Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i Shooting Gazette

LONGTHORNE GUNMAKERS said it was “extremely humbled” to have won the ACS Business Innovation award at the SME Northamptonshire Business Awards 2016. “It's fantastic to get some recognition for our investment and efforts as a company in developing and patenting our barrel technology, which they consider to be the future of barrel manufacture, and it will be displayed with great pride," said managing director James Longthorne Stewart. Longthorne Gunmakers moved from its original home in Lancashire to new premises in Northamptonshire back in October 2015.…

How were you introduced to game shooting? “I got chatting to a gamekeeper when I moved to Oxfordshire back in 2000. We had a young yellow labrador from working stock at the time and the gamekeeper invited us all to come along to the shoot and see what it was all about. I was hooked straight away.” How many days do you beat each season? “We beat on around 14 shoot days each season over two shoots in my constituency.” What piece of kit are you never without when beating? “Dog biscuits! I think dogs get a bit tired – we’ve got a black labrador now and a Patterjack terrier and it pays to keep a bit of fuel in one’s pocket. My eight-year-old daughter comes out with us and…

Dear Uncle Giles, I have been on a couple of shoots this season where they weren’t offering birds at the end of the day. I asked for some anyway. Was that OK? WHS, by email Uncle Giles writes Dear oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Not offering a brace of birds at the end of the shooting day? Whatever are things coming to? There must have been some kind of mistake. How can a chap properly tip the keeper if he isn’t being offered a brace of birds in the other hand? Oh dear me, no. This is just so wrong on so many levels. We should always take a brace of birds to eat. It may just be a gesture towards maintaining the hunting element of the…

I am writing to you on behalf of fellow beaters/pickers-up across the country. I would like to know why since April 2016 we have started to be taxed on the money that is given to us for our day on the shoot. For many of us the money we receive does not even cover our expenses. Yes it is a hobby, hence why we are so passionate about what we do, putting time into training our dogs, having suitable vehicles for the environment etc. But these are necessary to do this hobby and the money that we get paid for that day’s work does not come close to covering these expenses through the year, let alone now being taxed on top. Having spoken to the tax office they said the…

THE PURDEY AWARDS JUDGE BERTIE HOSKYNS-ABRAHALL 39, LAND LAWYER What circumstances led to you become a Purdey Awards judge? “My father developed a shoot on the farm where I was brought up and my two brothers and I spent all our spare time trapping and shooting vermin, and planting woods and hedges for wildlife. My dad created five lakes and ponds, and over the first few years of development we recorded a trebling of bird species there. It became obvious to me that shooting and conservation go hand in hand. We entered the then Laurent Perrier Awards and did really well, and I have followed the annual awards with interest ever since. I chose to do a land-management degree followed by a law conversion and became a land lawyer. I…

I’ve hunted all over the world, but home will always remain the top spot for me. The freedom of hunting without a guide, of being on your own, or just hunting with a friend or two in the wilderness can’t be beaten. In terms of where to go in New Zealand, that depends entirely on what game species you are interested in pursuing and whether or not you wish to add a spot of sightseeing or fishing to your adventure. That said, it’s bloody hard to beat the South Island for all its amazing scenery and fantastic hunting opportunities. The Department of Conservation (DOC) is very helpful when it comes to offering advice on which public-access areas hold good animal numbers and also what accommodation exists in the way of public…

“One of the joys of hunting here, beyond the fantastic bird shooting, is the food.” The sun was just barely peeking through the edge of the trees when Chavo, my bird boy, pointed out the shape of a lone bird winging towards us across the cornfield. We both hunched down behind our blind in the hope our quarry would not notice us among the decoys. The massive bird lumbered into range. This was going to be easy, I thought, but by the time I started my swing and fired a load of pellets in the general direction of my first pigeon, it was clear I had seriously misjudged its speed and the difficulty of pigeon shooting. The bird continued unscathed and I heard the voice of Chavo telling me what…

The inventor of the telescopic rifle sight, Col. David Davidson from Haddington, Edinburgh, wrote a book published in 1890 entitled Memories of a Long Life . In this publication he gave a charming account of a visit to James Purdey’s house and shooting ground in the 1840s. “I went to Purdey’s shooting range to which Purdey journeyed almost daily in a sort of omnibus with his assistants, guns and ammunition. He shot and regulated all his rifles himself – he told me he did not think he could live without a whiff of the rifle smoke. A tall, ponderous man, he was like a solid rock behind the sight and his sight, though getting a little long, seemed perfect. He took me to see his house and…

“My chosen wood, which had been quiet all year, was suddenly the focus of roaring chainsaws.” Roost shooting is a form of sport many of us look forward to at the season’s end. We make our way to the hallowed coverts, where the pheasant has reigned under the watchful eye of the keeper for the past few months. Alternatively, we venture to a wood on a farm with no shooting interest, which is favoured by flocks of pigeons as they fly to roost against the evening sun. Anticipation is high as we recall previous good evenings’ sport, and there is an inner buzz as with gun on shoulder you walk into the wood. Surely nothing can go wrong? Over the years even my best-laid plans have on occasion been foiled…

The biggest sin when cooking a pigeon is to overcook it. Roasting can be good but a pigeon is easily dried out and I almost always breast them out and pan-fry – briefly! When I prepare pigeons I remove the wings, put my thumbs into the body cavity and separate the rib cage and breast meat from the rest. As you pull it apart you will also skin it. Then I either take off the breasts to cook or leave them attached to the bone if I am going to freeze them (I think this helps them remain in better condition). This risotto recipe makes a wonderfully warming and tasty supper dish and only takes half an hour or so. With pigeon, keep it pink. Overcooking will dry it out.…

Handling this AYA is an interesting experience. As Bill Elderkin mentions, it is certainly a serious gun for experienced shots. The weight is clearly felt in the front hand, with the point of balance being forward of the hinge pin. This leads to intoxicating characteristics, since the gun moves with the swiftness one would expect of a small bore, but requires real considered effort to shoot in a consistent manner, rewarding a clear outward movement with the front hand for a clean and consistent mount. Being a small bore gun, felt recoil when using standard or light loads is kept to a minimum. It must be said, however, that when using heavier loads you should expect recoil to increase. The same applies with muzzle flip. Generally, however, the AYA No.…

THE BRISTOL and West Working Gundog Society held an open springer spaniel trial at the Badminton Estate by kind permission of The Duke & Duchess of Badminton, writes Helen Fisher. The judges were Dave Anderson and Paul Dyson, and the guns were Andy Fisher, Richard Preest, Simon Jones and Lee Cummins. The trial began in the wooded pen and consisted of heavy, punishing bramble, so the dogs and handlers certainly had their work cut out. They all managed to pick their game even though visual marking conditions weren’t the best due to the height of the brambles, so their gun sense and handling really showed off. Some really good dogs were put out, unfortunately, after long runs because at the crucial point of retrieves they failed to deliver. Just before…

Hemingway's hunting Ernest Hemingway was one of America’s most celebrated 20th century writers with For Whom the Bell Tolls among his most famous works. But, as Alec Marsh discovers, hunting was his real passion. Pigeon therapy February sees the start of roost shooting and Chris Warren explains how a trip to the woods in the evening can help soothe the pain of the end of the game season proper. Top dogs at Windsor HM The Queen hosted a special Four Nations Field Trial at Windsor and was on hand to present the awards on a memorable day for all involved, as Amy Bates reports.…

FIELDSPORTS BRANDS intending to put themselves forward for the 2017 Time Inc. UK Shooting Industry Awards have until February 24 to submit their entries. The categories being judged this year are: New Clothing Product, New Ladies Clothing Product, New Footwear Product, Best Game Cartridge, Best Clay Cartridge, Best Rifle Cartridge, New Gundog Product, New Scope Product, New Binocular, New Shooting Accessory, Best Website, Best UK Gun Shop, Best Shooting Ground, New Rifle and New Shotgun. There will also be awards for both The Field Shooting Personality of the Year and the Shooting Industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The judging panel includes a host of highly respected editors from across Time Inc. UK’s shooting portfolio, as well as Shooting Gazette’s own John Walker and NGO chairman Liam Bell. In a change from…

Following Alec Marsh’s superb feature on Frederick Courteney Selous in the July 2016 issue of Shooting Gazette it was a pleasure to see this new biography of a man widely regarded as Britain’s greatest big game hunters. Regardless of the modern politics of hunting in Africa there is no question that Selous was a pathfinder and his life story makes for incredible reading. If you have ever berated yourself for sitting on the sofa too much and not grabbing life by the horns, then this man’s biography might help you take some more action. Alternatively you may feel so daunted you don’t know where to start; either way it’s one hell of a read. Selous was an adventurer, hunter and naturalist in late 19th century Africa – this was a…

We asked our Facebook followers what they feed their gundogs from Christmas until the end of the season to keep them in peak condition and keen as mustard. Samantha J. Martin posted: “Working dog kibble, raw pheasant breast and venison, warm water to mix after a hard day. Vetspec active and calm and focused... never struggles and their coat and energy levels are superb.” Becky Bonney posted: “Raw meat and raw vegetables (mulched in a processor so they can process the cellulose). Raw eggs or fish for a protein boost on working days. Cod liver oil tablet and condroitin tablet once a day as well.” Heather Marie Niman posted: “Their normal salmon and potato dry food (large breed puppy sort for the puppy) but with added venison and a gravy…

Colin Willock’s various writings on the sporting world span everything from wildfowling to coarse fishing, touching on many popular country subjects with authority and passion. Renowned for his writings as Town Gun in Shooting Times for many years, one of Willock’s real loves was the pursuit of the woodpigeon in the days before the sport had achieved its current wide popularity and appeal. Woodpigeons straddle an odd boundary between love and hate in the eyes of the general British public. Capable of causing phenomenal damage to arable crops, the farmer is every bit as keen to see the birds controlled as shooters are to do the job, but there is little about the job of decoying birds which could be described as a chore. The marker was thrown down on…

Q: I am off shooting partridge in Spain in February and want to take my gun. What do I need to do to make this happen? A: Firstly congratulations. It’s on my bucket list. I very much like the idea of enjoying a little early sunshine, shooting and eating a little jamon Ibérico washed down with some manzanilla. Let us know how you get on. If you are going with a sporting agent they will normally make all the necessary arrangements, so it’s best to speak to them first. They will usually be able to sort out the formalities more easily than you. You will in any case need a European Firearms Pass (EFP) from your local police. There is no charge and no application form. But you should apply…

TRAVEL The shoot is on the border of Rutland and Lincolnshire, between Stamford and Grantham, and is no more than 10 minutes’ drive east of the A1. Grantham station is on the East Coast Mainline, which is less than half an hour’s drive away, so it’s very accessible, whether you are travelling from the north or south. In fact it’s something of a well-kept secret… STAY With the lovely old Georgian town of Stamford just 10 minutes’ south on the A1, you are spoilt for choice if you need somewhere to stay. You can choose the ultra-traditional George of Stamford for wood-panelled dining rooms, stone arches and roast beef. Or the boutique-style William Cecil, Bull and Swan and Crown hotels all offer their own charming twist on the Georgian theme.…

THE AUTHOR of the Letter of the Month will receive a pair of Wexford boots from Dubarry of Ireland (RRP £325). The knee-length side-zip boots– designed for both men and women – are handcrafted from waterproof Dry Fast-Dry Soft™ breathable leathers. The high quality of the boot is reinforced throughout with an insulated GORE-TEX® lining that wicks moisture away from the foot, ensuring the wearer remains dry and comfortable all day. Dubarry’s new hard-wearing durable outsole gives maximum grip whatever the ground conditions.…

• A rifle in a calibre capable of harvesting a tahr, such as a .270 or .308 – bear in mind that they are very tough animals.• Knife• Good alpine boots, capable of fitting crampons• Crampons• Ice axe• 20m rope (say a 8.5mm-9mm, static rope)• Quick-drying base layers (leave your merino at home!)• Mid-layer insulation•  Outer-layer fleece – can be windproof, or a synthetic insulated core garment• Waterproof shell – jacket and pants• Warm fleece hat or beanie• Gloves and waterproof over-mittens• EPIRB or satellite phone• Good binoculars• Spotting scope• First aid kit• Headlamp torch – with plenty of battery life• Camera• Compass…

James Purdey was so enthusiastic about rifle manufacture that he even called his house in the Queen’s Road, Bayswater, “Rifle Cottage”. In the late 1840s he developed an exciting rifle that will always be associated with Purdey: the two-groove Express. Muzzle-loading rifles presented a dichotomy: if the rifling was deep to ensure a positive spin, it was difficult to load, and if the rifling was made shallow, the bullet could strip. What James Purdey did was invent a variation on the military Brunswick belted ball rifling. He bored his barrels with just two very deep rifling grooves and a slow rifling twist. To accompany this, he designed an aerodynamic bullet as opposed to a normal ball, with two prominent wings on either side to locate securely into the two rifling…

“This way of life is difficult to walk away from, especially when it is all-encompassing.” Like so many stalkers and gamekeepers, I have a bad back, not that this is necessarily an affliction confined to those of us who have had a physical existence. People from all walks may suffer from the fact that we are basically a four-legged animal that decided to stand up. Mine is simply wear and tear from carrying many thousands of deer and I dread to think how many tonnes of pheasant food. Over the years I have seen countless physiotherapists, osteopaths, doctors and masseurs. Two steroid injections enabled me to walk again, and the gym and pilates have undoubtedly helped, but I have been in different degrees of constant pain for years. Lifting a…

Spanish gunmaker Aguirre y Aranzabal (AYA) admits that “a true work of art does not simply appear out of thin air”. The more cynical amongst you might chuckle at this seemingly tacit admission that much of the output of its Eibar factory has been inspired by the work of craftsmen – particularly English craftsmen – who came before. This, however, is doing the company and all those who build its guns a great disservice. For as long as I have been involved in shooting, if you wanted a high-quality side-by-side at a price somewhat within the realms of reality, AYA really was the only place to go – and still is. Founded in 1915 by Miguel Aguirre and Nicolas Aranzabal, it was the influence of Andrew and Peter King in…

The National from Bugler of Ashford in Kent (1919); the Windsor Special from A.E. Warren of Windsor (1910); the Gallyon’s RM from Gallyon & Sons of Cambridge (1910); the Rufford from Charles Smith & Sons of Newark (1927). The Luda from Jesse & Hodgson of Louth (1910); the Special Brown from S. Thornley of Birmingham (1900); the Forward from E. Roberts of Birmingham (1900); the Specially Loaded from J.H. Cock & Co of Cirencester (1910). The Saleson from H.F. Sale & Son of Shipston-on-Stour (1926); the Special Brown from Frampton of Nottingham (1900); the Sallinoid from Rhodes & Paget of Keighley (1910); the Pheasant from Brown of Morpeth (1900). CARTRIDGEMAKER SAYS IT WITH FLOWERS An empty box of 16 bore Violet cartridges from C. & A. Weston of Brighton. If…

The Kinloch House Hotel is 15 minutes from Dunkeld on the A923 to Blairgowrie and it sits in 25 acres of tranquil Perthshire hillside. Built in 1840, it’s a fine example of a traditional Scottish country house, with an oak panelled hall, staircase and portrait gallery. And as a guest you will definitely feel like one of the family. The hotel lies at the centre of some of Scotland’s richest agricultural and fruit growing land so you can expect the freshest of local ingredients at your table. Local produce, such as game, beef, fish, shellfish as well as produce from the garden all feature on the menus and the award winning kitchen team will ensure you eat well here. From £185.kinlochhouse.com…

The unexpected political events of 2016 will lead to a rise in caution and risk aversion among real estate investors in 2017, making secure income streams more highly prized among core investors globally. This is expected to benefit the UK market, where high levels of transparency and stable legal structures make real estate a safety play. The overall story for the UK is one of slower growth. Savills forecasts 32 per cent average five-year capital growth for forestry and 5.5 per cent average five-year capital growth is forecast for farmland. Average house prices in the UK are expected to remain stagnant during 2017, before rising by 2 per cent in 2018 and 5.5 per cent in 2019 to a total of 13 per cent by the end of 2021. A…

The culmination of the retriever trialling season is the IGL Retriever Championship, which takes place at the beginning of December, and this year it took place at the Ampton Shoot in Suffolk. Headkeeper Alan Hammond did a great job keeping the trial rolling, the game came nicely to hand and was evenly spread, his team worked hard and did him and the estate proud. There were 60 qualifiers (two qualified but didn’t compete, one because he was judging the championship) and by the time the first day came four other qualifiers pulled out for various reasons. The first shot on day one was fired at 8:36am and judges Phil Allen, Kevin Doughty (judging on the left), Billy Steel Jr and Robert Atkinson (judging on the right) took the 180-yard line…

Q I was kindly asked to join in on the local shoot day and be a part of the beating line on a number of drives. Worried that my dog would run off and ruin the drive, I kept a strict control of him (quite traumatic for me and the dog!) The problem is that he now seems to be timid and less confident in his hunting. What’s your advice? A THE DREADED beating line! I always say that a dog in the line needs to be very well trained to avoid all the temptations, and ideally to work a close pattern in front of you and to stop on command. That is especially true when you are in a crop or dense cover with little visibility. I am…

Doing research for a recent article, the Kennel Club library team were extremely helpful and pointed me in the direction of a really interesting book, The History of Retrievers by Charles Eley. The modern day J Regs have their roots firmly in this book. There are some really thought-provoking rules that were around in the early 1900s that would be amazing to see today. For example: “… during the first round, the first test for all being partridge driving, and the handler of each retriever being expected also to shoot throughout the trials of his dog. When the judges have satisfied themselves with the ‘driving’ test, they will make another selection and try the chosen dogs to ‘walking in line,’ the handler again being expected to shoot”. Can you imagine…

THE NORTH Devon Working Gundog Club’s open springer stake was held at the Maristow Shoot, where Gary Liddle and his team provided excellent hospitality and testing ground for the spaniels, writes Maurice Stanbury. It proved to be a super day’s trialling, with the stake being judged by Dave Rayner and Justin Lascelles. All competitors had their first runs in a field of fodder beet, which had an ample supply of game. The guns were on the ball so almost every bird flushed quickly became a retrieve. Fortunately both sides of the line finished at the same time and we moved to different ground, close to the estuary of the River Tavy, for the second runs. It was a complete contrast with dogs needing to show their hunting ability in rushes…

SHOOTING GAZETTE has been named as one of the new sponsors the Royal Berkshire Shooting School’s (RBSS) Handicap Challenge. The hugely popular event is known for offering amateur clay shots the chance to compete against high-level competitive shots under a unique handicapping system. The Handicap Challenge will commence on February 2 and will culminate with the final on pMay 2. Sixty finalists, made up of the top 40 CPSA handicapped entrants and top 20 RBSS handicapped entrants, will go head-to-head over a new 100-target layout to decide the winner. A wide range of prizes courtesy of Browning, Laporte, Gamebore, Tattinger, Luton Hoo House and Stratstone will be on offer. Entry to the Handicap Challenge 2017 is £49 per entry. For more information, turn to page 88 of this issue or…

5% of profits from sales of Musto’s Highland Gore-Tex® Lite Jacket that will be donated to the GWCT (Musto) 93 the number of MPs and Lords met by the Countryside Alliance during 2016 9 number of years BASC’s new director of operations Steve Bloomfield has been with the association £900 amount donated by the British Deer Society’s NI Branch to St. Anne’s Cathedral Black Santa Appeal 4,007 total overnight stays spent in Scotland by those participating in fieldsports during the 2016 grouse season (Gift of Grouse). £720,000 amount to be made available to land managers to develop natural flood management projects on their land in areas hit by floods in 2015 (BASC)…

1. STANLEY DUNCAN The founder of WAGBI/BASC in 1908, an excellent naturalist and a keen shot. Though primarily a wildfowler, a look at his shooting diaries shows he would pursue any legal quarry. One of the most influential men in the history of British shooting. He’d probably turn up with a 10 bore Tolley. 2. GEOFFREY CLIFTONBROWN MP Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Shooting and Conservation, for which BASC provides the secretariat, and the man who represents shooting in Parliament. Geoffrey is one of the heroes of modern British shooting and a fine shot with his classic side-by-side. 3. DANIEL BOONE In homage to my American ancestors. Boone was perhaps the greatest “long hunter” and pioneer. We’d have to persuade him to exchange his flintlock long rifle,…

It was somewhat ironic that on the same day the government’s chief veterinary officer declared the whole country a prevention zone in the face of the highly contagious H5N8 bird flu and commercial bird keepers were entreated to keep their flocks under cover, the first of Britain’s turkeys began their last journey to dinner plates across the country. Even with no hotline to the broad-breasted ones, it is a fair bet that irrespective of the encroaching plague, if polled, the UK’s turkey population would have voted unanimously against Christmas. Not that they would object to receiving the odd gift or two, just that they themselves are equivocal about being the gift itself. December sees the annual peak in Brussels sprout and Panettone production, but as Yule approaches each year, the…

For your chance to win a bottle of Taittinger Champagne for Picture of the Month, send us a team photograph or a picture of something unusual from your shoot. Send high-resolution images or prints with captions to Shooting Gazette Gallery, Time Inc (UK) Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF or email: will.hetherington@timeinc.com. PICTURE OF THE MONTH This day at Duntz Valley, Devon, was held in aid of Motor Neurone Disease and the St Michael’s Hospice in memory of Ledbury gunsmith Mike Onions. The day raised more than £1,500, which will be shared between the two charitable trusts. Front row from left: Peter Woolmer, Martin Knapman, Blane Boon & Tony Walding. Back row from left: Bob Hall, Graham Skipp, Steve Clarke, Nigel Price, Neil Waterman & Becky. A…

“Roost shooting helps to ease the withdrawl symptoms at the end of the shooting season.” What does roost shooting mean for you? The traditional format involves any number of organised groups of two or three guns dotted around all the different pieces of woodland on the farm or estate. The theory is that each group enjoys a bit of shooting in each spinney or copse and in turn this keeps the birds moving so everybody makes the most of the potential shooting for an hour or so. In the traditional model, all of this is orchestrated by the keeper or at least the keeper’s deputy and will take place on a Saturday afternoon in February after the end of the game shooting season. It needs to be after the end…

“On one breathless morning I watched a goshawk peeling a jay on the same grey cliff.” Balancing business with pleasure, I headed onto the hill in December with a sack of grouse grit on my back and my rifle on my shoulder. I had a line of grit trays that needed to be topped up, but I was not going to miss the chance of a roe doe if the opportunity should present itself. The access on this piece of hill is terrible at the best of times, and our syndicate has become very fit after five years of carting all supplies up a steep face of granite scree to the large plateau where grouse are to be found. As I walked, a cock merlin flared up and away from…

The demographic of hunters has changed considerably over the past decade. Once upon a time, there were few women who took part and men traditionally favoured adult-only, male-only hunting trips. Times have changed. Not only is there now a growing number of female hunters, but the modern-day father’s attitude has altered as well. As a result, an increasing number of young families are wanting to incorporate hunting into their annual vacation. But here’s the rub: there are few venues around the world able to cater for the needs of a family wanting both wilderness hunting and a luxury resort. I’m delighted to reveal I have uncovered one such place: Heritage Resorts in Mauritius, which has formed a close working relationship with Le Chasseur Mauricien, the island’s longest-established hunting outfitter. Part…

I just love the phrase “a garniture of guns” – the alliteration is superb and it conjures up an exciting and esoteric amalgam of guns and rifles put together by an owner to cover all eventualities. Garnitures are completely different to pairs and trios in that they consist of guns of exactly the same type built to match. A garniture can be composed of different types of firearm, all bought by a single owner either at the same time or at intervals. Examples of garnitures could be a brace of pistols along with a blunderbuss supplied to a mail coach company, or as was often the case with the Maharajahs, several similar rifles but in different calibres. The Purdey garniture shown opposite comprises three double percussion park rifles of varying…

“It’s almost free... and you don’t have to absent yourself from your family for a large part of the day.” On the one hand, February 2 brings with it the end of another game-shooting season. But on the other it means I can once again indulge my passion for roost shooting. From a sporting point of view, roost shooting is a no-brainer. The wood pigeon, though humble and classified as vermin, is in so many ways the ultimate quarry, presenting every sort of shot in a small, fast-moving package. It is also almost free, with just the cost of cartridges to bear, and requires no special kit unless you indulge yourself with lofting poles and the like. And to enjoy roost shooting you don’t have to absent yourself from your…

This is a lovely little gun and would be perfect for the sportsperson looking to push themselves. These small bore AYAs are properly scaled down and can take quite heavy loads; it will happily go up to 21gram cartridges and you could probably go higher should you so wish. I would argue, however, that 21gram cartridges are a sensible limit – given the small bore size, anything larger is likely to distort the pattern. Despite being a 28 bore, it is not a lightweight model, so the recoil-absorbing characteristics should be quite good; even heavier-load cartridges should be dealt with easily. Given the long 29” barrels, it has the balance and handling characteristics of a much larger gun – be in no doubt, this is a serious gun. A novice…

Q I shoot with a multi-choke over-under. Is it ever worth changing the chokes for high bird days? A In more recent years it has become fairly standard practice for over-unders to be multi-choked, thereby opening up a dilemma for many shooters about what choke to use. I think this decision is best made by answering the following three questions: what are you going to be shooting, over what distances, and more importantly, with what cartridges? The first thing we need to deal with is the quarry; we all know that partridges are much easier to kill than pheasants. As a result, I tend to favour much larger shot sizes on pheasants. For high birds I shoot 32gram No.4s and for extreme birds I shoot 34gram No.3s. For my…

There’s a story doing the rounds that when Akio Toyoda, scion of the family that owns the nearly-eponymous car company, unveiled the Lexus GS in 2011, he was royally pissed off by the scorn with which the audience greeted its dull looks. It is said that he decided to take personal control of the luxury end of his business when he heard the world’s motoring hacks laughing at the slab sides of his motor show prototype. If the RX450h is the result of that decision, it really wasn’t a bad one. In the past, truth be told, Lexuses were pretty boring. The LS400 was basically an uglier but even better built S Class Mercedes. It’s baby brother looked like a chromed-up Toyota Avensis which, in case you wouldn’t recognise an…

THE BRISTOL and West Working Gundog Society held its open cocker spaniel trial at Brandhouse Farm, by very kind permission of Mr Regis, writes Helen Fisher. The judges were Steve Wanstall and Jeremy Davis, and the keeper was Andy Fisher. The trial ran smoothly and all the dogs had an opportunity to show themselves off, even though the birds tended to run on a bit, which the dogs had to hunt for. Our appreciation must go to the stops – we had to hold the birds up. And to the guns Andy, Simon, Richard and Ian who shot very well and who are spaniel men, which made it easier for the judges to make their decision. A big thank you must also go to our helpers who kindly gave up…

THE SOUTH West Scotland Gundog Association held an open qualifying stake for 16 cocker spaniels at the Carbeth Estate in Kilearn, writes Lois Holmes. The judges were W. Megaughin and M. Clifford, and the sponsor was the Glengoyne Distillery. Results 1 Ian Openshaw with Endowood Cork 2 W Openshaw with Mallowdale Euro (owned by I Openshaw) 3 M Farish with Baileys Pure Gold 4 J Bailey with Fernmoss Gold Dust at Gourneycourt (owned by J Menzies) CoM J Reid with Glenugies Grace…

THE KINTBURY Gundog Club held its open Ess qualifying trial at Hartham Park in Chippenham, writes Adrian Bundy. The venue was provided by kind permission of Hartham Euridge Sports LLP and the keeper Glynn Smith. The stake was run in a mix of game cover and woodland under judges David Chudley and James Starkey. The birds flushed cleanly and flew strongly. The early dogs ran in a mix of grass cover and maize strips, and some dogs struggled to cope with more open rows of the maize and the abundance of birds running on in front of them. When the trial moved into the wood, the birds held more tightly and flushes came steadily, the thick foliage and cover causing the guns a few problems. Once out of the woods…