THE ROUGH ROVERS MACNAB

Phil Moorsom’s attempt to be the first to complete his syndicate’s newly-launched Macnab Challenge gets off to a promising start – but will Lady Luck stay with him?

Towards the end of last season, after much talk and negligible action, we finally launched our Rough Rovers Macnab Challenge. As our ranks have grown over the years, it has become evident that a significant number of our members have a keen interest in both stalking and fishing to complement their game shooting. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to organise our own version of the Macnab Challenge.

The current Macnab Challenge is loosely based on the escapades of three ‘sportsmen’ in John Buchan’s novel John Macnab. In order to relieve their boredom, they contact three estates in Scotland and wager that they can poach a red deer stag and a salmon within a 48-hour period and successfully remove their quarry from the estate without being detected by the proud and zealous gamekeepers. The well-known modern Macnab Challenge is achieved by catching a salmon, shooting a brace of grouse and a red stag, all within a 24-hour period.

Based on the fur, feather, and fin principle, our intention is to make the challenge more accessible. For example, a lower-scoring version might be a brace of crows, a squirrel, and a perch. Naturally, if one has the resources and skill to get a brace of grouse, salmon, and a stag, you will most likely win, but creativity, as always, is rewarded in the Rough Rovers.