I was wondering where I read a question from Gryphon and Anne has helped me find it.

Gryphon

The story from the Gamekeeper was that he had to attend a fox drive in the middle of the day and I needed to return the rifle before he went.

The drive wasn't public or with clients (etc). It was other gamekeepers from neighbouring estates and other farm staff. The purpose - to walk the grouse moors and kill as many foxes and other grouse eating vermin as they could. I think they did it in turns on each others estates and fields.

Your question regarding the use of a .243. He "said" he needed it for the drive. Maybe he just wanted it back before he left the estate. Quite reasonable as he doesn't know me.

On the other hand for the drive there would be no line of shooters and a second line of beaters. Beaters and shooters would be the same line so it would be quite feasible and sensible to have a mixture of guns and rifles. A rifle at each edge of the line would be quite sensible to get anything that tries to flee past the line.

* * * * *

I am going to post an article very soon on a "Hunt Club" of which my Grandfather was a member. Usually a Hunt Club is all talley-ho, red coats, hounds, horses and foxes (or stags). But this was an Australian hunting club that held a shoot on the King's (or Queen's) Birthday holiday weekend each year.

They "drove" the fields and hunted foxes and hares. Numerous rabbits were also shot but there were too many so they didn't count for points. Similar to what I described above.

This club started in the late 1800's and unfortunately ceased in the 1950's or 1960's.