Great article Drew. Some very interesting observations from Lord Walsingham. He used different loads for different drives, depending on the wind, and did not like the way Whitworth barrels sounded and switched back to Damascus. (A reminder that all these guys shoot thousands of rounds a year without ear protection. Eh, what?).
The guns are all 12 bore, with cylinder 30 in. barrels, not choked.
My cartridges were loaded by Johnson, of Swaffham; those used in the down-wind drives containing 3 1/8 drs. Hall’s Field B powder to 1 1/8ozs. No. 5 Derby shot; those used in the up-wind drives (where the birds, of course, came slower) had 3 drs. only of the same powder, with the same shot; not hardened shot in either case.
I find I never go out shooting without learning something. If I had the day again, I should cut off the extra eighth of an ounce of shot, not on account of recoil or discomfort of kind – from which I never suffer, although always using black powder – but because I failed to get as much penetration at long distances as I do with an ounce only. . . .
Another thing I learned was that Whitworth steel barrels are not desirable for a heavy day’s shooting. The explosion in them makes quite a different sound from that given off by Damascus barrels: there is more ring about it, and I can imagine that this might prove a serious annoyance to anyone who minds the noise of shooting. I have no recollection myself of ever having had a headache from gun-firing. Moreover, the Whitworth barrels become hot much more rapidly than the Damascus; and this is a serious drawback, especially to a man who shoots without gloves. I can well imagine that they last much longer, and are in many ways suited for ordinary light work; but am now replacing them with Damascus, as in all my other guns.
