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

While having dinner in Norfolk, an urban friend who’d been thumbing through Tim Maddams’s Game: River  Cottage Handbook No.15 asked me why we need to hang pheasants. My brief explanation piqued his interest and, for the next hour or so, he asked me everything from how many people a partridge can feed to the best way to cook a Canada goose. The following morning after breakfast, I went out and plucked a hen bird and a woodcock that I had shot the previous day. “Take these with you,” I said to him as we packed up for the drive back to London. Some days later, he texted me a picture of his flatmates gathered around their kitchen table enjoying the birds, with the simple caption: “Thanks pal. It was delicious.”…

12 DECEMBER TASTE OF GAME: WINTER GAME BARBECUE Penrallt Hotel and Spa, Cardigan 01239 810088 10 JANUARY CORNWALL LADY GUNS NOVICE/BEGINNERS’ TUITION Callington, Cornwall, po.st/CornwallLadies 18 JANUARY YOUNG SHOTS WILDFOWLING INTRODUCTION Blakeney Harbour Room, Norfolk Kerry Ellis 07500609163 31 JANUARY REALLY WILD DINNER Thornbridge Hall, Longstone Lane, Bakewell, Derbyshire Lottie Meeson 07976 207113 1 FEBRUARY BASIC METALLIC CARTRIDGE RELOADING Baronscourt estate, County Tyrone po.st/ReloadBasic 7 FEBRUARY GWCT ESSEX SPORTING BALL Braxted Park estate, Witham, Essex po.st/EssexBall…

Poacher is banned from three counties A prolific poacher has been given a suspended sentence and banned from land across three counties. Scott Matthew Cochrane, aged 30, was banned from rural land across Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire as well as being banned from owning or travelling in a car with dogs traditionally used for coursing. The order was granted after he was caught with lurcher-type dogs, a high-powered lamp, a catapult and several dead rabbits. Gundog survives narrow escape A gundog has had a remarkable escape after he got out of a moving vehicle on to a busy road. Eley, a three-year-old fox-red cocker spaniel, was on his way to a day’s shooting when he somehow escaped from the box, which was on the back of his owner’s truck. It…

When you live around wild goats, as I do in Galloway, you start to see them from a variety of angles. Sometimes they need to be culled and the work is another seasonal chore. At other times, when a wily old billy goat needs to be winkled out from some far-flung bank of scree, it can be a exciting little puzzle. So much of goat stalking depends upon the context. In terms of culling, when you have certain numbers to attain, it’s hard to see any excitement in the work. Follow a herd across rolling moorland for the day and you soon begin to feel like a mobile abattoir. They stand, you shoot; they run a short distance, you gather the carcase and begin again. However, this is only part…

My voting is heavily influenced by a political party’s view of country sports, farming and rural issues. Labour’s policy of ceasing the badger cull and banning snares will immediately raise the hackles of livestock farmers and keepers. The Greens propose the banning of muirburn and glyphosate. They also seek to pass a right-to-roam bill and their manifesto claims that “nature is under attack from shooting”. The Conservative manifesto is somewhat light on rural issues, other than saying it will make no change to the Hunting Act (News, 4 December). But what about the individuals? A self-confessed ‘townie’ Cliff Waterman agreed with humility to accompany me on a day’s driven shooting to see for himself what our sport is all about. Helen Geake was at pains to highlight that Green Party…

“A dog, a box or two of ferrets and nature in its rawest yet finest form; there is no finer sight nor adrenalin rush” My ferreting has been a little later this year. Basecamp Whitehead has returned north, and it has taken a bit longer than envisaged. To hurry things up Shaun came from Derbyshire to help clear some logs and enjoy a day ferreting. It was a damp and dew-soaked morning. The incessant sound of the ferrets’ claws on ageing wooden boxes raised our heartbeat as it echoed round the hillside, occasionally punctuated by the bleating of the sheep. We set about the first few warrens. Tawny stood statuesque over a set of peaty tunnels as a scattering of purse-nets were laid while I dropped a couple of long-nets.…

The eating of hare always causes a little eyebrow raising and it is a brave cook who prepares hare for a dinner party when they can not count on all the guests being readers of Shooting Times. Luckily, though, we all are so that is fine. I often prepare a hare in pieces — I like to cook the legs and shoulders very slowly under lots of butter, with the addition of red wine, spices, carrots and bay leaves. “This dish packs a punch that screams ‘hare’ at the top of its lungs, with no faff nor pomp” Admittedly, this process does take several hours but once it is cooked you have a real treat in store. You can pot the meat and store it in the fridge or use…

Latin name:Cantharellus tubaeformis Common name: Winter chanterelle Other names: Yellow foot, trumpet chanterelle, funnel chanterelle How to spot it and where to find it: At the time of year when you think the mushroom season is over, you may be lucky enough to find the winter chanterelle in mixed woodland and coniferous forests. Dull brown in colour with yellow stem, its slightly convex cap has a small depression in the centre. The cap becomes funnel-shaped in larger examples, the dimple becoming a hole that sometimes runs right down through the stem. Interesting facts: Chanterelles are mycorrhizal, meaning they form a partnership with host trees. Underneath the fruiting body, the fungus consists of microscopic hairlike filaments called hyphae that form a sheath, called an ectomycorrhiza, around the tree’s root tips. The…

I was shooting a few miles west of Berwick the other day and witnessed the most amazing retrieve. Trigger, a six-year-old black Labrador owned, trained and worked by Nick Millar, was sent across a river. It was effectively two rivers, because there was an island. Not only that, but the river in question — the Whiteadder — was in spate. The first bit of river was about 15m wide, then there was perhaps 15m of island and the main river, which must have been 40m across. Trigger was sent right across on hand signals, with minimum fuss and just a few commands. When he had reached the far bank, he was directed to the area where the pheasant had been seen to drop. Then he was left to follow his…

OBSERVE Be aware of potential wildfowling bans. Now that the weather is getting cold and the big flocks of migrating ducks and geese have arrived, wildfowling is going full force. However, fowlers should be aware that during prolonged periods of cold weather a temporary wildfowling ban may be introduced. A restriction can be voluntary and promoted by BASC and wildfowling clubs or it can be a ‘statutory restriction’ introduced by a government minister. Either way, it must be observed. MAINTENANCE Keep vehicles in good order. Cold wet weather can sap vehicle batteries, leaving an embarrassing and difficult problem on a shoot day. If you have any concerns ensure you have jump leads ready to get older vehicles going on cold days. If you need them frequently, consider replacing the battery…

A young gamekeeper is getting the best possible start to his career after winning an apprenticeship at the prestigious Blenheim estate. Jake Smith,16, from Henleyon-Thames, comes from a family of keepers. “I applied to train with Blenheim because of the reputation of the shoot and estate management opportunities available,” he said. “I am gaining great experience in all aspects of gamekeeping including assisting staff, feeding and wildlife management, preparing for shoot days and pushing back birds. “I really enjoy working with the other keepers and being outdoors all the time. Now the shoot season is in full swing, I’m getting lots of learning opportunities that are helping me progress in my apprenticeship,” he added. Training apprentices is part of Blenheim’s ambitious 10 Goals initiative launched by CEO Dominic Hare in…

BLUNDERBUSS While shooting the other day in Perthshire, the shoot captain produced this antique blunderbuss, which had a spring-loaded bayonet affixed to the ridge of the barrel. Upon examining the firearm, it would appear to be of British manufacture, though there was no maker shown, just a number. A fellow Gun joked that the bayonet might be for low incoming birds. I wondered if any readers had come across a similar weapon or had any facts in relation to it. Pictured mounting the gun is shoot captain Hugh Gamlin. P. Kenyon, by email TOO MUCH ELATION Now I can relax; I have had the first issue of a renewed subscription. However, in a week where I will be speaking to the Guns on my shoot about safety issues I was…

The organic game cover crops on the estate, which consist of sunflowers, kale, fodder radish and millet, are now being heavily utilised by a vast array of songbirds. Large flocks of greenfinches, chaffinches, linnets, yellowhammers and various other species are benefiting from the bounty of seeds that these cover crops provide. The game birds can feed off these crops when the seeds are knocked to the ground, but the main reason we plant them is to benefit other wildlife. The numbers I have seen on the game shoot side of the estate, in comparison with the areas where game shooting is not pursued, are huge. The shooting community knows that having a game shoot benefits all other wildlife, from the predator control implemented, habitat management, supplementary feeding and game covers…

INS AND OUTS AND ACTUAL DANGER In my eyes, ferreting and digging go together like bread and butter. Because of this philosophy, I was once dubbed “the Suffolk gardener” by some of my best friends in the rabbiting community. It isn’t that I prefer a dig, despite what some people might think. It’s just that if the rabbits don’t come out, I’ll happily go in. Based on the number of rabbits I catch, compared with some of my less spade-happy friends, I would suggest that this has proved, over time, to be right tactic. However, I will be the first to admit that, at times, particularly in my younger years, I did take unnecessary risks when digging. The dangers of solo excavations cannot be underestimated. Sadly, too many people have…

THERE’S A SAYING IN the equine world that a good horse can’t be a bad colour. Sadly, that doesn’t apply to gundogs. To compete under Kennel Club rules, dogs have to conform loosely to the breed standard. There’s no check of a dog’s conformation at a trial — if there was few would be permitted to take part — but colour is another matter. There would almost certainly be objections if you entered retriever trials with a silver Labrador or AV spaniel trials with a solid-coloured springer. I have yet to see my first silver Lab, but they have long been a subject of heated debate in the Labrador world, especially in the US where they first appeared almost a century ago. If you can imagine a Labrador the colour…

Proposals to install wind turbines around our coasts have focused far more attention on the birds found at sea, in the sheltered mouths of coastal estuaries, a prime example being the red-throated diver, the smallest of our divers, which is not much longer along the waterline than a great crested grebe. From the shore, Wetland Bird Survey counters on the Thames only see a handful of red-throated divers, but February aerial surveys of the Outer Thames revealed that more than 20,000 birds rely on this vast area of water in the mid-winter months. A few recoveries of ringed birds show that red-throated divers in winter breed in Finland, Greenland and Scandinavia. In autumn they fly south to join our own breeding birds that have spent the summer on lochs in…

1 B-Wild boot bag RRP: £44.95 Beretta.com This bag is made from scratch- and water-resistant polyester and is padded throughout to protect your boots. It features a functional zip close with an easy-grip puller and an adjustable shoulder strap that allows you to carry your boots with ease. 2 DAM Fighter Pro+ neoprene chest waders RRP: £69.99 Amazon.co.uk Comfortable and great-looking neoprene waders that are an ideal addition to your wildfowling wardrobe. The boots are also fully lined with neoprene and they have extra reinforcement on the knees for maximum protection. They have a double front pocket with Velcro closure for your valuables. 3 LCM6 lightweight field jacket RRP: £399 Lechameau.com This lightweight jacket is fully waterproof and features innovations such as super-load pockets, a shooting hood…

After reading Richard Hardy’s article (Pining for a solution, 6 November) for a second time, I decided to put pen to paper. Richard asks: are pine martens really the answer? My answer — and I suspect every shooting man in this country would agree — is no. Those in charge on this little island decided that the pine marten would be the answer to getting grey squirrels out and red squirrels would recover in numbers. They were probably right but nobody here has seen any red squirrels more than the odd one they saw before pine martens were introduced. The research into this programme must have been very limited because the same pine marten is decimating the wildlife in its area. As usual the do-gooders will get their way. The…

Drinking on shoot days shouldn’t really be a subject of concern to a gundog columnist. After all, if people want to drink, why shouldn’t they? I enjoy a glass of sloe gin as much as the next man (or woman) and it’s even nicer when it is mixed with champagne. However, it is apparent that drinking has become an increasingly important feature of the day on many shoots, some even stopping after every drive for another quick, or often not-so-quick, glass or stirrup cup. Just as drinking and driving don’t mix, nor should drinking and shooting, except in moderation. One glass at elevenses is fine, but two or three? Like many pickers-up, I have been peppered by an inebriated Gun shooting low behind. It’s an unpleasant and unacceptable experience, while…

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 TONY BUCKWELL Veterinary surgeon with a special interest in gundogs 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 CIC international trophy judge…