Innholdsfortegnelse for 4-May-2016 i Shooting Times & Country

I TOOK up an invitation to visit the RSPB’s head office at Sandy, in Bedfordshire, last week, and had a very constructive meeting with conservation director Martin Harper and planning and strategy manager Andre Farrar. They showed me round the estate restoration project, which is pretty impressive, turning a barren spruce plantation back into rare lowland heathland — the RSPB gets to do cool stuff like plan 100 years in advance! My visit was inspired by a willingness on both sides to find common ground. We discussed the population’s increasing alienation from nature (despite the RSPB’s membership reaching an all-time high of 1,187,839) and agreed that media output such as the BBC’s Springwatch can give the false impression that all is rosy. Unless we see widespread conservation in the countryside…

The Government is still yet to provide reassurances that it has a plan for all outcomes of the European Union (EU) referendum, says the CLA. In a letter to CLA president Ross Murray, Prime Minister David Cameron says there are two risks to the rural economy should the UK exit the EU – economic and political. Mr Murray said that Mr Cameron’s letter had been reassuring in some ways but without providing the actual reassurances asked for. The letter was in response to a letter written by Mr Murray to the Prime Minister about the uncertainty for farming and rural businesses and the lack of a plan B. Mr Cameron replied: “Respected organisations like the London School of Economics have in recent weeks shown that being outside the EU would…

BASC launches new bag recording system BASC has overhauled its Green Shoots Mapping software to allow wildfowlers to complete online bag returns. The popular software was recently relaunched after being updated to work on tablets and smartphones. In addition to this touchscreen functionality, a new “Bagged It” feature has been developed for wildfowlers to complete bag returns electronically rather than relying on traditional paper methods. BASC has administered the current bag returns system for clubs and individuals since 1995. Paul Williamson, BASC’s rural land development manager, said: “After a two-year consultation, we are delighted that we have been able to integrate bag returns into the already successful Green Shoots Mapping software. New Labrador DNA testing approved The Kennel Club (KC) has approved a new official DNA testing scheme for hereditary…

BASC is encouraging its members to take part in the latest annual Green Shoots Mapping Review in order to promote the important role shooting plays in conservation. The software is used by members to create maps of their shooting grounds and to record species and habitat information. Ian Danby, BASC’s head of biodiversity projects, explained: “We are asking everyone who uses Green Shoots Mapping to log on and review the areas they have mapped and for new users to start on the system. “The review provides a snapshot of species and habitats present on shooting land. This snapshot can be compared with the review in 2015 and reviews we do in the future. “Monitoring change in habitats and species is of high importance to nature conservation planning and action. We…

“Look after your call birds as if they are honoured guests and they will look after you” May is one of my favourite months, with spring in full swing and new life emerging around the shoot. Part of what I love about it is the daily alarm call of the dawn chorus. Songbirds thrive on well-managed shoots with their mix of abundant, properly managed habitat and sensible vermin control. Both bear testament to the fact that shooting has a big part to play in keeping songbird numbers healthy. It is a delight — one of the joys of being a keeper — to be able to work surrounded by the song of the skylark, the song thrush, the robin and the blackbird. Songbirds time their breeding season to coincide with…

Huntsman Richard Down (right), 52, supported by his wife Lucy, has hunted the Quantock Staghounds for the past 25 years. His hunting career began with one season as whipper-in with the Eggesford Foxhounds, then five years with the Devon & Somerset Staghounds, followed by two seasons whipping-in to the QSH, before taking on the role of huntsman. A history of the Quantock Staghounds is currently being prepared by Jeremy Whitehorn and will be published in October.…

MATERIALS One straight stick of ash, hazel or sweet chestnut: 4ft (1.2m) long x 1¼in (32mm) diameter (the sizing of a stick obviously varies from person to person, so it is best to make a longer stick and cut it to the required length later). A ferrule (this can be pre-bought or made from a piece of copper pipe or the end of a used shotgun cartridge). Linseed oil. RECOMMENDED TOOLS Pruning sawSpokeshaveBending jigSteam-bending equipmentSandpaper 1 Choose a knot-free stick and cut a notch into it 1in (25mm) from the end. The stick can now be steamed. This can either be done by using a steamer or, if a number of sticks are being made, it is common to place the end of the stick (with the notch) in damp…

Labrador owners who have read the main article on these pages can be forgiven for feeling smug. I’m sure that one of the reasons why Labradors are such hugely popular pets and working dogs is that they are so easy to look after. The amount of grooming most Labradors get is minimal, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some go through their entire lives without being brushed. However, most serious Labrador people recommend that these dogs should get a good going over with a bristle brush at least once a week, as it not only removes dead hair and dirt from the coat, but also helps distribute the natural oils throughout the fur. Compared with brushing a spaniel it’s simplicity itself, with no tangled ears to contend with. Some Labradors…

THE ULTIMATE SHOOTING QUIZ TEAM 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…

“It is for the new Police and Crime Commissioners to hold their licensing departments to account” The Countryside Alliance (CA) has said the quality of service a legal gun owner is likely to receive is a “real postcode lottery”. Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the CA said it found “staggering regional disparities” to the number of Section 7 permits issued over the past five years. Section 7 temporary permits are issued almost exclusively when licensing departments are unable to renew full licences before they have expired. As such they are a good barometer of how well those departments are running. Tim Bonner, chief executive of the CA, said: “The results showed staggering regional disparities, with police force areas such as Cleveland and Derbyshire issuing no Section 7 permits…

Gamekeepers have backed a National Park’s recommendation for dogs to be kept on leads during the breeding season, believing this should be extended to other National Parks. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) argued during debates regarding the 2003 “right to roam” legislation that dogs being allowed to run free during the breeding season could cause problems for wildlife. With ground-nesting species such as curlew and dotterel added to the red list and woodland birds such as capercaillie critical, the SGA has backed the Cairngorms National Park Authority’s (CNPA) stance that owners keep dogs on leads. The CNPA has urged park users in the Cairngorms to keep their pets leashed during spring and into the summer months. The Cairngorms contains 80 per cent of the country’s remaining capercaillie, which are highly…

More than 80 per cent of MEPs declined to support a declaration to restrict all trophy imports into the European Union (EU). In January, a group of MEPs launched a written declaration calling for an examination into the possibility of restricting all trophy imports into the EU. However on 18 April — the deadline for signing the declaration — the proponents had failed to obtain the required support of a majority of MEPs to have it published in the Parliament’s minutes, while an overwhelming majority of MEPs declined to support the declaration. The president of the EU Parliament intergroup “Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside”, MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz, concluded: “The majority of the members of the European Parliament believe that a ban of trophy hunting is not a desirable way forward for wildlife…

Barrett, the American gunsmiths known for producing high-quality rifles, is launching the new Sovereign range of over-and-under and side-by-side sporting shotguns. The launch marks a new direction for Barrett. Visit www.barrettsovereign.com. A three-mile stretch of shoreline and mudflats on the Severn Estuary has been purchased at auction by a mystery buyer. The new owner is a keen conservationist and has pledged to ensure the continuation of the land’s sporting use for years to come. Around 100 fallow deer have either died or had to be culled at Lyme Park, near Disley in Cheshire, after succumbing to a liver fluke infection over winter. The red deer population of the park was unaffected. A 30-year-old black-and-tan kelpie named Maggie, thought to be the world’s oldest dog, died this month on her dairy…

WILL BASC WITHDRAW? I was appalled but not at all surprised to read of the BBC’s treatment of the gun trade in relation to the Countryfile Live! show (News, 6 April). At least it brings its position into the open regarding recreational shooting. But what hypocrisy! The BBC conveniently forgets its chartered requirement for impartiality whenever it suits it, which is most of the time. I assume BASC was unaware of this situation when it signed up to attend the event but surely it must now withdraw, especially as the majority of gun and shooting equipment dealers will be trade members? I cannot believe their presence would influence the majority of Countryfileviewers anyway. G. Jeffery, by email BASC responds: BASC shares the gun trade’s disappointment that the BBC’s restrictions will…

The latest League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) propaganda attack on grouse moors went up in smoke, coming as it did on the back of fires that swept across two areas of ecologically sensitive moorland a couple of weeks ago. No surprise that, yet again, the “anti” extremists used their media darlings to prop up re-hashed arguments, this time against the management of moorlands for grouse shooting. If gamekeepers were left to do their job, however, there is every chance that firefighters and mountain rescue teams would not have been forced to battle through the night to control blazes on Dovestone, in the Peak District, and Darwen Moor, in Lancashire. Investigators are still searching for the causes of fires which, fuelled by strong winds, ripped across tracts of ecologically-sensitive moorland. Such…

ABOUT THE TRAINER Neil Varney is a recognised Kennel Club judge for both 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. During the past month Remy, the Labrador puppy, has been coming along really well with his lead work, and over the past week or so I have gently started to introduce some more formal heel work but this has not been without its challenges. Last month (Taking the lead, 6 April), to encourage the little dog to follow me on the lead I tapped my leg and, for most of the time, this technique worked quite well. But…

In early May, you may be lucky to have a couple of late drillings going in but normally if the weather has played ball, everything will be drilled and in the ground. As you come into the end of May and early June all pigeon feeding will be on green crops. With this in mind, here are the crops and situations I recommend focusing on, and the weather and timings you would do well to watch. Failed rape In April to late May, winter rape will have really advanced and will be in flower. Many pigeon shooters will often ignore it at this stage, but this is an opportunity missed. In many cases, if parts of the crop through the winter and spring months have struggled, they will be continuing…

Out at High Park the powers that be — which means me — have appointed a headkeeper (unpaid). He lives just up the hill from my patch. Once or twice last spring we met by chance and talked for a time; in the summer we saw rather more of each other up on the moor, where he was loading and I was flanking, and we seemed to enjoy each other’s company. Tony Smith is a retired keeper from Norfolk; for many years he was in charge of a big wild bird shoot. He was also a good friend of late Shooting Times contributor John Humphreys; they shot and fished and smoked their pipes together. John brought Tony grouse shooting in Swaledale and it was this, I suppose, that opened his…

Ian Smith’s farm on the north Kent coast has a healthy population of hares thanks to the conservation measures he has put in place. He runs a small partridge shoot with some wild pheasants and greys, but as a result of this conservation work — for which he won the Purdey Award in 2003 — he’s been plagued by an illegal courser on his land. “It’s always been a coursing area. My grandfather had greyhounds and there was a Thanet coursing club and a Sheppey coursing club. However, one sector of society has continued to course without respect for the law or private property,” said Ian. “At its peak, this individual was running his dogs here four times a week.” “I was beating here on Ian’s shoot in December,” added…

The Wildlife Habitat Trust was set up in 1986 at the request of BASC members; its main aim was to help shooting groups buy land for shooting and conservation in the UK. A second trust, with charitable aims, was set up a few years later to provide grants for conservation work on the ground. Importantly, the new charitable trust could provide grants anywhere in the world. To support this work, buy the £5 WHT stamp or make a donation to the WHT. For more information visit www.wht.org.uk or call BASC, tel: 01244 573024.…

Another type of walking stick is the cross-head. There are two ways to make them. One is to find it growing and involves digging out part of the root (I obtained my favourite blackthorn stick this way). The other is by pruning and replanting a young sapling, which is common with ash. This is a method that requires patience because you are growing your stick. However, growing a natural handle takes only a few years and, once under way, a few saplings can be planted each year. You will soon have a good supply of naturally grown handles. The handles are always of interest but it is the strength of these sticks that gives them such longevity. The grain of the wood flows through unchecked from the handle to the…

The Antient Scorton Silver Arrow is the world’s oldest recorded sporting event. It was first shot for in the village of Scorton, North Yorkshire, in May 1673 and moves to a different location every year. The next is on 21 May, in Bedale. At the first meeting, the Society of Archers was formed to maintain the art of target archery. The competition has continued since 1673 except during wartime, and celebrated its tricentenary in 2008. Only men aged 21 or over can enter and they must use hand bows. They shoot at targets at a range of 100 yards and the winner is the first man to hit a 3in black spot at the centre of a standard 4ft five-colour target. He is appointed Captain of the Arrow and takes…

There are few sights more typical of Britain in spring than a bluebell wood in full flower – half the world’s bluebell woods are to be found in the UK. Bluebells are members of the hyacinth family, and they grow at their best in woods where there’s a dense summer leaf canopy. They particularly favour oak woods, often with an understorey of hazel, and their presence is a strong indicator of ancient woodland. Sadly, today bluebell woods face many threats. One of the most insidious is from a closely related invader, the Spanish bluebell, a vigorous, scentless foreigner that hybridises readily with our native species. Grown widely in gardens, it’s a frequent escapee, and one in six bluebell woods are now thought to contain either pure Spanish bluebells or hybrids.…

“A diverted M4 motorway will create a lethal barrier of traffic that would be impossible for wildlife to cross, resulting in pollution seeping off the road surfaces into the surrounding waterways – on which much of the Levels wildlife depends.” Arfon Williams, RSPB Cymru countryside manager, urges the public to make their voices heard, as the M4 motorway diversion threatens to cut through the heart of the Gwent Levels. 10 DEFRA has announced it will be introducing a 10-mile rule on animal movements for farmers in England in a bid to cut red tape and form-filling. The new rules will allow farmers to move their animals around their own land, within a 10-mile radius, without the need to report movements.…

COOK Taste of Game has commissioned a rabbit cacciatore recipe from acclaimed Michelin-starred Italian chef Francesco Mazzei. Franceso, chef patron at Sartoria, in London, frequently appears on popular television cookery shows. Rich and hearty, this “hunter-style” Italian stew is often made with chicken, but Francesco celebrates the wonderful taste of British game meat by choosing the subtle flavour of rabbit. The full recipe is available at http://tasteofgame.org.uk/ rabbit-cacciatore-by-francesco-mazzei. BOOK The BASC Deerstalking Certificate 1 (DSC1) course is designed for people who have recently taken up stalking and are seeking further advice and guidance. If you fall into this category, be sure to book on to BASC’s upcoming four-day course from 5-8 May at John Bradshaw’s Gun Shop, in Fotheringhay, Peterborough. The course costs £290 and will provide an insight into,…

What inspired you to create the CountryCoats2Syria initiative? When travelling home from the Midland Game Fair in 2015 the radio was full of the news of the Syrian crisis. It was a simple idea to bring two people together, one with a spare coat and one with need of a coat. Countrysports enthusiasts appear to stockpile coats! How much support has it received? The support has been humbling, with buy-in from local groups such as shoots, hunts, church groups, mosques, inner-city farms, as well as local and national businesses. We have sent nearly 30,000 coats to Syria. The bonus has been local media outlet coverage giving credit to the fieldsports community for its humanitarian activity. What is next for CountryCoats2Syria? George Bowyer and I have run this campaign from our…

With conservation in mind, Canvey Wildfowling & Conservation Association has cancelled its monthly clay shoots. While removing the tarpaulin covering the clay traps, a robin’s nest was spotted on one of the trap seats, complete with five eggs. So, robin, you win the day and will be left to hatch your eggs and hopefully fledge the chicks undisturbed. R. Bishop, Canvey Wildfowling & Conservation Association IN ASSOCIATION WITH FUR FEATHER & FIN: FOR ALL YOUR SHOOTING TIMES The winner of this week’s Letter of the Week will receive an Anti-Corrosive Gun Sleeve, exclusively available from Fur Feather & Fin. For more information, visit www.furfeatherandfin.com or tel 01243 811844.…

“A white shape drifted past the trees to vanish into the barn. It was a barn owl; a reminder that all is not lost” In this increasingly frenetic world — dominated by terrorism, earthquakes, migrants and Brexit — there is, as far as I’m concerned, a certain refuge to be found in a high seat. Here, isolated from the bustling world, you can dream, observe, mull and absorb the quiet and tranquillity of the natural world. Stalking on foot might quite rightly be regarded as the acme of the sport, requiring as it does stealth, knowledge of the countryside, attention to the wind and the skills of camouflage and a covert approach, but it does not allow for contemplation nor the ability to observe nature undiscovered. These were my thoughts…

WALK TO HEEL FIRST OF ALL, I had to identify the cause of the problem, and in this case it was noticeable that when I tried to do some heel work in an open area, Remy would tend to pull out to the left. Then, when I encouraged him back in to me with a tap on the leg, he decided to jump up at me. Initially, I tried to tap lower down my leg, but this really didn’t work so I decided to use one of the fence lines at the Twistmount training ground. Almost immediately Remy stopped his jumping about and took up a nice position next to my left leg. By limiting his ability to pull out to the left and by using my leg to “funnel”…

Charlotte Lycett Green joined PC Preston “Frostie” Frost and Darren “Daz” Reed, who each have nearly 30 years’ police service, on a 10-hour shift, starting at 1pm and finishing at 11pm one Monday. “We are lucky here in Kent, because lots of Forces don’t have any rural officers,” said Frostie. “We have the time and energy to talk to people who have persistent problems and get together a plan of action to help them out. Senior management seems to have realised how important rural crime is and that it needs more resources.” Statistically, Sundays see the highest rate of rural crime, closely followed by Monday, so I knew that the chance of being there when something happened was reasonable. As dusk fell, we visited a traveller site before heading north…

IF YOU WANT TO STIR a bit of controversy among spaniel owners, mention the subject of clipping. Most purists are appalled by the idea of clipping a spaniel out, and until a few years ago I would have been, too. My springers had silky fur that never got woolly, and apart from trimming the feathers on their legs and ears they were left largely untouched. However, not all springers have such silky fur, and my current homebred springer, Rowan, is much more woolly, and left untrimmed would look really scruffy, even with daily grooming. Her hair may well have become woollier after she was spayed at the age of four. For some years I did my best to trim her with hairdressing scissors, but eventually I gave in and took…

Good rounds for rabbiting RIFLES Q I am trying to find a good, high-velocity round for my Ruger 10/22 .22LR rimfire rifle to make sure it operates correctly and functions reliably when I am out rabbiting. Can you recommend anything? A I would use .22LR subsonic rounds due to their quiet signature when a sound moderator is fitted, but I do understand that with a semi-automatic rifle, reliable function can sometimes only be had with high-velocity (HV) rounds. If you choose HV ammunition, out of all the .22LR ammunition that I have tested for accuracy, penetration and expansion, the best to date has been the RWS HV rimfire. This ammunition will shoot a 40-gr bullet at 1,232fps for 136ft/lb energy and group easily within the inch with your Ruger 10/22…

While most barn-living swallows arrive over a four-week period between late March and late April, our sickle-winged swifts turn up in less than a week. The timing of their migration back to Europe is linked to a flush of insects that follows the arrival of west African rains. Having spent the winter farther east and south in Africa, birds feed up over the coastal strip of Liberia and neighbouring countries before flying straight to their nest sites. Suddenly, at the end of April, quiet streets in favoured areas echo with the screams of swifts, checking out whether their roof-top nesting holes are still available. Over-winter demolitions, renovations and repairs must come as a nasty surprise to a bird that might have nested in the same site for more than 15…

“A thousand pities if we saved the tiger only to lose the mini-mactiger in our own backyard” Here’s some really good news: tigers are bouncing back. For what is said to be the first time in 100 years, global tiger numbers have shown a significant increase, rising to 3,890 animals up from an estimated 3,200 in 2010. India, which hosts almost 70 per cent of the global tiger population, recorded an increase of 30 per cent in its most recent census, in 2014, compared with the figure for 2011. Russia, Bhutan and Nepal also recorded increased numbers of tigers. The remaining black spot in the tigers’ fortunes seems to be south-east Asia, most notably Cambodia, where the Indochinese tiger was recently declared to be “functionally extinct”. This means that their…