Innholdsfortegnelse for 21-Nov-2018 i Shooting Times & Country

In Scots Gaelic, “an dàmhair” is the word for the month of October but, first and foremost, it means “the rutting time”. A time of firesides, long shadows and roaring red deer. This year, however, Gaelic and English speakers alike have all been left wondering what on earth is going on. It has been the most peculiar and frustrating season many of us involved with deer have ever seen, and hopefully will never see again. As I write, in the first week of October, I should be able to hear stags roaring. I should see groups of hinds settled on the hill. I should be seeing stags following their noses as they move across the countryside. As it is, this year, the hills are silent. There are theories as to…

With the rise of social media, how we behave off the field has become so important. I am fully aware that there are pigeon shooters who go about their business in a very private manner. But the majority do use some sort of social media, and it can be seen by the whole world. As we see with other forms of fieldsports, the media — news and social — takes what it sees and puts its own, often negative, twist on it. The most recent was the young American who posted a picture of a domestic blackface sheep that she had shot, with zero explanation as to why she had shot it. It was obvious to me that this was going to be highlighted by the national media. It is…

THE QUICKEST WAY to ruin a gundog is to take it shooting. A professional trainer made that profound statement to me many years ago. I was reminded of it on a recent frosty morning when I was out walking my spaniels. A handsome German wirehaired pointer appeared on the path, then sat on the whistle. Its owner appeared moments later, so I admired his dog and asked if it was going to be a worker. The answer was yes — the pointer was 18 months old but not, I was told, quite ready. By coincidence, later the same day an old friend of mine called and asked me over for a day’s shooting. “We’re looking forward to meeting Emma,” he added. Regular readers will know that Emma is my sprocker…

As I sat beside my cottage hearth with the curtains drawn upon a dull, grey evening, reading that absorbing book, Arthur Patterson’s Wildfowlers and Poachers, of the Breydon, Norfolk coast, the telephone shrilled and I rose to its command. Ben’s slow, measured voice held a touch of excitement as he said: “All the geese — the big lot — are roosting on this side of the bay. I can hear them cackling now. Are you coming over in the morning, 5am sharp?” I rose at 4am and drove the seven miles to the nook in the estuary. Ben was waiting impatiently when I got there, his boat ready to cross the river channel. There had been little mist on my drive along the lanes past sleeping farmhouses and cottages but…

Wildfowling has restarted at Caerlaverock on the Solway Firth after an agreement between Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), wildfowling clubs and shooting associations. A decision to ban duck shooting and severely reduce goose shooting opportunities on the nature reserve has been reversed. Caerlaverock National Nature reserve is a 10-mile-long strip of the Scottish Solway coast. The reserve is noted for its population of natterjack toads and as the winter home for the entire population of Svalbard barnacle geese, which are legally protected. The main attractions for fowlers are the resident populations of greylag and Canada geese and the wintering population of pink-footed geese which breed in Iceland and Greenland. Geese have been shot at Caerlaverock under permit since it was first designated as a nature reserve in 1957. In August this…

A police commissioner in Dorset has said that rural crime is under-reported on a grand scale. Speaking on a national rural crime day of action, Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill commented: “We know that rural crime is a problem. But we also know that it is massively under-reported. “One of my frustrations is when people raise concerns about rural crime with me, and rightly so, but have not reported it to the police through the proper channels.” However, the 2018 National Crime Survey showed that many crimes now go unreported because rural dwellers do not feel that the police and criminal justice system do anything about the issues nor understand them. Around 20,000 respondents took part of whom only 27 per cent felt that their local police were…

Cocks only” in late October seems slightly incongruous but, on a wild pheasant shoot, the hens are potential breeding stock so an eye to conservation is important from the first day. The advice I gave at Manor Farm was one of respect for hens. Ours is a very rough and modest sort of shoot, with a few mini drives where we hope to show the odd high bird. Everyone was encouraged to shoot a challenging hen if the opportunity arose, but to leave the ones that squirted out low as we walked-up in line. Cocks, on the other hand, only need to be a safe shot to be on the menu. “A low cock breaking back is very much on the menu — once the wings are open they are…

A muffled chirp came from deep within a pocket, but a fired .410 cartridge, string, memory stick and sticky sweet wrapper came to hand before I found my phone. “Just checking hounds will be OK on Saturday…” Idle planning of tree planting for this winter was replaced with the mental gymnastics of a man whose week is without the benefit of much structure. Saturday was the day after tomorrow and a walk around my nascent wild bird shoot was planned. Somewhere the rural wires were crossed because I had double booked with the hunt. Saturday dawned with a cloudless sky and the rising sun burned thoughts of a misty, damp autumn away. It was 10°C by 10am when our regular guests rolled into the wood. Within minutes, the team of…

As pigeon shooters we have a responsibility to our quarry, our permissions, farmers, landowners and gamekeepers — and to our specialised and traditional sport — to make sure that we follow an unwritten code of conduct. This must be upheld for the future of our sport. It is also vital that we pass on the knowledge and understanding not only to the participants and enthusiasts but also to those, young and old, who want to get into pigeon shooting. We must make sure, too, that it is passed on to those who may not understand what we do; those who sit on the fence deciding whether what we do is correct or incorrect and could be swayed one way or the other. Positives I have wanted to bring up these…

Telltale signs of rutting stags STALKING Q On an October trip our stalker said a stalked stag had been rutting. I was unsure how he knew, so what’s the best way to tell? A There are a number of signs. Rutting stags have a pungent and unmistakable smell, which even the human nose can detect with ease. During the rut, stags will roar to establish their presence. If they are holding hinds they will attempt to corral them and keep them together and another stag is involved, they will challenge each other with pushing and fighting. When the shot stag is approached, have a look at the belly fur — you’ll see that this will be very black and stained. When you or your guide gralloch the stag in the…

Numbers of farmland birds have plummeted by more than 50 per cent in the past four years, according to a Government report. The decline is attributed to a lack of food where the birds breed in the south-east of England and East Anglia. Birds affected are corn buntings, grey partridges and tree sparrows, while turtle dove populations have decreased by 98 per cent since 1970. Dr Alastair Leake of the GWCT said: “With the right conservation methods fantastic results can be achieved. At the Allerton Project we doubled our songbird numbers in three years by improving habitat, providing food and controlling some nest predators.” Jenna Hegarty, head of land use policy at the RSPB, commented: “Despite the amazing efforts of many farmers to make space for nature, more is needed.”…

“Hardcore huntress” Larysa Switlyk, who caused controversy in October by publishing a series of trophy pictures taken from hunts in Scotland on social media, has angered both fellow hunters and antis by launching a clothing collection that mocks her critics. “I’ve decided to launch T-shirts to take a stance on what I believe in” Ms Switlyk, whose website Larysa Unleashed describes her as “a mixture of a tomboy and model… competitive, engaging and adventurous”, said: “Due to the recent outrage over my hunting adventures, I’ve decided to launch T-shirts to take a stance for what I believe in.” The former accountant turned celebrity hunter announced that the T-shirts and hoodies would be available via the online store on her website. The range of clothes, which are priced between $29.95 (about…

North Yorkshire Police have appealed for information on a hen harrier satellite tag that stopped working in the North York Moors National Park. The hen harrier had been tracked by the RSPB since it hatched in the Peak District during the summer. However, on Friday, 26 October, the hen harrier flew into the North York Moors National Park and its last registered position was recorded there that morning. The RSPB’s latest Birdcrime report claims that North Yorkshire is consistently the worst county in the UK for recorded bird of prey persecution. Garry Doolan, spokesman for BASC, commented: “It is important for the credibility of shooting that the shooting community is seen to do everything within its power to assist when criminal investigations of this nature are undertaken.” Contact the police…

SAVED BY SPORT Some time ago, I suffered a bout of depression. I had recently lost my father and an old injury had flared up, meaning that I was having to take strong painkillers. There were other things as well — aren’t there always? — but equally there were many good things in my life too. But that is the way with depression; counting your blessings makes little difference. I didn’t visit my GP; though I know they are immensely helpful for some, the thought of taking antidepressants didn’t appeal. What helped me through, I’m convinced, is my enjoyment of my sport. Whether it was drey-poking in the local woods, airgunning on the farm or a bit of rough shooting with friends, it gave me a focus as well as…

Regular readers of Shooting Times may recall that I fought a rearguard action against the rising spectre of vegetarianism in our household (Going wild for game, 1 August), brokering a compromise that led to us giving up buying meat in favour of eating wild game we hunted ourselves. That was last November. Over the course of the past year, relying on wild game for food has brought with it a redoubled focus on making productive use of every last bit of each animal, ensuring nothing goes to waste. This is perhaps best illustrated in the case of the sika deer, the largest game animal on our menu. I am a keen stalker so venison features prominently in our kitchen at this time of year. For the amateur game chef, the…

“If a sportsman true you’d be, listen carefully to me.” So begins the poem A Father’s Advice , written in 1902. Some 116 years later, the sage words on gun safety, shooting etiquette and behaviour in the field still ring true. In October, I had the pleasure to join a group of parents who had decided to put Mark Hanbury Beaufoy’s lines to a practical application. The Grundisburgh Hall shoot in Suffolk played host to the team of nine young Shots for a day that was the brainchild of Nick Murphy. Nick had enjoyed a number of days at this most picturesque of shoots in the past. He wisely arranged for his son, daughter and friends to put their theory, learned on the clay grounds, to the test against Trevor…

How you behave in the field should be at the forefront of your mind. When you have permission granted to shoot over someone’s land it should not be taken lightly. You have to treat that permission as if it were your own land. I don’t mean invite who you want or do as you wish, but have complete respect for the land you are on, the farming processes that occur and, especially, respect the wishes of the landowner. Make sure you are aware where you can drive and where you are allowed to shoot. It is so important that you know where rights of way are and where the farmer may have sensitive areas, such as close neighbours, villages, stables, roads or stewardship belts. Nothing gives pigeon shooting a bad…

Airguns are not only my hobby, they are also my livelihood, and as someone who subscribes to the adage that you should always use the right tool for the job, I like to use the best shooting equipment that my budget can stretch to. However, not everyone can justify forking out several hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds on an air rifle and high-end kit can sometimes take the fun out of a shooting trip by overcomplicating things. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that it was affordability and simplicity which attracted me to airgunning in the first place, so I make a point of paring down my gear every so often. Starting out with very basic kit more than 30 years ago set me on…