Greedy Hunter
In his lifetime Lord Ripon of England (1852-1923) killed 556,813 head of game. Even assuming he’d shot for six days a week during every season from the time he was 15, it would have meant killing an average of 67 creatures every day. Among his records: A stopwatch clocked him as he shot 28 pheasant in 60 seconds. He also brought down 575 grouse in one day, killed 52 partridge with 50 shots and nailed 115 pheasant in 10 minutes. During off-season he practiced on bumblebees and butterflies. He seemed obsessed with a compulsion to kill, even when the carcasses were wasted. Each season Ripon himself used 30,000 cases of bullets and a ton of shot. His manners on the field were notoriously despotic. He always insisted on the best positions, often fudged on boundary lines and was not above putting a few pellets in the legs of his sluggish hired help. Every year he printed a score card which totaled all the game he’d downed and mailed it to all his acquaintances. On the day of his death he downed 53 grouse.