KING’S GUNS AND RODS

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1680, 31 October 1925, Page 7

KING’S GUNS AND RODS

The King, like all good sportsmen, has his own ideas about guns and rods. His predilections are the result of long experience, and he cares not for the fashions of the moment, but adheres to types and patterns which time has proved the best from his personal standpoint, says the Evening Standard. Thus, with regard to his guns, the King has never taken to the most modern form of gun at all; he still uses the old-fashioned hammer action. And since a good gun has a fair century of life, if not longer ,it is not often that the holders of the Royal warrant for guns receive an order from the palace. When an order is given for a new gun, it takes about a year to fulfil. No fewer than a hundred skilled workmen are employed on it, each man making a single part. It costs 130 guineas, and is known as the Royal Crown, a device which is inlaid in gold upon the lever.

The guns used by the King are of uniform Aveight; they do not vary by an ounce. Six and a half pounds just suits His Majesty with a barrel length of 301 inches and a stock of 141 inches. Older men like a somewhat shorter stock. They frequently also have a barrel 2 inches shorter than CroAvn standard, to save weight. Very great care is taken in the boring of the King’s guns. The right barrel is bored so that it spreads the shot wide. Being the first discharged it thus brings a Avide effective range on the rising birds. The second barrel is bored so that the shot is not scattered, but concentrated —thus accounting for birds at a greater distance effectively. 'With regard to fishing rods—the King is a keen fisherman—the Royal taste is again on the conservative side. Up to a feAv years ago greenheart rods were considered the last Avord. But the greenheart had several defects, notably, its Aveight and proneness to break under severe strain. Since then the split-cane rod has more than come into its OAvn. It is a Avonderful piece of craftsmanship, being composed of no feAver than 12 spliced pieces of cane bound together with silk every inch of its length. The King has several 12ft. greenheart salmon rods, which have done long service by the waters of the Dee. But such rods, after a day’s sport leave the wrist of the angler tired. Therefore the King has added to his fishing gear several fine split-cane rods. These rods, so slender and fragile looking as to seem utterly unfitted for a tussle Avith a sporty salmon, or even a trout, are amazingly strong. The average weight of a split-cane

trout rod is about 40z., but the King possesses a trout rod which weighs just 210z —a perfect marvel of strength allied to grace. The chief characteristics of both the Royal guns and the Royal fishing rods is absence of extravagant ornamentation. What the King likes is something perfectly adapted to its task, and feAV men, where sporting gear is concerned, are better judges.