Innholdsfortegnelse for 24-Feb-2016 i Shooting Times & Country

THE THING TO remember if you are considering entering the 2016 Purdey Awards is that it welcomes all entries, from tiny shoots to great grouse moors (see p.4). It’s made for the many Shooting Times readers who run small shoots with good conservation credentials, and there are several benefits of entering. It’s a chance to take stock of your shoot and its wildlife, and the new advisory visits mean that, as well as the £15,000 up for grabs, there is a greater chance of winning a prize and a trip to the champagne reception in the legendary Purdey Long Room. That the Purdey Awards attract entries from estate-owning dukes to DIY syndicates is a reflection of the huge pride that the shooting community takes in its often unsung conservation achievements.…

The Countryman Gun Club, based in Horsham in West Sussex, will not have to close as previously feared (News, 21 October). A new timetable will allow it to remain on the Knepp estate, where it has been based for the past 46 years. Dee Wildfowlers and Wetlands Management Club has secured a 20-year licence for shooting and sheep grazing rights on the banks of the river Dee in Flintshire, following a lengthy process. Scottish pig farmers are concerned for their future as the price of pig meat hit an eight-year low. NFU Scotland estimates that farmers are losing £10 on every pig sold. John Michael Ginty, 25, of Edison Way in Middlesbrough, has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting to shooting a roe deer at night and hunting…

IT FELT LIKE BEING THERE I recently had the pleasure of reading a shoot report by Alan Ward (Where the birds beat the Guns, 30 December 2015). The information regarding the challenge of rapidly elevating and flaring birds, combined with the Guns’ success using small 28-bore shotguns, was remarkable! Even more outstanding was the author’s style of writing to describe the day’s events. His descriptions of the shooting, skilfully combined with all of the other occurrences and social interactions of the day, made the reader truly feel as though they were actually there participating in the shoot. Unfortunately, we Americans do not have large, centralised quantities of game, nor are we blessed with your unique and outstanding shooting traditions. I grew up hunting upland birds in the midwestern US. Most…

“Among other farmland treasures, I recorded 12 linnets, four corn buntings and a kestrel hunting along a grassy fenceline” On a perfectly still and gloriously sunny Thursday morning, a song thrush recently sang for England from the high branches of a beech tree that towers close to home. He was pointing south and early morning sunlight streamed over his creamy breast feathers, highlighting the dark brown “V”s that speckled his chest. If ever there were a sound that embodied the arrival of spring in the English countryside, then the musical voice of a song thrush in full flow does it for me. The repertoire of sweet sounds that poured from his beak was simply joyful and, instead of dashing off to work, I took 10 minutes out from a busy…

Improving woodland habitat can offer enormous benefits, but what you should do in any particular wood depends on its type, and especially how old it is. Most of the UK’s woodland cover has been planted by us, but there are still a few very old woods that have been growing since time immemorial. Our most treasured woods are known as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodlands (ASNW), which are defined as having been under continuous woodland cover since 1600. Most of the bigger of these woods are also classified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). How you treat these woods is vital, both because any designation may well impose rules, but also because ancient woods have a tremendous capacity to regenerate, compared with modern plantations. So, as a general principle, old woods…

Once the percussion cap had been perfected in around 1825, the race was on to apply it to repeating arms. Repeaters were known prior to that date but their chief drawback was the priming powder needed for any flintlock action. Normally, this was carried in a magazine fitted to the frizzen, which primed the pan via a shutter every time it was closed. However, having about a tablespoon of highly explosive priming powder inches in front of your eyes did not recommend itself to most shooters. The percussion cap did away with all this. It contained a tiny amount of pressure-sensitive explosive that was accurately placed on a tube or nipple communicating directly to the breech. The percussion turned the revolver gun from a mere novelty into a practicable firearm.…

Stopping a game thief GUNDOG TRAINING Q My four-year-old flatcoat retriever has started stealing game from other dogs’ mouths on my shoot when I am picking-up. He was fine until this season just gone and is still fine when I am using dummies with other dogs during training. It is embarrassing when it happens on the shoot. How can I stop him doing this in time for next season? A The close season has at least removed him from temptation and a thorough refresher course of obedience and retrieving would be a good first step towards a cure. You obviously cannot tell him off once he has actually committed the crime, as the timing of the rebuke would be associated with him carrying game. He must be trained not to…

“Entries are welcome from any shoot in the UK that is actively working to improve the habitats of gamebirds” London gunmaker James Purdey and Sons is inviting entries for the 2016 Purdey Awards for Game and Conservation. Held annually since 1999, the awards seek to recognise and promote the outstanding game and habitat conservation work carried out by shoots across the UK. Entries are welcome from any type or size of shoot that is actively working to improve habitats for gamebirds, and can be made by individuals, syndicates, estates, farm shoots and wildfowling clubs. This year’s prize fund will be around £15,000 and will be shared between the winners of the gold, silver, bronze and special awards. There will also be five Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Advisory Awards,…

ATTEND The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Sussex Committee’s 34th annual shoot evening and auction is being held on Wednesday, 2 March at Clair Hall in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. The fund-raising evening costs £10 per person, payable on the door, which will include a buffet supper, and will feature talks by Shooting Times columnist David Tomlinson and GWCT predation adviser Austin Weldon, tel 01444 455440 for further information. BOOK Northwood-based charity RAFT (Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust) is holding its 17th annual clayshoot at Holland & Holland Shooting Grounds in North London on Wednesday, 8 June. The event is being held to raise money for and awareness of the work it does in support of improving burns and wound healing research. A shooting pass (with lunch) will cost…

New microchipping laws are due to come in to effect on 6 April. As of this date, it will be compulsory for dogs more than eight weeks old in England, Scotland and Wales, to be chipped. It is already a legal requirement in Northern Ireland. Breeders will be required to microchip puppies before they are rehomed and anyone who fails to get their dogs chipped could face a fine of up to £500. The process involves injecting a chip the size of a grain of rice under a dog’s skin. This chip contains a code linking to details of the dog’s owner on a database. Vet Neil McIntosh from Abbey Veterinary Group, based in the Renfrewshire towns of Paisley and Greenock, said that for the most part dog owners have…

The Countryside Alliance (CA) and the RSPB are in agreement that the European Union’s (EU) Birds and Habitats Directives are best left unchanged. Both organisations welcomed the news that the European Parliament has voted not to review the two pieces of legislation, which are known jointly as the Nature Directives and were designed to protect and maintain birds and natural habitats across the EU. The EU Environment Commission says it still wishes to modernise the outdated rules under the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT), but many groups are concerned that the review would only weaken the directives (News, 20 May). Kate Jennings, from the RSPB and chair of the Joint Links coalition of 100 UK NGOs working together to defend the Nature Directives, said: “Not only have more than…

At last, a national magazine has taken up the plight of Scottish working dogs! Well done, Shooting Timesand vet Neil McIntosh for bringing the different laws between working dogs in England and Scotland to everyone’s attention (Tail docking and workers’ welfare, 10 February). It is outrageous that so many of our hard-working dogs have suffered tail injuries as a result of legislation that was meant to stop the cosmetic docking of boxers and so on. The sooner there is an exemption that allows spaniels to have their tails shortened in the first few days after birth, the better. Everyone who works with them is sick of seeing raw tips and blood-covered sides. It is welcome news that the Scottish Government has announced a consultation on an exemption to the tail-docking…

About the trainer Neil Varney is a recognised Kennel Club judge for spaniels and retrievers, and is the host and spaniel trainer for both the Wiltshire and Dorset gundog clubs. He runs his own training group, Twistmount Gundogs in Redlynch, Somerset, and travels the country, giving demonstrations and holding training sessions. It’s going to be a busy summer at the Twistmount Kennels, as I have a few youngsters that are ready to start their more formal training. I have two home-bred young springer spaniels that are showing real potential, a little liver-and-white bitch called Dolly (pictured below), and a black-and-white dog called Logan. Both are just under six months old and you will be able to follow their progress over the coming months. I also have an eight-week-old fox-red Labrador…

While serving in Afghanistan as part of the Royal Navy Reserve, Jo Nicholson created a radio dramatisation for local people called Crops and the Farme . It was broadcast in Pashto and featured a cast of two: Khodai Dad, a village elder who represented traditional farming in Helmand, and Tor Gul, a young man prematurely placed in charge of the family farm. “Tor Gul relied heavily on Khodai Dad’s knowledge to maintain his farm but he also learned new techniques, which he passed back to Khodai Dad,” explained Jo. “The overall improvement in security in Helmand meant that farmers were able to market their crops more easily and were in need of more ideas for crops that can be grown throughout the year. “The show got a lot of audience…

Deer will be delighted to hammer any newly planted trees or shrubs, and to browse regrowth where you have been coppicing. Guards are essential for any new plants, and you need to make sure that they are tall enough to prevent deer from eating out the growing tip as it emerges. For regrowth, the usual policy is to pile tops on cut coppice stools so that the first new sprouts are out of reach of the deer. This can also work if you transplant a clump of bramble. At the other end of the scale, if you have no deer, or open up a big area, bramble regrowth can leave you with an impenetrable thicket after a couple of years. To avoid this, make sure that you mow a network…

IT’S MANY YEARS since the dangers of hip dysplasia in dogs were first recognised. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Kennel Club (KC) established their joint Hip Dysplasia Scheme in 1984 in a bid to try to understand the disease better, and to eradicate it from pedigree dogs. The scheme can hardly be called a failure, but neither has it been a success. By now, you may have thought that a DNA test may have been developed, allowing us to recognise which dogs are carriers and which ones are not, but unfortunately hip dysplasia isn’t the sort of disease that allows such things. Visually, you can’t see that a dog has bad hips, though in many cases the animal’s posture will hint at the problem, and the way it…

BILL HARRIMAN BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING Airgunner and journalist from the West Country BRUCE POTTS Shooting Timesrifle reviewer and stalker DAVID TOMLINSON Highly regarded writer and ornithologist LIAM BELL Shropshire gamekeeper and keen wildfowler GRAHAM DOWNING Shooting consultant and sporting author PAUL RAWLINGS Gundog expert and A-panel spaniel judge CHRIS DE CANI Riverkeeper, with specialist knowledge of chalkstreams TONY BUCKWELL Veterinary surgeon with a special interest in gundogs TONY JACKSON A game Shot, keen stalker and former editor of Shooting Times TOM PAYNE Professional shooting instructor and avid pigeon shooter SIMON WHITEHEAD Author, professional ferreter and rabbit controller IAIN WATSON Keen stalker and senior CIC international trophy judge Contact the team Email: stanswers@timeinc.com By post: Shooting Times, Blue Fin Building,…

There were huge movements of siskins in late summer and autumn last year, probably following a productive breeding season in Scandinavian forests. Big arrivals were noted on the east coast of England, in woodland and even in gardens. These delicate greenish/yellow striped finches have fine tweezer-like bills that enable them to get at small tree seeds, such as those of alder. With so many birds in the country, it is likely that these natural foods will start to run out, with siskins turning to bird feeders in increasing numbers as February turns to March. Having first been attracted to gardens by red bags of peanuts in the 1970s, siskins have moved on to nyjer seed and sunflower hearts, in their search for late winter and spring supplements. They may well…

“Light penetration is the key consideration when assessing trees on a chalkstream” Each year, a few weeks before the trout fishing season begins, our regular Rods arrive for lunch and to walk the river to whet their appetite for the impending season. Throughout the summer many river keepers will have been asked: “what do you do in the winter?” This lunch is my earliest opportunity to account for my movements from October to April, and prove to some of the Rods that the position of river keeper is not a seasonal one; there is much that must be done during the winter. Last year, I had little new to show the Rods for my efforts because much of the winter was spent with chainsaw in hand, dealing with trees in…

5 -23 MARCH WILDLIFE AND SPORTING ART EXHIBITION The Jerram Gallery, Sherborne, Dorset Tel 01935 815261 12 MARCH BASC 2016 WILDFOWLING CONFERENCE Ramada Hotel, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands Tel 01244 573007 14 MARCH GWCT RODENTICIDE TRAINING DAY The Allerton Project, Loddington, Leicestershire Tel 01425 651013 4 APRIL RIVER COTTAGE GARDEN OPEN DAY River Cottage HQ, Axminster, Devon Tel 01297 630300 13 APRIL GAVIN GARDINER MODERN AND VINTAGE SPORTING GUN AUCTION Sotheby’s, London Tel 01798 875300 23 APRIL GWCT ANNUAL DINNER AND AUCTION The Walled Garden, Beeston Fields, Notts Tel 07976 207113…

Possible wildcat on grouse moor The headkeeper on an Angus Glens estate has caught on camera what he thinks is a rare Scottish wildcat hunting on the grouse moor. Bruce Cooper placed the camera as part of the Scottish Wildcat Action initiative and the images appear to show one of the cats eating a rabbit. The images have now been sent to the project team to confirm identification. BASC launches election websites BASC has launched three new websites to allow shooters to gauge their candidates’ opinions on shooting and conservation ahead of the devolved elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The sites will help voters to identify their candidates and seek their views Visit http://po.st/Mf5aZF to access the election websites. SMG blasts hen harrier report The Scottish Moorland Group…

What does a typical working week involve for you? A gamekeeper’s life is a busy and varied one, whatever the season. Along with all the usual tasks, I spend a lot of time helping to organise moorland access for surveys — birds and botany mainly. Our Special Protection Areas are the envy of many. We’re also restoring eroding peat hags, which is important environmental work. What would you say is the greatest issue in shooting and conservation at the moment? Possibly the electronic, digital age which has given those who are against us the opportunity to spread misinformation about what we actually do. The sad thing is, many believe it! What are the biggest challenges you face in your job? Convincing the ever-increasing mass of public opinion that what we…

“The housing crisis is the defining economic issue of our generation and we must find ways to deliver housing in rural areas” Barely a fortnight goes by without a new report, survey or consultation highlighting the Government’s efforts to tackle the housing crisis. However, the needs of rural and urban communities are very different and it is rare indeed for feasible solutions to be proposed for rural areas. It is even rarer for any such proposal to come to fruition on the ground in rural areas. For decades — indeed, centuries — rural communities have by and large done it for themselves, with landowners providing land at little or no charge for affordable housing for local people and the generations to come. There are countless examples of those who live…

Our keepers’ day was a great success. Though we didn’t shoot a large bag, every bird in the larder was hard fought for and well deserved. Some people had to call off due to trees being blown over roads but most made it to the bothy for 9am. We split the Guns into two teams and the dogs were also divided equally to form a standing team and walking team. To make things totally fair each year, we draw numbers and toss a coin to see which team has the first stand. I also have an auction lot for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) where a Gun has bid to stand at the keepers’ day. Over the years some keen Guns have taken this day and they always have an…

“Pheasants are not really woodland birds; rather, they love woodland edges” For most low-ground shoots, the pheasants are the bread-and-butter gamebird, and you could reasonably say that woods are the bread-and-butter habitat for them. But what sort of woods do they like? This is where the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) woodland and pheasant research comes in. In the 1980s, in my early days at the GWCT — when radio tracking was the flashy new science — my colleagues fitted radios to lots of pheasants and followed their movements. The research showed us two fundamental truths. The first was that pheasants are not really woodland birds; rather, they love woodland edges. In winter they spend most of their time inside the wood, but the majority do not venture more…

Older woods, even when planted over, often have a sort of double canopy, with a shrub layer of what is known as coppice material, such as hazel and hawthorn, below the main trees. To get good ground cover after thinning or skylighting, it is usually best to cut down any coppice too. This naturally stimulates regrowth of the plants concerned and results in much better cover down on the ground, where the pheasants want it. When you go coppicing, please be bold, and cut down to an inch or two above the ground — the higher you cut, the more scope there is for a cold draught down at pheasant level.…

DIY FRIDGE CONVERSION By far the cheapest option is to convert a full-height fridge into a makeshift game chiller and add Bushwear’s Fridge Converter Kit, which contains everything you need such as a game-hanging bar and S-hooks. • From around £300 plus £34.99 for conversion kit. • www.bushwear.co.uk • www.fridgeland.co.uk SELF-ASSEMBLY GAMELARDER Tarrant has been in the refrigeration business since 1972, and 10 years ago it started building gamelarders. It says its most popular size is the No. 2, which measures 1.77m x 1.70m x 2.4m high. • Usual RRP: £4,194 inc VAT; special price for Shooting Timesreaders: £3,697 inc VAT and delivery until 28 February. • www.gamelarder.com BESPOKE GAME CHILLERS An extended branch from the Catering Shop Ltd, Game Chillers UK offers bespoke game chillers — any size and…

“Hip dysplasia has never been a problem with English springers ” If you’ve been around gundogs for any length of time, you’re certain to have come across dogs suffering from hip dysplasia. One of my first encounters was with a young Welsh springer on a shooting day. The dog’s owner couldn’t understand why his spaniel would suddenly yelp with pain when hunting, but it was all too apparent that it was suffering badly from hip dysplasia. I never heard what happened to that spaniel, but its career as a shooting dog wasn’t a bright one. Welsh springers do tend to suffer from bad hips, with the breed average score a worrying 18. However, Welsh springer owners take hip-scoring seriously, and 1,734 dogs have been scored, an impressively high figure for…

A rather shrivelled-looking, windswept oak tree standing by the B1172 in Norfolk, between Wymondham and Norwich, is one of Britain’s most famous trees. Known as Kett’s Oak, it’s reputed to be the tree under which two farmers, Robert and William Kett, gathered a group of aggrieved local landworkers before they marched to the city of Norwich in protest against the enclosure of common land in 1549. According to a plaque under the tree, their grievances were also associated with the rising cost of living. It states: “Various enclosure hedges were ‘thrown down’ by their respective followers, and the revolt was under way. The rebellion failed and Robert Kett was hanged at Norwich Castle. His brother William was hanged from the tower of Wymondham Abbey.” But Richard Mabey, writing in his…

After the relative quietness of the winter months, badger activity is now intense, with the boars seeking out the sows that have recently given birth. Almost all badger cubs are born in February, and the sows are receptive to the boar soon after giving birth. However, due to a system of delayed implantation — typical of many members of the weasel family — a sow mated now will not give birth for a year. Badgers can produce as many as five cubs, but two is usual. A newly born cub weighs just 100g (3½oz), and is 12cm long (5in). The growth rate is rapid due to the richness of the mother’s milk. She will suckle her cubs for the next three months, by which time they will weigh over 1kg…

“If a wild deer is incapable of leaving the scene where it was injured, with humans about, it should be put down without delay” After a week of frost and snow, the ground finally hardened enough to allow me to complete the cull of my yearling hinds. I don’t normally leave it so late, but the relentlessly wet weather this winter left me with little choice. For most of the season, the ground has been so soft that I didn’t want to run the quad across it, meaning that extracting carcases would be difficult. Anyway, the job is now complete. I am a keen deerstalker, but I don’t like shooting animals that I’ve had conversations with. None of my deer carry tags and I take personal responsibility for selecting the…