Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Shooting Gazette

Scottish shooting estates spent more than a quarter of a million pounds on estate tweed this year, according to a new study. The information was revealed during research for a new film titled Tweed — Hill to Hill — A Rural Tradition, created by the Angus Glens and Grampian Moorland Groups. It found the annual spend on estate tweed across Scotland’s seven regional moorland groups came to £268,924. The tradition of shooting estates having their own special tweed began back in the early 1800s when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had bespoke tweed made for their staff at Balmoral. Campbell’s of Beauly, one of Scotland’s top tweed tailors, explained how important estate tweed is to business. Its owner, John Sugden, said: “All our bespoke suits are made on site, which…

The shooting, farming and motor racing worlds are poorer places after the passing of Noel Cunningham-Reid on September 26 at the age of 86. Although his motor racing career really only spanned the years 1955 to 1957, in that time he established a formidable reputation as a sports car driver. His day of days came in the 1957 Nurburgring 1000 Ks when as co-driver for Tony Brooks, they gave the Aston Martin DBR1/300 its first victory in a round of the World Sports Car Championship. He retained his interest in high performance cars but later concentrated on farming, and for many years he owned and ran what The Field described as the ‘fabulous Six Mile Bottom partridge shoot, presenting stunning birds with a flair matched only by his gun-handling’. The…

What’s the biggest challenge you face when choosing the shooting clothing that will be stocked at Farlows? Farlows is a big store. Even with all the space, we have to stay focused and select garments based on performance and 'fieldworthiness'. One of the biggest challenges I find is what to say no to when presented with new collections. We hold a fabulous portfolio of brands/makers who are driven by newness and innovation. We embrace both but we have to show faith in our edit and select the best options for our clients. This is where the focus is key. The shop floor staff are fishermen and shooters first and retailers second, so they need to have confidence in what we offer. I am as worried about showing them the collections…

Dear Uncle Giles, I have, after much soul searching, treated myself to a day on a very prestigious shoot. It is a single gun day made up of eight people not yet known to one another. Two hundred birds over five drives. If I take my time everything should be fine. My budget is already stretching at the seams so the question of overage must be addressed. If I was shooting with my usual crew we would discuss the matter beforehand and agree a limit, but how do I raise the issue with my new chums? I would hate the day to end in embarrassment for anyone, or to have to sell my grandchildren to settle my bill. Especially if some aspiring Ripon or Walsingham, chap or chapess, decides to…

How and when did you get into shooting? I’m a country boy so it was a natural thing for me to do: I was brought up in Somerset and since I was 18 I’ve lived in the rural north of England. So basically I’ve been shooting since I was old enough to hold a gun and go out with a farmer friend or my father. We never shot things for the sake of it; we always shot for the pot. So shooting has been in my blood since I was a kid. What do you enjoy most about it and do you have a favourite type of shooting? I was lucky enough to spend my childhood in Somerset, which is a very beautiful county, and then in Yorkshire, so it…

I followed the dog as she walked through the ice, down over the frozen fields and onto the shore. We walk this route together two or three times every winter, and she knows the score. It’s often hard to make her black shape out against the darkness, so I like to judge her progress by the sound of her footsteps through the icy grass until they clatter at last on the shore; her toenails rattle on banks of cockleshells. It was almost 6am, and the ducks were beginning to move. Our arrival on the high watermark startled a team of redshank, and they flew noisily off beneath the stars as the shotgun emerged from its slip. The Solway Firth is a renowned destination for wildfowlers across the country, but this…

The handling of the St. James really is excellent. This actually comes as something of a shock, since once one has got past the lovely wood, intricate engraving and very high quality finishing and actually picked the thing up, the first thing to hit home is the weight of the gun. Our test gun tipped the scales at a shade under 8lb – perhaps three-quarters of an ounce if one is feeling charitable – by no means outrageous, but certainly no lightweight. The balance is, however, absolutely perfect and it is so easy and natural to use. Even with a 15” stock and 30” barrels on our test gun, it came up very easily and was very steady when moving. The trigger pulls are excellent, with a lovely snap, and…

New guns, old guns Shooting relies on new blood of all ages and backgrounds to keep going, and fledgling shots should never be scared of asking more experienced and hopefully wiser shots how they can best prepare themselves in the field. Robin Scott explains what older guns can teach shooting newbies about how to be a good fieldsportsperson, be it the way they shoot or the way they act towards others off the peg. The great debate Be completely honest, do you prefer to shoot alone or have someone with you on the peg as the birds (hopefully) fly overhead? Some guns suffer terribly when someone – even those with good intentions - is watching them shoot, while others can’t think of anything worse than not having someone to rely…

BASC has appointed Army brigadier Ian Bell as its new chief executive. Mr Bell is currently the Commander British Forces Germany and will take up his new role at BASC once his deployment comes to an end in February. He has a huge interest in fieldsports and first joined BASC in his youth. He is also currently the president of the British Forces Germany Game Shooting Association and a member of the Defence Deer Management Organisation. “It is a huge honour and privilege to be appointed chief executive of an organisation which has worked over many, many years to protect and promote shooting,” said Mr Bell. “I am passionate about shooting and fieldsports and determined to ensure the association remains at the forefront of the UK’s shooting community. BASC’s membership…

Tony Blair, now hopefully politically emasculated, has much to answer for and the fallout from which besets us still. Apart from persecuting at least one pointless war and opening our borders to pretty much anyone who wants access, in 2004 he allowed eons of valuable parliamentary time to discussing and ultimately supervising the passage of the Hunting Act. The entirely legal pursuit of trail hunting has been a successful option since then, not least on land owned by the National Trust, but a small claque of trust members have forced it to alter its guidance rules, some say in an open assist to hunt saboteurs and at the next AGM, are hoping that their motion to ban the practice will be passed. Presided over for the past five years by…

To find your niche you need passion: You will have a taste for the countryside and for shooting, and most of all a passion for the craft itself, all of this from an early age. A young man who decides to be a gunmaker is definitely different and will need to be brave and persistent to find his niche. If he is lucky he can be introduced to a manufacturer by a friend or a member of his family. It’s not easy to get into the trade, teaching a young apprentice takes a lot of time which is fine with big companies but not so for the smaller ones. Those who are truly passionate are gunmakers for life: If a young apprentice is supervised by a good foreman or team…

Q I am attending a shoot day with a friend next month, during which we’ll share a peg. He does not have a gun of his own. Are we allowed to share my shotgun? A You don’t say whether your friend is a certificate holder or not. If he is there is no difficulty at all. A certificate holder may borrow a shotgun for up to 72 hours without any need to inform the police. The law on the borrowing and lending of shotguns for non-certificate holders changed in May of this year. The position now is that it allows a non-certificate holder to borrow a shotgun (for live quarry and clay shooting) and use it in the presence of either the occupier of private premises or persons authorised by them…

I have noticed more and more on driven shoots I attend the lack of decorum on choosing your bird. My Dad taught me if the bird is not looking at you it isn’t your bird. I have endured stoically on more than one occasion when a very presentable bird tracking me from 12 noon receives a volley from the gun on the adjoining peg. Whether the bird is killed before it reaches me is in my view irrelevant, having been shot at in the first instance is off-putting and disturbs the concentration. I have also noticed the excuse for this practice is the bird is a long crosser. The fact the bird is a long crosser for Mr No Manners is undoubtedly a good bird for a gun a little…

Boss guncases of the percussion period, 1830-1860, all follow a particular pattern. Boss is the only maker I know of that has the gun numbers stamped into the case underneath the trade label. Purdey percussion cases have the numbers written on the cases. The cases are all made of oak with brass mountings and originally, a leather outer covered them but this is usually missing. The double cases are of the two-tier variety, the upper tray containing the barrels, powder and shot flasks and the lower tray, stocks and accessories. The recently discovered case for Nos.812/813 is unusual in that it is made of mahogany, a wood that was more fashionable in earlier decades. The fact the case is of high quality and coupled with the stunning figured stock on…

A BOX FROM WAY BACK Here we have a box of 25 .410 centre fire cartridges from Eley Bros. Ltd. of London that date back to….wait for it…1890! They’re in remarkable condition, wouldn’t you say? Dates in brackets are the first year the cartridge was manufactured. Tom would like to hear from anyone who is interested in collecting or dealing in antique cartridges. To contact him, call 01778 570226.…

During a recent judging trip to Austria it was perfectly clear to me there are strong similarities in pointer and setter field trials in the UK and Europe. We have a common bond, as they say. It’s an unequivocal fact that European bloodlines in pointers and setters, for example, have assisted in developing the working attributes of the breeds. Pointer and setter field trials are staged throughout many European countries. Austria is the most idyllic country for trialling. Founded in 1929, the Austrian Club for British Pointing Dogs is a well-established field trial club and attracts members from all over Europe. “We provide sport for our members throughout the year,” explained club president Colonel Otto Koppitsch. “In the spring, pointer and setter and Continental breed field trials are held in…

Q I have noticed that one of my dogs has an incredible ability to scent dummies, even in bad scent conditions. This means that he avidly hunts until he finds something and will not be distracted or even recall. Is this something I should be encouraging? A Absolutely! If your dog has a good scenting ability, then develop it and you’ll be in for some fun in your training. Assuming the retrieve and return is good, then your direction control is everything. Personally, I think it is one of the most useful and rewarding areas of gundog training and you need to put the hours in. Don’t put pressure on for a recall and work with the dog in an open area with some good ground cover. Get the idea into…

David Garbutt, who died suddenly on August 31 at the age of 77 came – in the words of William Shakespeare – to bestride the world ‘like a colossus’. With handler and dog each exceptional there is no need for the passage of time to confer legendary status. The record is plain. David Garbutt, from Pocklington in Yorkshire, first won the IGL Retriever Championship at Arniston in 1981 with FTCh Pocklington Glen. Then, at Great Livermere in 1988, he won again with a home-bred dog when he handled David Benson’s FTCh Pocklea Tide of Middlegate. In 1984 at Stratfield Saye, moreover, he had successfully handled her dam Drakeshead Gypsy into third place. Gypsy, put to FTCh Haretor Mark of Drakeshead, produced FTCh Pocklea Remus. Whelped on May 11, 1986, he…

While working on the November issue we learnt of the untimely passing of our former colleague Graham Cox. Ahead of a more detailed tribute in the December issue, we have been sent an obituary by his dear friend, Joan Hayes. Graham, so well known in every aspect of matters relating to working gundogs, died five days prior to his 70th birthday, which would have been on October 2. Sadly, earlier this year Graham was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and since then some £15,000 has been raised in his name, a great deal of it by the gundog fraternity. Graham was a senior lecturer in social and policy sciences at the University of Bath from 1978 until his retirement. His particular interest was rural societies. He was well-known for his…

Gamekeepers were honoured as the NGO presented its new Long Service Award at the Midland Game Fair in September. The accolade recognises full-time keepers, stalkers and gillies with 40 or more years of employment. They were: Ian Garfoot, 61, headkeeper at Westwick Estate in Norfolk; Steven Hamar, 56, headkeeper on the Bulland shoot, near Taunton; Kevin Hubbard, 64, who is retired after a career including three decades spent at the Lower Lodge shoot in West Sussex; Godfrey Pitman, 59, who retired after many years at Druids Lodge Estate in Wiltshire; Alec Throup, 57, from Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire; and Michael Warren, 67, who is also retired but spent many years working at Sandling Park in Kent. Several posthumous awards were also received at the fair, one to Frank Jenkins,…

SERVES FOUR PEOPLE Ingredients • 1kg game mince• 400g minced pork• 20g chopped thyme• 30g chopped garlic• Natural sausage casings• 1 red apple and 1 green apple• 50g red potato and 50g new potato• 50g red onion and 50g white onion• 5g sage and 5g thyme• 100ml cider• Cornish sea salt• Milled black pepper Method Place the game and pork mince into a bowl and add the thyme, garlic and season well. Soak the casings in fresh water. Place the seasoned mix into a piping bag and pipe into the natural casings. Twist the sausage into equal lengths to make 12 sausages. Cut each sausage through the twisted casing. Poach in simmering water for five minutes. Remove from the pan and pat dry on paper towel. Place into a hot pan and fry in a little rapeseed oil to colour. Wedge the…

Perhaps not surprisingly my day would take place at Snilesworth and we would be shooting driven grouse. We wouldn’t go on any one particular beat but would let headkeeper Jimmy Shuttlewood decide the best drives to do given it would be a bright but blustery day with 20mph hour wind from the south west. My team would be as follows: my father Ed Cieslukowski, who was a great sportsman and an excellent shot. I inherited his love of the outdoors and shooting in general. My son Steve Cieslukowski is an excellent athlete and has sharp wit. He is a natural game shot like his grandfather and it would give me great pleasure to shoot between the two of them. Jack Mitchell was a great shooting coach who introduced me to the…

PICTURE OF THE MONTH Many thanks to Bill Woolley from Northumberland for sending us this shot of a barn owl chick poring over a back issue of Shooting Gazette. Apparently the chick was one of five hatched in the roof of Bill’s old farmhouse. Wonder if the chick managed to complete the wordsearch? Kevin Parish sent us this image of his team in the bothy on Hardcastle Moor after a day’s shooting. The bag was 51 brace of grouse and 67 partridge. Pictured with Kevin are John Bennett, Stuart Curtis, James Kitchenham, Andy Laflin, Neil Macauley, Neil Maycock, Terence Millett & Terry Mullett. A brace of images from Andrew Davenport all the way from New Zealand. The first (left) shows Andrew at the Tuna Nui shoot (flanked by Beth Wilson…

TRAVEL Vaynor Park sits between Berriew and Garthmyl and is served by the A483, which will take you north to the M54 near Shrewsbury. Taking the train to nearby Welshpool and being collected by the Bettws Hall team is also an option, as is arriving via Welshpool airfield. STAY We stayed overnight in The Gables, a new, spacious house (only a few miles from Bettws Hall's impressive luxury lodges) which caters well for parties with simple wants (bedandbreakfastsearcher.co.uk). Another, slightly closer, option is the Bull & Heifer, a ‘small but vibrant country pub in the heart of the village Bettws Cedewain’ which now offers accommodation (bullandheifer.co.uk). CATERING Christine Williams is in charge of the catering at Vaynor Park. Elevenses was taken in a hut high up on the valley side,…

“Perhaps digital technology is something younger guns can expose their older counterparts to?” I almost snorted tomato soup through my nose during elevenses on a shoot day last season when I overheard one of the guns, a gentleman well into his retirement, say, “I can’t get on with all this modern technology, it’s a bloody waste of time”. The cause of my near nasal misfire wasn’t the comment as such - I hear it all the time - but rather the object of the gentleman’s disdain: a battered, cracked and in some areas taped together Nokia 3310 that he was furiously trying to tap a phone number into. Now, with the greatest respect to the distinguished gentleman, and without wishing to show my own age, this is quite an old…

Sir Archibald Islay Campbell of Succoth was born on May 15, 1825, and succeeded as the 3rd Baronet on the death of his grandfather in 1846. He was 21 years old and it was around this time he ordered his pair of Boss guns Nos. 812/813. He died aged just 41 on September 11, 1866. Since he had no children he was succeeded by his brother. Sir Archibald's main residence was the imposing Garscube House in Glasgow built in 1827 on land that the family had owned since 1687. During the Second World War the home was occupied by the military. The University of Glasgow purchased the estate in 1948 and demolished the house in 1954. The family moved to their other estates near Inveraray and their present day descendants…

Friends laughed at me when, during a conversation about preparing for the shooting season, I described my limbering up exercises. They mentioned how some had prepared with a few clays to get their eye-in. Others seemed to have done little but get their guns overhauled and serviced before wandering out to their peg on the first drive of the season, as if that were enough to ensure they hit the ground running and shoot at their best as the first bird appeared. For every other sport preliminary training for fitness and coordination is a must. Why should shooting, which demands many finely tuned elements of eye, mind and muscle from the soles of you feet to the tip of you trigger finger, be any different? There have been several good…

This is quite an interesting proposition from William Evans, offering a very high quality and well respected ‘off-the-shelf’ gun but with the bespoke elements and high-quality finishing you would expect from a high-end British gunmaker. Interestingly, William Evans is not shy at all about the fact its guns are made in conjunction with other gunmakers, noting how much of its historic manufacturing relied upon the Birmingham trade and using that as a through-line to their current relationships with European firms. Buyers can choose from a variety of stock, grip and fore-end designs, along with 28” – 32” barrels, though I would probably stick with the 30” barrels and rounded fore-end, as on the test gun. Chokes are fixed at ¼ and ½ as standard, though Teague multichokes are available as…

Q Is it a complete waste of time to try and hit a high bird with your second barrel if you’ve already missed it with your first barrel? A This is a great question as when high bird shooting there is an optimum point at which to shoot the bird, one I often refer to in my lessons as the most vulnerable point. This is when the bird is at its closest but also at a stage in its flight which allows the shooter to have a second shot without being off balance or at the end of their swing. What frequently happens is most guns make the decision to shoot at a bird when it is at, or even past, the vulnerable point and as a result the first…

Sporting rates are being reintroduced in Scotland after 22 years, following the implementation of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016. Scotland’s rural businesses must be on high alert to avoid being locked in to overinflated sporting rates. From October 2 onwards, the first phase of the re-introduction of sporting rates Valuation Notices are being issued by assessors on any holding which has a sporting right potential, whether or not the land is used for the purposes of sport. The new sporting rates will rely on an appeals system to ensure fair assessments are arrived at in conjunction with equitable payments, with a six-month window from receiving a notice to lodging such an appeal. Hugo Struthers, director of rural for Savills said: “Rural business and landowners need to be proactive. Ratepayers…

The trialling season is going at full steam ahead and the trials I have run in have been well run, held on great natural ground and have had a friendly atmosphere. Just as it should be. It is always easier to write about the not so good things rather than the good, so this month is all about celebrating field trials. One of the first trials I ran in was in Scotland. Stuart Riddell who runs Bowhill couldn’t be a nicer man or better steward of the beat. The ground is challenging and the game came to hand very nicely. The guns were on top form and as a number of them also trialled, they understood what the judges needed. Even though I was out on day one, you could…

How to win For your chance to win either a Pintail Explorer smock (top) or a Seasons jacket (right), email high-resolution pictures to: katemaxim@outlook.com. Please put “Gundog Picture of the Month” in the subject line. The winner will be chosen by the Shooting Gazette judging panel. Good luck! The prize will only be posted to winners with a fixed UK postal address. To include the results of your event, test or trial in Gundog Update email: katemaxim@outlook.com…