The Glorious Twelth

[Sporrns]

August 12th, the beginning of the driven grouse season in Great Britain - exactly where I should be, kicking back with "Elevenses" with a wee dram and a fine cigar. Instead, I'm humping my lawn tractor through "grass grown wild" after 7 weeks of every-other-day rain and temperatures in the 90s! Had to rebuild the carb on my weedwhacker to help stem the tide. COVID 19 mania hasn't helped either. Thank God we had Rock Mountain!! When does dove season open again?? Kevin

[Stan Hillis]

First Saturday in September, here in Jawja.

23.65 days away, approximately ....................

SRH

[vaturkey]

You look rather chummy in that pic Kevin. That would be a fun place to be shooting a matched pair of Fox XEs.

[snakeeater]

Perhaps we can do that when you pick up your piece . Cheers Old Friend.

[eightbore]

Kevin would surely shoot his Holland and Holland on his next Scottish trip, not one of his many XE Foxes. A bottle of overpriced vintage port, maybe Cockburn's, Crabbie's ginger beer, and Famous Grouse. It makes me want a drink, at 8:55 AM on a Sunday morning.

[Sporrns]

Bill, on my first trip over for driven birds, I took two of your favorites - my c. 1953 Grade V Browning Superposed 12 ga. and its "cousin"", my c. 1959 Pointer Grade Superposed 2-bbl. set. I shot both well, but took unmitigated flak from the ghillaes: "If God had wanted you to shoot an O/U on driven birds, He'd have put one of your eyes over the other, instead of side-by-side." Is gutted it out and earned their respect by shooting well.

By the time I had the opportunity to go back on the second trip two years later, I had acquired my 1891 Holland & Holland Royal Grade, a 2 1/2" gun with 30 inch barrels, bored CYL right and 'Light' MOD left. Obviously a purpose built gun for driven shooting and I shot it well the entire trip. When I first slid it out of its gunslip the first morning as we loaded cartridge bags, my ghillae (the same one who gave me grief before about using an O/U) said, "Aye now, THAT's a proper driven gun; saves you from lying down sideways to address your muzzles!". Many great days afield and not-so-wee drams of single malt later, were in complete accord.

If I go again, the X/DE custom Fox will definitely go with me. And just for the record, the Famous Grouse cut with Crabbe's Ginger Cider wine was the best at "Elevenses' after the first or second drive each day, but the 21-year old Springbank 'sneaked" to us shot-by shot by our American-loving night bartender was truly the nectar of the gods. Kevin

[eightbore]

Springbank 21 may be a great scotch but the bottle on the left in your snapshot is obviously a Port bottle, probably a Cockburn. I'll have to look up the Springbank.