Innholdsfortegnelse for 29-May-2019 i Shooting Times & Country

Some weeks ago, while wandering through London on my way to a game restaurant, I bumped into some people I knew who were standing outside a record shop. A few minutes later, a beer was thrust into my hand and I was reluctantly convinced to join a lengthy queue. As we moved along, a German voice sounded from behind me: “Your jacket is like for hunting.” I turned to see a smiling girl. “Funny that,” replied one of my friends. Suddenly I felt a little self-conscious. I was standing in the middle of Soho wearing a shooting jacket with a spattering of pigeon blood on it. “My father likes hunting,” she continued. “When I was a child I used to go frequently.” Sticking to my rule of never shying away…

Hunt followers in Essex can continue to enjoy their sporting pastime after Essex County Council rejected a bid to ban trail hunting on council-owned land. Councillor Lee Scordis had put forward the motion calling on the council not to allow trail hunting and exercising of packs of fox hounds on its land. Mr Scordis’s fellow councillors disagreed, however, saying that the motion was “a nonsense”. “This motion is not sound as it seeks indirectly to remove the rights of the common man to freely use public rights of way,” remarked independent councillor Kerry Smith. Jo Beavis, another independent councillor , pointed out there was no reason for the ban as no Essex huntsman has ever been charged with a hunting offence under the Hunting Act 2004. In March, Nottinghamshire County…

HYPOCRISY? This month Chris Packham received his CBE from HRH the Prince of Wales, who — like most of the royal household — is an avid supporter of game shooting. The presentation gave an opportunity for Mr Packham to tackle Prince Charles on such involvement and to express his opposition to the sport. But he merely displayed his Extinction Rebellion tie. If he feels so vehemently about what he considers the abuse of wildlife in the countryside, surely to decline the honour — which is, after all, awarded by HM the Queen — would have been the most honourable gesture. Obviously such high honour exceeds his passion for the countryside. C. J. Evans, Caernarfonshire ANTI-SOCIAL Regarding the general licence fiasco, it is my view that social media is to blame…

As a part of our Countryside Stewardship Scheme, the estate is required to control the populations of deer and grey squirrels to help reduce the negative impact on the flora and fauna of the ancient woodland. These actions are monitored and recorded to aid with the future management plan of the estate. Keeping records of vermin controlled via a log on my smartphone is a much more logical way now to store data instead of using the “gibbet line” of the Edwardian era. Remember that the public can happily use their smartphone cameras to make a log of all the decaying corpses hanging on the gibbet, which then goes on social media and causes havoc. I am trying not to delve into the abyss that is the general licence revocation…

WINGS OF EAGLES, Ruler of the World, Tiger Roll, Many Clouds — the list of recent Derby and Grand National winners includes some wonderful names. Compare that with recent winners of the spaniel and retriever championships: Harperrig Breac, Beileys Aguzannis of Fendawood, Hollydrive Sally and Rheastmooar Fizzy. When it comes to giving animals names, it seems that we are much better at it with horses than with dogs. Names of thoroughbred racehorses tend to be snappy, memorable and often witty, while those of dogs are often clumsy, difficult to pronounce and instantly forgettable. The rot started many years ago. The last dog with a single-barrelled name to win the International Gundog League Retriever Championship was R. S. Wilkin’s Peteradee in 1959. Before that, you have to go back to 1930,…

The humble trout is a magnificent fish whose habits, behaviours and lifecycle fascinated me as a youngster. This was not surprising for a boy growing up in the Wylye Valley in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I will confess to the odd “off-the-record” landing of a few “out-of-bounds” trout, which I saw then in much the same way as I now view the removal of grey squirrels. Last year I was lucky enough to be able to flyfish for wild brown trout in the hill lochs of Sutherland and I was amazed by the flavour of these small yet truly wild fish. I cooked them simply in butter, and served them with warmed cucumber and a little wild mint. The results were absolutely heavenly. “I cooked the trout simply…

Latin name: Lysimachia nummularia Common name: Creeping Jenny Other names: Downhill-of-life, herb twopence, money myrtle, wandering Sally, loosestrife, creeping Charlie How to spot it and where to find it: A low-growing plant of damp grasslands, riverbanks, pond edges and wet woods, creeping Jenny has five-petalled cup-like yellow flowers and heart-shaped leaves. The sunnier the spot in which it grows, the more yellow the leaves. The blooms open in May and creeping Jenny continues to flower until mid-August. Interesting facts: The common name of this member of the primrose family gives it away; its creeping stems make excellent ground cover around ponds and, as it is evergreen, are useful for hiding pond liners. It also works well in rock gardens or between stepping stones but, because it spreads rapidly, it can…

1 Kirkbeck 14 fishing bag RRP £185  www.chapmanbags.com This fishing bag has a classic side-netted design and is available with or without a waterproof liner. Ideal for the wandering fisherman looking to have a picnic on the riverbank, the bag has plenty of space for all your tackle and other essentials. It is available in olive green and khaki (pictured). 2 Polartec fleece gilet RRP £99.99  www.bernardweatherill.com This gilet is a classic addition to your shooting wardrobe, providing warmth without the added weight. With large pockets for your cartridges, it is just the thing for summer clay days. The gilet is available in a variety of colours and comes in sizes S to XXL. 3 Lightweight dummy vest RRP £90  www.furfeatherandfin.com This gundog training vest is designed…

Despite being brought up in the countryside, I didn’t come from a shooting background. Originally, I was interested in ferrets. The first Shooting Times I ever bought had a feature on ferreting flagged up on the cover. I started shooting with a BSA airgun in my teens. I was self-taught, in the sense that all I knew about shooting in those early years was gleaned from written material and my own hit-and-miss antics in the field. Looking back, I shudder to recall some of the things I got up to. I don’t think I was dangerous, fortunately. But I certainly wasn’t as conversant with game laws and quarry identification as I should have been. If you were lucky enough to be brought up within a shooting family, you may have…

SHOOT How happy were you with your shooting performance last season? This time of year is perfect for getting an expert to assess your shooting technique to see what can be improved upon. “Don’t let last season’s problems carry over into the next one,” advises Mark Heath, an instructor at the West London Shooting School. His colleague Paul Gendall adds: “Lessons can help to improve gun mount and timing, reinforce safety and maintain the foundations you’ve built up in the season.” CHECK As the weather gets warmer, daytime tyre pressure goes up, causing expansion. As a result, older tyres with cracks or splits are more prone to punctures and blowouts — which you really don’t want to happen when you are up in the hills. Check the condition of any…

R. Smith suggests that woodpigeon be moved on to the game quarry list (Letters, 15 May). Though this is initially a neat solution to the current general licence conundrum, I fear that, by severing the direct connection between the control of a significant agricultural pest and farming, we would be breaking the vital argument of shooting as a utility and management tool, as well as proving the oft-repeated accusation of “shooting for fun” in one fell swoop. Any tempting quick fix here will only come back to haunt us in the coming years. We need to effect a step change in both our understanding of and reaction to Wild Justice and other enemies of the genuine working countryside. Their attack on the general licence is not a bump in the…

There is not much of a connection between writing a gundog column and a family dog show. But the former does indicate a certain knowledge of matters canine, which no doubt explains why the organisers of Euston Rural Pastimes have asked me to run a family dog show at this year’s event, which is on 9 June. The show, which is held by kind permission of the Duke and Duchess of Grafton, is held annually in Euston Park, near Thetford, Norfolk. Euston Rural Pastimes is a splendidly old-fashioned occasion, celebrating both country pursuits and agriculture. There is an eclectic mixture of trade stands and attractions, with the latter ranging from classic cars to heavy horses, tractors to beekeeping, plus parades of the local hound packs. It is all run in…

Fallow longevity in the wild STALKING Q On our shoot, which is made up of recreational stalkers, we do our best to age and keep a record of the deer we shoot. These are mostly fallow. The average age for adults seems to be two to three years old. In February we shot what seemed to be a much older animal, which we estimated to be more than 12 years old. What age do fallow reach when living in the wild? A The fallow is an interesting species when it comes to giving an estimate of longevity. With most deer, captive animals have the longest lifespan, but in the case of fallow, reported longevity seems to be the other way round, with a claim that a wild animal reached the…

Finally, we can wave goodbye to the last of the UK’s wintering waders — grey plovers, the high Arctic cousins of the golden plovers that nest on grouse moors. Resplendent in their black and white summer plumage, they will be heading for Taymyr, one of the last parts of Arctic Siberia to lose its snow cover. Other birds are heading for the same region but it is the grey plover that stands out as it catches the late May sunshine on a mudflat. It is interesting to think that, as the last grey plover is preparing to depart, golden plovers are already incubating eggs and moulting out of their summer plumage. Migratory strategies are not just about where to go; timing is important too. The first adult grey plovers will…

Hen harrier vanishes in the Cairngorms A young hen harrier named Marci has disappeared in the Cairngorms. The bird’s tag stopped transmitting on 22 April. Workers from a nearby estate helped police search over a 100m radius around the last two co-ordinates of the tagged bird but nothing was found. A spokesman for Scottish Land & Estates said: “We wholeheartedly condemn any form of raptor persecution. We are, however, concerned about the way in which cases of missing birds are being publicised. In this case it has been said there were follow-up searches by Police Scotland and the RSPB, but there is no mention that the estate concerned played an active and willing part in the search.” At Watch dog breeds The Kennel Club has published its first quarterly statistics…

Swallows are back, and in such force that it is hard to imagine this place without them. Going about my work on the farm over the past few days, the fields have been filled with squalling teams of 10 and 20 birds racing over the rising grass and setting the place alight. Every shed is filled with the chattery din of blue birds and the telephone wires are decked out with them standing like musical notes against the sky. When I cast my mind back to March and try to picture this place as it was before the swallows returned, all I can recall is darkness and the distant yammer of geese. I wonder how I managed to stay upbeat and cheerful then, because now the swallows’ songs are a…

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…