Innholdsfortegnelse for 15-Aug-2018 i Shooting Times & Country

As far as I was concerned, there was very little wrong with setting rabbit snares on the athletics field, but my headmaster saw things differently. The lecture I received that afternoon was a particularly dull one and all I remember was his parting words that we must “strive to be people of principle”. Perhaps, though, the incident had more of an impact than I would like to admit because for all of my adult life I have never compromised on the quality of salami I buy. Last weekend at a market, while handing over £5 for a small sausage, I asked the stall holder if they ever used anything other than pork. “Not currently,” she answered cheerfully, “but we have some plans to use venison.” I was pleased to hear…

Extra funding for farmers confirmed Defra has confirmed that the Payment by Results pilot scheme will be funded for a further two years with £540,000 shared between farmers taking part in the trial in Yorkshire, Suffolk and Norfolk. The scheme helps farmers achieve sought-after environmental outcomes in their areas. For example, in Norfolk and Suffolk farmers are benefiting from planting nectar plots for bees and other pollinators. Cocker champion suffers spinal stroke The winner of the 2016 Kennel Club Cocker Championship, Richard Preest (below), has suffered a spinal stroke, leaving him with severe disabilities. To support him, the spaniel world is organising a fundraiser, an open and novice spaniel test, which will take place on Sunday, 16 September at Brandhouse Farm, Gloucestershire. Entries close on 8 September. For more information…

I happened to pass your stand at the Game Fair the other week; I didn’t stop as the stand was rather busy — a great testament to you and the way you have rebuilt the magazine. But I fear that we are preaching to the converted somewhat. If we truly believe in the sport we all love, and can justify it to one another, surely we should all be doing our damnedest to explain our views and reasoning to those with a different opinion. We should also be doing our best to fight against bigoted views that spread lies and damage our reputation —the alleged illegal killing of raptors on grouse moors is a prime example. Our sport is going to come under increasing pressure and scrutiny over the coming…

“As these birds scrap and fight their way over the covered feed trough, they leave behind a goodly trail of droppings” It is not just ice cream, beer and other essentials that have become scarce following six weeks or so of relentless heat and, in some parts of the country, hardly a drop of rain. The odd thing about the areas of the country that have had the least rain is that they often have the highest rainfall, like Teesdale. One of the many effects of a period with no precipitation is that it drives the invertebrates, which so many bird species rely upon for their day-to-day food, down beyond their reach. Many of our wading birds have already left us after their all-too-short visit to breed. Only a smattering…

“I have absolutely no desire to try to hook something so delicious, just to put it back again” Iwon’t be the only sea angler seething over the EU ruling that says any bass we catch this year must be returned immediately. The bass-taking ban emerged after scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) provided a flawed estimate of bass mortality attributable to recreational angling. It estimated the 2016 recreational angling haul at 1,627 tonnes of bass. However, following some dogged lobbying, ICES was persuaded to reanalyse its figures, to better reflect the catch restrictions already imposed on us — a six-month fishing season; one fish daily bag limit; 42cm minimum landing size — and it recently revised the recreational catch to 212 tonnes, a whopping…

Latin name: Tragopogon pratensis Common name: Goat’s-beard Other names: Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, shepherd’s clock, meadow salsify, oyster plant, noon flower How to spot it and where to find it: A master of disguise, goat’s-beard hides on railway embankments, roadsides, commons, forest margins, field margins and wasteland by closing its bright flowers and pretending to be a grass. It blooms only in the early hours of the morning and at midday closes up to blend into the background. It also closes up if rain is approaching. Once the flowers have died, they form large fluffy seed heads in a round “clock”, rather like those of the dandelion, which at first glance the flowers resemble. The seeds are carried long distances through the air, aided by their fluffy “parachute”, and their oily surface allows…

In the time that I have been writing this column, I have learned that there are two categories of people with whom it is most unwise to tangle. The first is Staffordshire bull terrier owners. Whoever said that dogs resemble their owners had a point; try making even the mildest of criticism of the breed and you risk losing a limb. The second group is the global-warming lobby. They have some notable similarities to Staffies. They bare their teeth if you fail to be meekly subservient and unquestioning of the conventional line about the impacts of global warming. I fully accept that they are driven by the purest of motives; they genuinely want to save the planet. Mind you, who doesn’t? My beef is not with them, so much as…

EMAIL Do you run a shoot that you think should be featured in Shooting Times? We’d like to know about shoots with a difference; they could be in an interesting place, a new DIY shoot or perhaps one that has faced difficulties but overcome them. If you think we should come and visit, please email deputy editor Ed Wills on edward.wills@ti-media.com, sending a 50-word description of your shoot and what makes it special, and including a couple of photographs. See Shoot visit, p.32. TAKE COVER Recheck cover crops and make a decision today about what needs redrilling. You have less than a week in which to decide.…

1 Dolman shooting gilet RRP £69.99  www.baleno.be This is a traditional shooting gilet with quilted shoulders in Alcantara. It comes with large front pockets and back vents for ease of movement, making it practical for walked-up days. The gilet is available in sizes S-XXXXL. 2 Country shirt in beige and green check RRP £44.95  www.oxfordshirt.co.uk This country shirt is a staple for any man’s wardrobe. Made from durable 100 per cent brushed cotton, it is perfect for business or pleasure. 3 Pembroke cartridge bag RRP £329  www.greenwich.design Handcrafted from the same European leather as a Bentley’s upholstery, the Pembroke cartridge bag is the epitome of style and function. The Burnt Oak leather is complemented by antiqued brass hardware. The hinged buckle fastening allows for easy access when loading on a…

The weather in the past eight months has been how I remember it when I was young. The winters were white, hard and fun, the summers hot. It is harvest time and shooting beside the combines is one of my passions — a release from the hectic hustle and bustle of life — but it is not for everybody. Usually as harvest time approaches the barometer changes and the rain curtails the combines’ activity, Mother Nature’s perverse joke on those who work the land, but this year has been different. We have had the driest June in East Anglia since 1962. These Mediterranean conditions may have been great for the local tourist economy but they are giving the farming community a rare headache. “Nowadays everybody wants instant or constant action,…

“Few retrieves are marked so dogs must sweep the heather and use their noses” THE FIRST GAME BIRD I ever shot was a red grouse. I bagged my bird half a century ago on a moor in western Scotland where the density of grouse was probably one to the square mile. I recall walking for what seemed like hours on a hot August day without seeing anything more exciting than a meadow pipit. Then, suddenly, a grouse got up in front of me: I reacted instinctively and killed the bird in the air, noting carefully the spot where it fell. Marking a fallen bird on a heather moor is difficult. I ran forward straight to the fall, but couldn’t find even a feather. After five minutes of searching, panic started…

Losing control of my puppy GUNDOGS Q Our spaniel puppy was progressing in his training but now he is nine months old and he seems to be going backwards. He is unsteady on the drop and fidgets; he will ignore the first recall whistle sometimes and has to be told again. I cannot get him to look at me when he is sitting down and he is starting to pull on his lead. I feel I am soon going to lose complete control. What has caused this and can I get him back on track? A Though he may be looking more like an adult he is passing through the adolescent stage. In human terms he is a teenager and is finding that he does not need to rely on…

Famous for their large eggs with distinctive dark brown shells, the Welsummer is a Dutch breed, originating from the village of Welsum in the eastern Netherlands. The breed was established in the early 20th century as a result of crossing partridge Cochin, partridge Wyandotte and partridge Leghorn, the Barnevelder and Rhode Island Red. They were first imported into the UK 90 years ago, finding favour with noncommercial keepers who appreciated the birds’ good looks and attractive eggs. Welsummer hens produce no more than 160 eggs a year. There is a smaller bantam version, created in the 1930s, which also lays deep brown eggs. Curiously, the pigment on the eggs can be rubbed off, especially when the eggs are fresh. This is because it is applied by the hen at the…

22 AUGUST GWCT SCOTTISH YOUNG SHOOTERS’ DAY Auchnerran, Logie Coldstone Tel 01738 551511 25 AUGUST CLAY SHOOT Caerhays Castle, Cornwall sheila@caerhays.co.uk 26 AUGUST GLAD RAGS & CARTRIDGE BAGS CLAY SHOOT Saplinbrae House Hotel, Aberdeenshire Tel 07841 393155 31 AUGUST ROYAL GARDENS TOUR, SPORTING DINNER & AUCTION Highgrove House, Gloucestershire, www.jlanger@gwct.org.uk 9 SEPTEMBER HAMPSHIRE COUNTRY SPORTS DAY Tichborne Park www.hampshirecountrysports day.co.uk…

I started watching birds in the early 1970s, when tree sparrows were common and house sparrows were a nuisance in our suburban Birmingham garden. Tree sparrows nested in a tree near my home, we ringed a small number of broods each year in Edgbaston Park just three miles from the city centre, and several winter flocks of 100 or more birds could be found in the surrounding countryside. House sparrows were simply everywhere. Historically, sparrows were pest species. In the 1950s and 1960s, throughout the country, house and tree sparrows would descend upon milky-white wheat and barley seeds, a little before it was time for harvest. Swarms of hundreds would drop out of hedgerows and into the crop, like locusts in a biblical scene. Such sights are largely a thing…

It had always been an ambition of mine to photograph a pointer or setter retrieving a grouse and 10 years ago I looked set to finally achieve it. Swedish friends had invited me to Join them pursuing the five species of grouse that can be found in northern Sweden: willow, black and hazel grouse, plus ptarmigan and capercaillie. Unlike the UK, Scandinavian pointers and setters are always expected to retrieve. I flew to Stockholm, then drove north for many hours, though my destination was well short of the Arctic Circle. The hunting ground was close to the Norwegian border and here we were Joined by a Norwegian couple who worked their Irish red setters on our behalf. They were trialling/working dogs, fit, fast and accomplished retrievers. We had shooting rights…

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…

“Spaniels don’t take well to the enforced inactivity of wildfowling” Nobody in their right mind would advocate wildfowling without the services of a trained gundog. I tried dogless fowling when it was still permissible on my club’s marshes. It was frustrating in the extreme and meant carefully picking shots, then running in to fall to secure the bird before it vanished into the saltmarsh. Stripping naked on the foreshore in a snowstorm requires a particular form of enthusiasm. Many forward-thinking wildfowling clubs have some sort of rule requiring the use of a dog, and rightly so. In my own club, you don’t have to have your own dog but you must be shooting with someone who does. We are shooting for the pot so finding the bird and bringing it…