Innholdsfortegnelse for 27-Dec-2019 i Shooting Times & Country

By the time this issue lands on your doormat, we will be in the midst of that glorious period between Christmas and New Year when time seems to stand still and shooting is at its very best. As well my annual tradition of wandering out in my pyjamas to try to shoot a snipe over my terrier, it is a time of year that I like to spend lying on the sofa, thinking about the 12 months to come. I have never been particularly bothered about resolutions but shooting could with a bit more support. Little things each of us do can be tremendously effective in garnering public love. Regular readers will remember me writing that there are more than 600,000 people in this country who hold a shotgun certificate.…

BASC, Scottish Land & Estates and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association have all welcomed proposals for tough new penalties for wildlife crime in Scotland. A new bill proposed by the Scottish government will mean offenders could face fines of up to £40,000 and jail sentences of five years for the most serious wildlife offences. Speaking to the Scottish Parliament’s environment, climate change and land reform committee, gamekeeper Les George described the proposed new penalties as “game changing”. He also spoke in favour of allowing police officers to deploy covert cameras to catch wildlife criminals, but sounded a note of caution, telling the committee: “I have had people filming my house and my family members caught on camera. Our fear is that it will encourage vigilantes to do more illegal camera work.”…

Rabbits unaffected by myxomatosis An outbreak of myxomatosis in hares in Spain was caused by a variant of the virus that does not affect rabbits. There has been increasing concern about the threat of rabbit diseases to hares after cases of viral haemorrhagic disease were confirmed in hares in England last year. The Spanish scientists found that even when large numbers of hares died, the local rabbit population was unaffected — leading them to conclude the hares were infected with a specific strain of the virus that has yet to be identified. Deer repellant laid on brother’s land A Michigan man has been accused of spraying deer repellant on hunting ground owned by his brother. According to website Michigan Live, state conservation officers investigated after the errant brother was caught…

In the first article of this series, Patrick Galbraith visited Hull on a wildfowling pilgrimage. He paid tribute to Stanley Duncan on whose headstone are inscribed the words, “Not for One but for All” (20 November). For at least 100 years before Duncan founded Wildfowlers’ Association of Great Britain and Ireland (WAGBI) in 1908, fowling had been bringing together the most privileged of Victorian gentlemen and the toughened professionals who plied their trade to forge a hard-won living: two ends of the social spectrum — the ‘all’ to whom Stanley Duncan referred. “Their shared love of wild places and wildfowl shaped the sport that still inspires us today” The county boundary dividing Suffolk and Essex has been the scene of epic tales of different sorts. As my two friends and…

Shooting is good for conservation, right? Yes it is, and if I were not convinced of that, I would not still be part of the GWCT advisory service. Helping shoots to deliver better conservation and biodiversity is what drives me after almost 40 years in this business. But — and it’s a very big but — there is plenty of scope for bad practice to undermine the good. I strongly suspect that if we were really objective, we might find that what we do for game and shooting is not quite as wonderful for other wildlife as we would like to think. We also need to understand that good conservation is often a complex process and, whatever we do, there will be losers as well as winners. Bland sweeping statements…

In January I look east for inspiration, for colour, the fresh taste of citrus and food that gives me energy during the post-festive healthy eating splurge. I love to make broths and eat meat or shellfish with rice noodles, chilli oil and soy. I love to marinate meat in yoghurt, mace and vinegar as for tandoori, or simply in lemon and oil. “Pul biber has a fruity, rich perfume and makes an ideal seasoning for venison” I have recently discovered a new ingredient, pul biber, which has the perfect balance of chilli and spice. Originating in Turkey, along with the kebab, it has a fruity, rich perfume and makes an ideal seasoning for venison. Also known as Aleppo pepper or piment d’Alept, it is available from supermarkets and specialist shops.…

Latin name: Tamus communis Common name: Black bryony Other names: Devil’s cherry, lady’s seal, mandrake, murraim berries, oxberry How to spot it and where to find it: This climber of woodland edges and hedgerows has heart-shaped, glossy leaves, whose vines form a net pattern. It prefers well-drained soil over chalk, limestone or clay. In summer it produces yellow-green flowers and shiny red berries in autumn and winter. Interesting facts: Despite its common name, Tamus communis is not related to white bryony (Native Britain, 26 December 2018), and is our only member of the yam family. It isn’t good to eat, though, as the whole plant is highly poisonous. It contains saponins, which can be toxic to some creatures, but it’s the calcium oxalate crystals in black bryony that will make…

Of all the flyfishing flies obtainable, it is the Pheasant Tail Nymph that most accurately imitates real trout food. The original pattern tied by English river keeper Frank Sawyer utilises the butt end feathers of the pheasant to develop a wing case. Frank didn’t aim to indicate legs in the pheasant tail nymph because he had observed that nymphs tuck them inwards while swimming. He devised the Pheasant Tail Nymph to be used on the river Avon in Wiltshire.…

CHECK From April 2020 there will be significant changes affecting anyone who uses spring traps for stoat control. Fenn traps will no longer be legal and a use of one of a suite of alternatives will be compulsory. Check now that you have an adequate supply of legal traps to reduce the risk of an interruption to trapping in the spring. CHECK Liaise with farmers about pre-lambing fox control. With spring just a couple of months away, now is the time to talk to farmers about keeping numbers down. A bit of time spent in daylight identifying lambing fields and any features that will constrain or enable shooting will pay dividends when the time comes.…

Game tasting has been a smash hit at the BBC Good Food Show, which took place at the Birmingham NEC from 28 November to 1 December. Cooks at the Taste of Game stand were busy all week making sausages, goujons, pâté and other delicious game treats. More than 7,000 of the show’s visitors tried pheasant, venison, pigeon, grouse, duck or partridge. Annette Woolcock, head of Taste of Game, said: “Tens of thousands of people visit the Good Food Show. To have the ability to place wild game front and centre is an impressive achievement. “Around half the attendees had never even tried wild game. By attending the show, the Taste of Game initiative is able to reach whole new audiences and shout about the wonderful attributes of wild game.” The…

COMMON SENSE I have been reading a lot about the reintroduction of endangered species, such as the pine marten (Letters, 11 December) and the item saying it took three years to halt decline (News, 11 December). I sometimes think some of our expert advisers have not been blessed with their fair share of common sense. I am privileged to be chairman of a very large internal drainage board that has suffered severe flooding this year due to the Environment Agency spending huge amounts of its budget on rehoming badgers at the expense of maintenance. Some £420,000 was spent on one 2km stretch, which is in urgent need of dredging but the funds have been used up. Recently at our AGM a revered and well-respected member — who claims to have…

When this issue lands on your doormat, or arrives at the newsagent’s, we’ll have been welcoming guests on our pocket wild bird shoot for the highlights of the Christmas holiday week, and indeed the whole shooting season. Accommodation all around the village had been booked, guns cleaned and cleaned again, boots have been polished and dogs on their absolute worst behaviour. Walked-up routes will have been planned and changed in my head 1,000 times and the weather forecast rechecked every time my phone shows even a solitary lozenge of 4G signal. Our guests, not the size of the bag, make the day. People we see every week are joined by others from afar whom we see all too infrequently. Amazingly, the invitation to walk for miles in bad weather with…

“Isee you’ve got the right kit on today,” said Matt Rowe as he stretched out his hand in greeting. The last time I had travelled to the seaside cliffs of Cornwall I had forgot the essential breeks — and had suffered the embarrassment of sporting a pair of tight jeans in bone-chilling wet weather. This time, two years on and having learned from my mistake, I was warmly wrapped in tweed. Endslee is a syndicate-run shoot headed by Matt and his father Colin. Two years ago their pens were vandalised by people who believed that they had a right to trespass and release pheasants by destroying property. Colin reported there was nothing much he could do other than repair and rebuild the shoot from the ground up. The variety of…

IT’S AN IRREFUTABLE fact that the older you get, the quicker the year seems to go by. The reason, I’m sure, is that each succeeding year represents a smaller proportion of your life. Anyway, 2019 went by in a flash, though it did have its special moments. My most memorable day’s outing in Tanuary was on a friend’s shoot in Essex. The bag failed to reach double figures despite a small army of beaters, but the day was made for me by the variety of dogs out. These included a Nova Scotia duck-tolling retriever and a Welsh springer spaniel, along with the usual mix of springers, cockers and Labs. My enjoyment came from seeing such a mixture of dogs doing their best to put birds in the bag — it…

The best of both worlds GUNDOG TRAINING Q I have a show-bred Labrador bitch that gives a good account of herself as my peg dog but has shortcomings because of the way she is bred. If I mate her to a successful field trial champion will I negate her failings and get the best of both worlds — her good looks and calm temperament — with the added benefits of more drive and working commitment from an accomplished working sire? A In an ideal world the plan to combine the two ‘types’ of Labrador should work. But while the theory sounds good, in practice things don’t always turn out as you expect. The Labrador is now distinctly two breeds with two separate gene pools — one based on working bloodlines…

LAST WEEK I SHOT ON A FRIEND’S syndicate. I took my AYA No 3, its woodwork now repaired and resplendent. My cartridge belt held Jocker Bio 34g No6s, my pockets stuffed with Eley VIP Pro Eco Wad 32g No5s. Birds sat tight in the bright sun, but once diligent dogs and beaters roused them from their couch, they flew well. I had Jocker in my left barrel and Eley in my right. A good hen bird caught me napping, resulting in a difficult going-away shot. The Jocker brought her down, clean killed at a good 45 yards. Later I fluffed an easy cock bird with my first barrel. Flaring, it became a more challenging target but this time the Eley worked well, killing the bird at range. My first findings:…

1 Musto Balmoral tweed jacket RRP: £625 Musto.com This tweed jacket has waterproof and windproof protection as well as breathability. There are large bellow cartridge pockets and soft fleece hand-warmer pockets with retainer straps. There is also a front storm flap, an adjustable waist to allow for the perfect fit and an action back for complete freedom of movement. 2 Universal rod cleaning kit RRP: £60 Gmk.co.uk This compact cleaning kit has everything you could possibly need to clean rifles and shotguns. All the brushes, mops and other firearm cleaning essentials can be kept tidily packed away in a nylon water-resistant case. 3 STS 80 spotting scope RRP: From £1,840 Uk.swarovskioptik.com The straight view of the STS 80 is particularly beneficial to those who need to find…

Some campaigners make a fuss about the use of medicated grit on grouse moors. Yet they seem remarkably relaxed about a truly vast amount of grit that does have an adverse ecological impact. I am talking about the grit — mainly rock salt — that is spread on public roads at this time of year. An estimated 2million tons of this stuff is scattered across the UK every winter; where does it all end up? I have always wondered about what the effect of all that salt must be on local habitats. A lot of it must leak into watercourses and marshes in the form of brine. For example, on the little unfenced public road that snakes across some of my rough grazing land, council workers simply pile up a…

12 JANUARY GLAD RAGS & CARTRIDGE BAGS – LADIES’ CLAY DAY Pittodrie House Hotel, Inverurie mhairi@jommevents.com or call 07841 393155 12 JANUARY F1 CHALLENGE 100 SPORTING COMPETITION Riseley, Bedfordshire angela@sportingtargets. co.uk 16 JANUARY LADIES’ INTRODUCTION TO DUCK FLIGHTING Chelmsford, Essex basc.org.uk/events 18 JANUARY YOUNG SHOTS WILDFOWLING INTRODUCTION Blakeney Harbour Room Blakeney, Norfolk Kerry Ellis 07500 609163 19 JANUARY GAME MEAT HYGIENE COURSE Calton Moor Range, Swinscoe DE6 2BU nationalgamekeepers. org.uk/events 7 FEBRUARY INTERMEDIATE DEER COURSE (IDC) Thoresby Estate, Nottinghamshire basc.org.uk/events…

I’ve crossed the Rubicon and turned down a shooting invitation because of ethical unease. Let me explain the succession of events and hopefully you’ll understand my decision. Recently I was invited to a fairly smart 150-bird commercial driven day at a shoot outside of my locale. While I was still checking diary arrangements, a very officious email arrived from the shoot captain, insisting that a copy of my shotgun certificate and proof of insurance should be sent forthwith and retained by him. Though this seemed excessive, and a little worrying from a sense of personal data security, I complied. This was followed by another email detailing what tip had been “agreed for the keeper”. Now my hackles were definitely raised. I’m no skinflint and will tip generously but in proportion…

Motionless, I sat in cover waiting for the rapidly setting sun to slide below the horizon. The twilight that follows is a key time for ducks to flight; my aim of the evening was to spot what time and how many ducks were coming to the food laid down in daylight. I didn’t have to wait long. I love to see ducks swirling and dropping on to the water; it didn’t take long for me to gather the information needed and slip away. Every keeper spends time gathering information that becomes vital in making a successful day’s shooting. Attention to detail and an intimate knowledge of the chosen quarry is vital and hard won. Hard to spot Wild game, in particular, is hard to spot — by their very nature,…

I had a good selection of .243 Win ammunition as well as reloading equipment to fine-tune a load at the bench. I fitted the supplied Leupold VX-5HD scope via the quick-detachable mounts to the excellent integral Weaver-type base, and an MAE Scout sound moderator. I had tested a T3X before in 243 Win with a 20in barrel, so this Merkel with a 22in barrel would prove interesting to see the difference in velocities. The lightweight Sako 55-gr bullet sped along at 3,824fps for 1,786ft/lb and resulted in nice 1in groups at 100 yards. The Sako 70-gr Gamehead shot very well at under an inch, with some 0.75in three-shot groups with a velocity of 3,509fps and 1,914ft/lb, compared with the TX3 at 3,392fps for 1,789ft/lb — so an increase of 117fps…

Until recently I knew little about the extraordinary cast-iron cooker known as an AGA, but for the past three months I’ve lived in houses with AGA kitchens, so I’m now something of an expert. The AGA was invented in Sweden but since 1957 has been produced exclusively in the UK. AGAs are now ubiquitous in rural kitchens. Most owners claim to love them, but that’s not surprising as they cost so much — prices start at around £8,000 — that few will admit that buying the oven was an expensive mistake. The AGA should really be a subject for a cookery column, not one devoted to gundogs. I agree, but that would be overlooking the fact that many thousands of dogs in general, and Labradors in particular, spend much of…

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 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 Contact the team Email: stanswers@ti-media.com By post: Shooting Times, Pinehurst 2, Farnborough Business Park, Hants GU14 7BF…

The turnstone is a tough little wader with a catholic appetite; when not turning stones, the birds will eat everything from chips to carrion. The turnstones that we see among the breaking waves on a rocky shore on a Christmas walk spend the breeding season in north-east Canada and Greenland, in some of the last areas to become snow-free in spring. Birds from further west in Canada fly due south in autumn. While some British turnstones are feeding on discarded chips on a winter seafront, many of their cousins are picking up scraps under the tables of beach bars in the Caribbean.…

I described Graham Denny as a ‘paragon’ when I visited his shoot (Raise a glass to the Brewery, 11 December). This was no throwaway comment; he is an admirable naturalist and his shoot is a standard setter for farmland biodiversity. I asked him if the family farm had always been home to a shoot. “My grandfather would walk-up the farm with his neighbours,” he recalled. “Rabbits and hares abounded and they might shoot 20 or 30 brace of English partridges. Game in those days sold for decent money. A box of 25 cartridges would cost the equivalent of half a week’s agricultural wage — a few hares and 20 brace of partridge would net you as much as a month’s salary.” At what point did Brewery Farm move to become…