Fin2 the idea behind the concept is the shooting of young rooks known as 'Branchers'. The traditional day being 12th. May. Rooks, unlike crows, nest communally in Rookeries; noisey places in springtime. The young rooks are eaten in Rook Pie; the nursery rhyme that referes to 'four and twenty black birds baked in a pie' is with reference to rook pie. Dickens' Pickwick Papers gives a brilliant description of a rook shoot.
With the high angle of fire, and the fact that dear old England is a bit crowded, the concept is to use a heavy bullet at low velocity so that it kills the rook but if missed doesn't go far to cause any damage. Rook shoots are now quite a thing of the past and rarely indulged in. Most rook rifles are single barrel and of various qualities ranging from quite good to superb; I know of at least one double rook rifle made by Holland & Holland in .300 calibre. Power is something like a low velocity pistol round. They are now highly collectable but can still be had for a price much below what a new one would cost. As ammunition became scarce a lot were either bored to .410 shotgun or re-tubed to .22rf. calibre. I have one that has been re-tubed to .32 S&W calibre as well as .410 versions and some original ones including a side by side .300/.410 version. Look out for them and if you find one that is not too expensive then get it. The little single Holland & Holland ones are highly desirable. Lagopu.....
