The Field

Quick, quick – slow

YOUTHFUL ambition was frustrated. I didn’t want Monty’s firepower at the second battle of El Alamein, not least because there weren’t the duck to warrant 529,000 shells in 5½ hours. But I did want the chance to fire two shots rapidly and for years that remained only an ambition.

Most guns came single-barrelled to boys then, partly because they were cheap and partly because our elders considered we should learn to kill with one cartridge, which wasn’t entirely erroneous. So my first gun was a rather horrid folding Belgian .410 hammergun, which I loved as if

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Field

The Field1 min read
The Field’s Almanac
Did you know? May is named after the Roman goddess Maia, who oversaw the growth of plants. ♦ Among the many superstitions associated with May Day was the belief that washing one’s face with the dew on the morning of 1 May would beautify the skin and
The Field1 min read
Introducing…
Ed Wills has been the deputy editor of The Field since 2021. He caught his first fish at the age of three, sparking a lifelong interest in the countryside and its pursuits. Aside from a deep passion for fishing, shooting and stalking, he is a great s
The Field2 min read
The Painswick
THE MONTH of May often heralds a sporting pilgrimage, whether it is towards Gloucestershire for Badminton or south for the trout. However, finding somewhere decent to stay on route can be a challenge. I’m a great believer in trying to make the journe

Related Books & Audiobooks