Innholdsfortegnelse for 04-Jul-2018 i Shooting Times & Country

Last week, I noticed an old news story being recycled by one of Britain’s smuggest environmental activists. This man has said enlightened things in the past, but the idea that the poor are subsidising shotgun licences for the rich certainly isn’t one of them. Nonetheless, comments beneath the piece agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment. What interested me was that the notion of certificate holders all being hugely wealthy seemed to be accepted as gospel. The reality, of course, is that those who shoot represent a very broad spectrum of society. It brought to mind an incident a few weeks ago when I was standing in a hotel lobby with some other fieldsports journalists and a friendly man asked us what we all did. A few of our number spoke about…

Call for Scottish coastal ideas Organisations are being invited to submit projects that would bring economic, social and environmental improvements to areas of the Scottish coastline. Applications open in August for the pilot scheme operated by Crown Estate Scotland and Scottish ministers will be involved in assessing and approving proposals. Environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham said the scheme “paves the way for local authorities and local communities to actively manage land, coastline or seabed in a way that directly benefits communities”. She added: “Crown Estate Scotland has a wealth of expertise to share with local authorities and communities, and I look forward to seeing organisations develop and shape their proposed projects. Small changes at a local level can have a big impact on a community — this scheme creates some really…

In the third paragraph of his article Dave Carrie says our shooting organisations “must visit urban schools, towns and shopping centres to teach people about two of Britain’s greatest pleasures: our shooting sports and beautiful countryside” (Is it ever ethical to shoot high birds?, 6 June). I agree, but we won’t get anywhere using his films. I’ve just watched his recording at Water Priory again. It gives all the wrong messages and doesn’t reflect the real thing. To me, it’s elitist in the extreme. There’s not one word about conservation or the background to driven shooting. At the start of the film you can hear a Gun in the transport bus saying “mostly plastic and 40g”. The last drive of the day in mid-January shows more birds than the best…

In August we usually find ourselves wading through does for a buck, but typically here we are in March struggling to find a shootable doe. Working into the wind, Patrick finally glassed the old girl he’d earmarked for the day. Frost was gripping the ground as he pushed through granite boulders attempting to close the gap before she vanished. I’m used to brisk walks up steep hills, but here the unmanaged heather reaches out to grab your feet, hard ground falls into deep bog and grouse lie sprung ready to tell the hill of your arrival. As we crested the first ridge into blankets of snow a hidden deer got up only yards in front of us, panicked by our arrival. Dropping to our stomachs all we could do was…

What is the ultimate goal for a gundog? For each owner the answer will be different — some simply want a dog to sit on the peg and pick birds; others want a field trial champion. The level of skill required to achieve these goals is by no means the same but both can throw up unexpected challenges. The term “fully trained” is bandied about far too easily and, as I’ve found, my “fully trained” and others’ “fully trained” are worlds apart. As with any sporting discipline, a gundog can always be improved upon and their skills refined and finessed. Having attended the two-day open Kennel Club Gundog Working Test, I now have a rather long list of things I need to work on with my opening trialling bitch, Nala.…

We had our annual Countryside Learning day on the estate in June. Countryside Learning is a charity whose aims are to educate, inform and inspire children, parents and teachers so they can enjoy and appreciate the countryside while having a greater understanding of the wide range of issues surrounding it. We had eight demonstrations/walks, six of which were headed by current or retired estate staff. The cowman showed the visitors the herd of organic longhorns in the park and talked them through the farm-to-fork process of producing beef. One of my lads gave them a guided tour around one of the woods, pointing out rides and glades and explaining the importance of grey squirrel control in deciduous woodland. The other activities included a fishing demonstration, a tour of our small…

For the first time in my life I own a dog with dewclaws. Though my new spaniel puppy, Emma, was docked, she didn’t have her dewclaws removed. I was abroad for the first week of her life and though I asked her breeder to have her docked, as she has a working career in front of her, it didn’t occur to me to ask to have her dewclaws removed at the same time. It is not, I gather, still standard practice to remove dewclaws at the same time as a puppy is docked. Hopefully, Emma’s dewclaws won’t cause her any problems. Like most spaniels, she only has them on her front legs, not the back, though some breeds do have conspicuous dewclaws on the back, too. Dewclaws are curious things,…

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…

Latin name: Silene otites Common name: Spanish catchfly How to spot it and where to find it: Largely confined to the roadside banks and heaths of the Breckland of Norfolk and Suffolk, Spanish catchfly is, despite its common name, a British native. A perennial herb of shallow, well-drained light chalk or limestone soils, it is easily identified by its rosettes of narrow, dark green leaves and tall, narrow spikes of tiny, lacy, cream flowers that bloom from June to September. Interesting facts: The flowers of the Spanish catchfly release their sweet scent after dusk to lure in the moths and mosquitoes it relies on for pollination. It is thought to exude a sticky substance that prevents wingless insects climbing its stems to steal its pollen. A member of the carnation…

GUNDOG TRAINING Q Training of my working cocker is coming along well and I am now introducing the starting pistol to train drop to shot. A favourite training ground is a council-owned meadow, but am I allowed to use a starting pistol on public land? A The use of starting pistols in a public place, or a place where the public may be, is inadvisable and in certain instances illegal. According to BASC literature on this subject: “Section 19 of the Firearms Act 1968 makes it an offence for someone to have with them a loaded shotgun, a loaded air weapon, or any other firearm (whether loaded or not) together with ammunition suitable for use in that firearm, and imitation firearms in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable…

The ultra-high bird controversy has been raging within the pages of Shooting Times (Letters, 20 and 27 June). This is, of course, what the magazine does so well — providing a platform for news, views, debate and analysis of the current issues affecting our sport. Ultra-high pheasants are seen by some as providing the epitome of sport and skill. Others regard them as freakish quarry, all too likely to be wounded rather than killed cleanly. I have an inkling that the average driven pheasant is shot at much closer range than many shooters think. It is difficult to use a laser rangefinder on flying birds but it can be done. Out of season, you can ping off the top of trees and extrapolate. You might be surprised at the results.…

SPONSOR Hampshire-based Fareham Clay Target Club is partnering with Wave 105 Radio’s Cash for Kids charity and holding a charity sporting shoot on Sunday, 5 August. Local sponsors traditionally associated with shooting and country pursuits are needed to support the event, which will be publicised by Wave 105, the largest commercial radio station in the south of England. Sponsorship opportunities start at £200 and supporters are invited to provide suitable advertising banners to display around the site leading up to and during the event. For more details contact andrew.f.lewis@ntlworld.com. READ Sharpshooter is a new collection of writings by Shooting Times’s weekly Sharpshooter columnist Alasdair Mitchell. Available now, the book is “the perfect counterpunch to the current trend for sentimentalised nature writing written by those who’ve been to the country a…

1 Orvis Ultralight wading jacket RRP £249 www.orvis.co.uk A minimalist jacket that offers solid protection against wind and rain while being compact enough to be carried in a small day pack. Most wading jackets can be heavy and cumbersome, but this new approach to foul weather protection offers more comfort, freedom and a significant reduction in bulk. 2 Grouse shooting socks RRP £55 www.campbellsofbeauly.com This grouse shooting stocking is perfect for the upcoming season, combining style with warmth and comfort. Available in three colourways — bracken, thistle and rust — it is great for blending into the moor. 3 Front loader cartridge bag RRP £499 www.albionengland.co.uk Based on the Classic Collection cartridge bag by Albion, the front loader cartridge bag incorporates two rows of hand-rolled loops to house five pairs…

Regarding the story about an airline refusing to carry guns (News, 13 June), we had a similar problem with Lufthansa on our yearly trip to Germany for driven boar. The airline has taken our guns, flying out and back from Glasgow and Edinburgh with no problem, for the past six years. Last year the booking was made as usual and everything was fine up until a few weeks before we left. We got a call from Lufthansa to say it did not allow guns to be flown out of or into any Scottish airports, but we could fly from Manchester. This was out of the question due to work restraints but, despite having the relevant certificates and getting BASC involved, Lufthansa would not change its mind. We had to leave…

It was Christmas night and I was on my third glass of sherry. Snow was falling outside and bed beckoned. Then the email landed: “Browning invites you to the USA to hunt prairie dogs!” I looked down at the hearth where my terrier lay sleeping. No doubt in the midst of that marvellous dream she often tells me about where she’s in a Victorian ratting pit, slaying the biggest and baddest that London had to offer. I couldn’t hunt prairie dogs. Those were her cousins. Admittedly, not her first or second cousins but relations through marriage at the very least. The following evening when I was back by the fire, after a cold yomp for woodcock, I googled “prairie dog”. What a fool I’d been. They are not canines at…

Fly-tipping in our countryside has become a national disgrace, and the problem seems to be getting worse (News, 20 June). The country lanes around Salisbury in south Wiltshire, where I live, seem to be particularly badly affected. It is rare to see an open field entrance along a rural road or byway that isn’t, or hasn’t been, tarnished by illegally dumped waste. Recently, we had several small decrepit caravans appear along our lane, which were subsequently torched. It is hard to imagine who else might have towed them there, other than travellers. So now, when walking our dogs, we must carefully steer them around warped metalwork, charred timber, singed wire-sprung bedding and copious amounts of smashed glass, to try to prevent them from slicing their paws open. What riles me…

GUN HERITAGE Q I need some help in dating my Webley & Scott Model 100. I believe it to be older than 1954 and it has the proof mark “12 C 1¼oz”. It has a heavily choked 32in barrel and is of strong construction. The serial number is 50206. Apart from a weak top-lever spring and the usual marks that you would expect to find on an old gun, it is still usable. A The Webley 100 was Webley & Scott’s successful semi-hammerless, single-barrelled shotgun. It was conceived in 1910, though production did not start until 1914. During the 1920s, the design was refined and simplified for production using the patents of two Webley employees, Johnson and Fearn. Production ceased in 1979 when Webley & Scott was acquired by Arusha Industries,…

PIGEON SHOOTING Q How do you approach the moral issues of shooting over a laid crop? How do you decide whether it is correct to shoot or not? A This is a common question. I usually decide based on whether the crop needs to be protected, but I also consider if I am going to be able to pick my birds. If it is likely that I’ll cause more damage to the crop than the pigeons by constantly moving in and out, the need to shoot is reduced. I will then see if there is another way of shooting them — for example, flighting the birds to the chosen field. A key consideration is what to do about wounded birds, as these have to be picked as soon as possible,…

GUNDOGS Q I have a three-year-old chocolate cocker bitch that I use extensively on our syndicate shoot for flushing game. By the end of the last season her tail was an absolute mess because it is very long. She was docked as a puppy and I have the certificate from the vet, but can I get her tail shortened again to stop this injury occurring next season? Also, I am planning to have a litter from her this summer, so can I insist on what length the puppies’ tails should be docked to as they will all be sold to my shooting friends for work? A Your vet will advise you on whether surgical removal of more of her tail will cure the problem. There is no legal issue around…

Of the numerous domesticated breeds descended from the mallard, none can rival the call duck for its cute looks, making it a popular pet. Call ducks have their origins in the Netherlands, where they were selectively bred for their diminutive size and their noise: they seldom stop quacking. They were used to lure their wild cousins into decoys, while their small size meant an equally small appetite, so they were cheap to keep. The cute, short-beaked call duck comes in a variety of colours. White is the most popular, but there are also apricot, bibbed, black, blue fawn, dark silver, magpie, mallard, pied and silver. As ornamental ducks they have much in their favour — they are easy to keep and friendly, though not prolific layers. However, their constant quacking…

BIRDLIFE Q Can you tell me what a plover swipe is? A The swipe was a simple plover decoy. A live lapwing or golden plover was tethered to the end of a long pole, connected through pulleys and long lines to the operator or decoyman, who was hidden in a blind or hide. When flocks of plovers were flying close by, the decoyman would pull the pole, causing the tethered bird to flap its wings and help lure the passing birds to settle. The trapping area was made more attractive by the use of stuffed decoys. When the flock landed a net would be pulled over them. A century ago this was common practice in the Fens and in Lincolnshire, where one trapper noted taking 240 birds in a day.…

7 JULY THE NORMANTON CHARITY CLAY SHOOT Normanton Shooting Ground, Leicestershire Tel 01455 888353 14 JULY WEST CHEVINGTON CHARITY CLAY DAY Morpeth, Northumberland Tel 07932 596827 18 JULY LYCETTS FESTIVAL OF HUNTING East of England Showground, Peterborough www.festivalofhunting.com 22 JULY SPORTING COMPETITION Badnocks Farm Shooting Ground, Southminster, Essex Tel 07899 792289 5 AUGUST CHARITY CLAY SHOOT Fareham Clay Target Club, andrew.f.lewis@ntlworld.com…

Prairie dogs are burrowing rodents that live in large colonies in the grasslands of central and western North America. Their colonies are complex networks of tunnels that contain separate “rooms” for sleeping, rearing young, storing food and eliminating waste. The rodents are very social and live in close-knit family groups called “coteries”, usually comprising an adult male, one or more adult females and their young offspring. Pups are born in April and May, an average litter being three or four, though up to eight have been recorded. The prairie dog’s diet consists of grasses, sedges, flowering plants, roots and seeds, though they are also known to eat insects.…

For 10 whole days not a drop of sherry touched my Finoloving lips. It was a Saturday evening towards the end of May when the sherry drought finally ended. After so long a separation it was of course understandable that I allowed myself half a glass more than the usual two, savouring every sniff and sip and swallow. At the same time, I told myself that the temporary divorce had been worth it, and not only because those 10 days without the comfort of Spain’s best gift to humanity had just made my reacquaintance with it so wonderful. There had, during that unparalleled abstention, been more than adequate compensations. I had been staying at the Crask Inn about 20 miles north of Lairg. It is quite possibly the finest inn…

BRIAR IS COMING ON WELL with her basic training. She is learning heel a little more reliably on and off the lead. She is nearly six months old now and looking very gangly. Her training sessions are still short and light in terms of physical demand. It is important her Joints are still taken into consideration as she is growing. Steadiness and delivery We play with retrieving and she is beginning to understand to be steady. I have started to introduce steadiness very slowly and gently, as the last thing I want to do is quash her drive or enthusiasm for the Job. While I am treating retrieving as a game still, I am — without her realising — working on delivery. She continually tries to pick up everything, whether…

UNTIL NOT SO LONG ago, it was easy to check the price of a gundog puppy. All you had to do was to turn to the classified ads at the back of Shooting Times and you could run your eye over a variety of advertisements for anything from working springer spaniels to Bavarian mountain hounds. The internet has largely killed such advertising, though I have a sneaking suspicion that it can still be effective, especially if you have an unusual litter of puppies to sell, such as working Clumbers. I always used to enjoy reading the “dogs for sale” ads, as they were a reflection of the popularity of the various gundog breeds with Shooting Times readers. Most puppies were priced, so it also gave a good idea of the…

STALKING Q I am quite new to stalking and have an interest in roe deer, having stalked them in both England and Scotland. Though I have not seen many deer shot, I have noticed some differences in the size of animals. Are there regional differences and, if so, what could I look out for? A Scientific evidence points to there being a number of distinct populations, both ancient and modern, in the UK from which our roe descend. As to differences, there are a number of these that experienced deer stalkers and watchers will point out, and which you could look out for. These range from physical size — with a marked difference between animals living in relatively impoverished areas, such as the open hill, as opposed to high-grade arable…

PUFFIN On the coast, it is a great time to look for puffins. It is peak provisioning time for growing chicks and adults will be flying up to 40 miles a day to find the food they need for their youngsters and to fuel their own exertions. In their great book The Puffin, Mike Harris and Sarah Wanless found that an Isle of May puffin with chicks to feed dives an average of 1,148 times a day and that 90 per cent of the fish caught are used to fuel the adult’s activity, with only 10 per cent available for the chicks. In 2017, the RSPB asked photographers to monitor the food items that puffins were bringing back to burrows. Six hundred people sent in more than 1,400 photographs, and…

VETERINARY CARE Q We have a young springer spaniel bitch. This is the first dog that either my husband or I have ever owned and so we are both on a steep learning curve. She recently had her first season and though we made sure she kept away from other dogs, her milk glands are developing and her nipples are becoming more prominent. Is this normal? Obviously we are concerned that somehow she might be pregnant, so should we have her checked? A Puppies’ teats enlarge slightly after their first season and nipple development in a young bitch can simply be a sign of normal sexual maturity; it doesn’t necessarily indicate that she is pregnant. You need to understand that a bitch’s cycle doesn’t just last for the three-week period…

The art of decoying wildfowl dates back thousands of years. Originally, a live bird would have been used. Use of this most effective of decoys is still legal in parts of Europe, though it was banned in Britain in 1954. There is plenty of information online about decoys and their use and I thoroughly recommend a trawl through YouTube. But here are a few tips. When you invest in your own decoys, the first thing you need to consider is how you intend to carry them. A large rucksack fits the bill, but make sure that it sits high on your back. If it sits too low on the spine, when full it may catch on the back of your legs. Try before you buy. I use a large rucksack,…