Innholdsfortegnelse for 11-Sep-2019 i Shooting Times & Country

When I was a teenager I had summer job with a gundog trainer in Fife. I’m not sure I was a model employee. On my watch the pigs often escaped, a fox-red Labrador puppy got bitten on the nose and I spent most afternoons waiting for 5pm to roll round so I could head up the hill to get under a pigeon flightline. But when I look back now, I realise how much I learned about gundog training and that summer, while loading for Charlie Thorburn who runs Mordor Gundogs, I shot my first ever grouse. I imagine that, from keepers to gillies to stalkers, there are countless readers who could do with a bit of help this season from an enthusiastic teenager. More importantly, though, it might further that…

Grouse petition is shot down by Defra The Government has rebuffed an anti-grouse shooting petition. The call to ban driven grouse shooting gathered the required number of signatures to receive a formal response from the Government. However, the Government responded by saying: “Grouse shooting is a legitimate activity providing benefits for wildlife and habitat conservation and investment in remote areas. Defra is working on the sustainable management of English uplands.” New advice on deer poaching The British Deer Society has issued new advice for landowners dealing with deer poaching. Anyone who suspects poaching should dial 999 if it is progress or 101 if it is not, then give the call taker as much information as you can. The most important thing is to get an incident or log number for…

RECONNAISSANCE Observing and understanding wildlife and the changing seasons of the countryside are probably the most underrated elements of fieldcraft. Reconnaissance around your shooting permissions will help you to target the right places at the right time but all wildlife observation is beneficial — whether in the field, car, park or garden. BE PATIENT Patience is the watchword for successful airgunning. Take your time and manage your expectations so you don’t expect too much too soon. In the field, a patient approach will stand you in good stead. You’re harder to spot when you’re not moving, so be prepared for long periods of inactivity. NATURAL CONCEALMENT Going unseen is an important element of airgun hunting. You don’t have to have camouflage netting and the latest tree-print clothing to achieve it.…

As the rushes bend in the wind and the rain lashes over the dale, the river is rising. The salmon already in the river will be stirring, the fresh water urging them upstream. The king of our freshwater fish, Salmo salar — or Atlantic salmon — is in dire straits in many rivers. It’s all due to our mismanagement of a whole range of elements within the environment vital for its survival. It’s fair to say we have not been kind to the salmon. Its regular migratory passage made it an easy target for plunder for food, not only for ourselves but even to feed to animals and poultry. Though salmon is now readily available as a farmed product, for many years it was solely a wild harvest — and…

The young ferrets are now fully grown and full of attitude. It is good that they have a lot of character, drive and the naivety and enthusiasm that only youth brings. This will compensate for their lack of experience when working the first of hopefully many seasons. I like to start them off slowly, behind their parents and in smallish but occupied warrens. I want to make them think that every time they go out they will find and bolt rabbits. Good traits are instinctive in many ferrets but bad ones are soon learned and a devil to get rid of. If the novices are constantly playing about, don’t be afraid to put them away and leave them for another few weeks. Many young ferrets are spoilt by having too…

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 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…

SHOOT Ducks and geese are now in season throughout the UK. In years past wildfowlers had to wait for the skeins of migratory birds to arrive before they had a chance of bagging a goose. Now a booming resident goose population means many areas offer a realistic chance of Canada or greylag long before the wintering birds arrive. Ensure you take all safety precautions, use non-toxic shot, pick up spent cartridges and have a trained dog available. PREPARE With the pheasant season less than two weeks away, it’s the last chance to make arrangements for your beaters. Ensure there are plenty of flags and sticks available and that vehicles used to transport them are safe, reliable and meet all legal requirements. A facility to get a hot drink and a…

VANDALISM Last week while I was pigeon shooting in Cheshire, all four tyres on my car were slashed. I have no doubt that this was the work of an anti-shooting person. It is the second case of damage to my vehicle at this spot. Can we not engage in reasonable debate with these people or are they vandals first and anti-shooting second? I suspect the latter is the case. K. Salad, Lancashire THREE WORDS We all now live in a digital era, with smartphones on us at all times,and sometimes they can do us some good. I recently came across a very interesting app, while reading a BBC news piece, called what3words. The app has divided the entire planet into 3m squares and given them a unique three-word name. This…

The curse of insomnia is especially acute the night before the first day’s shooting. The faintest drizzle on the roof reaches deep into the subconscious and creates a dire dream sequence of driving miles to be fogged off. Then I panic that I haven’t set an alarm. I check the mobile: it is 4.30am. Back to bed, cursing the weather, my host for his importunate generosity and my nerves as I try to squeeze as much sleep as I can out of the next hour and a half by counting sheep — alphabetically. Australian merino (that’s cheating I know), Beltex, Cheviot, Dorset… zzz. Driving down the South Tyne valley my fear of being late gradually recedes, to be replaced by unease that I am ashamed to acknowledge as status anxiety.…

Booze. The arguments about booze on a shoot day will rally back and fourth for ever more, but the bottom line is safety. Bear that in mind when choosing whether to have a second glass of wine at lunch and you will not go far wrong. But the tradition of a few nips of fruity elixir to ward off the cold or celebrate a particularly pleasing shot is not one that will die off, for a very simple reason. The point, often missed, is that what these various fruity concoctions are really all about is who made them. Each has their own recipe, each works every year to improve their sloe gin or raspberry vodka, to hone their skills and pit them against their old rivals on the Gun bus…

IF YOU EXERCISE your dogs regularly on the same ground you soon get to know your fellow dog walkers. This is how I have come to know Ken, accompanied by his beautifully behaved black Labradors. Ken not only works his dogs, but is also is a regular reader of this column, so there’s always something for us to chat about. Sadly, when I last met Ken, there wasn’t a black Labrador to be seen. He had lost two dogs within five weeks of each other, both to cancer. One was 11, the other just seven. It was a stark and shocking reminder that an estimated one dog in four in this country dies of this disease. For dogs over the age of 10, the figure increases to one in two.…

Is there anyone left in the country who doesn’t know who Prue Leith is? Her status among the great and the good of the food world here in the UK is formidable, equal perhaps only to her skill and knowledge of all things culinary. She brings so much sense to modern British cookery, which is borne out by her pragmatic and unwavering approach to what is actually good food on the Great British Menu before her departure to the behemoth that is Great British Bake Off. I fear she may be biting off more than she can chew in advising the Government on hospital food, but that she is willing to try is worthy of applause. This is a lovely recipe that at first glance seems quintessentially Italian, but do…

Latin name: Molinia caerulea Common name: Purple moor-grass Other names: Tall moor grass, flying bent, disco grass How to spot it and where to find it: This attractive grass flowers from May to November, its purple, lacy summer flowers blazing honey gold in the autumn. The narrow, ribbon-like leaves turn from green to burnished red, to copper, to orange then finally to white. As purple moor-grass grows, tiny fragile-looking flower stems appear that are at first so delicate they are almost invisible. The shorter moor grasses produce masses of these stems to form a sea of movement. The grass is often found in moist places such as moors and wetlands but is also tolerant of drier conditions. Interesting facts: This attractive deciduous grass makes an interesting ornamental plant but it…

1 Men’s Chedworth breeks RRP: £175  lechameau.com Made from a cotton and moleskin elastane mix, the men’s Chedworth breeks are designed as plus fours. The comfortable stretch fabric, knitted rib cuffs, dropped rise and waistband grip tape allow optimal movement, coupled with a stylish fit across calf sizes, while minimising bulk inside your boots. Available in sizes 28-40. 2 Ketton Jacket II Tundra RRP: £239.95  schoffelcountry.com This lightweight jacket is an ideal rainy day companion. It is constructed using Schöffel’s high-performance Venturi membrane, making it 100 per cent waterproof, windproof and highly breathable. The useful packaway feature makes it perfect for when you’re walking-up the odd grouse or cock pheasant. 3 Winter shooting coat in Tummel tweed RRP: £495  oliverbrown.org.uk An elegant cross between jacket and shooting…

15 SEPTEMBER SHOTGUN AND CHELSEA BUN CLUB LADIES’ CLAY SHOOT Westdown Farm, Moretonhampstead, Devon po.st/ChelseaBun 27 SEPTEMBER SHOOTING AND THE FUTURE The Talbot Hotel, Tregaron 01974 272654 gwct.org.uk/events 28 SEPTEMBER LADIES’ SHOOTING DAY Top Targets, Tapnell Farm, Isle of Wight Info@toptargets.co.uk 28 SEPTEMBER 25-BIRD SPORTING CLAY CHARITY SHOOT Humberside Shooting Ground YO25 8RY 07842 120770 22 OCTOBER YOUNG SHOTS COURSE West London Shooting School, Northolt UB5 6RA reception@ shootingschool.co.uk 6 DECEMBER INTRODUCTION TO DRIVEN GAME SHOOTING DAY Kinblethmont Estate, Arbroath, Angus basc.org.uk/events…

How I agree with Edith Lucas (Letters, 21 August), regarding the merger of our various shooting sports bodies. Some years ago, at a wildfowling club meeting, I asked the then head of BASC, John Swift, why the suggested merger of BASC with the Countryside Alilance seemed at that time unlikely to happen. He agreed with my suggestion that one membership instead of two would be more effective in dealing with threats to our sport. The merger did not happen and I was left wondering why. We actually have several bodies, all interested in shooting and other fieldsports, but they are fragmented and lacking the strength in numbers necessary to fight the present threat to our sport. I wholeheartedly support Miss Lucas’s suggestion that there should be one umbrella shooting sports…

Not being someone to shy away from technology and the modern world, I recently downloaded two particularly useful apps on my phone. The first is called PictureThis. It is an easy-to-use, plant-identifying app, where you simply focus your camera on the plant you need a name for, take a picture and press the search button. In seconds, providing you have a 3G or 4G connection, it comes up with the name and photographs for comparison. If you don’t have a connection, the picture can be saved for when you do, and you get five free plant identifications a day. You can upgrade to unlimited use if you wish, but for most of us five a day is plenty. It really is quite addictive and I have found it particularly useful…

Ferreting is unique. Nothing you do or achieve is ever the same twice. You can be on the same field, on top of the same warren with exactly the same animals. You can be with the same friends and use the same gear and animals, yet nothing is ever the same. We rabbiters are privileged to watch in admiration as the finest unscripted drama ever witnessed in our glorious countryside unfolds. I have learned that the same principle and mindset can be applied when it comes to sorting and acquiring my ferreting gear. Equipment must be of help to me; otherwise it is junk. Monetary value plays no part in differentiating between good and not so good equipment. But beware; if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so…

A landowning friend, Philip, has a nature reserve on his farm that has one of the densest breeding populations of lapwings and redshanks in the country. He is convinced they could do even better with more effective fox control. He asked me whether a springer could be trained to search out fox earths. I’m sure it could, but I checked on the legality of it with Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance. His response was: “A dog can be used to flush out foxes so they can be shot for the protection of game birds, but not to protect vulnerable species like lapwing. Another example of quite how bad a law the Hunting Act is.” Reader Darren Kilner sent me some useful advice on keeping burrs out of spaniels’ ears.…

Net gain for my terrier FERRETING Q I am in the process of getting my nets sorted for the season ahead. I quite like the idea of using a long-net with my terrier. What type of net would you suggest for a beginner? A With the invention and ongoing evolution of the fixed long-net system, using them for ferreting has never been easier or more convenient. What you are asking is simple: what is the best suited for you and your ferreting? I am an advocate of using the adaptability of these long-net systems. You can now buy better thought-out and constructed net baskets that enable you to drop your net in silence without the poles popping out. All my nets now have the top and bottom running line fixed…

In most cases, parent birds have nothing to do with their chicks once they fledge, which means that naive youngsters have to fly south without any help. There are exceptions, however, such as geese, swans and some terns, where birds always or sometimes travel as family parties. In September, birdwatchers spot migrating Sandwich terns feeding youngsters in areas where there are no breeding colonies, having at least started the southward journey together. The Sandwich tern is the biggest member of the family in this country, identified by the funky crest and a yellow tip to the end of a black bill. Our breeding birds spend the winter months feeding in the coastal waters of West Africa and the Indian Ocean. A lot of what we know about tern migration is…

The BBC is under fire for its plans to strip people aged 75 or older of their free TV licences from next year. The corporation claims it can no longer afford the deal it struck with the Government in 2015. The proposal to means-test licences for the elderly will catch an estimated 3.7million senior citizens who had previously enjoyed a free licence. Boris Johnson has been unsympathetic to the Beeb’s purported plight, telling it to ‘cough up’. Without going into the whys and wherefores of this specific issue, a broader point is becoming crystal clear: the BBC no longer deserves to be funded by what is, in effect, a poll tax. It’s simply not sustainable in this age of online streaming and consumer choice. The corporation was accused of breaching…