Shooting Tweeds

I am rather old school in my choice of shooting cloths , clearly if you are going out to kill something you must wear a tie and plus 2s or 4s but further than that I think anything goes. I still think of those group photos of Scottish Shooting parties with assembled keepers and guns - it was always easy to see who was who because the guns were the scruffy ones. I think that it is still an excellent idea for the staff to wear an estate suit but it is definately not a requirement for the guns.

I think that every one, at some stage, should invest in a really well engineered shooting suit ( made with plenty of room for expansion ) and then the jacket can be worn to smart lunches for evermore - if you wish. The trousers will take a beating on wet and/or stalking days and last for a few years but the jacket will go on forever. Then top up your wardrobe with plus 2/4s to taste ( these seem to get louder as the the years progress ) and perhaps other items. In my experience a cashmere, or my preference- warmer still - a camel hair jumper, is always acceptable at lunch so your one expensive jacket will really see you out.

To sustain your wardrobe I offer you some Teviotex mid weight tweeds woven 25miles away from me in Hawick, I have several nice cloths in stock in patterns that will not be repeated which I think is the other requirement.

I try to keep a selection of well cut waistcoats and plus 2s in stock in two patterns which I call traditional and modern. We will get about 10 items out of the tweeds shown , then we will replace it with a different cloth.

These tweeds are shown in the photos so I wont try to describe them but the sandy with green and lilac stripes is the modern one( very nice ).

The WAISTCOAT is a great shooting garment and it doesnt need to be fitted exactly, so off the peg is fine and mine are made to my own pattern - very deep pockets - 40 squibbs aside - well lined with a zipped key & money pocket which is cut lowish on the left so it doesnt get in the way of the mount.The waistcoat is finished with 3 large proper staghorn buttons from Perthshire! The shoulder pad is in a quiet matching colour made from suede which will allow the butt to slide nicely.

The PLUS 2'S are nice and roomy and lined, the mid weight cloth allows them to hang properly and they fit on the calf with a leather strap and buckle. I think they are very comfortable and really well cut. I suppose that we should expect this, as both trousers and waiscoat are made in Leeds by the tailor who makes the Sandringham suits.

We try to keep a small selection of sizes in both tweeds in stock, but we can have made any size you require.We also have a selection of other tweeds to make to order - please ask.

Tweed Waistcoat - £130 plus Vat
Tweed plus 2's - £120 plus Vat

Tweed Caps

We stock tweed caps made by the old established firm of Haggarts of Aberfeldy; we have four styles. The caps are well made and will last, they are made from finest traditional scottish tweed in 3 different patterns. We also have a baseball cap, made from tweed; I have been known to wear one myself - but I have to admit only when sea trout fishing at night!

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The four styles.

The TRADITIONAL cap, made with a very deep back so that it stays on even in the stongest wind. The peak is sewn to the body of the cap.

The BUGGATI cap has a fold down back/earflaps. This cap is great for cold days and for the deerstalker as apart from the obvious advantage that when closed under the chin - it wont come off; when the flaps are up it is the warmest cap possible as there are two layers of tweed keeping your head warm. Excellent for walking the dogs when you would rather be in front of the fire.

The BOND cap is becoming very popular with the smart shooter. It has a slightly larger peak than the Traditional cap and the cap is cut in a different way allowing the cap the fit snuggly on the head.

The BASEBALL cap has its followers and this is a very well made example , it comes in one size which adjusts to fit . It is the most expensive of all the caps as its construction is quite complicated, it is made from 6 separate segments of best tweed and lined with the same heavyweight lining used with all of these fine caps.Same choice of 3 tweeds as in the other caps. We do have other patterns available of which I can send you photos or the actual cap.

We try to keep all sizes from 6 7/8" to the largest size in all three tweeds and we are happy to send any cap on approval as clearly you must try it on first.