Innholdsfortegnelse for 28-Nov-2018 i Shooting Times & Country

Last weekend, while loading for a friend in Wiltshire, I heard a poignant story. Some weeks previously, on a shoot not far from where we were, a regular beater had failed to turn up. Whether it is a party, a hunt meet or a badly organised trip to the pub, people not turning up in life is hardly unique, but the beater was an older gentleman and somebody thought they should go and see if something was amiss. The beater had suffered a heart attack and was lying on the bathroom floor. I was delighted to hear he was found in the nick of time and it looks like he will make a full recovery. As the birds started to rise out of the cover crop in front of us,…

8 DECEMBER SCHOOLS CHALLENGE GRAND FINAL The Oxford Gun Company, Oakley www.theschoolschallenge.co.uk 9 DECEMBER FESTIVE SHOOT Barbury Shooting School, Wiltshire www.shotgunandchelseabunclub.co.uk 13 DECEMBER HOLTS MODERN & ANTIQUE GUNS AUCTION Blackheath, London www.holtsauctioneers.com 22 JANUARY BETA COURSE IN CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT Allerton Project, Leicester awoolford@gwct.org.uk 2 FEBRUARY END OF SEASON GAME CHANGER BBQ Upstairs at the Palmerston Dulwich, London po.st/gamechangerbbq…

Thousands oppose Welsh shooting ban Almost 10,000 people have visited a webpage dedicated to challenging the ban on shooting imposed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) following intervention from Welsh minister Hannah Blythyn AM. There have been more than 3,000 visits to a page that allows users to email Ms Blythyn’s office and another 3,000 people have visited a page that helps them to email their Assembly Member. Around 800 people have visited a page that allows them to email NRW and a page hosting an open letter by BASC council member Ian Coghill to Ms Blythyn has had over 3,200 visits. Angus Glens raise £5,000 for air ambulance A game dinner and auction, with meat sourced from the glens and fields of Angus, has raised £5,443 for Scotland’s Charity Air…

I am a riverkeeper and was recently fishing for grayling with one of our Swiss members. We were sitting on the river bank having lunch and were discussing fishing in the UK. He did raise one question I could not answer and that was why are game fish offered less protection from predation than game birds. I asked him what he meant by that. He replied that as far as he could work out, if a fox was killing your pheasants you could kill the fox, but if a pike or cormorants are taking your fish there is nothing you can do. I did point out that cormorants are protected but you can get a licence to kill them and you can get permission from the Environment Agency (EA) to…

I had sat in the same high seat almost three years to the day and lain down five fallow deer during a carefully orchestrated deer move. So I was confident of finding the seat again, even if I would be looking for it in the dark. However, the clear instructions I’d been given to locate the seat still came in handy. “Go all the way through Copse Ground until you hit the Shire Rack then hang a right. Keep going along the edge of the wood until you reach the dogleg. You’ll see an old rusty pheasant feeder hanging on the fence. Your seat is almost opposite the feeder, about 10 yards into the wood.” A quick flicker of my headlamp caused a mob of roosting woodpigeons to depart, but…

A recent story in the national press warned against brushing your dog’s teeth using human toothpaste. The fluoride in toothpaste can make dogs vomit and give them diarrhoea, while xylitol, an artificial sweetener also present in some brands of toothpaste, can be even more deadly. There are plenty of dog toothpastes available, so there is no excuse for using the wrong sort. I suspect that most of us have never brushed our dog’s teeth, let alone used the wrong sort of toothpaste. However, it is a worrying fact that dental disease is the second most commonly diagnosed health issue for dogs. The problem is that most commercial dog foods — even the best ones — lead to a potentially dangerous build-up of plaque on the dog’s teeth, leading not only…

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…

There is still time WIN to enter the GWCT traditional grouse grand draw. The winner and eight friends can enjoy a day’s grouse shooting at the Glenogil estate in the Scottish Highlands. Visit www.gwct.org.uk/ for more information and to buy tickets. CHARITY The Game Fair is looking for nominations for its official charity for 2019. Successful concerns will need to be relevant to supporters and visitors to the Game Fair and lesser-known charities are particularly encouraged so that their voice is heard and vital funds are raised. You can nominate your favourite charity at po.st/gamefaircharity…

1 Seeland Dyna knit fleece RRP £99.99 www.seeland.com This windproof fleece jacket is designed with noiseless movement in mind — essential when stalking flighty quarry. It features a flexible three-layer membrane that both shields you from wind and provides excellent breathability. A smart and functional jacket, the Dyna keeps you warm without the bulk of a coat. 2 Laksen Cunningham shooting vest RRP £85  www.ardmoor.co.uk This waistcoat provides a useful function when out shooting with its insulated layer and wide pockets for easy access to cartridges. It also features a two-way centre front zip for access to clothes underneath and ventilation when active. 3 Lightforce ML 2400mm Blitz handheld lamp RRP £131.99 www.sportsmanguncentre.co.uk This high-performing handheld light is tough enough for use in any environment. It is said to offer…

“Snipe are not only edible but also delicious and their zigzag flight makes them a challenge for the game Shot” I live in a much-visited part of a much-visited island. In the summer, these visitors tend to be dominated by our transatlantic neighbours who arrive by the busload, eager to trace their roots, take several thousand selfies and consume enough potato-based foodstuffs to keep the tourist economy going for another year. As September ends and the crowds thin out, we are blessed with the arrival of an altogether different kind of visitor — the snipe. This diminutive bird arrives in significant numbers from colder climes in northern Europe, Iceland and the Faroes as winter approaches. For several months County Kerry hosts one of the largest populations in the country. The…

My opinion, formed over the years, has only been reinforced by what I have seen. I’m sure that there will be some of you thinking, “I shoot a .410 on game and I shoot like a god with it”. Stop kidding yourselves; it is irresponsible even to think that shooting pheasants over the height of 20 yards with a .410 is ethical or sporting in any way. I’m fed up of hearing people say, especially with small bores, you either kill them or you miss them. This is a ridiculous statement. What you don’t see, due to there being a smaller shot string, is that you prick birds. Let me ask this question: if you had the choice of being shot at with a .410 or a 12-bore at a…

When everyone shot with a muzzle-loader, loose powder, shot and wadding were available from many high-street shops, including grocers, ironmongers, whitesmiths and so on. Then, as cartridge breechloaders became more common, ammunition makers started to offer standardised cartridges for retail from gun dealers. True, many dealers still loaded specialist cartridges regulated to their clients’ guns but “off-the-peg” shotgun cartridges were becoming the norm. By the 1880s, many ammunition retailers started to intensify their marketing by using catalogues, signs and, particularly, cartridge display boards. The theory was that they would create brand loyalty by offering a large range of reliable ammunition. George Kynoch & Co of Birmingham was one of thsoe that did so. The founder, George Kynoch, was born on 22 August 1834 at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, the youngest son of…

Latin name: Tilia cordata Common name: Small-leaved lime Other names: Little-leaf linden How to spot it and where to find it: This attractive tree is found throughout Great Britain and Europe. While it once dominated wild woodland it is now much less common and its presence may indicate ancient forest. A medium-sized tree, it grows naturally in a column shape with a rounded crown. Its dark, glossy leaves are oval or heart-shaped and turn a glowing yellow in the autumn. It produces spreading clusters of sweet-smelling yellow-green flowers in the spring; once pollinated by insects, they develop into round to oval, smooth fruits with pointed tips. In the winter, the twigs are tinged with red. Interesting facts: The leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of several moths, including the lime…

The quarter horse got its name for its speed and agility over the quarter mile. It is descended from animals brought to the US from England and Ireland, crossed with local ponies. The latter were a mixture of Arab, Barb and Turk introduced to North America by the Spanish explorers and traders. The result was a horse that could cover short distances faster than any other breed, yet was tough, intelligent and docile. Compact with sturdy legs, the quarter horse is heavily muscled with powerful hindquarters. Some 17 colours are recognised, but only a limited amount of white is allowed on the face and below the knees. The American Quarter Horse Association was founded in 1940. Since then, more than 5million horses have been registered, making it the largest horse…

FED UP WITH PHEASANT? I am frequently surprised by people seeking more ways to cook pheasant (Letters, 14 November) when there are so many recipe books available on the market. In 1990 my wife was concerned that we would get bored with the usual dishes so at the then Wessex Game Fair I bought her The Pheasant Cook: 97 Ways to Present a Bird by Tina Dennis and Rosamond Cardigan. The bonus is that it includes line drawings by Rodger McPhail. Alas it does not include the recipe for the HRH Prince of Wales’s pheasant crumble (News, 14 November) but I’m sure that can be remedied by making a quick search of the internet. J. Lewis, by email The Editor responds: It’s funny that people forget how very versatile game…

One of the many perks of gamekeeping is being able to accompany your employer to other estates. I relish the opportunity to head out with the boss to see how other shoots run and meet the keepers on neighbouring ground. I use these days to try to build my knowledge of how drives are run on different estates and attempt to implement little changes on my own shoot from the information I have gathered from the day. Though the topography and drives vary in each area, it is valuable to constantly enhance the understanding of gamekeeping methods. Loading must be one of the most sought-after jobs within the trade. Generally, loaders are the keeper’s friends or colleagues who are trusted to keep the Gun safe and have a friendly attitude.…

Separation of the sexes FERRETING Q I am new to keeping ferrets and have a few jills and a hob that I picked up this year. My friends keep telling me that I won’t be able to leave them in together, but they seem happy enough at the moment. Will I need to separate them? A To be blunt, yes, you will. You can keep both sexes together when they are young or during the winter months but once the hours of daylight start to outnumber the hours of darkness they will come into season. This happens to the hobs first, then the jills. If you do keep them together then I am afraid you will have a lot of little ferrets to raise, feed and rehome. This isn’t the…

How will farming fare after Brexit and what are the implications for shooting? The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is widely blamed for a loss of biodiversity over recent decades. It wasn’t designed for UK farming and it is a hideously expensive, bureaucratic nightmare. The RSPB knows how damaging the CAP has been. It has highlighted the policy’s failings often enough. Mind you, it went rather quiet about them during the referendum. Indeed, it joined with other “greenies” to issue a report biased towards Remain — though it denies it took sides. Some form of payment for producing environmental benefit seems to be the way forward, perhaps based on the experience gained from existing Environmental Stewardship schemes. I’ve just had a stewardship inspection. A person from Natural England (NE),…