Innholdsfortegnelse for 06-Dec-2017 i Shooting Times & Country

I had never “seen the game last night”; I was one of those primary school pariahs who sat in the corner daydreaming about shooting while the others discussed football. Some weeks ago I went to Cheshire. The syndicate members and the guests they brought along were a charming bunch. If my erstwhile classmates had been there, they would probably have squealed the name of one of the guests in awe, while I stared out the window in a daze, moping about my paltry efforts to save up for an air rifle. His name was Michael Brown and I was told that he had played for Manchester City and for Tottenham. As we walked back after the last drive, I asked him how he had enjoyed the day. “He just shot…

Bittern saved from brink of extinction The bittern — which is known as Britain’s loudest bird for the male’s foghorn-like booming call — has enjoyed its best breeding year since records began, according to a new RSPB survey. This year’s numbers increased to at least 164 male bitterns, up from just 11 in 1997, thanks to intensive conservation efforts. Explorer speaks at Holts event The explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell OBE (pictured) is guest speaker at Holts’ pre-auction viewing and drinks party in London on 12 December. In 1968, as a captain in the Royal Engineers, he was commissioned to select a party to make the first descent of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. During his talk, Col Blashford-Snell will discuss some of the guns and other memorabilia he picked up…

This is my son William, aged 11, with a fantastic goose shot in Northumberland over stubbles on my last leave from Afghanistan (right). William is a very keen Shot, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. William received a black Labrador puppy called Bess for his birthday in May this year and is keenly training her for the field. A keener young ambassador of the sport you would be pressed to find. He has introduced several of his school friends to the joys of clay bashing at our local ground. This is fantastic and I am only too happy to help; gun discipline from a young age is no bad thing at all. Shooting Times is a great magazine and we have been reading it for many years.…

IT’S EASY TO forget that the most dangerous thing you can do with a gundog is to take it shooting. On three occasions I’ve had to rush a dog of mine straight to a vet. Each time was because of an unavoidable accident in the shooting field. On two occasions fallen branches were the cause of the injury, and there is nothing you can do either to anticipate or avoid such incidents. The worst accident was when a sharp stick impaled itself in my springer’s chest, penetrating some 6in between the skin and the rib cage. Mobile phones were then in their infancy, but fortunately a fellow beater had one so we were able to call the vet to give advance warning that we were coming. The spaniel was on…

The season is well under way, and both Dolly the springer spaniel and Remy the Labrador have done a few days’ work. I am now seeing that there are a few gaps in their training which, to be fair, have come about as they have got into situations that can only really occur on a proper shoot day. Regular readers may recall a month or so ago I had an issue with Remy when I sent him out at the end of a drive for what I initially thought was a straightforward retrieve; however, the wheels well and truly came off. Unbeknown to me, the dead bird had fallen into an area where several live birds had accumulated and as he hit the area, the excitement of live birds flushing…

Q I have difficulty bending over due to an old work injury. This wasn’t a problem when I had a Labrador but my new prospect is a year-old springer that has been easy to train apart from his delivery. He started circling before coming in and I used a narrow lane to cure that, but he still will not put his head up with the dummy. He is obedient apart from this particular problem. How do I teach him to deliver? If through kind, positive training he is taught that holding and delivering a retrieve is enjoyable, I am sure this can be corrected. Begin the retraining by working on him holding and presenting a dummy separately from the other elements of a complete retrieve. Sit him on a bench…

Q I have four Labrador retrievers, one of which has a very rough, dull coat. The other three dogs have nice, shiny, soft coats whereas this dog’s coat is such that when you handle him you get a film of “dust” on your hands. We have to constantly dust our home and if we don’t clean for two days, everything has a layer of dust on it. Are there special shampoos or food supplements that I can use? A Excessive dander in dogs can have a variety of causes. If the dog is not scratching, it is less likely to be a bacterial or fungal skin infection or an allergy and more likely to be some nutrient deficiency or possibly a hormonal problem. Allergic reactions can be caused by something…

You know that embarrassing moment when somebody in the Gun line shoots a pheasant that is too close to them? It can happen to the best of us — especially when the bird is swooping down towards you. It may have plenty of sky around it and when you decide to pull the trigger it is at a decent range but by the time the shot actually goes off, the wretched bird has just about flown on to your muzzles. Cue horrendous shame and ignominy as you find yourself standing in a cloud of slowly settling feather filaments, with a plucked and jellified pheasant at your feet. Awkward. The other day, on a driven shoot, we were told we were being “too selective”. In a sense, I am rather gratified…

BOOK We are giving you early notice — so you have no excuse if you miss out on tickets. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) is hosting a one-day conference that will update and inform game management professionals on some pressing issues surrounding game shooting. The conference is being held at the GWCT’s headquarters in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, on 1 March 2018 and attendance is recommended for anyone in the industry. Experts, including the GWCT’s director of research Nick Sotherton, head of education Mike Swan, head of predation Jonathan Reynolds and head of wetland research Andrew Hoodless, will discuss topics such as antibiotic use in game rearing, trapping legislation and recent research on woodcock populations. Tickets are £30 and you can book them online at www.gwct.org.uk/game2018. WIN BASC is getting…

“The pheasant fell with a surprising degree of grace and I looked round at my father in amazement” I have enjoyed the sports of shooting and fishing from a very early age. I was incredibly lucky to be immersed in both at my home in northwest Hampshire. For me, there is nothing that can beat the enjoyment of a day in the shooting field, whether beating, picking-up or being in the Gun line. I remember the first time I held a gun in my hands. I was six years old and had been given a cap gun for Christmas. The thought that I might be able to bring something down with it excited me so much that I almost forgot to thank my parents for the gift. I got my…

“The Victorian craftsmanship has never been surpassed and there’s something very special about being able to shoot guns of this quality and age” •GAME CARD• Name: Earsham Hall estate, Norfolk Date: 21 November Weather: Bright sunshine after a frosty start, with a light breeze Terrain: 3,000 acres of mostly arable farmland plus 360 acres of woodland Guns: (breechloaders) Sam Pegg, Graham Crickmore, Mark Hadingham, Mandy Hadingham, Nick Lander, Stewart Davies, David Scott, Dean Braidbrooke; (muzzle-loaders) Martin Crix, Tim Hannon, Mike Whiting, Paul Revere Bag: 108 partridges, 74 pheasants, 1 magpie, total 183 Contact: Ian Frost, tel 07823 775739 Where the rich farmland of south Norfolk dips into the Waveney valley lies Earsham Hall estate. The magnificent house was sold off many years ago,…

As I write, it is the third and final day of the 2017 International Gundog League (IGL) Retriever Championship, which is being held at Hy-Fly Game Hatcheries in Lancashire. The fact that the championship remains a three-day event is due to the current IGL committee, as in 2015 there was a proposal to make qualifying more difficult to reduce the number of entries, and to reduce it to a two-day event once again. It had been a two-day fixture for much of its history, with the current series of three-day championships starting 11 years ago. There were a number of reasons for the planned reduction to two days, one of which was the increasing difficulty of finding a venue that was prepared to host the competition over three days. However,…

REMY STAGE 1 To start with I “seeded” an open area of woodland with several freshly shot pheasants. I chose this area as there are normally a few live pheasants tucked up under the fallen branches and therefore there is always plenty of ground scent. Another benefit of initially using an open area is that you can easily see the dog working the ground and this helps you to get in your commands nice and quick. STAGE 2 Initially, I am not concerned about the distance I am sending Remy back for the retrieves — don’t forget the aim of the exercise is to get him into the area and back out as quickly and efficiently as possible. The distance can be gradually built up again as the dog learns…

Q My three-year-old Labrador-retriever works like a spaniel in the beating line and is also a good picking-up dog at the end of each drive. However, he pinned two birds up against a wire fence at the end of a plantation and nearly killed them while trying to hold them both at the same time. Is this something I should be concerned about and if so what should I do? A If he starts to damage birds on a regular basis then of course you should be concerned; however, it sounds as though the birds were unable to flush freely from the cover, and seeing as this happened at the end of a drive — when a dog’s adrenalin is probably at its highest — he perhaps can be forgiven…

Q How do we stop deer eating out of our hoppers? They are eating more wheat than the pheasants and making the most dreadful mess. A Deer can eat a huge amount of food and frequently break and destroy feeders. You could try using an “anti-deer” feeder attachment to discourage them, or fence the feeders off with either stockproof netting, old hurdles or second-hand pallets, making sure there is a gap under the fence for the pheasants and partridges to get in to feed. Alternatively, if they are in season and you have permission to do so, shoot a few. Deer are quite clever — you won’t have to shoot many of them for the remainder to realise an area is unsafe and to avoid it. The money from selling…

Q Can you recommend a good rifle load for Chinese water deer stalking? A Chinese water deer are not large so there is no need to use a large-calibre rifle to despatch them humanely. There are legal requirements though, and you can shoot Chinese water deer with a .22 centrefire rifle so long as it has a minimum of a 50-gr expanding bullet that generates at least 1,000ft/ lb of energy. It does not mean you have to use a .22 centrefire — any calibre with the correct bullet would suffice. But venison damage by too light and fast an expanding bullet may become an issue. If using a .222 Rem, .223 Rem or .22-250-type cartridge, a 50-gr Sierra GameKing or Nosler 60-gr Partition bullet are great for Chinese water…

Q I’m having problems with the telescopic sight on my air rifle. The zero seems to shift gradually after I set up the sights on the range and I have a feeling that it is because the mounts aren’t screwed on tight enough. I’m afraid of overtightening the screws since a friend warned me that it could crush the scope tube. How tight should they be? A Overtightening the rings on a set of mounts can damage the optics but you should be able to tension them sufficiently to prevent scope-creep — even when using a recoiling air rifle — without risk of this happening. Most scope mounts are fastened with hex or Allen-type screws and are supplied with a tool to wind them in. I always hold the tool…

10 DECEMBER FEMMES FATALES INTRODUCTION TO COMPAK Barbury Shooting School, Wroughton, Wiltshire wendy@spackers.co.uk 10 DECEMBER GWCT DRINKS PARTY AND AUCTION Rockley Manor, Marlborough, Wiltshire Tel 07525 667685 13 DECEMBER BASC NOVICE GAME SHOOTING OPPORTUNITY Kedleston estate, Derbyshire Tel 01283 810910 13 DECEMBER GAVIN GARDINER AUCTION OF FINE MODERN AND VINTAGE SPORTING GUNS Sotheby’s, London Tel 01798 875300 14 DECEMBER HOLTS AUCTION OF FINE MODERN & ANTIQUE GUNS Princess Louise House, Hammersmith, London Tel 01485 542822 14 DECEMBER THE BARRIE MURDOCH MEMORIAL TRIAL Wickenby Airfield and Woods, Lincolnshire Tel 07974 234883…

FULL STEAM AHEAD I have returned to Dubai with my Labrador after a most enjoyable session of chasing the greylags and trying to get under the pinkfeet in Orkney, and now pining for those wild dawn sessions and evenings waiting for the duck to flight. During that time I was reminded by Ed Miller’s piece (Conjuring an image of a magical coastline, 4 October) of his excellent book Geese! Memoirs of a Wildfowler. It prompted me to re-read it, as it is on my bookshelves here, among other fowling classics, and forms a good substitute for the real thing when I am back in the desert. However, I have a question for him. In addition to Clarissa Dickson Wright’s recipe for pinks, which he includes at the end of the…

“There is no rush on the daily round — it is a deep pleasure to me but also essential” I love having frequent contact with my pheasants, an intimacy that comes from hand-feeding and the need to give the birds their daily ration of corn. A feed ride with 30 or 40 birds busy filling their crops is one of my favourite sights. I love to watch them scratching and pecking, chasing one another and shaping up to each other with purrs and gurgles of aggression. By the way, it is not just the cocks that scrap; every morning there will be a feisty hen warning another hen not to come too close or chasing her from the corn. This daily round is a deep pleasure to me but it…

“I upped the Baikal, pulled the trigger and, to my delight, the bird folded in the air” I was loading on the grouse in Northumberland last month. Two days on two different moors, and a pleasant break from dogging-in and filling feeders. It was all about well-managed heather, smoothly run days, some blustery and changeable northern weather and plenty of grouse. The safety talk to the Guns on each day included a briefing on blackgame, how to distinguish them from grouse, how to recognise their wingbeat and how much the fine was if you accidentally shot one. Which no one did. There were blackcock and greyhens everywhere, especially on the farmland leading up to the moors. We even stopped the car a couple of times on the side of the…

In October, Storm Ophelia battered us with hurricane-force winds. Despite not feeling the brunt of her in South Wiltshire, things looked good for evening flight. At dusk, ducks flight up and down our valley, and trying to intercept them on a windy night provides cracking sport — better, I think, than when they are dropping into flightponds. I hid in some brambles close to the river Ebble. A strong westerly carried excited duck chatter from higher up the valley. Several flights of mallard hurtled downwind but veered off to my left, about 50 yards out, just out of shot. Another lot followed — seven or eight mallard, directly overhead, about 30 yards up, with a straggler in tow. These birds were definitely on, and I reminded my spaniel, Polly, who…

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, Pinehurst 2,…

Latin name: Armillaria mellea Common name: Honey fungus Other names: Bootlace fungus How to spot it and where to find it: Gardeners dread the sight of the misleadingly but charmingly named honey fungus because it attacks both conifers and broadleaved trees. By the time the fungus appears, the tree is to all intents and purposes dead; even worse, the fungus is not restricted to trees. The cap of the mushroom ranges from a rich gold — hence the “honey”, which refers to the appearance rather than the flavour — to a dark reddish-brown. At first conical, the cap flattens with age and develops a wavy edge. The gills beneath are a pale flesh colour, darkening to yellow with age, but the stem remains pale yellow. Honey fungus is abundant throughout…

Famed for its “stuck pig” screams, as it proclaims its breeding territory, the water rail is mainly quiet at this time of year. You won’t know a bird is present until a red bill and grey and brown feathers emerge at the edge of the reeds of a pool. A front-on view reveals a much skinnier bird than its profile suggests; the species is well designed for a life of squeezing between the stems of reeds in a reedbed. Water rails are about two-thirds the length of a moorhen but only about one-third of the weight. There are far more water rails in the UK in the winter than during the breeding season, when the population is thought to be roughly 1,100 pairs. Bird ringing has shown that autumn migrants…

With their white faces, broad foreheads, black noses and short ears, Texels are among the most easily recognised of sheep. Unlike many breeds, they carry no wool on their legs or their heads. Unknown here until the early 1970s, they are now one of the most numerous breeds in the UK. Texel rams are popular as terminal sires, frequently being put to Wensleydales, Lincolns, Border Leicesters and Leicesters. The resulting lambs are typically fast-maturing and exceptionally lean. Texel (pronounced tessel) is the largest of the Friesian Islands springy and excellent for top-quality carpet. One of the reasons for the Texel’s popularity is its hardiness and adaptability, for it is well able to withstand Scottish winters. off the north coast of Holland; this is where this breed originated and where it…

Q I shoot with a hammergun and have noticed that sometimes there is a tiny circle of what looks like soot around the primer. What is causing this and is it dangerous in any way? A The most likely cause is that the firing pins in your gun are fractionally too long. They are hitting the cap in the primer and causing a tiny rupture in it. This allows a minuscule proportion of the gases to escape, which leave a sooty “halo” over the primer. This is not dangerous and can be corrected at your leisure. If left for too long, however, it might leave a rough surface caused by erosion on the breechface. The firing pin tips need to be stoned and then polished by a gunsmith. This should…