I’ll admit it, sometimes I like to wander around the woods, put some miles under my boots, wear the dogs down `til their tongues are dragging and have a game bag full of the daily limit of upland birds enough to make my back ache. But those “sometimes” are becoming fewer and fewer as having children became a game changer.

As is often the case with a significant “first” in anyone’s life I can clearly remember my first interview at James Purdey & Sons.

I had taken my school exams back in the summer and the task of choosing a career had begun. My parents had arranged my very first ever job interview a week before the Christmas of 1969 with Mr. Chris Gadsby, Factory Manager at James Purdey & Sons Best London Gunmakers.

In 2009, my favorite shotgun dealer at the time had talked me into buying a beautiful 12-gauge sporter with 34-inch barrels – a big stretch from the 30-inch clays guns that had become my standard bearer. I distinctly remember him saying “Everyone is moving to longer barrels.” Within months, I still couldn’t master the gun and actually felt self-conscious seeing it tower over other clays guns with barrels that hovered around 30 inches. End of story is that I traded it back to him in a deal for a 12-gauge semi-auto.

Instinctive shooting is perfection in motion for the upland hunter. Hard focus on the flushed bird, an unwavering swing of your shotgun, and upon feeling the stock touch your cheek pull the trigger to experience the instant gratification of your downed quarry. In the end, instinctive refers to your innate ability to subconsciously calculate the forward allowance and essentially rely on the pull-trigger signal from your eyes without your mind performing the mathematical gymnastics that would normally muck up the shot.