Shooting of common moor-fowl: Black, Red and White Grouse

by Farida Mestek

The term shooting or sporting with the gun is commonly limited to certain kinds of feathered creation, with now and then application to the killing of a few small animals, such as the hare, the rabbit and occasionally the deer.

The Black Grouse is a noble looking bird, commonly called the blackcock, and the female the greyhen. Their nest is found on the ground; it is of the most simple and artless kind. The female lays from six to eight eggs that are hatched late in the summer. The eggs are of a dull yellowish white colour, marked with a number if very small ferruginous specks. Their food in summer consists of the seeds of the cranberry, crowberry, blackberry, etc.; and in the winter they feed on the fir shoots, and the catkins of hazel and birch, which impart to their flesh a peculiar flavour, well known to epicures.

The black grouse, like other members of the grouse family, are polygamous, and in January, February and March, the plumage of the male bird assumes a rich glossy steel blue, which, with his noble bearing, makes him look very imposing. In the warm days at the end of winter, the males may be seen congregated together on some turf-furze, sheep-fold, or rude paling, pluming their wings, and practising various devices to attract the notice of the females.

These fine birds are to be found in considerable numbers in many districts of England; for example in the moor districts of Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, Westmorland, and Yorkshire. The shooting of the black grouse does not commence till the 1st of September; and they are considered royal game. They are, in the main, shy birds, but those who are acquainted with their haunts will find no great difficulty in reaching them. They are partial to long ling and roughish copse-wood. Under the bank of a deep ravine, particularly in mid-day, and if there be a cold wind blowing, they will be very readily found.

The black grouse require full sized shot and many sportsmen prefer a single to a double-barreled gun.


The Red Grouse forms the staple article of grouse-shooting, especially in the northern parts of Great Britain. The red grouse mate in the spring, and lay from five to ten eggs. Sometimes these are found on the bare ground, and sometimes on a rude kind of nest, made of moss and a little heather. The nest is generally placed in a sheltered position. Both male and female birds attend to the young; and guard them as well as they can against their numerous enemies, in the shape of vermin, and birds of prey.

The habits of the red grouse display a strong feeling for domestication, and are not nearly of so wild a nature as some other of the grouse family. They have occasionally been entirely tamed. A gentleman in Ireland had two braces of birds for several seasons so domesticated that he used to take them into his parlour, where they played with his setter dogs.

They are often found descending from the moors and locating in the vicinity of corn-fields, and shelter themselves among the stubble, both of barley and oats. In most severe winters when pressed for food, they will leave the hills and visit the cultivated grounds, and will even be found occasionally sitting perched on the tops of the dwellings there.

The red grouse differ in numbers and in size according to the season: they increase in size and fullness of feather until November. They delight in fine sunny days, and revel in the luxury of a dry atmosphere. The time of the year has considerable influence on their habits and movements. Frosty weather is favourable for their capture, as they seem then very torpid and lifeless. Wet and windy weather is not favourable to the shooter, because at such times the birds leave the high grounds, and seek out sheltered spots in some comparatively dry and secluded localities.

In rising, grouse almost take a perpendicular direction, and then go in a straight line at an elevation of ten or twelve yards. The exact moment to fire is when they are just about to change from the perpendicular to the rectilinear direction. There is a sort of pause in their flight, which is favourable to the sportsman. A fine sunshiny day, from about eight till five in August and September, and from eleven to three at the later period of the season, is ideal for grouse shooting.

The red grouse require No. 1, 2 or 3 shot [see my previous post on the subject of shots], in the largest single gun one can possibly manage; or, what is better, a good stout double gun.


The White Grouse or the Ptarmigan is partial to high and lofty grounds, and can brave the most intense cold. In Britain it is chiefly found in the Highlands of Scotland, in the Hebrides and Orkney island, and occasionally in the more elevated localities of Cumberland and Wales.

Its plumage is admirably and singularly fitted to the general appearance of the grounds it frequents. They change colour depending on the season and, for example, have white, thick and downy plumage in winter, perfectly blending with snow-covered surroundings.

These birds mate at the same period as the ordinary grouse. The female lays eight or ten eggs, which are white spotted with brown. There is no form of nest prepared: they are laid on the bare ground. In winter they congregate in flocks; and they are so little accustomed to the devices of the fowler, that they suffer themselves to be easily taken either with snare or gun.

They feed on the wild and rough productions of the hills, which impart a bitter taste to their flesh, though it is not by any means unpalatable; it is of dark colour, and somewhat of the taste of the hare.

The great moor tracts in Scotland are the chief places for finding an abundance of sport; the whole country, with the exception of a few miles of cultivated land, is one immense moor, broken into artificial divisions by high and lofty mountains, covered at their summits, in some instances, with eternal snows. This is the sportsman’s land of promise – the land flowing with “the milk and honey” of his amusement.

Taken from “Shooting” by Robert Blakey
Illustrations by Archibald Thorburn, WikiGallery

Farida Mestek is the author of “Margaret's Rematch”, “A Secret Arrangement” and “Lord Darlington's Fancy” - romantic stories set against the backdrop of Regency England. You can learn more about her books and link to her previous posts on the subject of sport at her blog.

From "The Art of English Shooting"

by Farida Mestek

I think it was as long ago as September that I had an idea for a Regency-set story with a shooting party in its centre. With that in mind I plunged myself into research and practically gobbled the first two books on the subject that I found. However, then things began to slow down and the shooting party idea started gradually drifting away from me. Personally, I blame the book I got stuck reading. It is called simply “Shooting” and provides very detailed information about a lot of aspects of the sport but, unlike the previous books, I find it very difficult to read and I have this annoying habit of not starting a new book unless I finished the old one.

However, on present occasion, I had to take a break from this habit and this book in order to do a blog post and so I took up another – “The Art of English Shooting” by George Eddie, Gent.. It's an old book with “s” looking like “f” but it has many advantages: it's very short (about 40 pages), understandable despite the old-fashioned language, concise but at the same time informative. And it provided me with just the kind of information that I need to know in order to imagine my main heroes before, during and after the day's sport in some detail. I think that it is important to understand the mechanics even if you're not going to use them in your story and today, I'm going to present to your attention some of the points that I found useful. For one, I think that it is very important for any young sportsman to know exactly how to check the gun and see if it's any good:

The internal goodness of a Piece (gun) can only be known by trial, without which no new one should be purchased. For the purpose of trying a gun, the following hints may suffice: tack a large sheet of brown paper, with a card in the middle, on a clean barn-door, or some such place, that the degree of scattering may be the better observed; stand at about the distance of seventy yards, and try at first the common charge of a pipe of powder, and a pipe and half of shot; and, to do the gun justice, be as steady as possible in your aim: if you find you have thrown any at this distance into the card, you may safely conclude the Piece is a good one; or if you have missed the card, perhaps through unsteadiness, and thrown a tolerable sprinkling into the sheet, you may have the same good opinion of the gun; but if you find none in the sheet, and are sensible of having shot steady, try then an equal quantity of powder and shot (which some barrels are found to carry best) at the same distance; and if you then miss giving the sheet a tolerable sprinkling, refuse the Piece, as being but an indifferent one, if you are determined to have one of the best sort, which certainly is most advisable: and this trial may be reckoned altogether sufficient for a gun that is recommended by any gunsmith as a first-rate one.

I can almost see it. I think it would make a fine background for a scene between friends or brothers – a kind of a bonding moment at the gunsmith's where one can advise or instruct the other or they might just have a friendly debate over which gun is better or some such. Another important thing that every sportsman, especially a new one, should learn is how to look after one's gun once it is purchased:

… it is necessary the inside of the barrel, the touch-hole, and the lock be kept clean; and the springs and moving parts of the lock properly oiled. The barrel should be washed at least after every eighteen or twenty fires, where the best sort of powder is used; but if the gunpowder is an inferior sort, then the barrel will require the oftener washing. The best method of washing a barrel is by taking out the britch-pin; but as this can seldom be conveniently done, take the barrel out of the stock, and put the britch-end into a pail of warm water, leaving the touch-hole open; then, with an iron rod, with tow or a bit of linen rag at the end, draw up and down in the syringe manner, till it is quite clean; changing the water, and rinsing the inside, as the foulness requires: when the barrel is perfectly clean, its inside must be dried by tow or linen rag; and when this is done, it will be proper to put it in a red-hot iron, of six or eight inches in length, (which any blacksmith will furnish,) and move it up and down to dry any remaining damp: the outside of the barrel should be well dried, and a little oil rubbed over every time of cleaning.

I don't know if anyone (but me) finds these facts interesting or useful, but I think that there is something fascinating about the subject. I can certainly hope to be able to use this information in my books, because then I will finally be able to take my male characters out and into the fields for a change of scene. I would definitely recommend “The Art of English Shooting” for everyone who wants to know about the subject but doesn't have a lot of time to spend in perusal of bigger volumes. There are many other things, but I will write about some of them next month :-))


Farida Mestek is the author of “Margaret's Rematch” (newly edited and with a gorgeous new cover), “A Secret Arrangement” and “Lord Darlington's Fancy” - romantic stories set against the backdrop of Regency England. You can learn more about her books at her blog Regency Sketches.

From the “Hints to Grown Sportsmen”

Believe it or not but I'm still on the subject of shooting and I'm quite determined to remain here until I know my way. At the moment I'm wading through a thicket of birds (there are so many of them – so many I've never even heard of!) one can shoot during the season but I'm not at all ready to talk about them just yet. That's why I'm turning back to my earlier notes that deal with bringing them down and disposing of them in a proper way. It sounds awfully bloodthirsty and cruel and I keep my sensibilities locked away so that they don't stand in the way of my research.

I've mentioned in one of my previous posts that “Hints to Grown Sportsmen” is a curious little book, because it's written as a series of chats between friends during the actual sport, where an accomplished sportsman instructs his less accomplished friends in the art of shooting. Here is one such example:

- Look at these broken stones – the birds sit there in general, and are hardly perceptible from their similarity of colour. You may pass them many times without being aware of it. Let us hunt the soft moss upon this bare and bleak-looking hill. Now see, the dogs are quite desponding, and never having found game in such a place, barely hunt. Are you satisfied?

- Indeed I am! Let us return.

- No; we cannot go back without finding one covey. Let us try that cairn, and place our men so, that if we do find any, they may mark them. Look, our attendant to the left is making signs, they are wild as hawks. They are up – we shall find them with difficulty. Up again!

- Did I do right to fire?

- Perfectly; you might have killed – and you have, too! See, the bird you shot is falling at the turn of the hill, and a leading bird too! Now we shall get them – let us make the most of the covey.

- I think I counted six brace and a half; we have five brace, and two are gone out of bounds. I have a mind to have a brace of these preserved; how shall I carry them?

- Smooth their feathers, and lay them in your handkerchief, roll it up carefully, taking care there is no blood; now a little heather over and under, I think will do.

The next bit is probably my favourite part, because it allows us to penetrate into the thoughts and feelings of a sportsman after a day of sport:

Let us send our men home, and spend the end of this lovely day by ourselves. I confess I feel a sort of annoyance at travelling all day with a servant behind; and I cannot help looking back with some pleasure to those times, when all my little arrangements were begun and completed without assistance. The dogs seemed more under my own control when let out of the kennel by their master, and each partridge, as it went into the pocket, had an individual value – (here, with the quantity we bring home, we cannot be so independent,) – and this, I think, gives a great zest to those days when we start late after rain, and can only try for an old black cock, or endeavour to get within distance of a buck. On these occasions how delightful is it to make the gun but a sort of excuse for our wandering, and, seated, upon one of the rocks in the wildest spot to be found, ponder over auld lang syne; the company we are in, the weather, the wildness of the scene, can make a moderate bag all that we desire… See, the snow falls in clouds, home we must go; the dogs are frozen. How we cling to that we like, when the thing itself – nay, even the capability of enjoying it, is no more! Many, many will be the recollections we shall experience of this our trip!

Ah! Nice, isn't it?

Farida Mestek is the author of “Margaret's Rematch” (newly edited and with a gorgeous new cover), “A Secret Arrangement” and “Lord Darlington's Fancy” - romantic stories set against the backdrop of Regency England. You can learn more about her books at her blog Regency Sketches.

The Question of What Is Sport and Some General Bits of Advice

In today’s post on the subject of fowling I’m going to rely on the same authors whose ideas and opinions I referenced and used in my previous one.

I’m going to start with Robert Blakely, the author of “Shooting: A Manual of Practical Information On This Branch Of British Field Sports”, who in his book on the subject gives what he believes is the most accurate definition of sport (which I find fascinating) and shares his opinion on what sport is not.

The birds are in many cases collected together in considerable quantities, which go under the name of batteaux, where they serve for gala days of sport to the nobility and gentry. We have ourselves always looked upon these exhibitions with pain, and we conceive them totally opposed in principle to the real spirit of English sports. We never could comprehend a man’s feelings in killing a quantity of game under such circumstances. Sport it certainly is not.

To enjoy and obtain this there must be a given portion of uncertainty and trouble connected with its persecution. If a man could kill all the game of an extensive and well-stocked preserve in an hour, there would be no sport in the case, in the true sense of the word. It would be one of the dullest and most uninteresting acts of life.

But where he has to seek, and to find, and to ramble for miles through a thickly-wooded or moorish country, there is pleasurable excitement produced, and this is the creative and sustaining principle of pure sport, and the true source of all enjoyments which the pursuit of wild animals can confer on man.

It is to wander about; the hopes entertained here, and the fears there; the disappointments met with on the eve of realized advantages, that constitute the current of exhilarating feeling and lively sentiment, which we connect with the healthy and natural indulgence in field sport generally.

It is a bad spirit for a real sportsman to cherish to be always craving for great success, and to be perpetually out of humour both with himself and every one about him, if he does not get his bag sooner and better fitted than all his neighbours and competitors.

There is an exclusive and selfish bitterness lying at the roof of all such trains of thought and the habits they engender; and the best receipt for eradicating this pernicious principle is, to look lightly and carelessly on the sport, and to make it a means, and not an end.



To continue with some general bits of advice on the sport of fowling, I’d like to enlist the assistance of Marmaduke Markwell, Esq., the author of “Advice to Sportsmen, Rural or Metropolitan, Noviciates Or Grown Persons; With Anecdotes Of The Most Renowned Shots Of The Day: Exemplified From Life, etc.” who has a lot to say on the subject, however, he does it with an indecent amount of humour, which makes me think that he is rather making a sport of sportsmen himself and I would not wish to trust his opinion completely. But he does entertain me so!

If you are desirous of becoming noticed, and wish to introduce a description of your kennel, or a particular breed, do it if possible in the language of a gentleman; or should you be at a loss, recollect we have abundance of authors who might furnish you with quotations.

An implicit attention from young sportsmen, to the relation of any field sport by an old shot is absolutely necessary; besides, when it may become your own turn to relate a day’s pastime, you will have an opportunity of running a parallel, and who will dare to doubt it?

Long stories, long shots, and a little of the wonderful are to be expected. In fact, the marvelous is absolutely as necessary for a sportsman as his fowling-piece, else how tedious must many narrations appear, particularly after a dull heavy day’s sport, with indifferent success.

As for the dogs, I would advise to purchase handsome and creditable looking pointers and setters, for appearances are a great recommendation among gentlemen, such being generally noticed by all ranks, however faulty they may be in other respects.

Dogs purchased at the various menageries in and about the metropolis, will be found a doubtful speculation; beside the mortification of having them claimed by some passenger, just as you may be stepping into your chaise or dog-cart for a shooting excursion.

It were as well also for sportsmen to find an easy and a ready way of procuring a few head of game for their friends before they leave town, least the county they happen to sport in should fall short; or by accident they should shoot rather in a hurry, and have little success.

I would recommend Mr-----; he can relieve all their wants, and that at a very moderate rate. Of hares, pheasants, or partridges, he has always an abundant stock, so that gentlemen may anticipate how many head of game they intend to kill for each friend, without the danger of disappointment.

Should you determine on a thorough week’s amusement, you will do well to keep a register of your exploits; books of this description are now universal among good shots, and to be had of any bookseller in town or country.

Should game be scanty where you shoot, you may easily supply appearances, by filling the pockets with mushrooms, sucking pigs, geese, or Dutch pheasants; at any rate make up a load to walk home with, it will look sportsman like.

If you should shoot a head of game by any accident, put it into the net-bag that hangs by your side, it will appear you have had a dashing day’s sport, not having room in your jacket for the last bird you have killed.

Knocking birds down with the butt end of your piece, after having failed in your aim, is a very unsportsman-like act, and not often attended with success. The usual practice of shutting both eyes, for fear of the flash in the pan, is very much against taking a good aim.

To make up a day’s diversion, should a flock of pigeons pass over your head, it will be the extreme of negligence to omit firing into them; gentlemen may shut their eyes on this occasion, and yet be sure of loading themselves.

It will be equally an easy shot if they should fall in with the samebirds, quietly roosting in the thatch of a barn or farm house, there is no occasion to the proprietor or farmer, though he may be looking on; should the wadding set fire to the thatch, you will have an opportunity of running away by the light.

Until next time!

Farida Mestek is the author of “Margaret's Rematch” and “A Secret Arrangement” - romantic stories set against the backdrop of Regency England. You can learn more about her books at her blog Regency Sketches.