Innholdsfortegnelse for 10-Aug-2016 i Shooting Times & Country

THE grouse season is here and I would urge anyone who hasn’t been out in pursuit of the king of gamebirds to have a go. I have been lucky enough to shoot grouse over pointers a couple of times and it’s an unforgettable experience that won’t break the bank (see p.16). However, it is driven grouse shooting that sustains remote communities and does so much for upland conservation. As Lindsay Waddell wrote in his column last week, if the RSPB invested all the money it put aside for its curlew campaign into keepering more of the UK’s moorland habitat, it might make a difference. Another bird that breeds better on keepered estates is the hen harrier (News, 3 August). It is therefore a great irony that the hen harrier-obsessed RSPB…

VOTE BASC is encouraging shooters to show their support for grouse shooting by taking part in a poll on the Mirror website, asking whether Marks & Spencer should drop plans to sell red grouse. The poll was set up following Springwatch presenter Chris Packham’s petition for the supermarket chain to stop supplying the “toxic” meat. Visit po.st/grousepoll to enter the poll. SHOOT As if you really needed us to remind you, Friday is the Glorious Twelfth and many of you will be eagerly awaiting the start of the grouse shooting season. As the story on the opposite page explains in detail, the bad weather earlier this year might have disrupted some shoot schedules, but don’t worry — there still appears to be plenty of sport about, so get out there…

Holt’s Auctioneers founder Nicholas Holt (pictured) has bought the 12-bore C Grade Browning that the late Bob Braithwaite usedto win gold at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Mr Holt paid £10,000 for the shotgun, which was estimated to sell for £7,000-£9,000. A record 28 teams competed in the annual Kent Game Bird Challenge clay shoot at Godmersham Park last month. In total more than £10,000 was raised during the day for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. The winning team was from the Penshurst Place estate, with a score of 264 out of 300. The Danby estate in North Yorkshire has received a £2,250 fine and was ordered to pay £4,486 in costs by Scarborough Magistrates Court, following the blinding in one eye of estate worker Jim Harding during a grouse…

CATS CAN’T GO VEGGIE Those people who try to push their own idealogies on their pets (Sharpshooter, 27 July) are actually guilty of gross neglect, if not cruelty. If we choose to own an animal as a pet, we have a duty of care to that animal. And trying to feed a vegetarian diet to a cat is not caring for it at all. Cats need an amino acid called taurine, which is found predominantly in meat and fish. It is essential for many functions, including the brain, eyes and heart. I suspect many vegetarians think that taurine is made of bull’s pee… A couple of years ago, there was a story in the Australian press, which was picked up here, about a kitten that had been taken to a…

“Like a good bricklayer, a house martin will only lay a few courses of its nest at a time” I had waited, and waited and waited, and had just about given up hope, but in the last week of July, I finally spotted what I’d been longing to see all summer — bird poop sprayed over my daughter’s bedroom window. That might sound a little weird, so I should explain that when I see their freshly jettisoned lumpy whitewash dribbling down our upstairs windows, I know our house martins are back, and have set their African hearts on revamping the mud-cup nests that adorn the eaves under the gable-end of our cottage, ready to spawn young. This summer I’ve enjoyed watching gazillions of swifts silhouetted against clear skies, twisting and…

Think about your clothing for the day. Get it wrong and you will struggle. It is important to dress for the conditions but bear in mind that walked-up grouse shooting can be hot and hard work. Modern shooting clothing is there to benefit the shooter, so invest in sensible clothing that allows you to shoot comfortably but that also protects you from the elements. Thick tweed coats, for example, are not suited to walked-up shooting unless you are hoping to lose weight through sweating. It is essential also that you wear a good pair of walking boots that support the ankle and gaiters that protect you from tough heather and possible wet ground and conditions.…

There is no other bird that has polarised opinion and created as much division between conservationists and practitioners as the hen harrier. The name is apt as chicks are its prime target during the breeding season, and it was named due to its habit of “harrying” free-range poultry around villages. As a result, it in turn was harried, and when the advent of shooting for sport came to the fore, more so. Like many of its raptor relatives it was pushed to the edges of the country, surviving well on the Scottish and English islands, with few breeding on the mainland. Today, there are some 600 pairs breeding in the UK, almost always in the uplands, whereas around the remainder of the globe the bird is scattered over both high-…

“The Pewitt is surely one of the rarest cartridges of all if it ever existed” The introduction of the breechloading shotgun around the mid-19th century led to a frenzy by makers to build lightweight shotguns. The advent of driven shooting, and the availability of northern and Scottish grouse moors, demanded one with reduced recoil when hundreds of shots would be fired in a day. Twenty and 28-bores were regarded as being primarily for ladies and youths and the 12-bore was standard. In August 1872, Sir Frederick Milbank shot 364 brace of grouse to his own gun in a single day with Greener’s 2in Dwarf cartridges loaded with 7/8oz (24g) of No.6. Greener had begun making 2in 12-bores, but cautioned against 2in cartridges being fired in 2¾in guns as, in some…

“The greatest hunter, the truest friend and the most thorough example of an English gentleman” Of all the Victorians who opened up southern Africa on behalf of the British Empire, Scottish missionary David Livingstone is the one best remembered. In 1855, he was the first white man to set eyes on the Mosi-oa-Tunya — “the smoke that thunders” — which he renamed Victoria Falls. He disappeared for four years before being greeted, as every schoolboy knows (or at least used to), with the words: “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” He died aged 60 of dysentery and exhaustion in 1873, and among the pallbearers who carried his coffin into Westminster Abbey was a tall, lean friend by the name of William Cotton Oswell. They had been close. Livingstone named one of his…

Rare reptile in Dorset CONSERVATION Q I believe that the creature shown in my photograph ( above ) is probably a sand lizard, but can you confirm it is? I found it sunbathing on a rock in a heathy area on our Dorset shoot. It’s the first time I’ve seen one there, though I haven’t looked for them before. A Your photograph depicts a fine male sand lizard in full breeding condition. While the females are sandy brown with a row of dark blotches along the back, the males sport attractive, vivid green flanks, and these are at their brightest during the breeding season. They favour sandy areas, as their name suggests, and it is the loss of this habitat that has led to a serious decline in…

Moorhens have a neat way of trying to raise a late brood of chicks; they sometimes get help from youngsters from earlier broods. Unlike most species, such as blackbirds, which chase off their first youngsters so that they can focus on finding food for a new group of hungry chicks, moorhens will share a pool or stretch of river with one or more of their “teenage kids”. Most youngsters do leave their parents when they are a few weeks old but some stay behind to help out when needed. These birds have been seen assisting with second and third breeding attempts, by repairing the nest, brooding the eggs or feeding young chicks. At this time of year, it is possible to identify different age groups, from fully grown but still…

“Fishermen are men of unfettered optimism. Three bad days will be rewarded by one great day” A “ bad day’s fishing’s better than a good day at work,” says cheery Alan, a bloke I met in the tackle shop. “That’s what they say, isn’t it?” I smile and nod. But in fairness, I don’t really know what that means. Then, as I sit in my car — about to fire up and drive away with my newly bought Snowbee multiplier reel, loaded with 25lb braid — I find myself chewing over the notion. Inside the shop I can still see Alan and his friend, Carl, buying a pack of ragworm and browsing the extensive selection of lures. Sideways rain lashes against the passenger window while a flag-like banner that hangs…

“Though May was reasonably warm, the weather during the hatching period was far from ideal” Bad weather has once again led to mixed prospects for the start of the upcoming grouse season, according to gamekeepers and sporting agents across England and Scotland. A prolonged period of wet weather, combined with very late snowfall, has led to reduced brood sizes in some areas and some cancelled days. However, keepers are confident that good sport will still be found this year, with second clutches having produced birds for a later start. Scottish Gamekeepers Association chairman Alex Hogg commented: “As ever, there are regional variables. There have been some pessimistic forecasts, but there will be premium grouse shooting to be had in Scotland this season. “Some of the spring conditions were testing, with…

13-14 AUGUST LOWTHER SHOW Lowther estate, Penrith, Cumbria Tel 01889 563232 20 AUGUST HILLERSDON HOUSE CHARITY CLAY SHOOT Hillersdon, Devon Tel 01884 836800 26 AUGUST THE CLAY SHOOTING DTL CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP Bywell Shooting Ground, Felton, Northumberland Tel 01670 787827 27-28 AUGUST IRISH GAME & COUNTRY FAIR Birr Castle, Co Offaly Tel 00353 05791 21818 29 AUGUST LOADERS BEST PRACTICE WORKSHOP Cockrup Farm, Caln St Aldwyns, Cirencester Tel 01833 660869 1 SEPTEMBER BUCKS COUNTY SHOW Weedon, Buckinghamshire Tel 01926 680400…

We bought Trigger in 2007 as a beater’s dog. When he was 12 weeks old, we were told he had detached retinas and would eventually go completely blind. Many people thought that Trigger would be useless and we should have him put down but we disagreed. It took a lot of training, patience and perseverance, helped by articles in Shooting Times, but Trigger started going beating with my partner, Butch, and the people who doubted Trigger had to eat their words. Over the years we have had to have Trigger’s eyes removed, which does attract some funny comments. I was once asked by a small boy if he was sleepwalking. My partner is often asked to go on shoots purely because they have heard about Trigger. Marion Cordon, Gloucestershire IN…

“What a success story to look back in 10 years and our wildlife is living in balance in our countryside” What a difference a month can make when releasing pheasant poults. Last month, the young pheasants were dropping like flies with a bad dose of hexamita, made worse by the never-ending rain. Our gamefarmer was understanding and helpful when we explained our predicament to him and immediately offered to replace our lost ones. Mike Woods from Westfield Farm came up personally and delivered them. Many people in this throw-away society would have changed their suppliers many times but there is a lot to be said for loyalty to a customer. Our losses to buzzards have been substantial this year, one or two poults every day. I think, with the disease…

Different shots and angles Walked-up grouse shooting is challenging. With pointers that work well you get some warning, but over spaniels anything can happen. Practising beforehand for walked-up shooting is really about practising at a shooting school as many different shots and angles as you can up to 40 yards, around or just above head height. It is amazing how many crossers and birds going back over the line there can be. Get your eye in If you can, try to shoot clays that have a dark background or ground behind them, so that you get used to shooting against visually difficult birds and birds with ground behind them. Timing and distance If grouse cross along the line or come back you will have time to shoot. However, if you…

“I’d fallen into the old error of rushing the gun mount — a basic, primary-school mistake” Have you ever wondered if you’d manage to hit a clay even if it were still in its box? The thought’s occurred to me throughout the summer. The clayshooting season began well, with me in the sort of form that brought such success to the Icelandic football team. One of my more elegant friends, the Viking Princess, became almost gushy as she watched me smoke pretty much everything at a simulated game shoot in May. “By Thor’s hammer,” she said (or something equally Norsey), “Do you ever miss, BZ ?” The answer came a month later, when clays as big as 3,000-calorie pizzas hovered over my head and continued unscathed. I was almost as…

“I never tire of eating pigeon and am constantly tinkering with recipes. Younger birds get roasted and are worth the effort” Everyone has a favourite, mine is pigeon. Shooting them, eating them, thinking about shooting them, thinking about eating them, generally admiring them, reading about them, reading about shooting them... you get the idea. I am a self-confessed pigeon addict. I have never tried to give it up, but I know I couldn’t. These birds are special and their story is closely linked to agriculture. Pigeon in times past Unsurprisingly perhaps, the woodpigeon is a bird of the woodlands — no degree in biology required to work that one out. For centuries it has survived in the woodlands, eking out a living from nature’s bounty, with many birds dying off…

SITTING ON MY shelves is a long row of dog books, some of which I’ve read from cover to cover, and others that are occasionally referred to. There’s also a few that simply gather dust, and one of these, I regret to admit, was Dorothy Morland Hooper’s The Popular Springer Spaniel. As I mentioned in last week’s article, it is a volume that Peter Moxon recommended for further reading in the article ESSence of a good all-rounder (printed in Vintage Times, 13 July, but originally published in Shooting Times in May 1977). My well-worn copy of The Popular Springer Spaniel is something of a mystery, as I cannot remember when or where I acquired it. It is likely that someone gave it to me, but who? Another mystery is why,…

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 rifl e reviewer and stalker DAVID TOMLINSON Highly regarded writer and ornithologist LIAM BELL 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 Contact the team Email: stanswers@timeinc.com By post: Shooting Times, Pinehurst…

In an age of political uncertainty, there is one fact we can be confident about: our new Prime Minister, Theresa May, won’t be going grouse shooting when the new season opens on Friday. This is in marked contrast to previous Conservative prime ministers: Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home were both regulars on the grouse moors, as was Margaret Thatcher’s first home secretary, Willie Whitelaw. The days when there was an exodus of MPs from Westminster to the moors of northern Britain have long since passed. Two centuries ago those MPs heading north for the grouse had to allow at least two days for the journey. The London to Edinburgh mail coach took about 43 hours to complete the journey, with 28 changes of horses. By 1888, the railway had cut…

“Rear and release, using precisely the same mechanism as brood management, was the only option” I am starting to wonder if the RSPB sees more value in dead or missing hen harriers than in live, visible ones. Is this the real reason for its decision to pull out of the Hen Harrier Joint Action Plan after just seven months (News, 3 August)? Even before the plan started, one of the main planks of the RSPB’s lack of enthusiasm for this partnership project was its stated objection to “brood management”. This entails taking hen harrier chicks from wild nests and rearing them in aviaries, before releasing them at suitable sites. Another part of the plan envisaged some of those sites being in southern England — some distance from current hen harrier…

Partridge project unites conservation efforts The Wild Greys Project, a conservation group dedicated to reversing the decline of the grey partridge, has launched a new website where farmers and gamekeepers can share data, expertise and experiences to help reintroduction projects in the future. The website includes a method of recording and mapping bird releases so that projects can assess the success of their reintroduction projects and the variables associated with each release. Dr Dave Butler, who established the project in 2007, explained: “We also supply project leg rings, which are stamped with unique ID numbers, so that birds can be recorded and plotted on a map. “Through the website, data on bird finds are automatically relayed back to individual projects so that managers can track the distances travelled by their…

 My resolve as a pigeon shooter has been put to the test in recent weeks. All my life I have seen the woodpigeon as both a farm pest and a fantastic sporting bird. In this respect, I have had no qualms about shooting these birds whenever the opportunity arose, whether in the depths of winter when birds are hungry or in the height of summer when they are taking full advantage of the harvest stubbles, which also coincides with the height of the pigeon breeding season. Shooting during this time has always been seen as a necessity by the majority of shooters, but I now question the ethics of shooting a bird that in all probability has chicks in a nest that would starve if it did not return. “I…

1 Safety first. Be aware of the ground you are walking across and always carry your gun open if walking is tough, the ground is uneven or you are faced with any type of obstacle. 2 Be aware of your team at all times. Staying in line is vital, as is communication and concentration. 3 If you are ever unsure of your angle of fire, do not shoot. 4 Practise all types of angle and speed just above head height. Shooting at targets with a background can help you tune-in to birds flying with ground behind or under them. 5 Know your distances. This will make a difference to your success rate and will increase clean kills. Always remember to mark your birds. 6 Think about your clothing for the…

LIBERTY KELLY TWEED JACKET The plover grey tweed jacket is the most popular item in the Liberty Kelly autumn/ winter 2016 collection. With its subtle grey hue, the jacket is suitable for all shapes and flatters any figure. It can be worn in three different styles: closed, cowl neck and fitted waist. There is a wooden toggle waist fastening inside the jacket and two wooden toggle fastenings on the outside, one at the waist and the other on the lapel. www.libertykelly.com Price: £265 ALAN PAINE TWEED DOG COAT Keep your constant companion warm and dry with this smart coat. The nylon showerproof outer features lichen tweed panels and is fleece-lined for warmth. The coat fastens at the front and has an adjustable body strap. It is available in sizes XS…

PURISTS MAY QUIBBLE BUT IT’S A SUMMER JOB Summer ferreting is a contentious subject. The purists and traditionalists like to keep to the sporting ethos and calendar. But I have work to do and customers to keep happy. I have been setting my drop-boxes and repairing rabbit fences in between show commitments. Occasionally, I have had to take on an emergency job to appease a new customer, though the temperatures and undergrowth handicap our efficiency to do so in the fit and proper manner. One such time was when the rabbit population had reached such a density that something had to be done, and quickly. The weather was a problem, as was the intense foliage. It called for an early start, before the day warmed up, and the ferrets would…

In a lifetime of dogs I’ve only ever owned two that would lie on their tummies with their back legs stretched out behind them in a somewhat frog-like posture. For some reason it doesn’t look natural for a dog to do this — the Trafalgar Square lion pose is what you expect and what you normally see. My current spaniel Rowan, now aged 10, has always stretched out in this way, and she clearly finds the position both comfortable and relaxing. Why a few dogs do this but the majority don’t is a mystery, but there’s a long-held belief that dogs that stretch out have good hips, as the flexibility of their hips gives them the freedom to do so. I have every reason to believe that Rowan’s hips are…

Plant: Yarrow Latin name: Achillea millefolium Common names: Staunchweed, old man’s pepper, soldier’s woundwort, devil’s nettle How to spot it and where to find it: Growing in lawns, meadows, verges, hedgebanks and rough grassland, yarrow is a resilient perennial plant commonly found throughout Britain at this time of year. It has small, flat flowerheads made up of tiny, white flowers and its Latin name millefolium (“thousand-leaved”) refers to its finely divided, feathery-looking foliage. Interesting facts: Yarrow is a corruption of the old English and Dutch names for this plant (gearwe and yerw respectively). It was used as a charm against bad luck and illness as well as for staunching wounds. The first part of its Latin name refers to Achilles, who is said to have used yarrow for healing wounds,…