Innholdsfortegnelse for May-2018 i Shooting Gazette

Lott Estate Management has taken on the sporting rights to Llechweddygarth in Powys, of one of Wales’ premier high bird shoots. A release by new rights holders Lott Estate Management has stated that a significant investment will be made within the grounds of the estate, while additional new drives, all designed by headkeeper Daniel Hosking, will be in place ahead of next season. Partridge shooting will also be offered from September. Martin Lott of Lott Estate Management said: “I am delighted to be given this opportunity which I must thank the estate owners for. The team and I have many exciting challenges ahead.” For more information, email: martin@lottestatemanagement.co.uk.…

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the London gun trade since you first started? It’s been clear that the popularity of side-by-side guns has massively decreased. The new market of over-unders has soared in demand due to their price point and availability. The younger generation is now being brought up to shoot with an over-under as there is a greater choice in barrel and bore size, and some even say they are easier to shoot with. What do you miss most about those early days? The traditional aspect as well as the characters in the gun trade are amongst the main things that have changed. Rewinding back to the early days when the Birmingham trade was booming, which was where all the trade guns and parts were made, especially…

Q I’m hoping to buy a shotgun from a London gunmaker in the summer but am having to take a train and the Tube to get there. What does the law say about carrying firearms on these modes of transport, as I’ll have to do this on my way back home? A The Tube has conditions of travel (effectively terms of your contract) that are available at tfl.gov.uk. Firearms are not specifically mentioned but the staff have a general right to refuse carriage of any item. Carriage of firearms by train is covered by the National Rail Conditions of Carriage (nationalrail.co.uk) which allows individual rail companies discretion as to whether they permit firearms (unloaded) to be carried and whether charges maybe applied. Scotrail banned firearms completely last year whereas the…

David Whitby’s article in the March issue resonates strongly with me, as a little over 20 years ago, when CEO of the Countryside Business Group (CBG), I realised there were far too many countryside organisations, and rapidly helped steer the merger between three of them: the CBG, the Countryside Movement and the British Field Sports Society, to form the Countryside Alliance. This was done in concert with the then GCT, whose charitable status of course legally precluded it from actively participating in political lobbying. Sadly BASC declined to join us, although, as the rejection letter was received faster than it took me to drive home from Marford Mill, it seemed unlikely that the board had been fully consulted. I totally support Mr Whitby’s premise that shooting should have one mission,…

Let’s start with hats. Maybe due to the popularity of the BBC’s Peaky Blinders, there’s been a bit of a resurgence for the more fulsome, tweed, eight-panel cap, or the Baker Boy-style cap in recent years. Christy’s offerings cost around £40, while Glenaran in Ireland sells a cracking one in Donegal tweed for £37. I confess I prefer the more generous fit and longer peak of a Squire’s cap. Oliver Brown’s hats fit this bill, as you can see on its model opposite, and are a snip at £50. Of course, one can’t ignore the standard tweed flat cap; in fact, there should always be at least one example mouldering in your coat pocket, the bowels of your car, or indeed both. Aim for one cut slightly deeper at the…

DARYL GREATREX Managing director, HOLLAND & HOLLAND You started in the packing room at Holland & Holland. What was that like and how has it moulded your approach to running the company? “Things were very different when I started. Holland & Holland was not as diverse and did not have the range of products it does now. The pace of life was undoubtedly slower, which was great because it allowed me to spend time in our gunroom, handling the vast array of different guns and rifles that passed through. When the company was acquired privately in 1989, the new owners were able to invest, which allowed the company to expand, and, as a result, I have worked in both Europe and the US, which gave me a valuable insight into…

It was the Austrian-born philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein who was heard to mutter the immortal though less than encouraging words, “I don’t know why we are here, but I’m pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves”. He was not talking about munching pork and dumplings and funky fusion fare in Skopik & Lohn on Leopoldstradt, into which he had inadvertently stumbled on an inebriated stag do, but was referring to us, the human race, as in where we live and take our pleasures. Received wisdom had always had it that Austrians were quite jolly people, give or take the odd despot. After all, any nation that can recycle 80 per cent of its refuse and give the world Red Bull must have a sense of humour. The…

Recently I was enjoying a good but frustrating day decoying pigeons. There were many birds about but they would not respond well to decoys. This was partly because they were not hooked on my field and partly that they had been educated and rousted up by farmers and other pigeon shooters all winter. From a sporting point of view it was wonderful, as some birds made flight-lining shots as they flew high above the beech trees in the strip of woodland to my left. Alternatively, the odd individual pigeons that decoyed from a height would approach but not totally commit, passing wide, making long crossing shots to my right. All this was exciting, certainly, but frustrating in that although there were a lot of birds in the air, there were…

The ‘Beast from the East’ roared in during March and I have to say I enjoyed it. However, once again, some potentially wonderful shooting weather was lost before February 1 because we have failed to adjust to changing seasons. For us ‘soft southerners’, February has been the only month coming close to deserving the name ‘winter’. Yet again I am disgusted with shoots who abruptly stop feeding game that has managed to survive the season. For me they are the very worst kind of trash and should simply not be allowed to shoot, let alone manage one. Our game was desperate for food during the cold spell, and indeed well beyond. We keep a certain number of hoppers going until birds cease to use them. These feeders have the bonus…

After looking at the gun from every conceivable angle we took it to the school for the test. The team was the same as last month – Alan Rose, who – being slightly more vertically challenged than the rest of us – had an advantage given the stock dimensions, together with Paul Gendall. We started at the 40ft tower, shooting every angle to get used to the gun. Alan let a couple live on the right while Paul let a couple of straight birds live. I was OK and the boys had their revenge on the 80ft tower when I let some live either side. We shot our standard 28gram No.7 training loads through the ¼ and ½ chokes, and the kills were very good and the trigger pulls were…

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.…

Would you ever dream of booking a day’s shooting without first making sure you’re insurance affairs are all in order? The cancellation of a day before, or worse, during the first drive is enough to make any team’s shoulders drop, and even more so if they’ve travelled a significant distance to be there, so why would you want the added awkward conversation of trying to straighten things out when you’re not covered? Back Gun 64 The handler’s whistle and their whistle commands are a common sound on shoot days, but have you ever wondered what kind of sounds you should be making in order for your loyal gundog to bring the quarry to hand? For anyone new to the handling world, this is the kind of issue that can be…

It has been an interesting month for those within our political system and for those who wish to influence their thinking. Many shooters wrote to the Home Office’s Nick Hurd to request clarity on the issue of General Practitioners charging for support of applications and renewals of gun licences when their trade union, the British Medical Association, had agreed with his department that no charges were to be levied. Back came a mealy mouthed response giving no guarantees of anything useful. Some of the GPs were demanding payments, with the inference to the constabularies that applicants may not be fit to hold licences if they don’t pay, presumably on the basis that in the bigger threat of GP’s militancy, an argument about gun licences is not worth dying in a…

Focus on the individual: Bespoke tailoring is all about the individual client. Unlike designer clothing houses where fashion is led and created by the designers themselves, bespoke commissions are conceived from each customers’ needs and requirements. Because of this, no two projects are ever the same. One great benefit of this individualistic approach is that I am able to develop a relationship with my clients over time. In doing so, I continue to learn what suits each person and what they prefer which, in turn, improves my ability to dress them impeccably. It is also gratifying to work on such a wide range of projects, from tweed suits for shooting, morning dress for Ascot, or a day-to-day city suit. Maintain a keen eye and a steady hand: There are few…

PICTURE OF THE MONTH LORDING IT UP IN THE LINE… David Hughes sent us this truly brilliant image of his travelling syndicate on the way to the last drive of the day at Castlestead, near Brampton. The image includes Keith Kendall (gamekeeper), James Brocklehurst, Basil George, Jason George, Alistair Jepson, Andy Hacker, Robert Shaw (along with his dog Izzie) & David Hughes himself. The guns from the day at Lingholm in Cumbria, which is featured on pages 34 – 41 of this issue. Pictured, from left, are: Michael Wilson, Mark Bickerdike, Nigel Gates, Will Biehler-Wallis, Nigel Wallis, Mike Thompstone, Ed Tarbatt, Martin Allen, Luke Creed (loader) & Edward Martin (loader). £800 RAISED FOR THE NYMMO DURING TWO GUNDOG TRAINING SESSIONS Back in February, dog food manufacturer Conolley’s Red Mills ran…

TRAVEL Pawton Manor is situated close to the Camel Estuary on the north coast of Cornwall, less than a mile from the A39. Truro station is 25 miles away and Newquay around 15, though you do have to make a couple of changes. Flying is the third possibility, with flights to Newquay available from many airports. It’s the quickest option and not as expensive as road and rail. STAY Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Padstow has 16 rooms with a seaside feel, some with sea views and many are dog friendly (rickstein.com). The Metropole is another Padstow hotel is popular with guns.(the-metropole.co.uk). Port Gaverne is an AA 5-star, 2 Rosette rated 17th-century hotel, and with James Lean in the kitchen you’ll be well fed (portgavernehotel.co.uk). CATERING A day at Pawton…

Shooting opportunities for people in London are often thought to be hard to find. Moreover many people living or working in the capital who want to try shooting often do not know where or how to start or even what to ask for. This is where the London Shooting Club comes in, a venture that charges just £250 for a lifetime membership and provides its members, many of whom are complete beginners, with a raft of shooting opportunities both near London, around the country and even overseas. Set up by Clive Hetherington in 2013 the idea behind the London Shooting Club was to inspire more people to take up shooting. “I used to work with Riding Club London, which brings together like-minded equine enthusiasts of all levels for social and…

Envy is not a very admirable characteristic but the minute I saw them, I wanted them. I knew I couldn’t afford them but it didn’t stop my imagination from running wild; their quality, their lines, their elegance and how wonderful it would be waiting for the drive to begin with one in my hands and the other in the hands of my loader. Back on Planet Earth I realised I could derive just as much pleasure from studying them as owning them. The guns in question were a pair of Holland & Holland 12 bore Royal Centenary 2” guns built in 1937. Readers will know of my enthusiasm for 2” guns: their lightness, their diminutive look and their elegance. Built in the 1930s, 2” guns are stylish and different and…

Q I am preparing to start training my own dog but get confused as to what whistle and whistle commands you should use. I get quite a lot of conflicting advice. Can you set me straight? A In reality, the whistle and the commands you decide to use depend entirely on what your preferences are, as the bottom line is that we are putting a sound against any command. As long as you choose what sound suits you for a particular command and use the whistle consistently then the choice is yours. Pick different sounds of course for sit, recall, turn etc. The usual whistles used are Acme 210.5 and 211.5. The latter is a little deeper in tone. I prefer the former and both are widely available. The tone…

I’m a big history buff and I especially love field trial accounts from the past. A friend of mine has shared her father’s vast collection of trial cards dating back to the 1930s. This newspaper account from the 1954 Eastern Counties open field trial at Holkham illustrates just how the varied and natural the trial was. The trial started with walking in a root field “in which there were sufficient pheasants for the judges to be able to test the first four dogs”. That was followed by a drive, then they went to the banks of a river where the dogs had testing retrieves across to the other side where they also had to “hunt well out and up a hill of rough grass”. The trial stopped for lunch and…

The Countryside Alliance has urged the government to help ensure free trade for shooting and the game market once the UK leaves the European Union (EU), in a recent meeting with the UK’s Brexit minister. The Countryside Alliance’s chief executive, Tim Bonner, and its political relations manager, James Somerville-Meikle, met with the minister of state for exiting the EU, Lord Callanan, in Downing Street. They highlighted the importance of shooting to the UK economy and of trade and travel within the EU for shooters and shoot providers. Mr Bonner said that leaving the EU would create opportunities, such as the chance for agricultural policy reform, but explained that “it is clearly in our interests to maintain a close trading relationship with the EU and this must include free and frictionless…

Dear Uncle Giles, Should one wear one’s plus fours tucked in under one’s sock tops, with the socks secured in place with an appropriate tie, or should one put one’s socks on, tied as normal, and then pull one’s plus fours down over the top of one’s socks, tightening the buckle or Velcro® of the trouser over the sock? I also see a massive difference in the length of “tab” of the sock ties hanging below the turnover of the sock – what is too little, what is too much? RP, by email Uncle Giles writes Let us begin at the beginning. A sock is a woollen tube which covers the leg from foot to knee and lacks a turnover. A stocking is a longer item which has a decorative…

So, what was last season like for you? Really wonderful, thank you. In August we, as a family, go away for a full week, to shoot on the Glorious Twelfth up in County Durham. We’ll shoot over the setters and then we’ll go ferreting and fishing. It is a really old fashioned week of pure sport with days of huge variation. Last year we had a record day on The Twelfth, which was amazing. It was a very small moor and we shot 100 brace for the first time, so we had a rather large party for that. It sounds as though variety throughout a season is important to you? It is just the way we have always done it. It’s tradition for us. All through the summer we are…

TRAVEL Lingholm is just outside Keswick in the Lake District and is very easy to find indeed. Though you will face a six-hour drive if coming in from London, it is more easily accessible from both Manchester and Newcastle airports, both around two hours' drive away. A 4x4 vehicle would be helpful but isn't absolutely necessary on the shoot as most drives are fairly accessible. STAY We stayed just outside the Lakes at Tottergill Farm in Brampton. Just over 40 minutes' drive from Keswick, these newly refurbished cottages offer superb self-catered accommodation for visiting guns who wish to be slightly more independent and want more space than a hotel room can offer. The luxurious accommodation boasts woodburners, hot tubs and walk-in showers (tottergill.co.uk). CATERING The day at Lingholm began with…

Planning for the spring, I can’t help feeling a little downhearted. The return of the curlews should be a moment of tremendous joy, but the birds have recently brought with them a vague overtone of gloom. They just aren’t producing fledged young anymore – it has now been seven years since a youngster flew off our moss and headed down to the Solway. In that time, we’ve lost six breeding pairs and we’re now down to just five in the entire glen of more than 4,000 acres. There is now a restlessness to the remaining pairs which is jumbled and confused. The house is literally falling down around their ears. There will come a time quite soon when the curlews will leave their shattered nests in June and they will…

Idon’t know about you, but in my opinion there’s something intensely liberating about finding links to our sport in a big city like London. Whenever I alight at King’s Cross – and whether I’m in the capital for work or play – one of my first thoughts is am I going to get time to wander through the streets west of Trafalgar Square and marvel at the shop fronts of the likes of Holland & Holland, James Purdey & Sons or the myriad others scattered around the area. Many is the time I have just made my train home because I’ve spent too much time in Farlows and Cordings examining rack after rack of tweed trousers and jackets, bundles of knitted ties and endless piles of shooting socks. I’d stay…

Q I’m a left handed game shot with a dominant left eye. I really struggled on driven pheasants heading from right to left last season and am keen to make amends. What changes do I need to make to ensure I hit these birds more consistently? A I would suggest the first thing you need to do before anything else is to make sure all the basics are correct – are you definitely left-eye dominant and does your gun fit you properly? There are lots eye dominance tests which are easily found online so I won’t go into explaining how to do a test. However, do bear in mind that eye dominance can alter in response to lots of different factors including your age, your level of tiredness, alcohol consumption,…

Estate values continue to be underpinned by farmland values. Farmland supply was down some 16 per cent in Great Britain last year compared with 2016, and whilst Brexit is an ongoing discussion amongst buyers and sellers, the market is proving resilient with increasing demand from lifestyle and amenity buyers. There was little change in farmland values last year, and the range between prime and average land values is at a 10-year high. Our research forecasts average values for prime arable land could fall by two to three per cent this year depending on the progress of trade negotiations and clarity on the outlook for subsidies. The outlook, however, for amenity and lifestyle estates is much more positive with small increases in values forecast. Importantly for the estates market, our research…

Choosing the right food for your dog can be a mind-boggling decision with many brands on the market. VetSpec has formulated a range of complete dog foods in six varieties, containing 60 per cent chicken (50 per cent in the low calorie varieties) with added vegetables and herbs and no added colours, preservatives or artificial flavours. The range is cereal-grain-free and contains the benefits of specialised supplements contained within the food. The breed, size, age and temperament of a dog, along with the level of activity he is involved in, all need to be taken into consideration, and the food itself should always be made from high-quality ingredients. For example, protein can vary in type, and protein sourced from high-quality meat is far preferable, according to VetSpec, to protein sourced…

I know perfectly well that in these days of inclusivity and all pulling together it is a heresy scarcely to be uttered, to minimise one’s tax contribution to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, and yet I find that writing whopping cheques to the taxman still grates. And that is the first reason to buy second hand: the 20 per cent VAT that flutters off to the Exchequer as you lay down your hard-earned on the counter of some exquisite London gunmaker. I confidently predict that the central theme of the argument opposite will be that you cannot beat the individualised custom manufacture of a gun just for you. Made to measure. Unique. To your own specification and absolutely one of a kind. I get that. I really do. And in…