Having risen very wild the first time and just out of reach the second, the covey of greys burst out of the hedge bottom almost at my feet. I mounted the little Army and Navy 20-bore smartly and missed with both barrels as the partridges slipped over the hedge.
I had dreamed of this moment since early summer, when I collected the beautifully restored gun from gunsmith Mark Crudgington, except that in the dream version there had been a right-and-left. Nevertheless, a little bit of history had been reenacted, for walking-up wild greys would have been common practice back when the gun was made.
I am researching the detail with the University of Glasgow, where the Army and Navy Co-operative Society records are archived, but the little gun was made in about 1895 and Mark is pretty sure it was made by W & C Scott.
Exactly when it came into my family is unclear, but by the 1920s it belonged to my great-grandfather, Charles William Shaw. A careful look at its canvas and leather case reveals his initials, now faded, and embossed over the original ‘M.R.P.’.
Now, Charlie Shaw had a bit of a reputation as a man who preferred play to work. He owned a large farm somewhere near Chatham, in Kent, but to quote my mum, “He was workshy. He would give jobs to the men in the morning and then go off to some posh shoot or other.”
Judging by my granny (his daughter) Hilda’s postcard collection, he enjoyed the ‘grand tour’, too. Whatever, by the time my mum and dad married in 1946, his money had run out and he was living in Granny and Grandfather Swan’s humble terraced house, reliant on her generosity for his weekly pocket money. In the meantime, he had sold the gun to his son-in-law, my paternal grandad, so that he could clear his debts at the pub.
A pot-hunter’s gun
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
The right-and-left that almost was
Woodcock awaken such passion in Worth Mathewson that he decides to cross the pond in search of some sport
To brighten a winter's day
Velvet shank is one of the few mushrooms to thrive at this time of year, says John Wright
Coloured judgement
Just how important is the hue of a gundog’s coat? David Tomlinson examines the history behind the kaleidoscope of canine colours
The man who stares at goats
Feral goats have had some bad press but in Galloway they are part of the mountains — and they produce fabulous meat
Youthful vigour of the famous five
In the latest of our series on bringing youngsters into fieldsports, Richard Negus’s son Charlie joins the beating line on a farm shoot
Gamekeeper
It is a great time of year for commercial shoots to be thinking about how they can tailor their offerings to meet changing sporting tastes
All for one, one for all
In a single day, the ferrets, dog and goshawk bag their bunny — a feat to be known forthwith as a rabbiting Macnab, says Simon Whitehead
A nod is as good as a wink-wink
Geese are notoriously unpredictable — but that can work in your favour, says Soldier Palmer
A New Year's revelation
To get an idea of how to tackle January pheasants you have to understand the science of death, says Simon Reinhold
Britain's Little Arctic Visitor Goes Full Circle
Guided here by the Earth’s geomagnetic field, the snow bunting is a welcome winter migrant
No Matchy-Matchy Allowed
Pattern play adds interest and fun to a bedroom.
A True FAMILY HOME
A designer transforms an old and dingy frat house into a picturesque seaside home that’s suited for entertaining and multi-generational living.
Butterfly Collection
Colorful butterflies gracefully fly across this throw-size quilt. Did you know they can fly at speeds of up to 30 mph?
BUILDING A COMPETITION WORTHY SCALE COCKPIT
Scale competition is a segment in this hobby that I really enjoy.
HELLCAT VERSUS CORSAIR
GRUMMAN TEST PILOT FLIES THE COMPETITION
THE ART OF ROGER KASTEL
An American artist, most famous for creating the poster for the film Jaws
Sixty-three injured in fire aboard Navy ship; vessel's fate unknown
USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) sustained extensive damage from an onboard fire that started while it was tied up in San Diego, and Navy officials say it is too soon to know if the amphibious assault ship will return to service.
Navy continues to modernize yard tug fleet with launch of YT 808
The U.S. Navy took another step toward replacing its aging yard tugboats with the launch of the first vessel in the YT 808 class at Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, Wash., in May.
COVID actions testing relationship between MSC, civilian crews
As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the planet in March, a “gangway up” order by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) restricted thousands of civilian mariners to U.S. Navy vessels around the world.
UFO COVER-UP EXPOSED AT LAST!
Former U.S. senator BLASTS 70 years of Uncle Sam’s silence