CRACK SHOTS II 



THE author having criticised the article in Bailey s Magazine 

 in the above remarks, was nevertheless himself respon- 

 sible for it all, except the voting, so that his criticism is obviously 

 intended in good part, and is only to indicate what a very 

 limited class of shooting comes under review in an article of 

 the kind. There have been wonderful shots who cannot be 

 compared. For instance, good snipe shots, who saw Mr. 

 Hugh Owen shoot snipe in Pembrokeshire thirty-five years 

 ago, told the author that he not only beat them, but out-classed 

 them, as well as everyone else he ever met. What surprised 

 was the great distances he killed these birds consecutively with 

 No. 5 shot the size always used by Lord Walsingham. 



Since that article was written the author has often been 

 told that Lord de Grey is the only shooter who is as good as 

 his reputation. No doubt he is as good, for many of those who 

 voted put him "in a class by himself," and more particularly 

 when the shooting was extra difficult, as in a strong wind and 

 when birds were far out. Then his hammer ejector choke 

 bores, which are handed to him at full cock, and always loaded 

 with 42 grains of Schultze powder and i-jV of No. 5, have 

 a way of finding the right place at a greater rate than any 

 others. It has been said of him that you can never tell by 

 the interval when he changes his guns. The two most dis- 

 cussed incidents in his shooting have been when he accom- 

 plished five grouse coming together, by changing guns after he 

 had shot one barrel, and then had time to get two more of the 

 five in front of him and two behind. On another occasion, in 

 walking through covert a cry of " mark " brought round Lords de 



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