Husband’s ashes used for shotgun cartridges

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 02/16/2004 | Auslan Cramb

[dighton]

The widow of an expert on vintage shotguns had her husband’s ashes loaded into cartridges and used by friends for the last shoot of the season.

Joanna Booth organised the shoot for 20 close friends on an estate in Aberdeenshire after asking a cartridge company to mix the ashes of her husband James with traditional shot.

A total of 275 12-bore cartridges were produced from the mix and were blessed by a minister before they were used to bag pheasants, partridges, ducks and a fox on Brucklay Estate.

Mrs Booth, of Streatham, south London, said it was a marvellous day out and her husband would have loved it. “It was not his dying wish, but I remembered that he had read somewhere that someone had had their ashes loaded into cartridges and he thought it was very funny.

“One of our friends, a woman who had never shot before, got four partridges with James’s marked cartridges.”

Mr Booth, an independent sporting and vintage gun specialist for Sotheby’s in London, died two years ago, aged 50, after 18 months in a coma following severe food poisoning.

Julian McHardy, of the Caledonian Cartridge Company in Brechin, Angus, said it was the first request he had received to put ashes in shotgun cartridges. “He was loaded in our Caledonian Classic, a 28 gramme load, No 6 shot with degradable plastic wadding.”

Before the first drive, the cartridges were blessed by the Rev Alistair Donald, the Church of Scotland minister from the nearby village of New Deer, who said he had no qualms. “It was a perfectly normal scattering of ashes, a few words and prayers. After all, he had a lifelong interest in ballistics.”

The special cartridges accounted for 70 partridges, 23 pheasants, seven ducks and a fox on Jan 31.

[Myrddin]

A fitting way to go. My dad's ashes were carried out to sea on a Navy patrol gunboat hydrofoil that was built as a result of his efforts at the Pentagon.

[TheMom]

Here is an idea for a future shoot.

[Squantos]

18 months in a coma following severe food poisoning. ............? And now the wife wants to shoot him after his "last supper"....? Ain't love grand ......this is clearly one of those feel good stories. Kinda like Schindlers List.

Hope the Eaker Clan is well !.......Stay safe !

[dbwz]

Well there's an interesting option...

[aculeus]

Nice shooting, Mrs Booth.

[thackney]

A total of 275 12-bore cartridges were produced from the mix and were blessed by a minister before they were used to bag pheasants, partridges, ducks and a fox on Brucklay Estate.

A 275 gun salute and still managed to bring home the dinner after he was dead. What a man...

[Sam Cree]

This sounds familiar...

[Celantro]

A good buddy of mine wants his ashes shot out of a canon on the grounds of Fort Ticonderoga during a Rev War reenactment. I think he expects me to fire the canon. He's not in very good shape. I'd better get the details straight.

[basil]

Yeah--it is interesting. I can't make my mind up about it, though.

[76834]

Could have been worse.
What if she had him ground up and turned into "Catfish Charlie"??

[ReagansShinyHair]

Ew. What if there are remnants of his ashes stuck in the food? Who would sprinkle a dead person's ashes on their food and then eat it? Just gross.

[76834]

Ew. What if there are remnants of his ashes stuck in the food? Who would sprinkle a dead person's ashes on their food and then eat it? Just gross.

Yuck.............

[Johnny_Cipher]

Somehow I doubt that prions would survive the incineration process

In tests, prions have survived sterilization with alcohol, radiation, and even autoclaving of surgical tools and equipment. Nasty li'l buggers.

[osagebowman]

Sam; indeed it does-gmta.

[RikaStrom]

Here is an idea for a future shoot.

Who are we offering up as the vict ... er... dearly departed?

[cyborg]

Well let's ask a prion what it thinks!

[katz]

Good for her. I've always thought of being put into fireworks. My funeral would be a boat party with fireworks to celebrate a great life. In the end, a burial at sea.

[Johnny_Cipher]

They're a protein - they CAN'T think!

(No offense)

:)

[pax_et_bonum]

Here is an idea for a future shoot.

So, do we draw straws or what?

:)

[prion]

No, Mister Smarty Pants, we don't think. But we hang out in other people's brains.

Until they...ummm...go mad. And die.