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1880s hunting costume: The lady's Norfolk Jacket |
Rough shoots--where the "guns," as those doing the shooting were known--walked through open fields with dogs flushing the birds from hedgerows and undergrowth, were one form of engaging in the sport; but on large country estates with gamekeepers, the preferred method of bird-hunting was the Driven Shoot.


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Bamboo and rattan shooting stick |
Often those who chose to spectate behind the range of Guns would arrive with the luncheon carts, which brought whiskey and food for the shooters, and signaled another opportunity to socialize over a picnic.
Shotguns for sport such as these crafted by James Purdey & Sons Ltd, a bespoke gunsmithing firm founded in 1814, were extremely expensive and cherished works of art. (A pair of Purdeys today costs well over $100,000.) They were meticulously maintained in an estate's gun room, where the game book was also kept as a record of the shooting bag. A boy's first pair of important guns was usually a gift from his father at perhaps the age of sixteen; they were also handed down as bequests.
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Gamekeepers. They maintained prey populations by eradicating predators and poachers, as well as by cultivating suitable terrain. |
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