When our sport took off
Shooting Times & Country|July 05, 2023
Not all that long ago, shooting sitting ducks and roosting pheasants was the order of the day, so what changed, wonders Ian Saberton
When our sport took off

Until well into the 17th century, it was the practice of sportsmen to fire at stationary game, whether from natural cover or from artificial hides copying some natural feature such as a tree or hedge.

Of the practice then prevailing, Claude Gauchet's poem Le Plaisir des Champs (Paris, 1583) describes several examples. Partridges are shot on the snow; wild duck on the water; a roe deer is shot standing; a litter of wild boar, sheltering with a sow, is fired on; and a fox making off with a leveret is shot, but only when it stops to shoulder its prey better. As for those sporting artists of the period, Stradanus, who died in 1605, and his contemporary Hans Bol, always depict the shooter firing at stationary game.

Examples of artificial hides were included in Richard Blome's The Gentleman's Recreation, first published in 1686, though Blome himself at that point was a convert to shooting flying birds.

Interestingly, commenting on artificial hides, Blome noted that game-birds were suspicious of "these dead engines, which carry not the shape of a living creature." Blome observed that the unnatural movements would likely cause concern and fear in gamebirds. In his opinion, the least impractical of these hides were the artificial stalking horse and the wonderfully named cocking cloth in crowing time.

Made of painted canvas stuffed with straw, the horse was fitted with a spike for sticking in the ground as the sportsman advanced towards the prey. The cocking cloth was for use in pheasant shooting. Consisting of a canvas hide constructed like a present-day kite, it was about a yard square except that it had a hole cut in it through which the muzzle of a short gun could be thrust. The sportsman simply held the canvas in front and, according to Brome, the pheasants "at crowing time will let you come near them and the cocks will be so bold as to fly at it".

この記事は Shooting Times & Country の July 05, 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Shooting Times & Country の July 05, 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRYのその他の記事すべて表示
United we stand
Shooting Times & Country

United we stand

Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors

time-read
5 分  |
August 02, 2023
Serious matters
Shooting Times & Country

Serious matters

An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning

time-read
3 分  |
August 02, 2023
They're not always as easy as they seem
Shooting Times & Country

They're not always as easy as they seem

While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort

time-read
5 分  |
August 02, 2023
Debutant gundogs
Shooting Times & Country

Debutant gundogs

There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting

time-read
4 分  |
August 02, 2023
When the going gets rough
Shooting Times & Country

When the going gets rough

Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique

time-read
5 分  |
August 02, 2023
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
Shooting Times & Country

The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition

In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make

time-read
4 分  |
August 02, 2023
A step too far?
Shooting Times & Country

A step too far?

Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work

time-read
6 分  |
August 02, 2023
Two bucks before breakfast
Shooting Times & Country

Two bucks before breakfast

A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem

time-read
6 分  |
August 02, 2023
Stalking Diary
Shooting Times & Country

Stalking Diary

Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill

time-read
2 分  |
August 02, 2023
Gamekeeper
Shooting Times & Country

Gamekeeper

Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside

time-read
3 分  |
August 02, 2023