Innholdsfortegnelse for 20-Sep-2017 i Shooting Times & Country

A couple of months ago I had a chat with someone who bought a copy of Shooting Times one rainy afternoon, in the mid-1950s, on his way home from national service. He still has that issue and has bought the magazine every week ever since. That evening, as I lay on the sofa with my dog, watching a programme about the golden age of British rail, I wondered if there was anybody out there who has been reading Shooting Times even longer than that. The following morning, in an attempt to find out, I asked our news editor to put a note in the magazine. We were inundated with responses and last week I thoroughly enjoyed phoning Robert Barr from Lanarkshire and David Dawes from the West Country to inform…

30 SEPT–1 OCT AUTUMN GAME FAIR South of England Showground, Ardingly, West Sussex Tel 01444 892700 30 SEPT–1 OCT SOUTH YORKSHIRE SHOOTING SHOW & GAME FAIR Doncaster Racecourse, South Yorkshire Tel 01274 548342 1 OCTOBER GWCT SOUTH-EAST SCOTLAND CLAY SHOOT Bisley Braidwood, Selkirk, Scottish Borders Tel 01835 822250 6–8 OCTOBER BRITISH SHOOTING SHOTGUN GRAND FINAL 2017 Fauxdegla Shooting Ground, Wrexham Tel 01628 488800 7 OCTOBER BASC INTRODUCTION TO WOODPIGEON SHOOTING Lime Kiln Cottage, Barton, North Yorkshire www.basc.org.uk/events 12 OCTOBER FARMER CLUSTER CONFERENCE The Royal Geographical Society, London Tel 01425 651025…

A bit over 30 years ago, I was in the pub when a man I knew (let’s call him AH to spare any blushes) said that he and some friends wanted to dig a flightpond, and would I design it for him if he arranged delivery of a case of whiskey. I explained that rather than booze, I’d like to be involved as a member of the team, because in those early days of my Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust career, I had no local shooting to enjoy. So a plan for the Sleepbrook pond was drawn up, and the excavation began. From being dug in high summer, it filled surprisingly quickly, and by October it was full. AH insisted that we should flight, despite my advice that we would…

“Moving the birds is a slow and steady process to ensure we don’t leave any” This summer has been a dismal one for us, all in all, with barely one dry day in the entire first month after the birds went to wood. The non-stop rain waterlogged the woods and the release pens began to “stale” very quickly, which could have been a recipe for disaster. Despite the challenging conditions, though, we have been lucky and our birds have generally done well, so we’ve been able to breathe out. The wet weather having been overcome, we are shifting the birds from the pen woods out to the drives. It is a slow and steady process, done over several weeks, as most have to be moved considerable distances, and we want…

“Butterflies are the touchstone, the barometer, to the health of the countryside” Is there a relatively lightweight waterproof boot or type of legging that is simple to put on, and does not leave you aching and exhausted at the end of the day? For the past few seasons when both picking-up and shooting I, like so many others, have worn a pair of wellies. They were not cheap — in fact they were darned expensive — and while admirably waterproof, each boot weighs 2¾lb. In the light of advancing years and towards the end of a day’s shooting or picking-up, I find these boots increasingly wearisome and leg heavy. This is particularly so if a hill has to be climbed or thick, cloying mud surmounted. Is there an alternative, a…

When a freshly shot hare turned up on my doorstep one Friday evening, I thought it cause for celebration. I quickly rang round for potential diners. “What’s on the menu?” they asked. My answer of “potted hare” was met with confusion. “Isn’t that what you do to shrimps?”. But despite initial scepticism about this perhaps anachronistic technique, I soon had half a dozen takers for Sunday lunch. But I had now oversold the potential of the poor mammal so much that it could be nothing short of excellent. Set upon the idea of potting this hare — if only for the unfounded notion that it might save on the washing up — I settled on the basic principles of firstly, cooking for a long time at a low heat with…

Dog avoids lead at home time GUNDOG TRAINING Q My one-year-old standard poodle-springer is a happy, energetic, intelligent pet at home. He has a few issues with chewing, but we put that down to boredom and it is slowly getting better. However, I have now encountered a more serious issue. I take him every day to the fields and give him plenty of exercise by chucking a tennis ball, which he drops at my feet. However, when I call him to go home and get the lead out, he keeps dancing about just out of reach and is difficult to get on the lead now. What should I do? A Dogs learn by repetition and whether they have gained pleasure or not from a behaviour. Your dog gets an abundance…

The snipe’s smaller cousins are on the move at the moment. Though some jack snipe will spend the winter with us, others are just passing through, on their way from Russia to south-west Europe or even Africa. They are well designed for migration; though body length, weight and wing length are two-thirds those of snipe, the wingspan is not much smaller. They are thought to travel by night and on their own, not in the wisps that we see of snipe. Snipe and jack snipe often use the same habitat, but the jack snipe is more likely to be seen away from water, in poached, wet rough grazing marsh, for instance. Given that the jack snipe is not on the quarry list, it is critical to be able to tell…

“How many badger cubs or kestrel chicks die because of this ‘non-lethal’ predator control?” As the wildfowling season gets under way, it is timely to appreciate the foreshore as one of the wildest, least-managed parts of the UK’s landscape. Yet it would be inaccurate to think that the coastline is “left to nature”. Virtually all of the UK’s surface area has been shaped by human activities. The “leave it all to nature” protectionists must be living in a different country — or even another universe. I was reminded of this by a BBC Radio 4 item about little terns at the site known as Long Nanny, on the Northumberland coast. Various conservation bodies have collaborated over many years to produce some real success there for the terns. From only three…

After a month-long search, we believe we have found Shooting Times’s longest subscribers. In August, we put out the call to see who among you had been reading the magazine for the most number of years and were bowled over by the response. It was Robert Barr, from Lanarkshire, who can claim the honour. He told us that he has been reading the magazine since 1949, when he received a subscription as his 16th birthday present. He even took the magazine with him to Singapore on National Service with the RAF in 1956-1957 — and he still shoots. He was followed by David Dawes from Gloucestershire, who has been buying Shooting Times since 1950 when he was 14 years old, and hasn’t missed a copy. Before that, his grandfather would…

Countryside art for inner-city children A group of artists have come together to host an exhibition with the aim of bringing the beauty of the countryside to under-privileged inner-city children. The Redspot group of sporting and wildlife artists includes familiar names such as Keith Sykes, Rodger McPhail, Ben Hoskyns, Sam MacDonald, Jonathan Sainsbury, Tania Still, Jason Sweeney and Owen Williams. They are supporting the charity XLP, which works to engage with youngsters from deprived inner London estates. Together they have launched a country-inspired art exhibition called “Walk on the Wild Side”. The show is open to the public from 10am to 5pm from 11-13 October at All Hallows-on-the-Wall church on London Wall in the city. A full preview of the show is available online at www.redspotartists.com. S&TC auction open Salmon…

1 Beretta 690 Field I From £2,300 www.gmk.co.uk This latest in Beretta’s series of boxlock over-and-unders is a worthy successor to the 680 series and 692 competition gun that preceded it. Combining technology with tradition, this is an elegant and smooth-shooting shotgun. Beautifully finished, the stock is manufactured from specially selected grade-2.5 walnut and the receiver features a unique floral engraving, adding to what is already a really handsome gun. 2 Castellani Sporting Clays waistcoat From £179 www.orvis.co.uk A premium shooting vest with four large front pockets for ammunition, reinforced with protective leather and tear-resistant edges and a double-opening back compartment that is designed for spent shells. The vest is available with left-handed or right-handed recoil pad. 3 William Evans Robey & Green Safari canvas and leather double gun slip…

 WHAT DID YOU do last Saturday morning? I spent mine sitting in a folding chair in a grass field, enjoying the warm September sunshine and watching the house martins and swallows feeding high in the sky. Every now and again I had to throw a dummy for dogs competing in an HPR novice gundog test, but my right arm wasn’t overburdened with work. It was an easy way to earn a free lunch, and the only minor irritation was fighting off the tiny black flies that had a surprisingly powerful bite. “Dogs returned to their handler bewildered, unsure of what they had been asked to do” Though I have thrown dummies for my dogs on numerous occasions, this was the first time I’d been an official dummy thrower at a…

BILL HARRIMAN BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING Airgunner and journalist from the West Country BRUCE POTTS Shooting Times rifle 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,…

BOOK TICKETS If you are in the market for some new optics, visit the South Yorkshire Shooting Show & Game Fair from 30 September to 1 October. The grandstand at the Doncaster Racecourse venue is being turned into a 50m-plus optics viewing area, giving visitors the chance to try out the latest kit from brands such as Yukon, Pulsar, Hawke, Swarovski and Leica before they buy. Visit www.southyorkshireshootingshow.com for more event details. COMPETE Shooters are invited to attend the 2017 BASC .410 World Championships this Saturday (23 September). The clay shooting competition, sponsored by Gamebore, uses the smallest-calibre shotgun in general use on a 50-target Sporting layout at the Mid Wales Shooting Centre near Caersws, Powys. Competitors can enter the open, ladies, junior and BASC members’ classes plus a pool…

‘‘The wildlife of today is not ours to dispose of as we please. We have it in trust. We must account for it to those who come after.’’ King George VI SOMETIMES, THREE CAN BE A CROWD I could not agree more regarding syndicates (Strength in numbers means better sport, 30 August). I experienced this situation as a member of a well-established and friendly syndicate where all members were committed to the shoot with great camaraderie and enthusiasm. Then another Gun was introduced, a friend of the shoot captain. He appeared the perfect gentleman until he got his foot in the door, then he wanted to introduce a friend (don’t they all?). Both Guns were bad shots, with poor judgement of speed and distance, and fired at everything…

WORTH £478.50 There could surely be no better way to celebrate the start of the new wildfowling season than by winning a Hatsan semi-automatic. We reviewed the Escort in March this year on our website (www.shootingUK.co.uk) and were astonished by its reliability. It’s the sort of gun you’ll be using for decades and your son or daughter will be using for decades after that. Edgar Brothers has been importing Hatsan for over 20 years and, as well as proving popular on the foreshore, the Turkish brand has found favour among pigeon shooters. The Escort has always been Edgar Brothers’ bestselling semi-automatic. The gas-operated, multi-choked shotgun has minimal recoil, a smooth, fast cycling action and comes with swivels. It has a corrosion-resistant chrome-lined bore that is proofed for steel shot. Three…

“During the moult, flight is impeded and insulation and waterproofing are compromised” For many years, I shared an office with the Garden BirdWatch team at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Every autumn my colleagues would get calls from members of the public about the absence of blackbirds from gardens. Where had they gone? Garden BirdWatch is unique in that it is an all-year survey of what people see in their gardens. Volunteers are asked to make weekly counts of their birds so they notice when numbers go up — like when siskin flocks peak in March or great spotted woodpeckers appear in June — and when species just don’t turn up at all. There is interesting annual variation too; for instance more coal tits and chaffinches visit feeders in…

The test I was a dummy thrower for was a double retrieve. The competing dog had to retrieve both dummies to score points and a failure on one of the retrieves led to an automatic score of zero, even if the other dummy was successfully retrieved. This is a Kennel Club test rule and it also disbars the dog from receiving any award in the competition. Many handlers find this rule irritating, as their dog could score full marks on every test except the one where it has a single failure. It might even finish the day with a higher score than the winning dog, but that one zero score disqualifies it from being in the rosettes. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) rules for working tests for retrievers are subtly…

Latin name: Potentilla erecta Common name: Tormentil Other names: Blood root, ewe daisy, septfoil How to spot it and where to find it: Often mistaken for the buttercup, the pretty yellow flowers of the tormentil have just four petals unlike most other members of the botanical family Rosaceae, which have five. The buttercup is a member of the Ranunculaceae family and has five petals. Tormentil is a widespread perennial herb commonly seen on moorland as well as in lowland meadows. It thrives on rocky mountain slopes and beside streams, but does not favour alkaline areas. Interesting facts: Tormentil is unpalatable to livestock and is extremely bitter. It contains an unusually high concentration of tannin and is considered to be one of the safest natural astringents. It is widely used in…

Tall, bony and angular, the modern Holstein cow produces a very high volume of milk, making it the most popular dairy breed in the world. Its ancestor is the black-and-white Friesian cow imported into the US from the Friesland province of Holland, though a few came from the nearby German province of Schleswig-Holstein. It was in the US that the Holstein was developed and refined, with the practice of artificial insemination allowing highly selective breeding using popular sires. Holsteins from the US have been exported all over the world, and today they are the dominant dairy breed in the UK. Holsteins, like their Friesian ancestors, are a black-and-white breed, but the Holstein’s coat is usually predominately white, while that of the Friesian usually has more black than white.…