Balls and baubles

Some 150 years ago, the shotguns that were putting a partridge or two in the pot for supper were using black powder explosive. It powered everything from the highwayman’s pistol to the Navy’s cannon. The flintlock-spark ignition system, with a cloud of smoke right in front of your face, was disappearing in favour of an explosive percussion cap that was much more reliable and didn’t pack up in the rain.

Some shooters were still using muzzle-loading guns, where everything was stuffed down the barrel at the ‘dangerous end’ using the loading rod. The days of the modern cartridge were some way off. Open the gun, pop in a cartridge, close the gun and pull the trigger was for the future.

So if our enthusiastic shooter wanted to practise, what did they do? Well, the same thought process might occur today; find a mate to throw something high into the air and have a