revealed no new diagnosis, so she stayed for further checks and tests. I filled in and signed the paperwork, and was asked whether she was insured. She wasn’t, and it was quite clear that this was going to be an expensive business. Top-class medical care costs just as much for animals as it does for humans and isn’t, of course, covered by the NHS.
Ironically, in nearly 30 years of dog ownership, this was the first time I had owned a dog that wasn’t insured. She had been covered until six months before, but the annual premium had risen to the sort of figure you would expect to pay for a Porsche, not an unregistered working springer. Fleur had always been a robust and healthy individual and, having known six generations of the same line,
I was confident she didn’t have any nasty hereditary diseases.
The black lab does his job – but is he insured?
Pet insurance is a multi-million pound business, with the insurance companies confident that your premiums will exceed their payouts. When I did insure my dogs it was always notable how routine incidents such as the removal of a grass seed from an ear invariably cost a few pounds less than the excess, so couldn’t be claimed for. One of the biggest vet’s bills I had was for an emergency caesarean for Fleur’s grandmother. However, conditions arising from pregnancy were excluded from the insurance cover.
As with all insurances, check the small print carefully. Almost all standard pet insurances fail to cover working gundogs. Here it is worth asking the insurance company what this means. What happens if your pet labrador, which only goes shooting once a fortnight, gets injured while retrieving a pheasant? You might be able to get away with it but if you have a team of picking-up dogs working 10 days a fortnight you had better come clean.
I’ve twice had to carry injured dogs back to the car after they have staked themselves on fallen branches, and any experienced picker-up will horrify you with tales of canine injuries sustained in the shooting field. If any dog should be insured then it’s one that goes shooting, but I suspect that only a minority are because the premiums are so high.
Even if your dog is insured, will the maximum payout for a single condition meet the vet’s bills? The more affordable-looking premiums usually have a low maximum – £2,000 doesn’t go far when your dog requires specialist treatment. A figure of £5,000 is much more realistic, but still might not be enough, which brings me back to Fleur. Three days after being admitted, she was given emergency surgery for the removal of an abscess from the caecum and one of her mesenteric lymph nodes was excised – the canine equivalent of appendicitis.
We paid more than £6,000, the final bill minutely detailed, from the cost of the anaesthetist to that of the bandages. She made a complete recovery and is now a remarkably fit 12 year old. If she had died, I might have felt differently paying out such a sum. I could afford to settle the bill but it put into perspective the £25 picking-up fees she had earned over the years.
Warmth, flexibility and concealment are key qualities to consider when buying sporting clothes. Many experienced shots first took to the field in their boyhood, dressed in a waxed Barbour teamed with black gumboots. They loved the gear, but on a cold, wet day the jacket became so stiff it was akin to wearing armour and the boots were as cold as charity. So what kit do top shots wear when shooting?
Harkila jacket
What to wear when shooting? Top shots are not fussed about sartorial elegance, though that is a desirable bonus. The main qualities they demand are warmth, flexibility and concealment, and key to their kit is Gore-Tex, the “best invention as far as the shooting man is concerned”, according to Jonathan Irby, a top shot and former manager of the West London Shooting School. “All the leading manufacturers – Musto, Barbour, Schöffel – are where they are now because of Gore-Tex,” he says.
One of the pioneers in the field of technically advanced sporting clothing is Musto. Today, Musto is number one in the world for sailing clothing.” At the end of the Eighties, Musto looked to expand into other markets. “We felt if we took our technology from the ocean into the field we could make shooting people much more comfortable,” recalls Nigel Musto.
The result was the Musto Highland jacket, one of the first in the waterproof, breathable evolution. The jacket, still in the range, enabled the shot to go out in the morning in lashing rain, and return home dry from the last drive. As for styling, according to Nigel Musto, “The fashion in shooting is to avoid looking like the keeper yet appear as though you’ve been doing it for years. It’s very difficult to get right.”
Musto Highlands jacket
In recent years he’s noticed a move towards lighter colours. “Nowadays, people think about what the partridge sees as it flies over, so lighter tan coats are worn on early partridge days on stubble,” he says.
While Musto was treading new ground with the Highland, the other lightweight coat to transform the shooting experience was the Schöffel Ptarmigan. “We sell all the major brands, but the Ptarmigan is our number one coat. Everyone aspires to own one. I’ve had mine since I was 27 and my wife also has one,” says Paul Marshall, a partner in Elm of Burford.
Schoffel Ptarmigan
Rob Fenwick, managing director of EJ Churchill, wears his Barbour in all weathers. “It’s lightweight, really good in the wet and cut correctly for shooting. If it is cold I just put on a few more layers underneath.”
Mark Firth, former Roxton sporting agent and now a fish farmer and founder of the Chesil Smokery, favours the Malin coat designed by former soldier Jonathan Heywood. It is “soft, comfortable and silent and has the best hood”, says Firth. He favours the khaki version but the Malin comes in a range of colours, all designed to blend in with soft terrains. Other Malin devotees include Sir Max Hastings and Lord Margadale. “We appeal to traditionalists,” claims Heywood. The Malin, which is made in Scotland, has a double layer of Ventile. The cotton weave of this fabric is so dense that there is negligible water penetration. In the Second World War Ventile was used in the survival suits worn by RAF pilots when they ditched into the sea.
The UK does not entirely dominate the shooting coat market. Another Field top shot and managing director of clay manufacturers CCI, Johnny Goodhart, swears by the Harkila brand, after trying its products at the IWA shooting industry show in Nuremberg four years ago. The Harkila High Pheasant coat he bought doesn’t leak, is the right colour and he still loves it. Goodhart now has Harkila coats for all his shooting. He is an experienced stalker and says that after a recent spell in a high seat in Germany in –20C° to –25C° he was the warmest rifle, thanks to his Harkila.
Halrika Jacket
Although shooting coats are an essential, talk to any top shot, such as James Percy, and he will readily admit to shooting without a coat whenever possible. James Percy usually wears a Featherweight and a fleece gilet but, “Unless it’s raining I stick to the gilet,” he says.
The comfort of natural fibres is valued highly among good shots. “Next to the skin people want original fibres, which don’t smell or bobble, look classic and feel light,” says Marshall, who recommends a fine merino wool T-shirt worn underneath a shirt. Which raises the question of what to wear out-side the shirt. Increasingly, good shots are electing not to wear ties in the field. “You have to choose your shoots with care, but ties are a lot less de rigueur than they used to be,” says Mark Firth.
When Cordings, the Piccadilly country-clothing shop founded in 1839, was in trouble, Noll Uloth, its managing director, asked his best customer, Eric Clapton, for help. Clapton has been co-owner since 2003. “The first item that I bought from Cordings was a moss-green herringbone suit. It was exquisitely cut. I then became a regular shopper. Cordings represents a philosophy of service that is disappearing in London,” says Clapton. Cordings also understands the value of fieldcraft. Its popular grouse shirt has a green background to its traditional tattersall check, allowing the wearer to take off his jacket without the risk of presenting a pair of white arms to the incoming quarry. As well as clothing, all good shots are particular about their footwear. You can’t shoot well if your feet are cold or wet and, since footwork is essential to good shooting, the boots must provide a sure grip.
Shaw favours the Dubarry boot, which is his best seller because it is “smart yet warm and waterproof”. Fenwick prefers Hunter’s leather Balmoral Hawksworth (which was voted top boot in the IPC Shooting Industry Awards), while Merison remains wedded to the leather-lined Chameau.
Hunter Hawksworth Balmoral
The choice of boots, like so much kit, is subject to personal taste. But there are common denominators to everything selected by good shots: it should be first class and always “fit for function”. With the costs of shooting growing, everyone wants to make sure they enjoy their day to the full, so, “It’s just not worth buying cheap,” according to Rob Fenwick. “If you do, and you end up freezing or soaking wet, you’ll always think, ‘Was it really worth saving that extra £80 to feel like this?’”
With only a few weeks to go until Christmas, what better present than a subscription to The Field?
The Field Christmas subscription offer
Take advantage of the brilliant offer and buy your Christmas presents early – how about a subscription to The Field magazine? The finest field sports magazine on the planet makes a superb present for a friend, loved one or even for yourself.
With monthly articles on everything from the best guns on the market, to pheasant shooting tips, naked calendars, incredible game recipes, property roundups, expert commentary and much much more, The Field is the go-to magazine for anyone interested in country sports and the associated lifestyle.
All subscribers will have their issues delivered directly to their door each month so you will never miss an issue of the oldest and best country and fieldsports magazine.
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Would you spend the school fees on a side-by-side? It's a tempting prospect with these exquisite shotguns.
The Purdey side-by-side. The most iconic shotgun of all?
The Field knows that every shooting man or woman will have their favourite gun, the one that bagged the elusive right and left, the one left by Great-uncle Horace, the one given as a wedding present (WHAT a lucky chap) and the one that has seem many years of good service.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t hanker after a list of the most expensive guns in the world. The shining pantheon of beautiful barrels, exquisite engraving and gunmaking heritage is encompassed by these ten sporting super stars.
For those interested in guns arranged by separate criteria then the world’s 20 best shotguns is the best place to start. And to ensure you are always up to date with the best in the sporting and shooting world take advantage of our tempting Christmas subscription offer, and save up to 38% when you subscribe to The Field.
The 10 most expensive guns are a showcase of the best guns and gunmakers, as you can judge for youself from the list that follows. Does the side-by-side sit better than the over-and-under? Should engraving be splendid or subtle? Would you purge the school fees on a Purdey? It’s a tempting prospect.
Creating a list of truly great guns – guns made by methods old and new and without any compromise – is not without complications. Much thought and research went into this one. Initially, the idea had been to consider the 10 best guns in the world, but the criteria for selection would have been subjective. So, it was decided to use price as the main criterion but even this is not as simple as it might seem. Extra finish, special engraving or embellishment with precious metals, enamel or gemstones can vastly in-crease the cost of a gun and may set a false benchmark with regard to fundamental quality. Any sporting gun may be “blinged up”.
A further problem is that some of the makers represented here are so exclusive that they have no standard price. So, one creates the list by considering guns representative of their oeuvre. Whatever way you cut it, a little subjectivity creeps in.
I have had the good fortune to shoot eight of the guns listed. I cannot vouchsafe the shooting qualities of all of them or indeed confirm their long-term reliability save where I have used them on several occasions or they are owned by friends. All impress or even astound in their craftsmanship and finish.
Some names not featured here are omitted because production is much diminished and their elderly makers are not taking new orders. I have also left out two great Continental names because I have insufficient experience of their guns. One modern English company, Ray Ward, might well have featured were this list compiled a year hence. Also, I have recently been impressed by the father-and-son team Max Ern in Germany. Its gunmaking is exquisite but its guns do not come into the “rich list” category though far from lacking in fundamental quality.
As far as most of the British makers are concerned, I am familiar not just with the guns but with the companies and people who make them. So, here they are:
The Fabbri 20-bore over-and-under is a Continental classic
This is not only one of the most expensive guns, it is probably the most sophisticated. At the Fabbri factory the bench artisans work in silence as if in a religious establishment. The guns, blending old and new, are technically supreme. Every detail is thought through and many are unusual. The demi-lump barrels made from stainless steel, for example, don’t have conventional joining ribs; a micron-machined H-section sits between the tubes, which are brought into perfect re-lationship for point of impact by this component. When everything is exactly right the assembly with sighting rib is fused together by laser, creating one piece of metal. It is then DLC (diamond-like carbon)-coated, this high-temperature vacuum process vastly increasing resistance to wear as well as blacking the steel. The barrels, also tested to extreme proof pressure, become virtually indestructible. About 20 Fabbris are made each year. They are imported by Tony Kennedy, who observes, “There is nothing better and never has been, so much goes into it, you have to see how it is made to understand.”
Price: from £138,000 for an all-stainless gun and £150,000 for one with a titanium action (which reduces overall weight by about a pound if required). There is a 25% supplement for a pair.
Hofer, based in Ferlach, Austria, is a great showman and maker of some of the world’s most exclusive and innovative guns. “Every-body says you can’t create a new gun. But that is not true,” he says. “Every third gun we create is a new gun.” About six guns leave his atelier each year. All are ornate and mechanically original. He may work on a single piece for many years (on one he lavished 21,400 hours). I recently handled a double-barrelled .17 rifle weighing 2lb, engraved with beetles.
Peter Hofer is a great showman, as can be seen from this sidelock shotgun
Hofer has developed a side-by-side 12-bore sidelock that includes an almost hidden .17 tube between the two smoothbore barrels. His more conventional side-by-side, made to whatever specification is desired and taking about 1,600 man hours, has a back action and single trigger. A Boss-system over-and-under is also offered, taking 2,000 hours, as well as more German-style guns. Hofer makes large and small gauges, but seems to have a particular passion for the miniature.
Price: He does not like to discuss price but Bloomberg Businessweek reports the range as $200,000 to $500,000. What Hofer calls his “Mega guns” may cost more than £1 million.
Delivery: by negotiation, depending on specification.
Boss, established in 1812, patented its over-and-under – one of the most influential of all – in 1909. And the modern version is on of the most expensive guns in the world today. Breech-loading over-and-unders had been made in Germany from about 1870 but Boss streamlined and lowered the action, dispensing with a cross-pin beneath the barrels. Instead, rotating trunnions at the knuckle mate with teardrop wedges machined into the barrel lumps. The Boss has two locking systems. There are draws projecting one on each side of the action walls meeting corresponding female radii in the middle of bifurcated barrel lumps. To the rear of the chambers two semicircular projections protrude and engage slots on either side of the bottom of the action face. A bolt emerging from the face locks these down. Says the firm’s Jason Craddock, “The draw system reduces strain at the knuckle and keeps the barrels on the face; the rear bolt and bites fasten the gun. There is tension at the trunnions but the draws reduce this significantly.”
Both systems are much imitated and the rear bolting has inspired many makers to create simplified versions as well outright copies. Most Bosses include a turret-system, mechanical single trigger and the ejector mechanism is powered by coil springs.
Price: from £105,540, including VAT (single trigger, £114,540). Double-trigger side-by-sides start at £81,540 (single trigger, £90,540). No more than 18 guns are made annually.
The Damas steel looks like traditional Damascus but is tremendously strong
Purdey, established 1814, acquired the right to make the Woodward over-and-under (patented in 1913) from James Woodward after the Second World War, having offered a more complex, deeper, six-bite design previously. The gun is distinguished by a brilliant hinging system involving stud pins near the knuckle and bifurcated lumps (much copied by dozens of makers) and a unique tongue-and-groove lock mid action. Superlatively strong, this is rarely copied because it is difficult to make. The Woodward-type over-and-under has a low action profile and great elegance of form. The ejection mechanism, improved by Ernest Lawrence, is boxed and powered by leaf springs.
Today, this over-and-under may also be ordered in Damas steel, which looks like traditional Damascus but is a tremendously strong, super-material created by bringing together two powdered steels in a nitrogen vacuum.
I have shot both conventional and Damas guns and found the latter in 30in 12-bore form one of the best I’ve ever used on game.
Price: for Purdey over-and-unders in 12-, 16- or 20-bore start at £108,720. In 28-bore and .410 they rise to £115,320. A Damas version is one of the most expensive guns in the world, and would cost you at least £130,320.
Holland & Holland, established in 1835, first made an over-and-under in 1914. An improved version was introduced in 1950. Different again was the new Royal over-and-under brought out in 1992 (prototyped in 20-bore form two years earlier). The new gun benefited – as did the less expensive, sideplated, detachable-trigger “Sporting” over-and-under launched at about the same time – from the CNC machining revolution then happening within the London gun trade and at Holland & Holland in particular.
The Holland and Holland Royal over-and-under
The gun is a back-action sidelock with a notably shallow and elegantly bolstered slim body. Unlike in a Purdey, Woodward or Boss, there are no additional central bites. It locks by means of square bolts locating just above the centre of the lower barrel. The gun is offered with double triggers or a non-selective, inertia-operated single trigger. I have shot the gun in most forms but the 30in 20-bore is one of the sweetest (natural pointing, low recoil, effortless) I have had the pleasure to use. It takes more than 900 hours to build.
Price: with a single trigger of £98,400, including VAT, in 12-, 16- and 20-bore; 28-bore and .410 cost £104,400. The firm produces 75 to 80 guns a year.
“What we do is capitalise on everything Greener did in their heyday,” notes David Dryhurst of WW Greener (who works with fellow directors Graham Greener and master gunmaker Richard Tandy). Each is a specific project and comes with an extra pair of Damascus barrels. Two models are offered. The Facile Princeps with classic Greener top extension is an exhibition grade boxlock, pos-sibly the finest of all fixed-lock boxlocks and allowing for a rounded bar to the front because of the central cocking system (10 have been built). Recent production also includes sidelocks, some with side lever. These are built without the top extension, save in 10-bore, with a five-pin, three-teardrop bridle lock as conceived by Harry Greener in 1914 – “different but highly efficient”.Greener uses a Boss ejector system (other than in a few Facile Princeps made with ‘“Unique” jointed tumbler ejectors) and Boss-style locks. Other features include arcaded Greener fences, a Greener fore-end with im-proved Deeley latch and a horn fore-end tip and heel plate. Invariably the guns have a Greener rounded half-pistol, knobbed grip and fleur-de-lis chequering on fore-end and stock. The recent Viking gun is one of a number of special commissions lately built.
Price: A modern Greener sidelock would not cost less than £120,000, including VAT.
The Purdey-Beesley side-by-side hammerless self-opener is perhaps the most iconic shotgun of all. Based on a design conceived by the gunmaker Frederick Beesley and patented in 1880, it revolutionised the British sporting gun (as did the simpler but no less influential Anson & Deeley hammerless boxlock brought out by Westley Richards in the 1870s). It was set apart by the beautiful form of its sidelocks and the ingenuity of their mechanism. They used one leg of a V-spring to power the internal hammers and the other to power the self-opening feature, which was useful to speed up shooting on the large-bag days then becoming fashionable. Ejectors were added in the 1880s and, apart from developments in this area, the gun made today is virtually unchanged from that conceived by Beesley (who licensed the manufacturing right to Purdey initially and later sold it the design).
The Purdey side-by-side. The most iconic shotgun of all?
The traditional steel gun with classic Purdey rose and scroll come in 12-, 16- or 20-bore, 28-bores and .410s. Purdey also offers a hammer ejector in 12-, 16- or 20-bore. The 12-bore I shot performed fantastically well (perhaps the best side-by-side I have shot, equalling the superb hammerless Holland Royal).
Price: for a traditional steel gun with classic Purdey rose and scroll in 12-, 16- or 20-bore are £94,080, inclusive of VAT; 28-bores and .410s cost £99,120. The 12 bore hammer ejector costs £99,120 and may be ordered with Damas steel barrels for an extra £14,400, making a total of £113,520 (thus qualifying as Britain’s most expensive house-engraved side-by-side).
William & Son was founded in 1999 by William Asprey after he had managed the Gun Room at Asprey’s in Bond Street. William & Son’s gunmaking team is led by Paul West, an ex-Holland & Holland man. The guns have a distinctive style, typically svelte with deep-scroll house engraving (although available with whatever the customer wants). They represent excellent value, too, when one considers their quality. Side-by-sides are built on a slimmed Holland-style action in all bore sizes. The over-and-unders are built on a modification of the Boss system but with Woodward-style hinging studs and bifurcated lumps. Ejection uses conventional cams and V-springs rather than the coil springs of the Boss. However, the gun locks up in a similar fashion to the Boss (or guns that imitate it) with draws mid action and projections either side of the bottom chamber that slot into recesses in the action face. The over-and-under is available in 12- and 20-bore only. The firm makes only a dozen guns a year.
Price: Side-by-sides cost from a little more than £60,000, including VAT, the over-and-under, when equipped with a single-trigger, costs from around £75,000.
Delivery: about 12 months (less time than most premier-league makers).
Holland’s Royal model was first mentioned in 1883 and illustrated in this magazine in 1895. With its leg-of-mutton locks it looked significantly different to the modern gun. A second series, incorporating Holland-Robertson patents, was developed in the 1890s. This had what we would now regard as conventional lock plates and an improved ejector mechanism based on what would now be called the Southgate system. An assisted opening mechanism was added in 1922 in-volving a tube and spring beneath the barrels. The gun is one of the favourites of the gun trade because of it brilliant design and the ease with which it can be maintained. I think it shoots especially well, too.
The only changes in the past few decades have been to the wood (now Turkish) and to the wall thickness of the barrels (slightly increased). It takes about 800 hours to complete a modern Royal side-by-side.
Prices: from £85,800, including VAT, for a 12-, 16- or 20-bore with double trigger; in 28-bore and .410 it costs £90,000, including VAT.
Delivery: approximately two years (some shelf guns available).
The Westley Richards side-by-side; in 4 bore it costs from £71,400
Westley Richards not only perfected the basic boxlock but in 1897 introduced a version with detachable locks known as the “droplock” because the locks may be removed from under the action via a hinged bottom plate. This is one of the most intriguing of all British designs (the Dickson Round Action might run it a close second). Each lock contains only seven components. Workmanship is outstanding, with jewelled surfaces and impeccable presentation. The gun is available in .410 to 4-bore. The 12-bore versions I shot impressed, but so does the behemoth 4-bore, partly because of its sheer scale.
All guns have the Westley top lever and “Model C” doll’s-head extension. The firm is well known for its single selective trigger (double triggers are an option), which operates on an inertio-mechanical principle and has 26 individually made parts.
Prices: from £46,200, including VAT, with full scroll; the single trigger will add £4,620. A 4-bore, however, would cost £71,400, including VAT. Extra locks for all gauges cost £3,900. Exhibit-ion wood would add £2,400 per gun and tip and toe plates £2,050 each.
The best month to shoot depends on your preferred quarry and sporting predilections. As the seasons change the shooting landscape shifts. Which part of the season do you prefer?
Do you prefer August grouse, February pigeon or skudding mid season pheasant?
The best month to shoot must be August, with the season opening and grouse shooting on the agenda. Or maybe September as the partridge skim over the hedgerows and you can stand on the peg in lightweight breeks and shooting vests. Just remember to heed our partridge shooting tips for the best day’s sport.
Some argue that October is the best month to shoot as it heralds the arrival of the doughty pheasant, and somehow the season proper seems to have begun. To excel on the new boys look at our 11 pheasant shooting tips. Autumnal mists and darkening days herald November, when the woodcock fall and shooting world is in full force. Birds are flying high. December is home to the Boxing Day shoot and family days during the festivites. Make sure you cook your kill well with the top 10 best pheasant recipes.
Come January and birds are scudding sky high, and wary from the season, the last few days on partridge and pheasant. Time to alter the challenge. Try shooting 11 different species in one day. And then February, when thoughts turn towards pigeon and pests. For advice from the legend watch this video: pigeon shooting with Archie Coats.
Are you funding anti-hunting organisations by shopping with their donors? Tim Bonner names companies that fund antis
Lush cosmetics support anti-hunting camgaign
Are you funding the antis? If you love your hunting, shooting and fishing then you need to be careful where you shop. For any member of the rural community this Christmas, where we spend our money can have far reaching implications. Will where you buy your turkey make a difference as to whether there is a Boxing Day meet next year?
The argument is obviously not that simplistic, but consumers should understand the ethics and policies of the retailers where they spend their money. And decide if they agree with them. If not the answer is simple. Shop elsewhere.
From simple decisions such as which supermarket to patronise to which car to buy or where to bank. Be sure that you are not inadvertantly funding the antis.
The rural community has serious financial clout, and by choosing where we spend our money we can make a conscious decision to help to sustain our way of life. It would be foolish not to. Be sure to spend wisely this Christmas.
ARE YOU FUNDING THE ANTIS?
Seven years ago, a call came in from a Master of Foxhounds in the north while I was in the Countryside Alliance press office. “I’ve had a letter from our local Land Rover dealer,” he said. “It says that he isn’t allowed to sponsor our point-to-point anymore because Land Rover has told all its dealers they can’t have anything to do with hunting.”
In the midst of the hunting debate this was rocket fuel, so I was on the phone to a Telegraph journalist in a flash. He was equally excited until, that is, he made a call to the Land Rover press office. I have been involved in a few big stories but never have I known a single call create quite such a reaction. Land Rover immediately rolled out the full corporate crisis-management plan.
The journalist was bombarded with assurances and documents confirming that no instruction from Land Rover had ever been given about hunting, and the dealership was hauled over the coals and was issuing apologies and retractions within the hour.
The Alliance’s chairman, chief executive and board members received calls from corporate PR contacts assuring them that there was no truth in the story and promising Land Rover’s undying love. The story did not stand up, someone else got the front page, but we learnt a valuable lesson: the rural community has serious commercial clout. Land Rover was simply terrified at the thought of alienating the countryside and driving us into the arms of its rivals.
THE POWER OF BOYCOTTING
Strangely, it is the environmental and animal-rights movement and antis, rather than ourselves, that has attempted to use commercial pressure in the past. The boycott is a staple tactic of extremist campaigns, but their levels of support and commercial impact are nothing compared to those who support rural activities, as Land Rover was aware.
So the question is: how do we use that influence to the benefit of our campaigns?
Quite simply, we should not be spending any of our hard-earned cash with those companies that openly support animal-rights organisations and the antis cause.
Top of that list is the cosmetics firm Lush. At the behest of its owner, Mark Constantine, Lush gives money to a range of animal-rights organisations, including the Hunt Saboteurs Association for which it created a particularly revolting soap scented with citronella, the substance hunt sabs use to destroy temporarily hounds’ sense of smell.
If you are in the market for a new hi-fi or flat-screen TV avoid high street and online retailer Richer Sounds like the plague. Owner Julian Richer has long supported the League Against Cruel Sports, of which he was a council member, and he is now a vice-president of the RSPCA. Richer’s support for animal-rights organisations does not, however, stop him owning racehorses, which must get a mixed reception from some of his colleagues.
Then there is the Co-operative Group. Most of us have long known about the Co-op’s stance on hunting and have avoided its shops. The Co-operative Bank is especially bigoted and in 2008 withdrew banking facilities for a riding centre in Berkshire that permitted a hunt to use its land on the basis that the hunt had failed to take steps to ensure foxes would not be hunted. It even has a written policy not to invest in organisations involved in “the use of ferrets to catch rabbits”.
BE AWARE AND VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET
But you could, unwittingly, be doing business with the Co-op. In 2009, the Blencathra hunt was surprised to be contacted by its local branch of the Britannia Building Society and told it would have to close a Hunt Supporters Club account. The Britannia had merged with the Co-operative Bank, which had imposed its “ethical” policy of not providing banking for “bloodsports” organisations. The Co-op also owns Cleveland Finance and internet bank Smile.co.uk.
It has extensive interests in the travel industry through the Bourne Travel Group (not Bourne Leisure), Manchester Airport Travel and even a holding in Thomas Cook. The Co-op owns Somerfield Stores as well as its own branded shops, but most of all you must be careful not to let the Co-op profit from your death. Co-operative Funeralcare is one of the biggest undertakers in the country but also owns a dozen or more others, including Fairways, Anglia and Browns funerals. In fact, it is worth asking any firm you deal with whether it is owned by the Co-op.
We should all follow the lead of the keen beagler who rang the Alliance in the aftermath of the RSPCA’s prosecution of the Heythrop.
“My caravan club membership magazine came today,” he said, “with a feature about its partnership with the RSPCA. I rang immediately to resign and the membership department told me I was the fourth one who had left for the same reason that day.” No business can ignore clients voting with their feet. We must be consistent and vocal about putting our money where our heart is.
This article first appeared in The Field magazine in April 2013
Young guns on the peg? In the beating line? In association with the West London Shooting School we are looking for the shoot doing most to encourage the next generation.
The Field's Young Gun Shoot Challenge in association with the West London Shooting School
Young guns are keen guns. And we should be doing all we can to encourage and support the younger generation and their love of shooting and conservation. Throughout this season, The Field, in association with the West London Shooting School are looking for the shoot that does most to encourage young guns, aged 17 and under.
YOUNG GUNS, THE NEXT GENERATION
The young guns might actually shoot on the days or it could be that they are taught and encouraged to join the beating line – the traditional apprenticeship. We don’t mind.
We are looking for is a shoot that’s doing its bit to ensure that the next generation continues the customs and etiquette of our great sport.
We need your help for this, so please send in your entries to field.secretary@timeinc.com by 31 January, 2015. The winner will be selected by Jonathan Young, Editor of The Field, and Roddy Richmond-Watson of the West London Shooting School. We don’t need much, just a precise outline of what is being done for young shots.
Riding in the gun bus to the next drive
THE PRIZE
The winning shoot will be given a full, simulated game day for 16 guns, kindly donated by the West London Shooting School, to be taken in the Home Counties in May 2015. It will include cartridges, up to a maximum of 6,500. The team must consist of 16 proficient, safe guns, eight of whom will be young guns and the remaining eight adult shots. Each of the young guns will be paired with an adult shot, who will be responsible for the youngster during the day. None of the guns, of whatever age, may be a novice.
This is a super package, worth the lumpy part of £4,000. So get together with
your shoot friends and enter now.
Adults on hand to oversee the young guns in the shooting line on a simultaed day
“Every sport recognises the importance of starting young and shooting is no different. In fact, for us it’s even more important because we need the next generation to continue the tradition of the sportsman-naturalist in the face of ever-growing antagonism from armchair “conservationists”.
Jonathan Young, Editor
Guidance and encouragement is essential for young guns and the future of our sport
Do you wear a tie when shooting? Is it a sartorial anachronism or essential kit, asks Charlotte Mackaness
Wearing a tie when shooting is sanctioned by most for driven pheasant days
If you wear a tie when shooting you might be bucking a trend. It has been part of the essential what to wear when shooting kit for years. But the closure of Tie Rack’s high street branches last year reflected much more than a business collapsing; it symbolised a sartorial sea change. The wearing of ties, one of the few items of adornment available to men, appears to be in terminal decline. Much of the blame can be laid at the door of Tony Blair, whose man-of-the-people, tie-less image has been copied the world over, leaving events such as the G8 a back-slapping, open-shirted jamboree. Fortunately, there are pockets of resistance, such as the Royal Family. HRH The Prince of Wales is rarely snapped without a tie, sporting one earlier this year when visiting flood victims in Somerset, while HRH The Duke of Cambridge donned a suit and tie for the first day of his course at Cambridge. For those keen to buck the trend take inspiration from our vintage hunting and shooting clothes feature.
WEARING A TIE WHEN SHOOTING
Likewise, fieldsports have always been a bastion of good turnout. Hunt servants, for example, undertake all jobs – be that maintaining kennels or collecting fallen stock – in collar and tie. Field readers are famous for not following the crowd and generally rally around proper dress. Keeping the formal end of evening wear well and truly up. But is wearing a tie when shooting in the line of fire?
Holland and Holland models wear ties when shooting
“Dress-down Fridays. What rubbish. Fridays should be about dressing up. And shooting without a tie? I wouldn’t entertain the idea,” declares James Mackaness, father-in-law, plain speaker and tie-wearing diehard, who even skied an indoor slope kitted out in cords, sports jacket and tie. But are his sentiments merely a reflection of his generation?
“I have a lone tie in my desk drawer that I pull out for certain meetings,” says 40-something venture capitalist Will Fraser-Allen, who flees the City at weekends for his country home. “Soon the tie will be a dinosaur, a piece of theatre like the morning suit and black tie brought out for special occasions. Guys my age would get funny looks if they went out for supper in a tie but I wear one shooting, without fail, no matter how informal the day.”
For Charles Hepburn, a Warwickshire-based developer in his early thirties, time has stiffened his attitudes towards neckwear. “Until a few years ago I rarely wore a tie when shooting but with age I’ve matured and think about it much more,” he admits. “Above all, it is about respect for the quarry. One old buffer once told me that he was brought up to wear a tie when shooting and if you were going to kill and that included his time in the Army. The latter doesn’t apply any more but the former most definitely does. “Dressing up gives a sense of occasion, respectability and tradition. It’s also a shared uniform that I believe is significant. The camaraderie between guns, keepers and beaters and a sense of continuity and timelessness is important, especially with the ever-present threat of bans hanging over blood sports.”
According to Chris Horne, managing director of GunsOnPegs, ties are a hot topic. “There is some real passion flying around on this one. I run an internet business so rarely wear a tie for work but my personal view is that it should be compulsory to wear a tie when shooting on a driven game day. Eustace Crawley, who ran Chippenham Park Shoot, wouldn’t let you shoot if you hadn’t shaved or bothered with a tie.”
Rather than standards slipping, Horne’s experience is that greater effort seems to be going into attire. “Clothing companies are producing great bits of kit for less money. They look fantastic yet still have all the technical requirements. Dressing up is half the fun. For me, not wearing a tien when shooting would be like going to a black-tie dinner without a bow tie.”
CHANGING TIMES FOR THE SPORTING TIE
John Hoddinott, a partner at Carter Jonas in North Yorkshire, senses some evolution. “These days not everyone has a shooting suit. Chaps might wear the more modern shooting trousers or plus-fours with long boots but wearing a tie when shooting creates that bit of occasion. Also, no matter how muddy you become, you’ll still look presentable.
“That is one of the reasons why, as a practical land agent, I am never without one. Even if your trousers and shoes are filthy after visiting a farm or being on hands and knees examining the drains at a property, you’ll remain smart and professional with a tie,” he says.
While ties are de rigueur at work, Hoddinott concedes this isn’t always the case on the shooting field. “If shooting with a group of mates my age, in their fifties, I wouldn’t expect to see everyone in a tie when shooting. Personally, I like to wear one as, if nothing else, it helps keep you warm on a cold day. Grouse-shooting is another matter. Physically, it can be hard work and I’m sure most genuine countrymen would understand it is more important to be comfortable and blend in than wear a tie. Your neighbour certainly wouldn’t thank you for wearing a garish tie if the birds took one look and flew the other way.”
A patterned tie is part of the kit
Gary Salmon is a former gamekeeper of the year and manages the 2,500-acre Ashby St Ledgers shoot. “At a driven shoot like ours, quite frankly the birds will still be going overhead no matter how dazzling your outfit. Blending in isn’t an issue here. You get the
odd gun wearing a bright yellow tie when shooting and matching socks, and that sort of thing. They tend to be the characters. I like it; every shoot needs a bit of colour.”
Although he has no control when it comes to dress code, Salmon prefers to see ties at the ready. “It is about respect. Some might find that ridiculous because a bird is still dead whether you’re wearing breeks, jeans or a tutu but I believe it is important,” he maintains. “Over 99% of guests arrive in ties. Very occasionally we get the odd person, usually on a corporate day, who turns up in jeans and an open-necked shirt. I cringe because it isn’t their fault and when they get here they are usually rather embarrassed.”
LOUD AND PROUD
George Thomas, who is 24 and has been running Dairy House Farm shoot in Somerset since he was 18, ensures there are never blushes over sartorial blunders on his watch. “I am extremely strict about what people wear but everyone who shoots with me knows that,” he states.
The tie seems to appeal to every generation on the shooting field
“With my syndicate price list I make it clear what is expected. If someone pitches up without a tie when shooting, I lend them one. A particular favourite of mine is bright red with white spots. I like to wear funky colours when shooting. Especially when having a day with friends, ties can be loud,” he believes. “However, if I were paying a lot of money for a day where I didn’t know the other guns, I think I’d err on the side of caution with something more conservative.”
At the Sulby shoot in Northamptonshire, a syndicate of 20 made up of farmers, land agents, local businessmen and landowners, traditional shooting and hunting ties adorned with foxes and pheasants rule the roost. “It’s an extremely friendly shoot, very relaxed and highly sociable with plenty of banter,” says member Jeff Penman. “But for all the informality, everyone dresses the part. There is much good-natured mickey taking if someone turns up without a tie with fines payable to the local Air Ambulance.”
Farmer and keen shot Mark Beaty offers this no-nonsense advice: “If in doubt, so wear a tie when shooting. You can always take it off. At the very least, keep an emergency tie in the car.”
TAKE TIE ADVICE FROM A ROCK GOD
An absolute failsafe is the wool tie, says Hillary Becque from Cordings. “It is inexpensive and looks wonderful against tweed. Alternatively, a silk woven tie with a sporting motif is fabulous with a shooting suit. Eric Clapton, Cordings’ joint managing director, recently bought every single colourway of our March Hare wool and silk tie,” she reveals.
Legendary rock stars buying in bulk may signify the tide is starting to turn for the tie.
Indeed, Holland & Holland reports sales are stronger than ever. “Without doubt, wearing a collar and tie when shooting is a must on formal days but the preppy, ‘dressed-up’ look is also big news in mainstream fashion,” says Niels van Rooyen, the company’s creative director. “We are also seeing a growth in the number of cravats sold and in ladies buying ties for themselves.”
One of Trevor Pickett’s New Year’s resolutions was to wear a suit and tie every day. “I’ve just about managed it,” he announces. “Smartening up is having a bit of a renaissance and shooting is definitely one of the occasions where men can have a bit of fun and be a bit peacocky with all the accessories and trimmings. I have a silk loden tie with a Paisley pattern that I’ve worn for hunting and shooting for the past 35 years. “My feeling is that every man should have at least three types of tie in his wardrobe,” he counsels. “It is essential to have a reserved failsafe; a tie that complements your colouring or eyes; and, finally, everyone needs something a little flamboyant for days when you’re feeling confident and a bit naughty.”
A game bird tie is often spotted on shooting days
STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD
There are other reasons why all may not be lost for the tie in the wider world. The savvy realise that when dressing down has become the norm, buttoning up and knotting a tie helps them stand out from the crowd.
“It’s very well being all relaxed and Richard Branson-like when things are booming
but the credit crunch has sharpened up attitudes. I worked for a London firm where it was joked that wearing a tie was a sackable offence. Not any longer,” reveals surveyor Alexander Blake.
There are, of course, two additional and extremely good reasons why the tie should and must remain a mainstay of male attire: sprouting chest hair and knobbly Adam’s apples.
THREE TIE-TYING TIPS
A rough-textured tie is preferable for shooting. Something shiny might catch
the light and spook the birds.
No matter what your height, the tip of a tie should sit at your belt line. Missing it
by two or three inches looks scruffy and can be unflattering, especially if your
tummy protrudes.
Secure your tie with a discreet silver pin. It will prevent it flapping around in the wind or dangling in your food later. However, make sure to reuse the same hole each time to minimise damage to the fabric.
The CLA Game Fair 2015 is offering a great deal to those booking their tickets this Christmas. And the chance to win some top notch prizes.
Harewood House, the location of the CLA Game Fair 2015
The CLA Game Fair 2015 is shaking off the shackles of the Midlands and heading north, to Yorkshire. Harewood House near Leeds will host the three day event from Friday 31 July – Sunday 2 August, 2015. The Field always has a stand at the Game Fair, and we look forward to seeing our readers and Yorkshire friends in the summer. Do come and visit us and find out what our latest subscription offer is. Or subscribe at a special discount rate this Christmas and save 38%.
CLA GAME FAIR 2015 CHRISTMAS BONANZA
The team at the CLA Game Fair 2015 are offering a Christmas Bonanza for everyone booking tickets for the event during December 2014. Ticket prices will remain at 2014 levels until January 4th ONLY, so if you are planning to go, buy them now. Or perhaps they’d make the perfect Christmas present? Every person purchasing these early-bird tickets will be entered into a weekly prize draw for all manner of luxury prizes. So it is well worth planning your trip now.
Will you be joining us at the CLA Game Fair 2015?
Buy tickets for the CLA GAme Fair 2015 and you can make an £8 saving from the 2015 gate prices.
To find out the prizes for the weekly prize draw visit the CLA Game Fair 2015 facebook page or twitter page, where the offers will be flagged up.
Tony Wall, Director of the CLA Game Fair, commented:
The Christmas Bonanza is a great way for the CLA Game Fair team to thank our visitors who like to plan ahead and book their visit in advance. This is a terrific opportunity for these loyal customers to buy their tickets for the 2015 event at a very good discount and also enter a fantastic prize draw.
So if you did need any prompting to set sail for Yorkshire this summer, consider yourself prompted. Book your tickets now and we’ll see you there. Pip pip!
Learn how to make your own Christmas crackers this year. And fill them with the best goodies.
It is surprisingly easy to make your own Christmas crackers
Learning how to make your own Christmas crackers is much less tiresome than you might think. In fact it can be rather good fun. If you want to know more about how the tradition started do look at the history of Christmas crackers. And while you make your (soon to be brilliant) Christmas crackers why not tuck into something festive and delicious too, like our venison sausage rolls.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS CRACKERS
A4 paper (decorated or covered in wrapping paper)
Cardboard tubes – loo rolls are ideal
Ribbon, wool or string
Sticky tape and glue
Cracker snaps, available from most craft shops
Ruler
Scissors
Decorate the Christmas cracker while it is flat, as it is much easier to do than when it is assembled. When your design is finished, turn the paper over.
Make sure one of the longer sides is at the top. Put the cardboard tube on the paper so that the ends are pointing towards the shorter sides of the paper and the tube is in the middle.
Make a mark at each end of the tube. Draw two lines through the marks from top to bottom, so the paper is divided into three sections. Measure 2cm and 4cm from each line and draw lines from top to bottom. There should be three lines at each end of the paper.
At one end, fold along the middle of the three lines. Make a cut from the fold about 1cm from the end of the paper. Keep doing this all the way along the fold. Repeat this at the other end.
On a flat surface, put some glue along the edge of the paper. Put the tube at the top and in the middle, and roll the paper around it. You might need sticky tape to really secure the edges.
Stick the cracker snaps in. Tie one end of the cracker with ribbon, wool or string. The cuts should gather up.
Now it is time to fill the cracker with goodies of your choice. Don’t put anything inside that’s too heavy for the tube, but treats – and then tie up the other end.
Charlotte Mackaness doffs her paper hat to a cracking invention that makes each Christmas go with a bang.
The festive table is incomplete without a Christmas cracker.
The history of Christmas crackers is surrounded by a surprising amount of controversy. For starters, they are the epitome of the throwaway Christmas culture: their very reason for being is to be destroyed. All that waste must have been quite a naughty thrill to the thrifty and famously prudent Victorians who invented them. But as we know the Victorians and Edwardians are largely responsible for how most of traditional England still lives, from what to wear when shooting and what to wear out hunting.
Since then, the history of Christmas crackers has witnessed crackers banned during various periods and caught up in trade disputes, not to mention numerous battles around the Christmas table over ownership of the ubiquitous mini screwdriver set. One tip to avoid a Christmas meltdown: take advantage of our special Christmas subscription offer and save 38%.
THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS CRACKERS
While nobody argues that the history of Christmas crackers began in the late 19th century, there’s an on-going debate about their actual inventor. Some credit a chap called James Hovell, while one school of thought believes it was an innovative Italian by the name of Sparagnapane. But most side with the far less exotic-sounding Tom Smith, a confectioner from London.
Holly and mistletoe are as much a part of a festive Christmas as Christmas crackers.
Give or take a few years, the the history of Christmas crackers began in 1860. It took not one but two Eureka moments to create the cracker as we know it. Supposedly, Tom Smith travelled to Paris in the 1840s where he was taken with bon-bons, sweets wrapped in a colourful twist of paper. Some time later the crackle of a log in the fireplace of the Smith family home gave him the idea for the snap.
“Who knows the truth?” says Peter Kimpton, an authority on the history of Chrismas crackers (the world’s only cracker historian) and author of The King Of Crackers. “Perhaps Tom Smith was simply an excellent marketing man and did a good job in getting the message out that the idea was his.” Regardless of who should claim the credit, there’s no denying it was a cracking invention, and one that has lasted 150 years.
Very little has changed in this time. To stay ahead of competitors, who had also started to produce bon-bons, Smith added a motto and, later, small trinkets. “Tom Smith was brilliant at spotting gaps in the market and coming up with new ideas. For example, there were special crackers for spinsters and bachelors,” explains Kimpton.
ARTIST MUNNINGS MADE CHRISTMAS CRACKERS
“In Victorian days, people had the luxury of time to produce beautifully printed crackers and boxes. The mottos inside would have been poetic and romantic. Because there was nothing like radio or television for entertainment, much more would have been made of the crackers during the Christmas meal. A family would probably spend a long time poring over the crackers and comparing their contents,” he adds.
Decoration for cracker boxes was a serious business. Even the great Munnings started his working life producing designs for Caley’s, another important maker. “Proofs still exist of Munnings’s work with comments from him such as ‘Not my colours’ or ‘Not my layout,'” reveals Kimpton. “The crackers and boxes were beautifully decorated along various themes. Not only are they fantastic works of art, they’re also a chronicle of social history.”
The Royal Family, suffragettes, the Scout movement and the Thirties’ obsession with a Channel tunnel are just a few of the hot topics that found themselves on crackers. The festive bangers also helped with the war effort. Patriotic and militaristic decoration such as an English Tommy with a German eagle on a lead poured scorn on the enemy and boosted morale. During the Second World War the government even used cracker snaps to imitate gunfire for some fairly rudimentary troop training. This meant that cracker production was banned during the war.
According to Peter Kimpton, the period from the 1890s up to the end of the First World War was the heyday of the cracker, and then from 1953 one city was at the very centre of this flourishing festive industry: Norwich. “Norwich was the cracker-making capital of the world,” he explains. “Several major factories, including Tom Smith’s and Caley’s, were based there. I worked for Tom Smith’s between 1986 and 1992 and even then we were making more than 50 million crackers a year.”
Although the Tom Smith’s brand still exists, family ownership and the Norwich factory are things of the past. “Very few crackers are made in this country now. Most are produced in China, where they are stamped out and made of wafer-thin cardboard. In the old days, there would have been rows of girls on benches, carefully winding the cracker material around rollers,” says Kimpton.
POSH CRACKERS GO WITH A BANG
Luckily, the history of Christmas crackers does not end in China. A small band of deft-fingered cracker-makers remains. “One of our very fast girls could probably create a basic cracker in about a minute. Our crackers average about five minutes’ making,” claims Jo O’Connor of Upper Crust Crackers, a business specialising in handmade crackers. “By the time we get to Christmas, most of the makers have fairly gnarled-looking hands.
We manufacture all year round but the period from late summer up until Christmas is the busiest. At this time we take on a whole raft of part-timers to bolster our four full-time staff and 15 or so home workers,” she explains. Last year was particularly pressurised due to the politics of world trade. “The ‘snaps’ are shipped in bulk from China. Our supplies were coming in on an enormous ship filled with Christmas goods that was held up because of rumblings about the number of imports from China. They arrived very late and we had a nail-biting time.”
Upper Crust has an enviable list of clients, including Elton John (who went for pink and feathery creations), numerous swanky London hotels, the Orient Express and the Burg Al Arab in Dubai, the world’s only seven-star hotel. “They are ever so thoughtful and always order around Easter, usually around 5,000,” O’Connor says of the exotic establishment.
However, having such an international client base does pose some problems. “It’s very difficult choosing jokes because the hotels have a wide variety of nationalities as guests. The gags have to be very politically correct these days and we have to make sure there isn’t anything that might offend a range of cultures,” she explains.
Throughout the year, Upper Crust Crackers amasses a short list of jokes and the staff votes on the best. “We usually end up with a bank of about 50 that we print. As far as jokes go, the cheesier the better. It’s all part of the fun, and I think it is what is expected. A few years ago we decided to replace the jokes with trivia because we thought it was more upmarket, but people didn’t like it one iota so we put them back pronto,” reveals O’Connor.
Thornback & Peel boast some delightfully country inspired Christmas crackers. This year there are three excellent designs. A robin and holly design, stag and spot or partridges and pear prints make up these top quality additions to the festive table.
Thornback & Peel Christmas crackers look well on the festive country table.
The Thornback & Peel Christmas Crackers, are £55 for six or £10 eachor £9.95 each. And the interior definitely lives up to the elegant exterior. Each Christmas cracker contains a hat, snap, joke and a hand printed festive Thornback & Peel handkerchief.
Increasingly, crackers are being brought out for other high days and holidays. “They are becoming more popular for weddings particularly. We once made crackers for a couple who put G-strings inside as the gift. On a more romantic note, we took an order for a special cracker that contained an engagement ring,” she says.
The Upper Crust cracker-makers are no strangers to splendid prizes, as they are responsible for the sumptuous crackers sold by Asprey. The Bond Street emporium’s purple and silver crackers cost £200 a pop. They are available individually but are also sold in boxes of six and 12. Silver pens, compasses, silk scarves, pendants and cuff-links are among the treasures found inside.
One way of ensuring there’s something more inspiring than a comedy moustache in your cracker is to make or customise your own, something the Royal Family is said to favour. The disparity of cracker contents is one of the wonders of the festive season but, just like the awful jokes and the paper hats that always tear or fall off, ridiculous and sometimes useless prizes are half the fun and have become a Christmas tradition in their own right.
“The pointless plastic shapes that nobody could possibly want – except for small children who might choke on them – are always a source of amusement and bewilderment. Who designs them and what on earth could anybody want a plastic monkey for?” says Billie Baker from party planner Portfolio Events. “Mind you, I think most of us secretly like the mini sewing kits, padlocks and that sort of thing, they always come in handy.
“No matter how badly made they are or how laughable the contents, crackers are at the heart of a good Christmas party,” she continues. “They’re a great ice-breaker: if you’re sat next to someone you don’t know comparing prizes and groaning at the gags is a good way to get the conversation flowing. Crackers are also wonderful levellers as it is absolutely impossible to look good in the silly hats.”
The best Christmas canapé recipes are easy to make, look impressive and wow on flavour. Here they are...
Using game in your Christmas canapés is a great twist. And pigeon works brilliantly, just don't overcook
The best Christmas canapé recipes are those that don’t require complicated preparation, equipment you can’t spell, let alone source, or artistic abilities beyond your ken. Leave that to the professionals. What every great Christmas drinks party needs is a host who takes heed of our best Christmas canapé recipes. And presents a mound of these delicious morsels.
BEST CHRISTMAS CANAPE RECIPES: PIGEON, MADEIRA ONIONS & BLACK PUDDING
Using game in your Christmas canapés is a great twist. And pigeon works brilliantly, just don’t overcook
Makes 24 pieces
■ 6 slices white bread
■ 50ml (2fl oz) olive oil
■ 2 large red onions
■ 100ml (4fl oz) madeira
■ Salt and pepper
■ 100g (31⁄2oz) black pudding
■ 2 tsp breadcrumbs
■ 4 pigeon breasts, skinless
Cut the crusts off the bread and quarter each slice. Brush each piece with oil and press firmly into a well in a mini-tartlet tray (24-well trays are readily available and always come in handy for canapés). Bake at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown; this can be done a day in advance.
Slice the onions thinly and cook in a little oil until soft and turning golden-brown. Add the madeira and reduce over a medium heat until very little liquid remains. Season; set aside.
Slice the black pudding into rounds and fry them off in a little oil for a couple of minutes on each side. Blitz with the breadcrumbs in the food processor to make fine crumbs.
To serve, fill each fried-bread case with a teaspoonful of onion mixture and put them and the crumbs in a low oven. Halve the pigeon breasts lengthways, season and sauté in a hot, oiled pan until medium rare.
Let them rest briefly in a warm place, then slice into 0.5cm (¼in) thick pieces.
Top each fried-bread case with a slice of pigeon breast and a sprinkling of black pudding crumbs.
Serve warm.
BEST CHRISTMAS CANAPE RECIPES: STILTON & WALNUT SABLES WITH STILTON MOUSSE & CRANBERRY
The biscuit dough freezes well. Make sure your Stilton is up to scracth. Colston Basset is a Field favourite.
Nothing says Christmas like Stilton cheese. If you live anywhere near Melton Mowbray then visit the home of this wonderfully pongy, piquant cheese, and bag a truckle of Colston Basset, Cropwell Bishop or Long Clawson. And then use it in this best Christmas canapé recipe.
Makes 25 pieces
For the sablés
■ 125g (41⁄2oz) flour
■ 1⁄4 tsp cayenne pepper
■ 50g (2oz) parmesan, finely grated
■ 125g (41⁄2oz) butter, softened
■ 50g (2oz) stilton, grated
■ 100g (31⁄2oz) walnuts, finely chopped
■ 1 egg yolk
For the mousse
■ 150g (5oz) stilton
■ 2 tsp crème fraîche
■ 1 tsp port (optional)
■ Salt
To serve
■ 50g (2oz) dried cranberries, extremely finely chopped
Sieve the flour and cayenne into a bowl; mix with the parmesan. Add the butter and stilton; rub in with your fingertips until it forms sand-like crumbs. Mix in the chopped walnuts and egg yolk: the dough should be slightly wet. Chill for an hour, then split into four. Roll each quarter into an even sausage shape about the diameter of a 10p piece. Chill again. At this point the dough can be frozen for future use and needs only 15 minutes’ defrosting before it’s ready to slice.
To cook the sablés, slice each dough sausage into rounds about 0.5cm (¼in) thick and bake on non-stick parchment for 9-10 minutes at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Cool on a baking rack. They’ll keep in a biscuit tin for a few days.
Don’t use a food processor to make the mousse, as it’s liable to split if overworked. Simply cream the stilton by hand until it reaches a smooth texture, then fold in the crème fraîche and the port (if using) gradually until it reaches a dropping consistency. Season with salt as necessary.
To serve, pipe or spoon a small quantity of mousse on to each sablé and sprinkle dried cranberry on top.
BEST CHRISTMAS CANAPE RECIPES: MINI-SALMON SPIRALS
These elegant swirls make great party season blotting paper. Serve to friends with fizz.
Makes 25 pieces
For the crêpes
■ 125g (41⁄2oz) flour
■ 1 egg
■ 300ml (101⁄2fl oz) milk
■ Dill, parsley, chives, finely chopped
■ A little butter for cooking
For the mousse
■ 150g (5oz) smoked salmon
■ Salt and black pepper
■ 150ml (5fl oz) double cream
■ Lemon juice to taste
To finish
■ 300g (101⁄2oz) smoked salmon
■ 25g (1oz) salmon caviar
■ Some tiny sprigs of dill
For the crêpes, beat the flour and egg together until smooth; mix in the milk gradually to make a smooth batter. Add the chopped herbs and put the batter in the fridge for at least half an hour.
Meanwhile, blitz the smoked salmon and a pinch of salt in the food processor. Remove to a bowl and beat in the cream a little at a time until the mixture is smooth and creamy, but can still hold its own weight. You may need slightly more or less cream to bring it to the right consistency. Season with more salt if necessary, and with pepper and lemon juice.
Cook the crêpes as thinly as
you can, over a medium heat in a
non-stick frying pan greased with a little butter. When the butter is foaming, pour a thin layer of batter
into the bottom of the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, turning once during cooking. Chill in the fridge. The crêpes will keep for a couple of days if need be.
Spread each crêpe with a thin
layer of mousse and top with an even layer of smoked salmon. Cut off three sides to make them squarish, then spread or pipe a line of mousse about 0.5cm (¼in) thick along one side. Starting with this side, roll each crêpe up into a tight sausage. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge. Now you can either store in the fridge for up to two days, or cut them after an hour or so in the fridge.
To serve, slice the crêpe sausages carefully into rounds about 0.5cm (¼in) thick. You should be able to see clear spiral layers of crêpe, mousse and salmon. Top each spiral with a little salmon caviar and a sprig of dill.
How to carve meat is a skill every man should possess, but fewer and fewer are standing up at the dinner table. Johnny Scott guides the way this Christmas.
Roast beef is the most glorious of British food. Make sure you can carve it well. Johnny Scott will spare your blushes.
How to carve meat is a required skill that rears its head at Christmas time. Whether you are attempting the ultimate in Christmas cooking, the Royal Roast or the perfect roast pheasant recipe with white wine and charlotte potatoes, you need to hit the mark when it comes to how to carve meat. Sad to think that in many households much of the happy anticipation associated with Christmas luncheon will evaporate as soon as paterfamilias picks up his carving-knife – probably unused for the past 12 months – and tries to dismantle the festive bird. Even the jolliest family affair can be enveloped in gloom by the efforts of a carver with a blunt knife. A man who doesn’t know how to carve meat well is a festive liability. Not long ago, when it was common practice among most families to eat Sunday lunch together, there was someone in every household proficient in carving. It was a skill passed from generation to generation with a noble and ancient history.
Don’t let carving the turkey become a disaster this Christmas.
THE RULES OF HOW TO CARVE MEAT
At a time when the main food source was derived from anything that swam, ran or flew, the art of carving and how to carve meat was elevated to become part of the code of chivalry, with a language as complicated as that of hawking. Every species of fur, fish or fowl had to be carved according to individual specifications based on their standing in the laws of hunting. Peacocks were disfigured, herons dismembered, mallard unbraced, cranes displayed and swans lifted. Plovers were minced, bitterns unjointed, woodcock, pigeon and smaller birds were thighed, while partridges and quail were winged. There were at least 20 ways of carving fish; pike were splatted, barbels tusked, eels traunsened, sturgeon traunched and porpoises undertraunched. Birds were not to be lifted by the legs, venison was not to be touched by either hand and only the left hand used for beef or mutton.
A KNIGHT CARVED MEAT FOR A BARON…
Johnny Scott knows how to carve well and explains the fascinating history of carving.
The exact spot to begin carving a roast was governed by elaborate rules with slices from the larger beasts presented on a broad-bladed serving carver, cut into four bite-sized pieces held together by the fatty top strap. This was held in the hand, the pieces were chewed off, then it was thrown to the dogs. A thorough knowledge of carving was considered so important that before the golden spurs of knighthood could be granted, a period of noviciate had to be spent as a carving esquire. Carvers in royal and noble households tended to be aristocrats of lesser rank. A knight carved for a baron, a baron for an earl, an earl for a marquis, and so on. The Earls of Denbigh and Desmond are the Hereditary Grand Carvers of England and the Anstruther’s of that Ilk, the heritable Master Carvers to the Royal Household of Scotland. Such was the social gravitas attached to carving, that The Boke of Kervynge was published in 1500 by Wynkyn de Worde for the benefit of upwardly mobile Tudors at a time when few books were being printed at all.
CARVING KNIVES: IMPLEMENTS OF GREAT BEAUTY
How to carve meat was part of the code of chivalry, an expression of gratitude for food on the table, and the same is true of the workmanship in making carving-knives. Cutlers who created the implements to carve meat during the Middle Ages had a similar stature to jewellers, master armourers and illuminators, fashioning knives with handles of polished bone, horn, wood or brass, inlaid with silver and gold or set with agate, amber or lapis lazuli.
The cutler’s art thrived during the following three centuries, as banquets became increasingly elaborate and the need to carve meat and fish and fowl imperative. Implements of great beauty were created as new and exotic materials became available; ivory, rock crystal, cornelian, mother-of-pearl, coral or silver set with niello. Some have survived in museums of the art and evolution of cutlery, giving an inkling of the pageantry of eating, when joints reigned supreme and “made” dishes were never considered a main course.
Cutlers made less elaborate but more elegant carving knives during the 19th century. It became customary for newly married couples to have a boxed set as the centrepiece of their wedding gift display and the groom would be expected to know how to carve meat. This tradition persisted until eating habits changed, the weekend joint and knowing how to carve meat became largely a thing of the past. The skill of how to carve meat was gradually lost to a whole generation. It is difficult to find anything similar to the craftsmanship that existed when carving was at least a weekly occurrence in most households and Sheffield was world famous for quality knives. There are, of course, quality chefs’ knives available in the latest technology stainless steel or carbonsteel, but these are essentially kitchen knives and ought not to be used in the dining-room.
A “carvery” of knives – the correct term for a set of carving-knives – should consist of two knives, one with a blade 22cm long and 2.5cm in depth for large joints of meat and the bigger birds. The other – for small joints and gamebirds – should be around 15cm long and 2cm deep. The blades must be slightly rounded as they rise to the point, for working into thigh joints. The set should include a steel and a carving-fork. Until the early 17th century, forks were unheard of in Britain, either for carving or eating.
FROM FINGERS TO FORK
Joints were anchored by a smaller knife or skewer and it was the carver’s job to see that slices of meat were presented in edible pieces; thereafter the fingers or a spoon were used. Thomas Coryat, the son of a Westcountry squire, is credited with introducing forks on his return from a tour of Italy, where they had been in use for some time. Initially, neither Coryat or his fork was well received; he was lampooned on the stage as a furcifer – from the Latin fork-bearer or rascal – a nickname which stuck, and was condemned from the pulpit for suggesting “that God’s good gifts were unfit to be touched by human hands”.
However, Jacobean England was becoming more sophisticated and the fashion of elaborate lace cuffs dictated a change in eating habits. Forks were soon in common usage, except in the Royal Navy where they were considered effeminate until well into the 18th century.
WHERE TO BUY YOUR CARVING SET
Carving sets can be picked up for very reasonable prices from auctions.
Because so many of them were still in use until the Sixties, carvery sets of Sheffield steel knives in good condition, many of them a hundred years old, can still be found on bric-à-brac stalls, in antique shops or on eBay. Anyone who knows how to carve and wishes to buy a set should look for knives with a depth of 2.5cm or 2cm – depending on size – that still retain a straight cutting edge, and handles that firmly fit the blade. A set in this condition will have bags of life left in it and if the soft Sheffield steel is discoloured, it can easily be brought back by rubbing with a paste made from ordinary baking soda moistened with water, vinegar or lemon juice. If water is used, be sure to wrap the blades in blotting paper after wiping dry to remove any moisture. Knives like these were made for the dining-room, in the days when they were expected to be in frequent use. They were intended to look impressive, but great care was taken in their balance and the way the antler or polished bone handles fitted into the hand. They will be more pleasant and appropriate to use than any modern equivalent.
There is no point in attempting to carve unless the knives are properly sharpened. Modern carbon steel or stainless steel knives have sharp, factory-ground blades which will hold their edge indefinitely. Unless you know how to use a whetstone, an old set of Sheffield steel knives discovered in an attic, bought from an antique shop or off eBay will require professional sharpening. Here, your butcher will almost certainly oblige – particularly if he thinks you will be buying joints in the future – by sharpening your knives on the electronic grinding-stone which every butcher has in his shop.
Once the knives are sharpened the edge is maintained by the steel. Many people are put off using a steel having seen the almost acrobatic dexterity with which chefs or butchers use one. Butchers are cutting meat all day, every day and are not maintaining the edge on their knives. They are sharpening them, using a different steel to the one in a carvery.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR CARVING KNIFE SHARP
A butchers’ steel is heavily serrated; a carvery one is virtually smooth and straightens the edge of a knife which is already sharp. Maintaining the edge of a carving-knife is simple. Take the steel in the left hand and place the point on the edge of a table. Hold the steel level with the top of the table; place your knife on the steel with the two handles almost touching and the sharp edge of the knife facing away from you. With the knife at right angles to the steel, turn the blade to an angle of 25 degrees and stroke it along the steel in a half circle, keeping the two handles close together. This covers the whole length of the blade in one smooth action. Repeat a couple of times, then turn the blade over and start the process again from the point of the steel back towards you. Assuming the knife has not previously been blunted, it is now ready to use.
HOW TO CARVE MEAT: SIX TOP TIPS
Never apply undue pressure; this compacts meat fibres, alters the shape of the joint, creates uneven slices and will ultimately blunt the knife.
Let the knife do the work for you. It should be weightless in the hand and the whole length of the blade should be used in long, even strokes.
Be aware of the bone. When carving roast beef, for example, make an incision along the rib-bone every so often to allow slices to fall free as you reach that point.
Always use a wooden carving-board when carving a rolled, boneless joint. Nothing ruins a knife quicker than coming into contact with metal or porcelain.
After carving, wipe the knives with a damp cloth, dry them, rub the blades with olive oil and wrap them in greaseproof paper.
Never wash them in soapy water; this causes rust where the shank joins the handle and the knife will eventually break.
The Naked, Strewth charity calendar is free with our January issue. The best of the current crop of naked charity calendars, handpicked for you by our dedicated team.
Naked Strewth Charity Calendar
The Naked Strewth charity calendar is something of an institution. Every month Field Towers is inundated with keen, barely clothed hunting sorts, guns unpegged and fisherwomen in the buff. All are stripping for cash, but the cash is for a benevolent cause. Numerous charities have benefitted from the disarming penchant the British country classes have for disrobing at almost any opportunity.
Bottoms are bared without a blush and décolletages exposed, and Air Ambulances throughout the Shires are kept flying for another year. The Field’s Naked Strewth charity calendar 2015 pays homage to the pick of the naked charity calendar crop.
The 2015 FREE The Naked, Strewth charity calendar contains the best of the naked charity calendars that have graced The Field’s pages during the previous year. So you can expect wholesome young farmers on straw bales, strategically placed cabbages, military girlfriends and hunting hotties. All undressing for charity. The Field has also donated to all the charities concerned, and encourages you to do the same.
Charities and organizations comprise:
The Bedfordshire YFC, who are donating money to health charity MIND
The Jed Forest, who are raising money for Spinal Research
The best brogues are English. We know how to make a good shoe. Which top the list?
Best brogues at the Edward Green factory in Northampton.
Best brogues simply cannot be bettered by any other gentleman’s shoe. The slipper can try, the boot can have -a-go and the loafer can attempt to edge up on the inside. But it remains a fact, that for the English gentleman the brogue is the one shoe he cannot live without.
A different type of footwear may be called upon in the field, and the tenets of what to wear when shooting dictate appropriate footwear, as does what to wear out hunting. But you can guarantee that after the day’s sport the best brogues will once more be firmly on foot. Watch Downton Abbey and keep an eye on the shoes. Lord Grantham wouldn’t be without his trusty pair of brogues.
Best brogues are no longer just worn in brown, but in a myriad of shades and materials that has given this most quintessential of footwear a pleasing new lease of life. At a recent party in the Yorkshire I spotted a pair of brown leather and dark blue suede brogues. A departure from the norm, but an elegant solution that bridged the gap between stuffy formality and a hint of the fashionable.
For Christmas the NH (new husband) will be receiving another pair of traditional Northampton best brogues. Loafers have not lasted and suede in winter is a conundrum. Fashion was flirted with but only one shoe solution has been arrived at. ‘A pair of brogues will do the job’. And so we will beetle off to the Shire town that is at the heart of the shoe industry, and pick out a brogue that will comfortably cover every country eventuality. To Northampton.
If the best of British style and country life strikes the right note, subscribe to The Field this Christmas, save a rather impressive 38% and be sanguine in the knowledge that, like the best English shoes, The Field is the perfect fit for the true English country gentleman.
BROGUE ORIGINS
Gordon Underwood of Loake in Kettering examines a pair of shoes.
Northamptonshire is the spiritual home of the best brogues. No English gentleman’s wardrobe should be without a pair of Northamptonshire shoes, but the brogue did not originate in the Midlands. Originally they were worn in the wilder reaches of the Highlands and Ireland, the punched holes designed to allow water to drain from the shoe after braving boggy stretches. The Edwardians popularised the modern brogue with a winged toecap and the shoe became a favourite of the Royal family at Balmoral.
By the Thirties it was essential kit for the modern gentleman, with brown a popular colour. The best-dressed man in Europe, the Duke of Windsor, boosted its popularity as an elegant shoe, shocking society by wearing full brogues to play golf and on other social occasions. The co-respondent, a two-tone full brogue, was worn as a sporting casual shoe with whites or flannels.
BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT
Tricker’s, supplier of shoes to the Prince of Wales, is Northampton’s oldest shoemaker, established in 1829 and supplies some of the country’s best brogues. Now in its fifth generation and still family controlled, it produces the finest of welted footwear; the classic Country Brogue with double leather sole (£340) is the most popular. David Fryman, manager of the firm’s Jermyn Street shop, claims, “Best brogues have never been out of fashion. Men have been coming in with their sons for generations. The style doesn’t date. We have a gentleman who went on honeymoon in his Tricker’s brogues in 1962 and the shoes are still going strong.” Fryman understands the brogue’s lasting popularity. “You can wear a brogue with a dress suit or casually with jeans,” he explains. More than 200 processes and eight weeks of production ensure the highest quality in Tricker’s bench-made shoes. Pricing reflects admirable value for an everlasting pair.
Fryman reveals that this traditional company is still rethinking its brogues. “We were making so many special orders that I decided we should have available in stock the multi-coloured brogue, and what could be more patriotic than red, white and blue?” The commando-soled Bowood costs £340, with special orders from a selection of leathers and styles starting at £525.
Crockett & Jones is the second largest of the five Northampton shoemakers, still family owned and going strong. Managing director Jonathan Jones reveals: “We have just opened a second flagship store at 92 Jermyn Street where 100 different styles are on display. Crockett & Jones have a strong emphasis on quality and design. Most of our shoes are sold under our own name but we also make collections for well-known international brands.” This bastion of tradition produces classic best brogues. The Pembroke (£330) is a five-eyelet, wingtip brogue Derby in tan scotchgrain with a rubber sole and storm welt. “It is rugged and smart and even the rubber sole is made in England,” says Jones.
THROW IN A LOBB
Cornish cobbler John Lobb opened his workshop in London in 1866, then Paris in 1902. John Lobb was acquired by the Hermés Group in 1976, although the London bespoke workshop, John Lobb Ltd, remained in family hands and continues to operate independently from 9 St James’s Street. John Lobb launched its first ready-to-wear collection in 1981. Its creative director Andres Hernandez, who wears nothing but Balmoral-cut Oxford brogues for their aero-dynamic elegance, says, “The Darby II (£670) is one of our iconic brogues. The 190-step manufacturing process includes each hole being individually cut to a precise position. There are over 500 holes in a size 7 pair and we say, ‘There are 500 opportunities to get it right or wrong.'”
Shoes made by hand are the ultimate piece of kit for the English gentleman.
The English brand Church’s is also part of a fashion stable, having been bought by Prada in 2000. But it still makes some of the best brogues. In 2009 Jonathan and William Church repurchased Cheaney‘s, the Northampton shoemaker taken over by Church’s in the Sixties, from Prada and now operate the company from its original 125-year-old factory in Desborough. This English heritage combined with the Church family history and a shoe made entirely on site is appreciated by aficionados.
Caroline Wightwick set up Thomas Dainty Brogue Trader, a visiting footwear tailor, 12 years ago, selling only Cheaney’s shoes. “For me they are the all-round English shoe and have the best brogues,” she says. “Some other brogues can be a little orange but Cheaney’s burnished leather combined with the way the collections are freshened every year and different-shaped lasts make for a perfect shoe.” The Grosvenor, in hand-burnished calf with welted sole costs £245. “The no brown in town rule is certainly changing,” says Wightwick. “The City is international and no longer the preserve of a plain black Oxford.” Different last shapes give a more contemporary brogue. The Sandringham (£325) is a full brogue with a chiselled toe in bronzed espresso calf, and can be worn elegantly with a navy suit. With hedge funds encouraging more casual dress in the City, the brown brogue is fast making itself at home, where once it would have turned heads.
TWEED BROGUES
For a country twist add tweed. The Herring Exmoor boot and Dartmoor shoe wear it well.
Devon-based Herring Shoes has its own brand of made-in-England footwear manufactured at the Cheaney factory. “I design the shoes myself, decide on the last to use and then they are made to my specification,” says Adrian Herring. He is passionate about English shoes; his number plate reads BRO6UES. “That’s got to say it all,” he laughs. “We sell more brogues than any other shoe. They are so versatile, can be dressed up or down, and the same style takes on a different appearance with a different finish.” Herring admits that, like many men, he enjoys wearing his favourite (and best-selling) Herring Gladstone (£225) every day. He is a keen advocate of the co-respondent brogue. “Our Henley (£225) is my number one two-tone shoe,” he says. “A full wingtip brogue in hand-burnished calf leather and contrasting beige canvas. The perfect match for a linen suit.” Like other traditional English com-panies, Herring exports most of its shoes. “The export market is better prepared for brighter and more fun-loving brogues,” Adrian Herring admits.
This could all change. A chance meeting with Deborah Meaden from Dragons’ Den, who owns Fox Brothers woollen mill in Somerset has resulted in a new tweed-and-leather brogue, the Dartmoor shoe (£275) and the Exmoor boot (£285). With funky innovation coupled to authentic British craftsmanship and passion they are bound to be a hit. “What can’t you wear them with?” Herring asks.
The Lodger brogue in waxed, mossy leather makes for a subtle yet stylish alternative to brown.
A modern brand, with its eye on tradition, Lodger was founded in 2008. “Our brogues are gentle and quirky,” says the firm’s Clement Cortale. “It is a casual shoe for everybody, and they look great with jeans, smart jacket and no tie.” Cortale’s favourite is inspired by the co-respondent brogue. The canvas is placed only on the back of the shoe,” he reveals. Why? “Because the canvas at the front would get dirty and look strange next to the shiny and smooth toe. It will age organically.” This shoe is inspiration for Lodger’s bespoke edition service, from £475. “Our clients can pick the last and leather and match it with the canvas or fabric of their choice.” Other Lodger designs include a sporty lightweight brogue, suitable for wearing with a suit and an innovative waxed, mossy-leather brogue, with a blond sole, both £375.
Oliver Sweeney, set up in 1989, manufactures in Italy and elsewhere. Its Anatomical Last, closely mimics the human foot. “We have a freedom that comes with a modern brand and alongside our 20th-anniversary Walsh tan, triple-welted brogue (£255), we are able to create some fashion-forward looks, too,” says Charley Sowden, head of marketing.
Older brands do track contemporary style. Edward Green of Northampton is one of the most traditional. “From the start in 1890, Mr Green made the very best,” says the firm’s Euan Denholm. “Craftsmanship and uncompromising quality are still important to us today,” he continues. A slim, elegant version is what the firm is famous for, and its classic brogue is refined. “Our biggest seller is the Malvern, a full wingtip – particularly good in chestnut. We use a greater degree of handwork than many other factories,” Denholm says. “The quality of a shoe starts with the quality of the leather; ours is exceptional.”
The Malvern brogue in chestnut antique, 202 last, by Edward Green
Loake was one of the first English shoe manufacturers to venture online and launch a retail website. It recommends its Chester heavy best brogue in tan calf leather (£185) for the country and the smarter-toed Savoy calf brogue for the city.
They are good value, Goodyear welted and made in Northamptonshire. “The English brogue has earned its place in every wardrobe as one of the most versatile styles available,” says managing director Andrew Loake.
Best brogues are a symbol of traditional British craftsmanship and heritage. Treat them well and they will last for years, and even improve with age.
BEST BROGUES FACTS
The word brogue originates from bróg the Irish and Gaelic word for shoe.
Best brogues may be universal but they are never worn with a dinner jacket.
Co-respondent (two-tone) brogues were deemed rakish on first appearance, and named after the sort of chap who would be the co-respondent in a divorce suit.
HRH The Prince of Wales has a pair of brogues made by George Cleverley using leather tanned in Russia, shipwrecked off the English coast in 1786 and discovered by divers in the Eighties.
The term wingtip comes from the “W” shape (like the wings of a bird) of the toecap of a full brogue.
Goodyear welting is a manufacturing process used by the best-quality shoemakers and refers to the way the sole is attached to the shoe. It makes shoes easier to resole and is a sign of quality.
The history of the shotgun and shooting, from the reign of Henry VIII to 1800. How bird shooting went from its infancy to the eve of the sport we know today
Duck being shot pictured in the Habiti d'huomini, 1609
The early history of the shotgun and shooting, before the invention of the breech-loading shotgun as we know it, was a greatly different business. From around 1500 to the eve of the great technical and sporting developments that made the shotgun what it is today, the history of the shotgun encompasses some fascinating historical pieces.
Modern taste for shotguns may hanker towards the 10 most expensive gun’s in the world or you may have one of the world’s 20 best shotguns on your list. But all of them evolved from the guns below. Shotguns and rifles are more than sporting items…they carry the wear and tear of history.
The history of the shotgun and shooting starts with the guns used for shooting game in England from the reign of Henry VIII, although the shotgun was used less often than the crossbow. Astonishingly, the king himself owned large numbers of breech-loaders, which anticipated modern small arms in their hinged breech mechanism and adoption of (reusable) iron cartridges.
Breech-loader, c1537. The hinged breech allowed a reuseable iron cartridge to be inserted.
HISTORY OF THE SHOTGUN AND SHOOTING: HENRICIAN ‘HAILE SHOTTE’
Most sporting weapons, however, were essentially a more lavish version of the military matchlock or arquebus, with muzzle-loaded barrels mounted on rudimentary but highly decorated stocks. Ignition was achieved by a trigger that pressed a glowing slow-match (a cord treated with saltpetre) on to a priming pan, from which the charge was ignited through the touch hole.
At first, single shot was used for target-shooting and four-footed game; by the 1540s multiple shot was also used, at this date cut from lead sheet. By the end of his life Henry possessed 41 such “Haile Shotte peics”, clearly used for birds. These were obviously pretty deadly, as an Act of 1548 at-tempted to ban the “shoting of hayle-shot wherby an infinite sort of fowle is killed and much gaym therby distroyed” and lamented their uselessness to military training. These weapons, loaded with shot, can be regarded as the remote ancestors of the modern shotgun.
An English ancestor, the English snaphance, 1584.
As for fieldcraft, 16th-century and most 17th-century shooting consisted of approaching birds from cover and taking them on the ground or, more commonly, on water.
Birds must sometimes have been shot as they rose, either when flushed by mistake or brought down by a companion taking another shot.
A tantalising reference in the mid 16th century to “persons as dayly do shoote in handegonnes, and beat at the fowles in rivers and pyttes” hints that walking-up of a sort was also feasible. High-angle shots, however, were impossible with matchlocks, as there was nothing to hold the priming powder in the pan and, anyway, the weight of many guns required the use of rests. Black powder can kick like fury and the butt was normally pressed into the shoulder, although some were held to the cheek, the recoil being partly absorbed by the weapon’s inertia.
The slow pace of the operation kept bags relatively small. But the range of “fair game” was far wider than now – a certain Henry Macwilliam was licensed in 1567 to shoot 37 varieties of bird, including swan, chough, cormorant and (yes) “chickens”. In addition to variety, the sheer abundance of birdlife in the English countryside, most of it centuries from enclosure and further still from pesticides and other pressures, must have made for an exciting and rewarding exercise.
SHOOTING WAS A MINOR PURSUIT
The history of the shotgun and shooting demonstrates that shooting remained a relatively minor pursuit both as a fieldsport and as a way of taking birds on any scale for the table or for sale: the latter depended on a different armoury of equipment, including nets, lime and traps. In the 16th century shooting was also specifically restricted (however ineffectively) by successive statutes and, since the late 14th century, taking any game had been permitted only to men worth £2 a year. By the 17th century, inflation had widened the franchise, although shooting was limited by equipment costs, but an important Act of 1671 limited the taking of game to those with a landed income of £100 per year. Nor was shooting universally popular among sportsmen. In the 16th century, when still a rarity, it was violently opposed, particularly by falconers, as the noise and smoke scared off their quarry.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN THE SHOTGUN
Engraved German wheellock by Nicholas Keucks, c1620. The matchlock was superseded by the wheellock.
Meanwhile, the technology was changing, driven by the shortcomings of the matchlock. A more advanced and more weather-proof system – the wheellock – was already in existence by around 1500 and was first depicted by Leonardo da Vinci, no less. This used a complex arrangement whereby the trigger released a spring-driven wheel, wound up with a spanner (the first use of this term) that struck sparks off a piece of iron pyrites, held in a “dog” (similar to the cock of a flintlock). Such weapons could be afforded only by the rich, noble and royal, and many examples are fabulously ornate.
Double-barrelled flintlock fowling piece by William Bailes, 1764-5.
Overlapping chronologically with both matchlock and wheellock, however, was the flintlock, the best-known, most commonly used and longest-lived of the pre-percussion ignition systems. This was not only a considerable technological advance but was cheaper than the wheellock to produce. A piece of flint was mechanically struck by a supporting “cock” against a “steel” or “frizzen”, igniting the priming powder and then the main charge. Guns with these locks or, technically speaking their precursor the “snaphance” lock, are first referred to in the 1540s and examples survive from the 1570s.
New technologies had little immediate impact on shooting techniques but certainly made things easier. The soldier/sportsman Gervase Markham (died 1637), wrote in 1621, “’Tis better it be a fier Locke or Snaphaunce [than a matchlock], for it is safe and better for carriage, readier for use, and keepes the powder dryer.”
The art of shooting flying began with stalked or walked-up birds shot taking off, akin to rough-shooting today, although the typically low shots would now seem unsporting. Shooting overhead or at gamebirds in full, fast flight could be attempted with the new guns but was rare before 1600. The earliest reference to the practice may be the illustration in the Venetian Giacomo Franco’s Habiti d’huomini (Gentlemen’s Attire) of 1609, which shows flying duck being shot going away, from boats, with retrievers busy in the water.
Duck being shot pictured in the Habiti d’huomini, 1609
Tellingly, in England the practice was omitted from a textbook of 1644 and may have been a recent introduction when Richard Blome published The Gentleman’s Recreation – the first English book to deal with shooting flying birds – in 1686. Blome included an engraving showing a pair of duck well up in the air being fired at by one gun with a second taking aim and a third waiting to bring his piece to the shoulder; a spaniel bounds forward to pick the still airborne birds.
Shooting scene from The Gentleman’s Recreation, 1686, the first English book to deal with flying birds.
The 1696 edition contains a remarkable picture of men shooting and bringing down birds (probably pigeon, perhaps partridges) from the saddle; shooting pistols and carbines from horseback was standard military practice.
HISTORY OF THE SHOTGUN AND SHOOTING BIRDS ON THE WING
Shooting at birds on the wing was not wholly about better sport but about results, as Blome explained:
“When your Game is on the Wing, it is more exposed to Danger; for if but one shot hits any Part of its Wings so expanded it will occasion its Fall.”
He also advised on how to hit the target, introducing but dismissing the concept of lead:
“Some are of the Opinion that must Shoot something before the Fowl, otherwise it will be past before the Shot can come to it: but that is a vulgar Error, for no Game can fly so quick, but that the Shot will meet it,” citing the breadth of pattern.
He then introduced the idea of overhead shots:
“I am of the opinion, if the Game flyeth as it were over your Head, that ’tis best to aim at the Head; and… from you, to aim as it were under its Belly.”
By the early 18th century overhead shots were being attempted more widely, suggesting the flighting of wildfowl and, perhaps, the driving of other birds. This is illustrated in Pteryplegia: or, the Art of Shooting Flying of 1717, a long and fascinating poem and prose Dedication by the Oxford Don George Markland. Clearly an experienced shot, he notes that: Five gen’ral sorts of Flying Marks there are;/The Lineals two, Traverse and Circular;/The Fifth Oblique, which I may vainly teach;/But practice only Perfectly can teach. The novelty of the practice in England, however, is shown by his admiration for the French, “so expert at the gun”, reflecting their longer experience.
Prompted by developments in the sport, guns, too, evolved both mechanically and in lightness and handling. Blome recommended a shorter barrel than was customary in the 1680s, “about Four foot and a half in the Barrel, and of pretty wide Bore something under a musket” (a 12-bore). A superb example of such a gun, made by John Shaw (best-known pieces 1674-1702) exists in the Royal Armouries’ collection. It weighs slightly more than 11lb and, as the writers can attest, comes superbly to the shoulder. Over time, barrels got shorter still. Thomas Page’s The Art of Shooting Flying Explained of 1767 (a longer and more technical work than those of Blome and Markland) recommended 32in for early season work and, for “after Michaelmas, the birds by that time… grown so shy, that your shoots must be at longer distances”, 39in, adding, “if you intend one gun to serve for all purposes… a three feet barrel or thereabouts” would be ad-visable. Such guns anticipated the range and killing power of a modern shotgun, Markland recommending Full forty Yards permit the Bird to go/The spreading Gun will surer Mischief show.
While the flintlock and trigger-to-bang time continually improved, the next major innovation was the addition of a second barrel. The earliest examples of guns with barrels held together by soldering rather than the stock were French side-by-sides of the 1730s. However, these were slow to catch on in England, the Shooting Directory of 1804 dep-recating their usefulness and equating their French origin with “a great many other foolish things”. Nevertheless, the great English gunmakers Ezekiel Baker, Henry Nock and the Mantons were already producing superb examples, which, with the formerly full-length stock (as long as the barrels) reduced to a “half-stock” (resembling a fore-end), looked much like modern guns.
Rapidity of fire increased with the application of percussion ignition early in the 19th century, especially with the perfected percussion cap of about 1830. However, it was the introduction of a fully functional hinged breech in the 1830s and then of cartridges containing primer, propellant and projectile – and reliable firing pins – that saw the birth of the modern shotgun.
The rest is another story: rapid rates of fire led to driven shooting as we know it, swaths of countryside transformed and, through English technology, craftsmanship and wealth, the unrivalled excellence of the English gun.
By Mark Murray-Flutter and Edward Impey
Mark Murray -Flutter is senior curator, firearms at the Royal Armouries and Edward Impey is the director-general and master. The Keucks, Bales and Greener guns and the Southwell portrait are among the 630 items on display in the Hunting Gallery at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, the national museum of arms and armour. The museum is open daily from 10am until 5pm. Entry is free.
