Innholdsfortegnelse for 08-Feb-2017 i Shooting Times & Country

Has “Sprockergate” ignited a change of attitude towards field trials and the Kennel Club’s (KC) hold on gundog breeds? The news of an alleged cocker-springer cross (sprocker) reportedly being run as a cocker (News, 18 January) sent shock waves through the field trialling world. Though the shock wave has receded, the ripples that followed have created a deeper challenge for field trialling and the KC than simply whether the dog was a pure cocker or a cross. If the aim of selective breeding is to create a dog with the perfect attributes for the job, in principle the cocker-springer cross should be a valid breed — taking the best of both types. Yet the KC will not recognise the sprocker as a breed nor allow it to be run in…

10 FEB – 12 FEB THE BRITISH SHOOTING SHOW 2017 Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire Tel 01258 857700 16 FEBRUARY KEEPERS CHOICE GAME & COUNTRYSIDE CONFERENCE Cokethorpe School, Witney, Oxfordshire Tel 01489 780033 21 FEBRUARY BASC YOUNG SHOTS INTRODUCTORY DAY Lains Shooting School, Quarley, Andover, Hampshire Tel 01244 573028 26 FEBRUARY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE POINT-TO-POINT RACES Badbury Rings, Blandford Forum, Dorset Tel 07974 141933 9 MARCH GWCT GAME MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICE DAY Allerton Project, Loddington, Leicestershire Tel 01425 651013 9-12 MARCH CRUFTS 2017 National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, West Midlands Tel 01217 804141…

Enter the Shooting Industry Awards Applications for the 2017 Shooting Industry Awards are now being accepted and people, grounds and shops are all encouraged to enter. The awards celebrate the achievements of the trade throughout the previous year, with 17 award categories including best UK gunshop, best shooting ground and the pick of the top rifles, shotguns and cartridges. To enter and for further information, visit po.st/ShootingAwards by Friday, 24 February. Please note, due to a technical difficulty, if you already entered online before 1 February, you will have to complete the form again at the link above. Apologies for any inconvenience. Canvey wildfowler passes away Dave Peck, a long-time member of Canvey Wildfowling & Conservation Society, has died following a fight against cancer. Dave (pictured, left, with former BASC…

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and NGO (National Gamekeepers’ Organisation) Training are running fox snaring courses across Wales during February and March. The courses, which are led by GWCT head of education Dr Mike Swan, are endorsed by the Countryside Alliance, the Farmers’ Union of Wales and NFU Cymru. They are geared towards making sure that anyone using snares for fox control are up to date on the guidelines set out by the Welsh Government last year. There are courses on five dates in total — Lleyn Peninsula, Gwynedd, on Tuesday, 14 February; Ceredigion on Wednesday, 15 February; Denbighshire on Tuesday, 7 March; Builth Wells, Powys, on Wednesday, 8 March; and Vale of Glamorgan on Thursday, 9 March. “Our fox snaring training courses, based on more than 200…

“My alternative bath bomb would combine the aroma of musty old shooting jacket, damp vizsla and oily, backfiring, vintage Defender” I’m more of a shower man myself, but I can’t help wondering whether I should begin working with the cosmetics company Lush to design a range of “bath bombs”. I have, until now, remained largely immune to the delights promised by lashing a fizzing ball of scented powder into a steaming hot bath, but it’s worth having a look at the pure indulgence assured by its Skydancer — Far From The Madding Guns bath bomb. Made from a combination of bergamot, lemon and cinnamon leaf oils, the scenting notes (not whisky?) suggest a heady fusion of aniseed, freshly mown grass and bouquets of flowers. My alternative version would likely combine…

Every angler, from Dartmoor in the south to Caithness in the north of Scotland, who spends their leisure time on the banks of a piece of good water will be familiar with the dipper. From small tumbling streams boasting half-pound spotted trout, to the mighty Tyne with its noted runs of salmon, the dipper is present. It is an unassuming little bird but dapper in its own way, with the contrast between the almost black back, merging into dark chestnut brown and white breast, setting it apart on the watercourses of this country. Cinclus cinclus , as it is known in Latin, is a charming companion to have when waiting for the next rise or while simply standing with the salmon rod as the fly dangles in the run. The…

Dogs not infrequently feature in the newspapers and I always read canine stories with interest, even if I’m often left with the feeling that whoever wrote the story knows little about what they are writing. In a recent issue of The Times I enjoyed “The top dog guide”, subtitled “What breed is best for you?” I expected to be amused and I wasn’t disappointed. The guide featured 22 breeds, each appearing under such headlines as “Easiest to train”, “Best for a quiet life”, “Best for beginners” and “Most loyal”. It was fun as long as you didn’t take it too seriously. For example, the “Best for the city” was the great Dane, with alternatives the Bernese mountain dog and bull mastiff. Most city dogs live in flats or town houses,…

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 NGO chairman, 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, Pinehurst…

Once known as the old English carthorse, the shire is the largest of our native horse breeds. This powerful animal has a long history as a war horse. Its size and weight was essential for carrying a knight in full armour. It later became the most popular horse in both agriculture and commerce, valued as much for pulling a plough as drawing a dray. Mechanisation of farms after World War II saw the population plummet. In 1939 there were half a million in Britain, but that number had fallen to 5,000 by 1972. Today it remains a rare breed, and in 2012 the Shire Horse Society launched its Save Our Shires campaign in a bid to raise awareness of the breed. Despite Its heavily feathered legs are one of its…

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s 2017 Big Farmland Bird Count is already under way. Running from 3 to 12 February, the annual count allows farmers, landowners and gamekeepers to track how many farmland bird species are on their land. Visit www.gwct.org.uk/bfbc to download a count sheet and don’t forget to upload your results online. Natural England is now inviting applications for the Countryside Stewardship Hedgerows and Boundaries Grant. The fund, which is individually worth up to £5,000, is designed to help farmers and other land managers to improve farmland boundaries. The application window closes on 28 April — if you feel that you meet the criteria, visit po.st/hedgegrant for more information and to download the application form. The British Shooting Show is being held this weekend — Friday, 10,…

Landowners have pledged to work with fibre broadband providers to grant access to private land — in the hope of bringing an end to the rural digital divide. Rural areas are way behind in terms of the fastest broadband and best mobile phone coverage and this has impacted upon both residents and many rural businesses as a result. The CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses, made the offer of a way leave to the Government in response to a call for evidence by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport on extending local full fibre broadband networks. A way leave is a legal written consent that allows infrastructure providers access to carry out work on privately owned land. CLA senior business and economics advisor Dr Charles Trotman said:…

BY THE NOSE My seven-year-old springer, Bramble, was struck down with glaucoma in October 2015 and lost an eye though she still worked. Sadly, her second eye started to fail just before Christmas. We ran pressure tests on it every day for just over a year because there is a surgery that can be performed by a great vet in Hampshire. We opted for surgery but it failed 10 days later because the liquid in her eye kept blocking the implant. We had her second eye removed at the beginning of January. On a recent Saturday, we took her out with us as her passion is to work with my husband on the shoot. She was amazing and retrieved a bird (below). A spaniel’s nose will never fail her. S.…

“Badgers force passages beneath the wire substantial enough to allow deer to pass through” It was an ice-cold afternoon in the Galloway hills, and Fred the pointer rushed ahead of us through crackling sheets of ice. Following the forecast for several days, Fred’s owner and I had agreed to try the enthusiastic German wirehaired pointer on woodcock when we felt the weather suited it. Sure enough, a morning of pristine high pressure and gentle wind soon dawned and the game was afoot. Having shot woodcock recently under similar conditions, I was fascinated to find many birds lying up either in white grass or beneath thin scatterings of hardwood trees. A helpful woodcock enthusiast in Norfolk confirmed the idea that in cold, bright weather, birds often prefer to lie on dry,…

The harsh moorlands of Yorkshire in winter can often make it appear as though you are glaring out of the cockpit of a plane rather than a seasonal mud-covered 4x4. However, once the dense fog has cleared, the paradise that greets you across the panorama of this wonderful part of the country is truly breathtaking. It was here, in an almost secret valley of the moorlands, that I had the pleasure of spending a day on the glorious Castle Carr estate in Halifax, owned by Frank and Barbara Schofield. Castle Carr was bought by Frank in the late 1970s when it was primarily a hill farm, with his son Oliver looking after the sheep flock. The majority of the land is in the Higher Level Stewardship scheme, which boosts farm…

“My buttocks clenched at the thought of trying to ease this expensive creature out of its mooring” Nobody willingly calls their boat a “gin palace”. Quite the opposite. It is a term of insult rather than endearment. At my local harbour in Weymouth, where bait-stinking whelk-potting boats bump their greasy fenders up against rust-peppered beam trawlers, a gin palace is “one of them poncey white things from Poole”. Poole is where gin palaces live. Weymouth is where proper fishing boats live. A gin palace is the sort of boat on which the owner-skipper politely asks you to take your shoes off before entering their craft. A Weymouth crab boat is a floating health hazard to anyone who is not wearing white steel-toed wellies and industrial-grade rubber gloves. A gin palace…

Latin name: Ranunculus ficaria Common name: Lesser celandine Other names: Smallwort, pilewort How to spot it and where to find it: With its bright, star-shaped yellow flowers and dark green, shiny heart-shaped leaves, lesser celandine is one of the first wild flowers to bloom, carpeting woodland and hedge banks, most especially in damp places, from late February. The flowers each measure about 3cm across, have between eight and 12 petals and open in response to sunlight, continuing to bloom until May. Interesting facts: As one of the first flowers to appear after winter, lesser celandine is an important nectar source for queen bumblebees emerging from hibernation as well as other early insects. It was once believed to be an effective remedy for haemorrhoids, hence its other name “pilewort”, and it…

“BT made us pay for a cancellation notice period for the service we weren’t getting” Almost exactly a year ago I had a bit of a rant about BT Openreach (10 February 2016). I was a belated convert to the Countryside Alliance’s rural broadband campaign, suddenly seeing its relevance to rural life. I outlined the sheer misery of trying to deal with the company from hell, which had installed 1.6km of what it said was fibre-optic cabling under my farmland, but was now denying all knowledge of it. Our pathetic download speed of 1.5 megabits per second had dropped to just 0.3Mbps. This was practically unusable, being insufficient even to operate our Vodafone Sure Signal device, which had allowed us to receive mobile calls within the house (there is no…

Speyside gamekeepers have teamed up with scientists to help count mountain hares and guide the species’ future conservation. Managing mountain hare numbers to prevent disease, damage to trees and habitats and to control rising tick numbers is a divisive issue within the Cairngorms National Park. Critics of population management believe the hares may be in decline in some regions and this has led to calls for greater monitoring of the way the species is managed. In response, gamekeepers on three Speyside estates — Glenlochy, Glenlivet and Dorback — are assisting scientists from the James Hutton Institute, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust on a project to help guide future management. The three-year project will assess the most reliable method for land managers and keepers to monitor…

Nine new staff have been employed by the West Mercia/Warwickshire police firearms licensing alliance to help clear the current backlog of applications and to reduce delays in 2017, including four extra case workers and two extrafirearms enquiry officers. The Aberdeen and District Angling Association has secured £10,000 of Lottery funding to help replace a footbridge, often used by anglers to cross the river Ythan at Ardlethan, which was damaged by storms in January 2016. Social services banned two teenage girls from trail hunting for nearly a week, after being taken on the hunt by their foster parents, because the social workers did not know what the sport entailed and had to investigate it. In last week’s Shooting Times (1 February 2017) the eagle-eyed among you will have spotted a…

I have been a member of the Studley House shoot near Calne, Wiltshire, for about six years now. One of the drives is deep in a thick wood with a double bank of Guns. The birds come whizzing through the trees, making the sport quite exciting, and certainly challenging. I was standing on my peg in the front row when a cock pheasant came soaring towards me just above the height of the trees. It was that superb sort of snap shooting, where you only just have time to raise the gun and fire instinctively. I watched with great satisfaction as he folded above me, confident that he had been well hit and had not suffered. The cock then crashed into the trees behind me, and fell to the ground,…

“Birds revel in reed millet because they feel secure, but can move easily around within it” Almost unbelievably the season is done and dusted and it is time to breathe out. The shoot had a busy and varied January, what with our syndicate and beaters’ days, and that spell of frosty weather, which was useful for holding the birds. Result: a happy keeper. February is my tidy-up time, and I have been bringing in hoppers and drinkers for their spring clean before the frost gets in and the water gets into the fiddly bits, shattering the plastic. As the hoppers slowly run out of food, they will receive a once-over too, before going away. But my most pressing tasks are finalising arrangements with the gamefarmer and sorting out the gamecover.…

“Marking and finding fallen birds isn’t easy. At least two birds were lost because the dogs were too slow” SOME YEARS AGO a shooting friend accompanied me to a field trial, or to be more exact, a novice 12-dog stake for retrievers. It was held in a vast sugar-beet field on a commercial shoot, so the organisers of the trial were paying for each bird that was shot. As has become the norm for trials, even the retriever championship, the Guns were contributing to the cost of the day, making it affordable for the handlers to take part. There was a time when generous landowners provided days for trials free, but that is seldom the case now. There are still donated days, but they are in the minority. Hosting a…

Northern exposure STALKING Q While stalking for roe in Caithness a friend shot a young male sika. This was on a farm close to the village of Reay. I would be interested to know if this is the farthest north that this species has been recorded. From what I found when researching this on the internet, it is clear that deer populations are expanding their territorial range, but is my friend’s recent experience a first for sika? A I suspect that it comes as a surprise to many to realise just how far north sika have established themselves. While we tend to think about the Highlands as being the realm of the red deer, sika are well ensconced north of the Great Glen, with strongholds around Inverness and much farther…

On a sunny February day, the local rookery will be swinging into life, as birds noisily proclaim ownership of nests and work on repairing and enlarging them, ready for the breeding season ahead. Rooks are early nesters and may well lay their first eggs as early as the start of March. Having been brooded for 16 to 19 days, early clutches hatch before the start of April, perhaps in time for the tiny chicks to experience a late snow shower or two. Rooks are adaptable birds, despite their strong traditional links to arable farmland. They can be found taking advantage of feeding opportunities on the tideline, in pig fields and even in large, open gardens. They will also join gulls on rubbish tips and town streets, cleaning up leftover takeaways…