In 1934, Tom (pictured above) and Jim Purdey were approached by the publisher Philip Allan & Co. to contribute a volume to ‘The Sportsman’s Library’. The Shot Gun was published in 1936 – the original manuscript of Chapter XV (‘To Those Concerned’) implied the process was not entirely straightforward, opening with a paragraph complaining of the unreasonable demands of publishers!
More than 90 years on from its original publication, it is inevitable that such a work would contain anachronisms. There’s only one passing mention of the Over-and-Under, while other sections are amusingly dated, particularly in reference to the advisability of carrying a flask of ‘cold tea’ (a pseudonym for whisky) and exercising care as to whom you offer it to!
The authors also included perhaps one of the most famous poems written for young shooters; ‘A Father’s Advice’ by Mark Beaufoy. The Purdey archive includes one with an additional, handwritten verse by Tom Purdey from 1928, giving a final warning to the younger members of the shooting party:
And at Luncheon do not say
Not the worst part of the day
This remark though quite alright
Becomes with use a trifle trite.
The book remains a thoroughly enjoyable read today, and much of the information still retains its relevance for the modern gun. We’ll be publishing our favourite snippets in two instalments. Here are the first five pearls of wisdom for you to enjoy.
The Grange, c1895
1. When deciding the length of your barrels
There will always be the long versus short barrel school, a controversy in which we do not wish to be embroiled. A well-known authority once said that “the longer the barrel, the nearer the bird,” and there is more truth than absurdity in this seemingly fatuous remark.
If you take a salmon rod and point it at some object as if it were a gun it seems to align itself both quickly and steadily. Do the same with a walking-stick, and although it seems lighter and easier to handle it is certainly less steady, being more difficult to control and, therefore, keep on the mark.
However, as we have said, we hold no brief for either the ‘longs’ or the ‘shorts,’ and the shooter can decide for himself on this point. Certainly he can assure himself that the performance qua gun ballistics is not affected by the reduction in length; for the rest, handling and balance are the chief factors with which he is concerned.
2. Take care of the foundations
The quest of your stance and balance have to be gone into and your feet put into “the ways they should walk.” In other words, to shoot well you must have perfect footwork.
3. The best-choked gun isn’t always the tightest one
The number of pellets [in the pattern] is not so important as the even distribution of the pattern in the circle, and also outside the radius of the circle. This is the secret of a good shooting gun, and that means accurate boring of the barrels.
Jim Purdey at Eastcote, 1929
4. Beware of dangerous shooters
The last thing we would write, as regards the benefit derived from the shooting school, is that the novice can learn how to use a gun with safety and to learn how dangerous it is possible to be and become by allowing carelessness or over-confidence to creep into one’s method of shooting. There are three classes of shooters who may be classed as dangerous or liable to become dangerous. They may be called:
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The unobservant shot,
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The excited shot,
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The greedy shot
and it is well to call the attention of the beginner to these shots as soon as he embarks on his shooting career.
5. Appreciate the beauty around you
There is no doubt that the general atmosphere of grouse shooting makes this sport one of the most attractive forms of shooting. Most of us have tucked away somewhere in our beings a love of beauty and of the wild, although many would never dream of admitting the fact. What a diversity of scenery meets the eye when grouse shooting!
Rugged hills patched with the purple of the heather, with a silver loch winding at their feet. The peaceful glen with moors either side the white ribbon of the narrow road. The white cottages of the crofters with their fields of yellow stooks and the plantings of Scotch firs on the hillside – all of these are in the picture when you shoot grouse.
It is a grand feeling to fill your lungs with the invigorating mountain air as you sit in your butt waiting for the birds to come; all your worries seem to fade away amidst the rugged beauty of this northern land. He is indeed a lucky man who still had ahead of him the first day on the hill.
Look out for more pearls of wisdom from Tom and Jim Purdey, next week.