Pottering about with a dog and a gun is a fascination all of its own. Many a keen Shot has been introduced to the sport in the school holidays when a spectacular success with a .410, the first duck or pheasant or, better still, the first woodcock, made an indelible impression. Even in one’s advanced years it is possible to find satisfaction in rough shooting as an alternative to the more formal stuff.
According to one dictionary, to potter is “to work in feeble or desultory manner”, but this in no way reflects the activity involved, or the energy and willpower the rough shooter has to expend in pursuit of his aims. Of disappointments there are plenty: a temporary lack
