Synopsis
Shooting: A Poem; Comprising A General Description Of Field Sports, Dependant On The Gun. Game; Their Respective Histories, Haunts, And Habits. Dogs; Their Varieties, Uses, Diseases, And Cures. Game Laws, So Far As They Affect The Shooter, Briefly Considered by Alexander Webber. This long, playful didactic poem presents shooting as a comprehensive guide to field sports and the gun. Framed as a youth-oriented address, it interweaves practical instruction with verse, prefacing with occasional errata and a prefatory note, and then detailing the gun, ammunition, and maintenance; the social code of the sport, and the law surrounding game-keeping. It surveys the tools of the trade: stock woods, percussion and cap locks, tubes, wads, charges, and how to test power; it advocates first-rate gear and careful handling to avoid accidents. It then moves to dogs—setters, pointers, springers, spaniels, terriers—and to their breeding, training, and use in hunting various game. It covers game species such as partridge, grouse, woodcock, snipe, hare, rabbit, quail, pheasant, and grouse; and explains the British game laws, licenses, seasons, and penalties. Throughout, the verse emphasizes health, temperance, ethics, and the joy and companionship of sport.
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