Shooting at Highclere [Downton Abbey] is reviewed in the book, "The Great Shoots",by Brian P Martin,on pages 155-162. We learn that Lord Porchester, heir to lord Carnarvon, ran the shoot in the 1984-5 season and that he used a pair of Purdeys with pistol grips and 30 inch barrels,also that he was a very fine shot. It is unlikely that these family guns would be used as props in the production Downton Abbey.

Roy Hebbes