Q. Two years ago I purchased a pair of Beretta shotguns which are ‘over and under’. In the shooting field this caused others to peer suspiciously down their noses at my gleaming new barrels. Generally it is only acceptable to arrive at a shoot with antique guns and when asked about your weapons’ provenance to remark that ‘they were made for grandfather in 1906 when we had our estate in Norfolk’. With my Purdeys consigned to the safe I quickly got used to the modern comforts of the Spanish guns which shoot fast and accurately with no recoil. To make them blend in better I had the shiny stocks changed to English walnut and the gold triggers changed to faded silver and then the family crest engraved into a gilded oval in the stocks. Even after these changes my fellow shooters still glance suspiciously at my arsenal. What can I say to make my companions more at home with my new weapons? Should I travel to each shoot by horse and carriage, thus showing some sort of attempt to provide a reference with a bygone era?
Name and address withheld
A.
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