THE IMPERFECT SHOT: SHOOTING EXCUSES, GAFFES AND BLUNDERS. By J.C. Jeremy Hobson. Illustrations by Oliver Preston.

(2015) later reprint. 4to (195 x 252mm). Pp152. Colour illustrations by Oliver Preston, bibliography. Cream cloth, spine titled in gilt.

Ex-gamekeeper, sporting author and all-round countryman Jeremy Hobson gives us the benefit of those experiences usually best forgotten. "Experiences, faux pas and misdemeanours in the shooting field with anecdotes and tales of many light-hearted incidents from throughout the world [and] some novel excuses for pickers-up who have failed to find their quarry. During the author's years as a gamekeeper, it was often necessary to think on the hoof and deliver a plausible reason as to why a particular drive didn't go exactly as it should. ...'I've never heard that one before... how did you think that one up?' ...'The Gamekeeper's Book of Excuses... page 58'." Chapters include: Shooting days and some guns' ways; Gamekeeping gaffes and beaters' blunders; Making a meal of it; Rough and ready; It's a dog's life; Wardrobe malfunction; In the news; Tales told over lunch.