Innholdsfortegnelse for 07-Feb-2018 i Shooting Times & Country

Some months ago on the Isle of Lewis, a rather grand young man from the home counties asked me about my most memorable stalking exploit. I replied: “I was 14 and my godfather’s wife told me there was a rabbit eating her vegetables. I spent a whole evening pursuing the beast and slotted it at last light after a 20-yard crawl with an old BSA air rifle.” The young man smiled and turned away to talk to someone else. Sniff if you want to but, as far as I’m concerned, crawling around on your tummy as a teenager in pursuit of rabbits is one of the best sporting educations a person can get. Last week while on the phone to Simon Whitehead, our ferreter-in-chief, I was disappointed to hear that…

UK riverlife at risk Research by Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) has revealed how even modest levels of sediment and phosphate could be devastating to wildlife along UK rivers. Building upon its Riverfly Census, a new paper by S&TC reveals the huge negative impact on the survival of the eggs of the blue-winged olive, one of the most common mayfly species in the UK. As Dr Nick Everall, who conducted the study, explained, this mayfly plays a vital part in the food chain. “Numbers have declined substantially in many UK rivers over the past 30 years, particularly in chalkstreams,” he said. “Their continuing loss can affect the survival of other important species such as wild fish, bird life and mammals. “This research showed that even modest levels of sediment and…

PROTECTING THE WOODCOCK David Tomlinson’s excellent article on woodcock shooting (Gundogs, 24 January) makes the suggestion that woodcock should, for the time being, not be shot in field trials, as this would reduce pressure on a declining population. The Woodcock Trust strongly supports this suggestion, as such a move would undoubtedly lead to a notable reduction in the number of woodcock shot during the season. As the article notes, trialling dogs have to practise picking woodcock if they are to be successful in competition, so it is likely that far more woodcock are shot on training days than during the course of a trial. The Woodcock Trust believes that the bird should remain a quarry species but one that is highly valued and not regarded as nothing more than a…

Patrick met me at my farm on a very wet morning and we talked about his season. As a game-shooting instructor it is important for me to understand the client’s shooting issues, especially if I haven’t seen them shoot. So much can be learned by taking the time to listen instead of diving in and expecting to solve the problem straight away. For me to structure the next few months I needed to know how Patrick was feeling about his shooting, where it would go wrong, the advice he has been given in the past and the type of situation he struggles in or species of game he struggles with. There are so many aspects to being a competent Shot in the field — it is not as simple as…

“We should remember that feeding raw has a far longer history than feeding dried or canned food” ANYONE WHO READS this column regularly will know that I’ve long been an advocate of feeding dogs as natural a diet as possible, which means raw food and vegetables. I was convinced by an interview I did 15 years ago with holistic vet Dr Nick Thompson and haven’t changed my mind. I feed a raw chicken wing for breakfast, and (commercially packaged) raw meat with boiled rice and vegetables for supper. I often use salmon oil to make chopped kale, say, more palatable. This is a diet that has worked well for my dogs and kept them healthy. However, many in the veterinary business are unconvinced of the merits of feeding raw or…

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…

ATTEND The Organic Research Centre is looking to appoint a share-farmer partner to manage its 80-hectare Elm Farm in Berkshire from November. The role is intended for a farmer who will appreciate being at the forefront of research into more ecological approaches to agricultural production. The farm will undertake studies into biodiversity, soil health, agroforestry and livestock welfare. There is an open day on the farm either tomorrow (8 February) or on 19 February. Visit www.organicresearchcentre.com or email nic.l@organicresearchcentre.com to register your interest in attending. APPLY The job of a lifetime is currently up for grabs, as applications are being invited for the position of headkeeper at Delnadamph on HM the Queen’s renowned Balmoral estate. Whoever takes the job will be responsible for running the property’s deer stalking and grouse…

1 Mauser M18 rifle £936 www.blaser-sporting.com Receiving its UK and European launch at the British Shooting Show, this bolt-action rifle promises a lot. Dubbed the “people’s rifle”, it symbolises “the ultimate gun for all men at all times”, its manufacturer claims. Head to the Mauser stand to check out its ultra-rugged synthetic stock, soft inlay grip and cold hammer-forged barrel. 2 NiteSite Dark Ops night-vision kit From £499 www.scottcountry.co.uk NiteSite is keeping tight-lipped about the specs for this new line, though does claim it represents a “revolution” in night vision. You’ll have to visit stand D9 for its exclusive UK launch and the chance to take one home. 3 Delta Stryker scope £1,382.99 www.opticswarehouse.co.uk Visit the Optics Warehouse at stand A3 to see this new line of scopes. Two models…

My 11-year-old brother Harley Forward is a pretty natural Shot. He started shooting aged nine and has progressed steadily. Last year, I invited him as a guest on a day at Barford Farm, Dorset, where I am the gamekeeper. He is responsible,safe and experienced at using his 20-bore shotgun. He has no problem shooting as well as, and in some cases better than, the rest of the team of eight Guns. At the start of the season I released six white pheasants, which have spread themselves across most of the drives on the shoot. After the usual safety prep the Guns are warned about the white pheasants and that there will be a fine — to be donated to the air ambulance — decided by the shoot captain and the…

My five-year-old black Labrador bitch, Pumba, is in the very final stages of gestation. As I monitor her, I began thinking about the thousands of puppies born in the UK every year, with the Labrador still the UK’s most popular breed as of 2017. Among the vast number of litters advertised, many mention a “nice pedigree” with “many field trial champions” in their lineage. I have spoken to various Labrador owners and it is glaringly obvious that the vast majority do not have a clue what it really means if puppies have a lot of red in their parents’ pedigree. Of the 16 puppies from two litters I have bred, two have gone to nonworking homes and 14 went to families where they will work anything from a handful of…

Patrick emphasised at the start that he was unsure if his gun fitted him. Even if his gun did fit him it’s still on his mind and that is enough to bring doubt when shooting. We headed to the shooting ground to have a look. You can’t tell if someone’s gun fits when they stand and mount the gun. It gives you an idea but you need to see someone actually shoot to get a true impression. You certainly can’t fit a gun without using a tri gun, set up to the correct measurements of the person shooting it. There are two types of gun fit. One is gun alteration — adjusting the original stock. There are limits to what a gunsmith can achieve by moving or adjusting the stock…

GOOSE POT ROAST My father shot a Canada goose during a bit of informal flighting. Knowing that it can be challenging to eat, turning the muscular fowl into something everyone could enjoy was daunting for my mother. She opted for a pot roast but her efforts were in vain and, in her words, the bird was “almost impossible to cut”. This was not surprising, as the goose, which had a tag around its foot, was found to be well on its way to 10 years old. Those who dislike wild goose might well have eaten an old and lean warrior as my mother had. And it is even more impossible to say whether a wildfowl has been feasting on something that might impart a foul flavour. Major Hugh Pollard writes…

I’ve long thought that the best thing about the end of the shooting season is going into the garage and not seeing any birds in need of attention. This season I haven’t plucked a single bird, but I’ve dressed out many more than I have ever done before. I’ve been doing my best to persuade friends to eat game, so have been taking lots of birds home from shooting days. It is amazing how many people will baulk at a bird in the feather, but are delighted at the gift of oven-ready partridge or pheasant breasts. I no longer hang game. There was a time when I used to hang birds for a week or even longer, but now I like to prepare my birds within two or three days…

Latin name: Flammulina velutipes Common name: Velvet shank Other names: Winter mushroom, velvet foot How to spot it and where to find it: In the worst of winter, a little colour may be seen in dead stumps and trunks of deciduous trees, glowing gold amid the snow. The velvet shank fungus is found throughout winter and into early spring, sometimes found on diseased living trees, and grows in large tiers. Its convex caps are yellow to orange/brown, darker in the middle, and the flesh is orange brown. The splayed gills are white to pale yellow; stems yellow at the top turning dark brown to black at the base. Interesting facts: In 1993 cultures of Flammulina velutipes were flown on the Space Shuttle Columbia to determine how the mushrooms would handle…

The oldest recorded pedigree pig breed in Britain, the Berkshire is one of the most easily recognised. The body is solid black with distinctive white points on the feet, nose and tail. Further features are the dished face, the large ears that are always carried erect, and a back that is long and level. Originating in the county from which it takes its name, it is today one of our rarest native breeds, though in the late 19th and early 20th century it was one of the most numerous, prized for its flavoursome meat. Berkshires are docile animals, making them popular with smallholders who only keep a few: the majority of members of the Berkshire Pig Breeders Club have herds of no more than four individuals. The Berkshire is regarded…

“Pigeons can carry pathogens that are dangerous to both humans and poultry” I baffled people this season when, at the end of shoot days, I squatted over any shot pigeons and carefully snipped off one of their toes with dog nail clippers. Though my host knew what I was up to, I sometimes told fellow Guns that I was collecting pigeon toes to make a dish that I had found in a Chinese cookery book. Some people even fell for my silly joke, but I always came clean in the end and explained that I was collecting a sample of toes to help scientists from Portugal better understand the genetics of the European woodpigeon population. The 26 toes that I have collected in the past two months have come from…

16-18 FEBRUARY THE GREAT BRITISH SHOOTING SHOW National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham Tel 08443 380338 25 FEBRUARY THE SAVILLS COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE POINT-TO-POINT Badbury Rings, Dorset Tel 07974 141933 25 FEBRUARY GLAD RAGS & CARTRIDGE BAGS CLAY SHOOT Raemoir House Hotel, Banchory Tel 07841 393155 1 MARCH GWCT GAME 2018 CONFERENCE Burgate Manor, Fordingbridge, Hants Tel 01425 651013 3 MARCH BASC NATIONAL WILDFOWLING CONFERENCE 2018 Ramada Hotel, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands Tel 01244 573024 24-25 MARCH THE 2018 DEERSTALKING FAIR Border Union Showground, Kelso Email deerstalkfair@gmail.com…

I HAVE KEPT A BITCH from Pumba’s first litter and a dog from the second. The bitch, Nala, is now three years old and trialling at open level. The dog, Keepa, is one year old and is coming along very nicely in his training. He now understands what a gunshot is, will pick dummies and game with basic retrieves but requires lots of work over the summer months for more advanced handling abilities. He needs to learn the stop whistle, left and right commands, hunting at distance and holding an area, along with many other new skills. I will be following him as well as my new puppy Briar, from Pumba’s third and final litter, as they learn and progress. By the start of the next season I hope to…

Now that the end of the season has come, many shooters will have mixed feelings about their performance. Some will be reminiscing over a fine overall season with perhaps a few exaggerated stories or averages. Others may be hoping that next season will be better and putting this one behind them. The latter is a positive attitude but nonetheless this sort of thinking has not helped the shooter — they have neither improved as an overall Shot nor gained any confidence. The gun will be put in the cabinet and, unless its owner is lucky enough to get on some early-season grouse or partridge, won’t be taken out again until late October, when there will be some good and bad shooting, the usual frustration and another average performance. I really…

“The birds may be Houdini-like from time to time, but this year the cover has been our firm friend” New Year starts for me on 2 February with a lie-in and an easy day. However, this is not the only delightful change to my routine, because it is lovely to be able to get on top of some of the other jobs that have been sidelined during the winter by the hours spent on non-stop feeding. That said, the season lives on in my memory. Every year has its ups and downs and this one was no exception. The start was hard; the challenging weather conditions during our crucial release period meant that it was difficult to tell how the season would pan out and, though we did not break…

Dog is possessive over game GUNDOG TRAINING Q My springer has just finished his first season out shooting. He is fearless in cover and steady to all game flushed or shot. His retrieving is spot on, but when he has delivered a bird he jumps up to grab it as I take it away from him. I push him down with my hand, but that has little effect. What can I do? A It sounds as though he has plenty of drive and this problem may be a symptom of how keen he has become to find, flush and retrieve game. You do not want him to become more possessive, otherwise he may stop delivering to hand at all. Check that you are not helping to cause the problem by…

The common gull is a smaller version of the herring gull. At this time of year, common gulls are most likely to be seen in coastal counties, especially in the east, but small numbers turn up with other gull species at rubbish tips and in parks. The common gull is not the commonest of our gulls in the winter, when it is outnumbered three to one by black-headed gulls, or in the summer for that matter. Large numbers depart in the early spring for breeding locations throughout Scandinavia, around the Baltic and well east in Russia, which means that breeding birds are outnumbered by herring, lesser black-backed and black-headed gulls. Within the UK, the only places in which breeding common gulls are relatively common are Scotland, parts of coastal Northern…

“Iodine deficiency causes various medical issues, including cretinism in children” We are hearing a lot about angry vegans at the moment. In part that is because there have been a number of vegan activists getting up to stunts with the express aim of attracting media coverage. And the media falls for this stuff hook, line and sinker (a metaphor that will probably offend angry vegans). Personally, I have no beef with vegans (oh dear, I’ve done it again). If they want to espouse an unnatural lifestyle, that’s up to them. Oh, and the description “unnatural” is accurate; humans evolved as omnivores and those pointy teeth in the corners of our mouths had a specific purpose. I support their right to eat whatever they like. What I don’t like, however, is…