Ep. 35 - Driven Grouse Shooting

Episode 35 of the Rigby Campfire podcast comes to you from the heart of the action, recorded in a grouse butt in the south of Scotland as award-winning engraver and dear friend of Rigby Karen Wallace loads for Marc Newton.Two and a half days into a fantastic week on the moors, Karen shares the story of her journey from goldsmith to gun engraver, including the rather memorable mishap that marked her first engraving job. She and Marc discuss the challenge of carving steel, the relationship between beauty and function, and the work that earned Karen the prestigious Jacques Cartier Award for Excellence at the 2023 Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship and Design Awards.The winning piece was a meticulously carved steel scroll magazine floor plate for a Rigby bolt-action rifle. It was the first time the award had been presented for a piece made from neither gold nor silver, and the first gun-engraving entry to receive the honour.Believed to be the first podcast recorded in a grouse butt during the season, the episode also captures the atmosphere of a day on the moor, with exciting flushes, fast, wild birds flying overhead and the lightning-fast reactions they demand.