HIGH PHEASANTS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. By Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey, Bart.

(1913) 1976 reprint. 8vo (157 x 220mm). Ppvi,79. B/w line drawings. Maroon cloth, spine titled in gilt.

This is the 1976 reprint of the 1970 Richmond facsimile edition of the 1913 edition issued by Longmans, Green, and Co, London. "First published in its present form in 1913, High Pheasants in Theory and Practice was, and probably still is, the last word on the subject. By the time Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey reduced the results of his experiments to print, the 'blood and feathers' school of shooters of the 1890s had been succeeded by those to whom the killing of the really high bird in really difficult conditions gave far greater satisfaction than big figures in the game book. The author was not only one of the finest shots of his generation but, like Hawker, he could also express himself in print. The series of experiments tells us just what the pre-1914 shotgun (with which many of us still shoot) could do using the powders of the day. Doubtless modern powders would produce somewhat different results but there is no doubt that the overall conclusions must certainly be the same."