Innholdsfortegnelse for 19-Feb-2020 i Shooting Times & Country

When it comes to game I often feel familiarity breeds apathy. I love woodpigeon but I have to admit, over the past month, I’ve become very aware there are 40 breasts in my freezer, not to mention a drawer full of partridges. At a party last week I got chatting to someone about shooting. They’d grown up in a city but had a real interest in food and the environment. They stopped me mid-sentence to say how incredible they thought it must be to harvest your own meat from a sustainable source. The following day, I found myself reflecting on the encounter and concluded they were absolutely right. The relationship people who hunt have with the food on their table is an enviable thing. It won’t have escaped your notice…

Do your bit to help GWCT game census The GWCT has called on shoots to take part in its National Gamebag Census. The scheme has recorded the number of 24 huntable bird species, 11 ‘pest’ bird species and 19 mammal species shot every year since 1961. The NGC is a voluntary scheme that relies on the goodwill of keepers and shoot managers. It is free to take part and only requires you to complete a simple form. Shoots of any size are welcome and records are kept completely confidential. To take part visit gwct.org.uk Boris set to ban trophy imports Boris Johnson has given a clear indication that a ban on the import of hunting trophies will be introduced. Answering a question in Parliament from Conservative MP Pauline Latham, the…

I took these photos when I accompanied my husband, the parents of my son’s partner and their springer on his first season of shooting at Powys Castle in mid-January. To me, these images epitomise what a shoot is all about — the bond between man/woman and their dog, and the camaraderie. Stephen Askham and his wife had kindly invited us to join them on the shoot. Stephen is pictured with his young dog, Stanley, behaving exceptionally, having been to only a few shoots this year. The first photo of my husband, Geoff, and Stephen is a classic one of friends enjoying the open air, the countryside and thrill of the shoot, together. Long may it continue. Caroline Blackburn, by email…

Deer season extension STALKING Q I have taken up stalking and I have seen that the season for females was only extended to the end of March quite recently. Why was that, and is it not unethical to stalk females when they are so heavily pregnant? A The close seasons for female deer in England and Wales were shortened in 2007 from the beginning of March to the beginning of April. This was because the Government recognised that more deer needed to be culled, and the longer days of March, when the woods are quiet after the end of the game shooting season, presented a valuable window. The opportunity was also taken to align a new close season for Chinese water deer alongside the April to November close season, as…

Let us agree that a Glock 17 pistol is not really the sort of thing you want to find in the loo of an aircraft on a transatlantic flight. I can only imagine the consternation of passengers and flight staff. Fortunately, it rapidly became obvious that the gun was mislaid by a hapless personal protection officer accompanying David Cameron. This may have calmed things down a bit, but a few moments of mild panic are understandable. We have grown used to tales of the police overreacting to mask-clad pigeon shooters, or small boys playing with plastic water pistols, so I suspect that some sniggered when we read the tabloid coverage of ‘Glockgate’. But gun security is a serious issue. A few days after the aircraft incident, there was news coverage…

CURRENT LAW FOR CHECKING TRAPS Could you please settle a point of law? I work with the local Wildlife Trust to control mink. In the past they have supplied me with live-catch traps that I know, by law, must be checked at least every 24 hours. This spring, they will give me a couple of cage traps that will alert my smartphone when they have been sprung. The Wildlife Trust has told me the traps don’t need to be checked daily because you can attend the trap immediately it has been sprung. I don’t think they’re right. Is this a case of technology overtaking the law? Does the law say these new traps still need to be checked every 24 hours? N Rollings, by email Lindsay Waddell responds: They are…

Srip the gun down into its three parts. If it is wet, mop off any moisture, particularly on the woodwork, and leave to dry. Spray on some solvent to degrease the action, using a cotton bud to clean all the nooks and crannies. Using a paint brush, apply a light film of gun oil all over the inside and outside of the action. Barrels should first be scrubbed with a wire bore brush. Then place a patch in your bore rod and push through until a fresh patch comes out clean. A very light smear of oil can be applied using a bore mop. The outside of the barrels require the lightest of oiling with a cloth. The fore-end requires very little attention as regards metalwork, but the woodwork will.…

Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher (1848 to 1904) was one of the most prolific firearms designers in history. He designed en bloc clip-loading systems, rifles, magazines and some of the earliest self-loading firearms. While his designs had an international significance, it was in Austria-Hungary and Germany where they were the most influential. All of Austria-Hungary’s service rifles from 1885 until the end of World War I used box magazines with a Mannlicher clip, as did Germany’s Model 1888 Mauser service rifle. Mannlicher’s clip was made from pressed, spring steel and was an integral part of the magazine that would not function without it. In use, it was pressed into the top of the magazine where it locked. When the bolt was pushed home the first cartridge was rammed into the chamber.…

THERE’S SOMETHING so impressive about an official Kennel Club pedigree that you feel it must be correct. I suspect most of us trustingly believe that every dog mentioned is indeed an ancestor of the dog whose pedigree it is. So it comes as quite a shock to realise that a pedigree cannot be relied upon as the system of registering a dog’s parentage depends on honesty. There’s precious little to stop a dishonest breeder making a false registration by naming a dog that isn’t the puppies’ sire — or dam, for that matter — on the registration form. Many years ago I bred a handsome English springer dog. Due to changing circumstances the person he originally went to had to rehome him. The spaniel was unregistered but his new owner…

20 FEBRUARY WILDFOWLING SEASON ENDS, ENGLAND, WALES AND SCOTLAND (Below high water mark) 23 FEBRUARY BEST OF BRITISH VENISON Perry’s Field to Fork, The Old Cookery School, Eccleshall events.basc.org.uk/ events 23 FEBRUARY S&CBC LADIES’ CLAY SHOOTING Manchester Clay Shooting Ground, Eccles shotgunandchelsea bunclub.co.uk/events 28-29 FEBRUARY INTERMEDIATE DEER COURSE Baronscourt estate, County Tyrone events.basc.org.uk/ events 02 MARCH SNARING AND MUSTELID TRAPPING COURSES Hopetoun estate, West Lothian 01738 551511 ijohnston@gwct.org.uk 24 MARCH GWCT ROADSHOW FARNHAM The Castle Inn, Farnham gwct.org.uk/events…

A Somerset gamekeeper and his partner have been left heartbroken by the theft of their springer spaniel bitch. Francis Bere’s fiancée Emily Kretz got in touch with Shooting Times to ask for readers help after the dog was stolen from her kennel in the village of Lopen, near Crewkerne in Somerset. The two-year-old spaniel, whose name has not been released, was stolen on the night of 8- 9 February. Emily said: “The experience of losing her has been awful. It’s soul-destroying knowing someone has her and possibly is not treating her well. “She is a shy, quiet dog around people she doesn’t know. Obviously, it will affect my partner’s work come August but we really don’t care about that at the moment, we just want her back. “It’s part of…

While rereading back issues recently, I came across Richard Negus’s story about his son’s pet jackdaw Mole (Country Diary, 31 July 2019). When my younger brother was about 10 he too found a young jackdaw, which he brought home and raised as a pet. Jackie grew up to be a much-loved companion. He would sit on my brother’s shoulder as he cycled around the village, taking off for occasional exploratory flights but always returning. One day he took himself off on one of his perambulations and spotting some of the village children on their bicycles — perhaps thinking my brother was among them — he swooped down to alight on the shoulder of the most likely-looking rider, flapping wings and squawking loudly. Unsurprisingly, the child was terrified and promptly fell…

Good habitat is the foundation of a successful wild bird shoot. Without this structure of ideal living quarters, wild game will simply not exist on your land. One of the most important building blocks in the creation of a wild game utopia has to be hedges. These agriculturally derived structures are important to both wild game and a diverse range of threatened wild birds and mammals. Emotions run high when it comes to the future of the great British hedge and these vulnerable structures now protected by law. Some view the hedge as a hurdle in the way of greater efficiency in an ever developing countryside. Others see them as an untouchable asset that must be preserved at all costs. Habitat diversity In late January we were busy adding another…

I grew up in a large Italian family and everything was centred around our rough shooting restaurant, Il Portico. Come the end of season, the diners would inevitably tire of the usual ways to roast a game bird, and we would look for new, yet traditional, recipes that respected the law of zero waste. My grandfather told me I could see how successful a restaurant was by looking in the bin. To squander good food through lack of knowhow is for fools and slackers.These recipes proudly use every morsel of your quarry, with the second two giving you “due piccioni con una fava sola” or two pigeon dishes from one bird. ROE DEER WITH FRUTTI DI BOSCO This recipe is perfect for the yearling doe I shot recently (There is…

On our last couple of shoots of the season, I noticed that one of my cover plots was all but gone, so started pondering what to do to make a better job for next season. It has been weak all winter and I’m lucky that it lasted so well in the mild weather. In an average year, with a bit more frost and snow, we would have been stymied earlier. In common with most of our crops, this plot doubles as a patch of holding cover and a conservation crop for farmland birds. I therefore like to grow a mix of things, to support a range of species, but the downside of this is weeds — the more complex the mixture, the less the likelihood you can find a selective…

I know people who mark the end of the season by getting their shooting vehicle washed and cleaned. I did the canine equivalent by taking the spaniels to be trimmed and groomed, though I didn’t bother with the optional wash and blow dry afterwards. One of the perks of living on the sandy, free-draining soils of the Suffolk Brecks is that mud is never a problem, even in a wet season. Thus the dogs never get as dirty or stained as those that work in mud every day. Retired spaniel Rowan tends to get very woolly, so she gets a short back and sides, ending up looking rather like a pointer. For a dog nearing her 14th birthday she looks remarkably good, with not a grey hair to be seen.…

In my kitchen, making stock from leftover bones or carcases is part of an economic plan. It is a simple process that extracts a greater value from the bones of game birds, yielding a second meal. It is wonderfully versatile, vital for creamy vegetable soups, making gravy or using in risotto or pilaf. But in its own right — as a clear, full-flavoured base for a variety of warming and healthy broths — it is elegant, however humble. “A clear full-flavoured base for warming and healthy broths, it is elegant, however humble” You must mine the maximum amount of flavour from the bones. Game birds do not yield as much ‘essence’ as chicken, so add good-quality low-salt or organic vegetable stock powder to the roasted bones. Make sure the carcases…

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…

Latin name: Heracleum sphondylium Common name: Hogweed Other names: Cow parsnip, cadweed, clogweed, eltrot, giant parsnip, madnep How to spot it and where to find it: Not to be confused with that invasive menace giant hogweed, our native variety grows to around 2m tall. Its ridged, hollow stem is roughly bristly and the triangular grey-green leaves can be up to 60cm long. Flower heads are between 5cm and 15cm across with white or very pale pink flowers. Interesting facts: Our native perennial is part of the same family as its giant cousin, as are fennel, cow parsley and ground elder. The flowers give off an odour that is reminiscent of pigs, hence its common name. Despite the flowers’ unappetising smell, hogweed is edible — and is said to have a…

It is fitting that so pestilential a bird as the woodpigeon is so very good to eat. While it can be roasted whole, spatchcocked or not, it is mostly the substantial breasts that are eaten. My hunting and cheffing friend, Tim Maddams, likens the breast meat to venison crossed with duck, though I am always reminded of pig’s liver — in a good way — but with the texture of rump steak. Marinated in Madeira and a touch of garlic for an hour, fried over a high heat for two or three minutes each side then served with a sauce made from the marinade, it is superb. I was once presented with whole pigeon that was not so much underdone as still cooing, so I popped mine in the oven…

1 Gunnerside shooting vest RRP: £189.95 schoffelcountry.com With reinforced shoulder pads and big bellow pockets able to hold a large number of cartridges, this vest is ideal for trips to the clay ground to improve your shooting. It is also fitted with a removable recoil pad should you need extra protection. Available in sizes EU32-52. 2 Lightforce PRED9X LED lamp RRP: £277.99 (now £178.99) sportsmanguncentre.co.uk You can operate this lamp without taking your hand away from the firing position using the wireless switch, which has a range of 5m and can be attached to your scope or rifle. It is also dust- and water-resistant, which makes it a robust and long-lasting addition to your lamping kit. 3 Noble zip boots RRP: £149.99 gb.seeland.com These boots make it…