Innholdsfortegnelse for 11-May-2016 i Shooting Times & Country

THE STORY OF the restoration of Ilkley Moor is an uplifting one. A determined syndicate took on the challenge of persuading both a left-wing council landlord and a neighbouring urban community not naturally sympathetic to grouse shooting. With great efforts to involve local people and get a positive message across, they won over the sceptics and revealed the enormous good that driven grouse management can achieve. Those living nearby delighted in the heather returning to their view of the moorland and enjoyed the increase in wildlife on their hillside walks. In contrast, the protesters calling for the Ilkley Moor project to lose its lease show a profoundly negative urge to destroy rather than create. Their actions are in the interests of neither wildlife nor the wider community. It is reassuring…

Criminals involved in the theft of plant machinery across Lancashire had better think again now that more officers have been trained to spot stolen or cloned plant machinery. Officers from across Lancashire have been on a special training course designed to help them recognise telltale signs that might indicate a piece of machinery is stolen. Various machines including tractors, excavators and tandem rollers were available for the officers to examine so they know what to look for when they come across vehicles they suspect as being stolen. Both the practical and the classroom training sessions were led by DC Chris Pigott from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) and Clive Harris from NFU Mutual. Lorraine Ellwood, rural crime and wildlife co-ordinator for the constabulary, said: “It is the first…

Silent auction of sporting promises Clevedon Wildfowling Association will hold a “silent auction of sporting promises” throughout May to raise funds for ongoing conservation and land purchases. The auction will give successful bidders the opportunity to experience wildfowling (among other lots) in some of the wildest and most beautiful parts of the country. The auction went live at www.clevedon wildfowling.co.uk on 1 May and will continue to run until 31 May. There will be regular auction updates via www.facebook.com/clevedonwildfowling/ and Twitter @clevedonwa . Community battles American mink Residents of a north Wales village hope to make a dent in the American mink population after attending a BASC training day. Eleven locals from Nant Gwynant, near Beddgelert, signed up to the course after sightings of the non-native invasive species in Afon…

Who are you and what do you do? My name is Jack Halsall, I am 20 years old and I work in farming. My work’s based around where I live, near Southport, Merseyside and I fit my shooting around it. Did shooting find you or did you find shooting? A mix of both. My dad has always been a keen gameshooter, so I often went along with him. One of his friends, David Ball, who coached me at Down-The-Line (DTL) recognised that I had potential and he thought that I should have a go in taking part in a competition. Since then, I have shot many competitions and I have progressed to shoot for England. What are your shooting aspirations? Now that I have shot for England and won gold…

“The birds that would suffer most are species that are already in trouble — the ground-nesting waders” I received an article via email from IBIS, the International Journal for Avian Science, and was surprised to find that it was not a scientific paper. IBISis noted for peer-reviewed papers on all topics bird related, but this was not one. The article, entitled Environmental Impacts of High-Output Driven Shooting of Red Grouse, has been composed by six authors, all employed by the RSPB as far as I can tell, and it does nothing more than try to condemn driven grouse moor management. There is no doubt that this has not been done of the authors’ own volition — that really would be a step too far — no, this must have been…

LAW AND LICENSING — A CONCISE GUIDE FOR SHOTGUN AND RIFLE OWNERS by Bill Harriman Essential reference for any Gun. BASC’s legal adviser and Shooting Timesfirearms expert Bill Harriman provides a definitive guide to firearms legislation, and gives practical guidance and invaluable insight into the law surrounding the use and ownership of firearms and shotguns. It includes real case studies and examples from Bill’s own experience to help shed light on some of the more obscure aspects of legal firearms ownership. Price: £14.95 ISBN: 9781846892271 www.quillerpublishing.com SMOKING FOOD AT HOME WITH SMOKY JO by Jo Hampson with Georgina Perkins Food lovers who want to try their hand at smoking food could find what they are after with this new book by Jo Hampson and Georgina Perkins, who run…

MOST DOGS LOVE CARS. Travelling in the car is usually a precursor to something more exciting, such as going for a walk or perhaps a shooting expedition. I don’t think dogs experience disappointment in the same way that we do, but it’s not difficult to detect a dog’s crestfallen look when it discovers that it has arrived in the vet’s car park, rather than the shoot. It’s also remarkable how quickly a dog realises where it is: vet car park recognition is usually instantaneous. Dogs do, of course, have an uneasy relationship with cars, as collisions with cars kill an awful lot of dogs every year. The Kennel Club’s 2014 Pedigree Breed Health Survey, which I wrote about earlier this year (Gundogs, 23 March), noted causes of death for the…

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…

By now the risk of frost is largely over in southern England, but when a late frost does occur its impact can be devastating for fruit growers. It’s a particular problem for winemakers, as a late frost will kill the embryonic flowers of the vines, ensuring that there will be no grapes to pick in the autumn. Northern vineyards, such as those in England, are especially vulnerable, but even warmer regions such as Bordeaux and California can experience disasters. English winemakers do their best to avoid the problem by planting varieties of vines that flower late, but sometimes more drastic action is needed. French vineyard owners may employ overnight bonfires in a bid to keep the frost at bay, while last year an English vineyard, at Leckford in Hampshire, lit…

“We are gravely concerned that the reinstatement of sporting rates will end a range of shooting activities” After last week’s elections in Scotland, a rise in Conservative votes meant the SNP fell short of an overall majority, despite gaining an“historic” third term in Scottish Government. BASC says the votes show there is still more work to be done. Christopher Graffius, BASC director of communications, said: “It is interesting to note that, in Scotland, the rise of the Conservative vote was in rural areas, but a fall in the Labour vote does not go far enough to explain this. The SNP should now be looking to rediscover their rural roots.” He continued: “After the elections in Scotland we know that 48 of the 129 MSPs support shooting, which equates to 37…

A new official trophy measuring service will be offered to National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) members following a collaboration with the UK Trophy Evaluation Board (CIC). The CIC will be offering its expertise to NGO members at many of the shows and events where the NGO has a presence including next month’s Field & Country Fair. Under the terms of the new arrangement, each NGO member will receive a £5 discount on the first head of any species measured by the CIC. Iain Watson, senior judge of the UK Trophy Evaluation Board of the CIC, said: “I very much welcome this new link between the NGO deer branch and the CIC. “The CIC has a progressive view of sustainable hunting and conservation so we have a great deal in common with…

Heather Cooper of Haughley Post Office, in Suffolk, was awarded the Rural Hero Award at the eleventh annual Countryside Alliance Awards, nicknamed the Rural Oscars. Heather received the award for “exceptional service to her community”. Welsh biologist Professor Carl Jones has been awarded the 2016 Indianapolis Prize — the highest accolade in animal conservation. Prof Jones was awarded the prize for his 40 years of work in Mauritius, where he saved an endangered Kestral from extinction. A four-month-old chihuahua puppy in Melbourne was snatched from its owner and carried away by crows. Fudge, which is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, was in the owner’s back garden before being taken. A recent study by scientists at the University of Cambridge revealed that Labradors may be genetically…

“Billions and billions and billions of pigeon on Thirty Acre” beeped the text from my local farmer. Fate, being a tricksy little minx, usually arranges for us to receive such messages when we’re trapped somewhere deeply unpleasant such as a production meeting or, worse, a sunbathing holiday in Lanzarote. But for once I’d planned my leave to coincide with the drillings. What’s more, the forecast was favourable — cloudy with a good dollop of south-westerlies — and the Heir was home from university and reasonably recovered from the endless drinking that he assures me is an integral part of a modern education. Before you could say “pigeon pie”, we’d loaded up the battlewagon with an armoury of decoys, flappers, spare batteries, a slab of squibs and set off for a…

Similar to chicken but with a firmer texture, rabbit offers cuts of meat akin to lamb or pork — a neck, a loin (or saddle) and the front and back legs. Wild rabbit is leaner than its farmed counterpart and has more flavour. It is ideally enjoyed as a casserole or within a pie because, being so lean, it fares best in pot roasts and braises. If you can’t lay your hands on ras el hanout — the spice mix that gives the tagine its distinctive flavour — you can improvise by using two teaspoons each of cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon, smoked paprika, ginger and turmeric. As with most casseroles, this dish will taste even better if it is cooked a day ahead. And if you want to bulk it…

If you want an indication of changing attitudes to gundogs, look no further than the now widespread use of coats, or what horse owners would call rugs. Twenty years ago, it was almost unheard of to see a dog rugged up after a day’s shooting, and I remember being ribbed by my fellow shoot members when I started rugging up my spaniels. Today, it’s become standard practice and hardly raises an eyebrow, let alone a sarcastic comment. If you go to a trial you will see many of the dogs rugged up when not competing and, as soon as they have had their run, they have their coats put back on. This is now normal in spaniel trials, and increasingly common with retrievers. Of course, there’s no need for a…

If you are in Devon and bite into a squab pie, don’t ask for your money back when you discover there’s no pigeon in it. That’s because the pie filling comprises lamb (specifically mutton) with apple and onions. Apparently, crime writer Agatha Christie made her own version, which incorporated hard-boiled eggs. But another writer, Charles Dickens, detested it. In the Victorian periodical All The Year Round, which was essentially his journal published on a weekly basis, he wrote: “Of all the West Country pies, squab pie is, in our humble estimation, the most incongruous and the most detestable. The odious composition is made of fat clumsy mutton chops, embedded in layers of sliced apples, shredded onions, and — O tempora! O mores! — brown sugar! The result is nausea, unsociability,…

“Ballan wrasse have barnacle-crunching teeth and fight with head-shaking tenacity” Wrasse make me sad. Ballan wrasse and cuckoo wrasse are among some of our most beautiful sea fish. The ballan, with its Mick Jagger lips and punk-camouflage markings, is a fantastic fish to look at and to catch. Big ballan wrasse have barnacle-crunching teeth and broad athletic shoulders, so when they wrap their laughing-gear around your bait, they will fight with terrier-like head-shaking tenacity. The cuckoo wrasse, on the other hand, looks like an escaped alien; orange and turquoise, two-toned and exotic in its appearance, it is unmistakable. It seems just like something you’d expect to catch from a Caribbean coral reef. Though both wrasse species are a joy to behold, catching them from a boat often fills me with…

“Farmers do fantastic work for pollinators covering thousands of acres of the British countryside. This substantial contribution benefits local biodiversity and brings valuable and vital pollination to crops.” National Farmers’ Union vice -president Guy Smith calls for recognition of the farming industry’s efforts to protect bees. 29 The profitability of UK farming fell by a staggering 29 per cent in 2015, a loss of over £1.5billion, according to figures released by DEFRA. This is the biggest year-on-year fall since the millennium and latest official statistics show that farming profitability is at its lowest level since 2007.…

BUY Keep your issues of Shooting Timesorganised and tidy with an attractive binder. Each binder contains six months’ worth of magazines and costs £9.95 plus postage. It’s available in green and has embossed gold lettering on the spine. To order yours, email hannah.rought@timeinc.com. EAT New potatoes are in season at the moment, so why not put them to good use? Find Mark Gough’s delicious, but simple, French-inspired goose breast with tartiflette at Shootinguk.co.uk. Visit po.st/GooseRecipe for the recipe. READ The Total Dog Manualis the definitive resource for dog owners. Authors David Meyer, Abbie Moore and Dr Pia Salk share their knowledge on how to choose and care for your dog and also understanding and training it. RRP from £18.95. To purchase your copy or for further information, visit www.quiller publishing.com,…

The National Farmers’ Union has called on all major milk buyers to recognise the seriousness of the situation as the sector experiences the lowest average milk price for seven years. Major milk buyers have announced further milk price cuts which will come into force in the coming weeks. The average milk price for March stood at the lowest it has been since 2009 – with some farmers across the country on milk prices well below 16ppl. NFU dairy board chairman Michael Oakes said even the most efficient dairy farmers cannot survive at these levels. “There’s no question that this is the most difficult time many dairy farmers have ever faced with milk prices far below break-even levels,” said Mr Oakes. “In the Copa milk meeting this week we saw the…

“The lek is a brief harum-scarum affair with an immediate victor and a deeply apologetic loser” There aren’t many things that can get me out of bed early in the morning. The promise of a goose flight or a chance at a roebuck are sure to provoke a response, but nothing quite blows away the cobwebs like a clear morning in April and May when the blackcock beckon. Walking the hills before dawn will never lose its appeal, and the combination of curlews, drumming snipe and the hum of the lek is like a magnet to me. I’ve been counting blackgrouse for several years in my corner of Galloway, monitoring their fortunes over several square miles of far-flung farmland and heather moor. I must have spent hundreds of hours on…

“The pregnant jill’s body takes a bashing so she is definitely in need of some rest and recuperation” TESTED TO THE HILT The season is all but finished and my thoughts have already turned to improving the squad for next season. I have put three of my finest jills to two excellent working hobs. In six weeks I hope to hear the squeals of kits. Breeding ferrets is one thing but, more important is how I manage those from which I am not breeding. My ferrets have all had a brutal season. Physically and mentally, they have had enough for one year, so I must maintain their well-being through what can be a draining time, the summer. Caring for your ferrets during the summer is more important than looking after…

With its haunting call and almost angelic flight on “display mode”, the curlew is symbolic of the moorlands in spring. Like many other absentees, the bird’s arrival is both anticipated and welcomed as it heralds, or should do, better weather and optimism for the summer to come. Sadly, though, the bird is no better at guaranteeing the better weather than any of the rest of us. In poor springs I have seen hundreds forced back down on the low-lying fields when the moors are covered in late snow — 2015 was a case in point. The curlew is, by some distance, our largest wading bird. When it was on the quarry list, it was considered, by the wildfowlers at any rate, to be the equal of any marsh mallard. I…

I became fascinated with Remington cartridges during my early boyhood. I used to collect my father’s fired 12-bore cases, which were mostly boring unprinted, unvarnished types. Then one day a retired shooter gave him a part box of Remington Kleanbore with those lovely green ribbed tubes. I was ecstatic, and that was when I contracted the collecting bug which in later years became a major hobby. Remington UMC According to an attractive tin produced to commemorate Remington’s 150th anniversary, the company has been serving America’s sportsmen since it was founded in 1816. Shotgun ammunition production began in 1888, followed by amalgamation with the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, becoming a leading US manufacturer. After 1912 it became the Remington Arms Union Metallic Cartridge Company (Remington UMC). Recognising a valuable market in…

If the blue tits in your nest box have not yet hatched, hopefully they soon will. Blue tits lay all their eggs in one basket and the success of the breeding season is completely dependent upon what happens in the first two weeks of the young birds’ lives. A female blue tit lays an average of eight to 10 eggs and both parents will be hoping that there will be plenty of caterpillars around when they need to find an estimated 1,000 food items a day for their hungry youngsters. A spell of wet and cold weather, especially when large chicks are growing quickly and nearly at the point of fledging, can prove fatal, leaving adults with an 11-month wait before they can attempt to breed again. This is a…

“Lawrence Durrell is portrayed as a rather fey intellectual, but he was an experienced Shot” A friend of mine was once interviewed for some sort of media job at the RSPB. One of the interviewers was the then RSPB president, the distinguished journalist and broadcaster Julian Pettifer. At one point, my friend was asked if he was a shooter. He stutteringly admitted that he was, just occasionally. There was an awkward silence. Then Mr Pettifer leaned forward and said with a grin: “Well, that makes two of us in this room who have shotgun certificates.” It seems shooting people turn up in the most unexpected places. The successful ITV drama The Durrells, set in Corfu, recently showed how Gerald Durrell used to accompany his brother, Leslie, on shooting expeditions. But…