2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Gentlman's Guide to Wing Shooting, March 6, 2008
This review is from: Shooting Man's Creed, A (Hardcover)
I enjoy wing-shooting. Not everyone, of course, sees it the same way. Some see it as a birthright to roam the free ranges of earlier American wilderness life. Some see it as pagan ritual. Some see it as a landholder's duty from ancient European traditions of aristocracy.
I am somewhere in the eclectic, and I like to think MODERN but classically liberal, middle. Like Joseph Nickerson, I see it as a sport to be shared, an act of preservation on behalf of rare and lovely species, which are the prize of wing shooters.
Like it or not, no one else but the shooter is going to preserve these wonderful birds. In the real world of today, general natural preservation has no hope of sustaining these delicate beings. Free ranging in the meantime is a bygone dream which will never again be seen in human history on Earth, barring a complete natural renovation of the earth.
Having considered various styles and approaches to the matter, I am concluded that raising the birds and harvesting them on licensed private land holdings is the only affordable and effective way to preserve the natural beauty of the species, and at the same time avoid the inherent "Tragedy of the Commons." This book is not a polemic on the issues, but it provides data to think it all over.
The Shooting Man's Creed is written by an English gentleman. We cannot all be an English gentleman, but we can choose to be gentlemen just the same. I make that choice for myself and choose to model my shooting style and taste on the European model. Accordingly, I side with the private land approach, coupled with an insistence that the birds should only be harvested for the superior food they provide and for the sake of the flock and species.
I just don't feel any need to apologize for making a gourmet meal from a well raised, corn-fed wild pheasant or grouse in lieu of roasting a Purdue family factory fed and slaughtered chicken or turkey.
This book is not a definitive statement of any of this, but I believe it sets the right tone, if the reader can avoid an overly literal reading and use the general sensibilities of Sir Nickerson as a start to think about the broader issues.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting view of British Shooting, but not hunting, December 27, 2006
Nickerson writes as though he is speaking to fellow aristocrat, offering advice in pursuing the sport of shooting. The vast majority of the shooting in this book involves driven shoots where gentlemen stand in their assigned position (with an assitant to load the guns) while "beaters" move through the woods in front of the guns driving the birds over them. For the North American reader much of this appears grossly unsportsmanlike. Advice such as "it is wise to pack your vehicle....the night before unless you have a man whom you can trust to do this for you" is found regularly. The shooter replete with a staff of servants is assumed. Also special considerations should you invite members of the royal family are outlined. The is an interesting look at the British upperclass and does include sound shooting advice but is not really a hunting book. In fairness, it never claims to be. Afterall, the title is "A SHOOTING Man's Creed"
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
