Innholdsfortegnelse for 05-Sep-2018 i Shooting Times & Country

Nimrod Nimrod, a 12-week-old Labrador, belongs to Simon Lester (pictured), former headkeeper at the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project in Dumfriesshire and at Holkham in Norfolk, and his wife Paula, managing editor at Country Life. Bred by Hampshire keeper Ian Heath, Nimrod is destined to be a peg dog and to go picking-up on local shoots.…

9 SEPTEMBER FRAMPTON COUNTRY FAIR Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire www.framptoncountryfair.co.uk 15-16 SEPTEMBER MIDLAND GAME FAIR Weston Park, Shropshire www.midlandgamefair.co.uk 28 SEPTEMBER SIR JOHNNY SCOTT TALK Addison Howard Park, Bedford po.st/ZEbkOu 28 SEPTEMBER CLAY SHOOT GWCT SOUTH WALES Cefn Tilla, Nr Raglan Tel 07768 232334 29-30 SEPTEMBER SOUTH YORKSHIRE SHOOTING SHOW & GAME FAIR Doncaster Exhibition Centre, Doncaster www.southyorkshireshootingshow.com…

WAD’S THE ISSUE I read with interest Alasdair Mitchell’s comments on plastic wadding in non-toxic shot and completely concur with his thoughts on this (Sharpshooter, 22 August). We do shoot some driven ducks on the estate and we insist on our Guns complying with the law. We only use a steel cartridge as we have found this to be much more humane and effective than tin, which we trialled for a season. We go through painstaking efforts with our entire team at the end of the season to pick up the wads by hand. They are far more environmentally damaging than lead shot and, on top of this, are a danger to the livestock that shares the fields we shoot over. But we are under no illusion as to how…

I describe shooting going-away birds as controlled but instinctive shooting. It is easy to start aiming with a going-away bird, but it leads only to failure and frustration. You will hear instructors telling you to shoot the legs off, shoot underneath, shoot above — all of which, I’m afraid, is guessing. For any low- to medium-height bird, you can shoot straight at them. Drive your gun in a smooth, slow and controlled manner straight at the bird and don’t hesitate. When you are there, make the shot — don’t hold on and you will see greater success. Like with any type of shooting, it is imperative that your gun mount is correct and that you drive your muzzles straight into the bird.…

Patrick has spent a lot of time shooting walked-up game and pottering up and down hedgerows with the gun, so it didn’t take long to fine-tune his thinking. He is a classic example of someone who has shot a lot of walked-up game and can shoot instinctively but can also get flustered and end up rushing. Now his gun mount is becoming consistent he is seeing the results, and he is also controlling his gun, so he makes a better connection to the bird, buying him time. It is easy to panic on going-away birds, but you have more time than you think, so be decisive, safe, controlled and instinctive. From a gun-fit point of view, Patrick now mounts the gun consistently enough to tweak his measurements. The drop of…

Since my last article (The goal for a gundog, 4 July), both Briar and Keepa have been making promising progress. Keepa is now two years and three months old and has won a novice working test. Though I feel he would run well in an open test, I don’t think he is currently at the level needed to win, so I would like to continue his training until I feel he is ready. My goal this winter is for him to get placed in, if not win, a novice field trial. I can then spend next spring and summer running in open tests, preparing him for the following season and, hopefully, open field trials.…

“I like to earn what I shoot — it makes eating the delicious game all the more enjoyable” By the Glorious Twelfth, though still summer, the arable landscape around home looks distinctly dull, tired and autumnal. Autumn — which doesn’t officially start until 23 September this year — seems to have arrived early, hurried in by a tiring, long heatwave. Usually, harvest would still be in full swing and the small country lanes would be busy with big green tractors hauling grain, but in south Wiltshire — where I live — the rolling fields look rather desolate, almost devoid of farmworkers and machinery. On the farm where we run our little shoot, the combine has been cleaned and put to bed. The winter and spring barley, the wheat, oilseed rape…

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 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 JEREMY HUNT Runs Fenway Labradors and a professional gundog trainer TIM MADDAMS Former head chef at River Cottage and runs a shoot in Devon SIMON WHITEHEAD Author, professional ferreter and rabbit controller IAIN WATSON Keen stalker and senior…

Latin name: Boletus edulus Common name: Penny bun Other names: Cep, porcini, king bolete How to spot it and where to find it: In mushroom terms, the delightfully named penny bun is one of the good guys. It is easy to identify — it really does look like a little bun — and is unlikely to be confused with any poisonous variety. Rather than killing its host plant, it forms a symbiotic relationship and is frequently found at the edges of clearings in broadleaved and coniferous forests. The mushroom has a yellow-brown to reddish-brown bun-like cap on a fat cream stem, often covered with a faint white net pattern. Interesting facts: When people talk enthusiastically about porcini, they are referring to the penny bun, which is the king of all…

Q I have been asked to help with the control of rats on a local farm. It should provide some exciting after-dark shooting with my air rifle, but I’m not sure what to do with the rats after I’ve shot them. Should I pick them up or just leave them there? A Have a chat with whoever granted you permission to shoot, but I very much expect that they will want you to pick up and dispose of any shot rats. Leaving them lying around not only looks bad, but also creates a health risk and is likely to attract more pests. Rats can carry some nasty diseases, so don’t be tempted to pick them up with your bare hands. You should be able to lay your hands on a…

There are no discernible differences between lapwings across the world. One reason for this is genetic mixing — there are examples of ringed chicks from this country breeding in Russia, instead of returning to their natal areas. Most wader chicks breed close to where they were raised and it has been suggested that some lapwings might pair up in the winter, as ducks do. September flocks are mostly made up of local birds and others from across the North Sea, but birds from further east soon join them. Perhaps a Russian bird might attract a youngster from a Yorkshire grouse moor, or the same thing could happen in reverse. A small number of these pairings is enough to ensure less variation in lapwing plumage than in other waders.…

Q We often have trouble with our birds wandering on to roads where some end up as roadkill. Will putting grit out keep them off roads? A The short answer is no. It may help a little, but only if the birds are actually on the roads looking for it. I suspect that your poults are just exploring. Habitat management, the correct siting of release pens, wiring off gateways and dogging-in will reduce the number of birds on the roads — as will putting grit out — but nothing will keep them off altogether. Spreading and exploring is a natural thing for birds. They will start to settle down when the corn is cut, the fields are quieter and the weather starts to turn.…

In last issue’s Letters page (29 August) C. Norris challenged me to clarify where I stand on global warming. Well, I think global climates may well be changing. But then, they always have. The key consideration today is whether climate change is being boosted by human activity. It may well be. But some of the more zealous commentators tend to make overblown predictions about the timescale and effect of climate change that devalue their own currency. I am not entirely convinced that greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of climate change. Yet they probably contribute, and as we cannot afford to go on polluting the environment, we must cut them. Nor do I think that “global warming” is a universal phenomenon, as some would have us believe. As a…

Last weekend, while sitting in a dentist’s waiting room, I had a revelation. I’m not sure how I got there but somehow I ended up reading an article online about the number of birds that were shot last season and went to waste due to a lack of demand for game. The piece suggested that 420,000 pheasants never made it on to a plate. Sadly, some within the industry believe this estimate is conservative. Yet, even if the figure is twice that, our cause is not lost. There are some 600,000 people in the UK who shoot. If we all agreed to eat an extra pheasant this year, things would be very different. But perhaps there is an even better way out of this mess. How many of us have…

Over £20k raised for Macmillan nurses Syndicates and clients at Long Mountain, Three Valleys and Llechweddygarth shoots have raised an impressive sum for Macmillan Cancer Support nurses throughout the 2017-18 season. Robert Jones presented a cheque for more than £16,300 to Jackie Miller and Angela Street of Macmillan nurses — but donations had actually risen to £20,410 by the end of a charity lunch, hosted by Mick and Henia Slack at Moors Farm House, Welshpool, on Sunday, 5 August. Black Lab wins for CRC handler The Caledonian Retriever Club (CRC) competed against Central Scotland Gundog Club (CSGC) in the interclub gundog challenge in Glenrothes, Fife, on 26 August. CRC member Lawrie Robertson was the overall highest-scoring handler with seven-year-old black Labrador Izzy, with 96/100 in the novice event. The CRC…

“Though I don’t know many people who spin solely for the partridges, it can be done” Each evening after I have checked the pheasants, I have been sitting up in a high seat waiting for fallow bucks or, more importantly, prickets for the cull plan. The other evening I had the surprise of a little wallaby turning up on the woodland ride and making its way towards me. Apparently, they are fairly common around this area but it was a first for me and it was great to see. Every gamekeeper has their own techniques of feeding their birds, whether predominantly pheasants or partridges, and I am a believer in “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”. When I started out gamekeeping as a lad on a small farm shoot…

Q I have three shotguns that once belonged to my father. I hold the licence for them, but wonder if you could tell me how I would go about sending them to my brother in the US? A If you are a shotgun certificate holder, exporting a gun to the US is straightforward because certificate holders may export shotguns appearing on their certificates as their personal effects without an export licence. The Home Office Guide on Firearms Licensing Law (2016) deals with this in chapter 28. You can download the full guide from www.gov.uk/government/publications/firearmslaw-guidance-to-the-police-2012.The guidance states: 28.31 Export licences are not usually required in the following circumstance. Holders of valid firearm or shotgun certificates or visitors’ firearm or shotgun permits may take abroad with them, or have sent, as part…

Q Am I right in believing that there was once an English water spaniel? A You are perfectly correct, though this breed of dog has been extinct since the early 20th century. The last known specimen was seen in 1930. Similar in some ways to a cross between a poodle and a springer spaniel, the dog had a short, curly white-and-liver or tan coat and stood about 18in at the shoulder. Photographs from the late 19th century show water spaniels with all brown, fairly open curly coats, though not nearly as tightly curled and crisp as the coat of the Irish water spaniel. The dog had an ancient origin revealed by a reference to a water spaniel in Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona. The English water spaniel was renowned for…

Q Whenever I try to cook rabbit, the meat ends up dry and stringy. I consider myself a reasonable cook, but I cannot figure out what I am getting wrong. Can you help? A It depends on how you are cooking it as well as the sex of the rabbit and how big, old and tough it is. Without knowing these specifics, it is tricky to answer your query directly. A broader look at the basics may help, though. All wild game is generally lean — yes, there are exceptions — and this in itself is enough to cause problems when it comes to cooking. For example, attempt to roast even a young rabbit and you will discover that it needs some bacon fat or butter to help it along.…

PICK Head out into the hedgerows with a basket in search of sloes. Tradition dictates that they should only be picked after the first frost — so that the skins are split naturally — but if you want to make sure of your share before others arrive and take the harvest, you can put your picked sloes in the freezer for the same effect — and avoid having to prick each one with a pin. It seems to be a bumper year for sloes so there are plenty around on blackthorn bushes. You’ll find a recipe for sloe gin at po.st/cmYyjd. CLEAR Start emptying your freezer so that there is plenty of room to store the birds you are going to shoot this season. Give yourself a few evenings off…

The Government has published advice on how farms should act if the UK leaves the EU without a deal being put in place. Agricultural businesses have been reassured that eligible beneficiaries will continue to receive payments. CLA president Tim Breitmeyer said: “It is important to provide clear and comprehensive guidance to help farmers prepare for the eventuality that the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement. “Of particular note is the advice for organic businesses...UK organic businesses will only be allowed to export to the EU if they are certified by a control body recognised and approved by the EU.” He added: “All farmers need certainty and do not wish to leave the EU without an agreement firmly in place, which is in the best interests of the industry.…

1 Adjustable shooting stick RRP £60  www.gamebird.co.uk High-quality adjustable shooting sticks, with an option for leather-covered handles. Made in England, these Gamebird shooting sticks are available in three handle sizes and feature a large, padded leather seat with adjustable stem. Using the five-position adjuster rod, the height of the sticks can be varied from 79cm to 97cm. 2 Foxpro Firefly scan light RRP £249.95  www.bushwear.co.uk The Foxpro Firefly is a single-colour, high-intensity, LED predator hunting light. It is made from high-strength plastic for durability and features a pistol-style design for ease of use and comfort. The trigger is the on/off switch, producing instant maximum illumination when pressed. This enables quick identification of quarry at a distance. 3 Croots cartridge bag RRP £124  www.crootsengland.co.uk We firmly believe a cartridge bag is…

Walked-up shooting is unlike any other form of the sport, and walking-up grouse over spaniels is very different to what Patrick will be doing over pointers. With spaniels, you have little warning before a bird flushes; over a good team of pointers, you have ample time to prepare yourself as you slowly walk to the flushing point. For this reason, when practising, you can be a little more deliberate and shooting going-away clays can be of benefit as you can prepare yourself just as you would waiting for a pointer being asked to flush. Key to this session was getting Patrick to practise varying heights, speeds and angles of going-away birds, but also more than one at a time, to improve his ability to make that all-important split-second bird selection…

The inability to make a decisive bird selection from a covey causes more misses than anything else. You have got to make the correct selection in a split second. First and foremost, the shot has to be safe. You must make yourself aware of your surroundings, where everybody is and your safe angles of fire before even thinking about taking a shot. Grouse are wild birds and the number of times I’ve seen clever coveys cut back through a line of Guns is surprising. When you have picked a bird from the covey, don’t suddenly change your mind as this will result, in many cases, in failure. Don’t go in thinking right-and-left, as it will cause you to rush the first bird. Focus on the bird you have picked out…

“The Rea was flowing, I caught some lovely wild fish and we ate them for breakfast” I promised you in my last article that it would rain before the end of July and it did. I made this promise because tradition demands that it should pour down as soon as my pheasant poults come to High Park. It is as though the weather thinks young pheasants are only really happy once their pens have turned to mud and they are standing there with hunched backs and heads buried in their feathers while the rain beats down on them relentlessly. The birds were due on the last Monday of July; after weeks without a drop there was a violent thunderstorm on the Friday before, with more heavy rain on Saturday. Clearly…

Last week I wrote about taking dogs into motorway services and restaurants (David’s viewpoint, 29 August). At least in the UK, dogs don’t appear on plates in restaurants, as they do in some parts of Asia. However, though the import and commercial trade in dog meat is against the law in the UK, the consumption of dogs isn’t illegal. I suppose that we have no rules about eating dogs because it is Just not something that we would consider doing. After all, we don’t even eat horses, do we? However, the World Dog Alliance (WDA) is poised to launch a campaign in the UK calling for a full ban on any activity relating to the eating of dogs. Dog eating is a concern in the US. According to the WDA,…

Q Lately, I have noticed an increasing number of companies making food for dogs out of fish. Would this really have health benefits or is it a bit of a fad? A In my experience some dogs relish fish and others don’t, so before you consider a fish-based diet — and many are among the higher-priced level of dog foods — you need to make sure your dog will eat it. I certainly don’t think it is a fad. Fish is an excellent source of protein as well as providing many other important nutrients that can aid mobility and coat condition. The flavour of dried fish foods is often strong, which is why it is important to know your dog will like it. I recently saw a truly dual-purpose flatcoat…

Q What is the best way to record the weights of the deer we shoot and put through our recently developed larder? It is mainly roe and muntjac we get, along with a few fallow. A This is a tricky question because there are a lot of ways to record the weights of lardered animals, often depending on where in the country you live and how you choose to record them. The method that works for most of us is the one that the dealer uses when he buys the animal, which invariably will be with all the internal organs removed and the head and lower legs cut off. The way larders record weights varies. You could weigh the animal with all internal organs removed, the lower legs cut off,…

The merino has its origins in Extremadura in Spain, though historians believe the Phoenicians introduced its ancestors from Asia Minor into North Africa and it was from here that they reached Spain in the 12th century. These distinctive animals soon became renowned for their wool, which is considered the finest and softest of any breed of sheep. The fleece is profuse, never stops growing and requires regular shearing. Though Spain may be the merino’s home, the breed is synonymous with Australia. The first merino sheep landed there in 1797. Perfectly adapted to the extreme weather of south-west Spain, merinos were well suited to the Australian environment and the country soon became a formidable wool producer. The first Australian-produced fleece was sold in England in 1807 and, by the late 19th…