Holkham, Norfolk
The guns would all be British, double-barrel, percussion guns built between 1830-1860.
Some of us who shoot these guns a lot would have struggled with these wild and wily Norfolk birds.
Holkham Country Fair, once a biennial event on the Norfolk calendar, was supported by the Muzzle Loaders Association of Great Britain (MLAGB) for a number of years with a muzzle-loading have-a-go stand. At the final fair in 2019, the Coke family walked out of the house and onto the stand having shot the main clay competition layout earlier.
Thomas Coke, the 8th Earl of Leicester, shot first and convincingly, hitting all his clays with both percussion and flintlock guns. Coke’s son, 16-year-old Edward, not to be outdone by his father, did likewise and his ear-to-ear grin is absolutely why the MLAGB loves doing these have-a-go events. Next up was Tom’s brother, the Hon Rupert Coke, followed by their friends; all shot well. One Association member, Derek Richardson, then remarked that an iconic sporting estate such as
