Innholdsfortegnelse for 11-Mar-2020 i Shooting Times & Country

Every so often I feel saddened by the propensity of the average Brit to jet off across Europe each summer, rather than exploring this wonderful island. Last week the thought hit me hard when I discovered Ludlow. The enchanting market town is just the sort of place I would like to retire to, but I have a few working years in me yet. I was staying in Ludlow on my way to visit Willo Game, which sits in the shadow of Long Mynd ridge, where a small population of grouse is still holding on. The energy and professionalism of everyone I met was inspiring and the products they produce are exceptional, but there is no escaping the reality that the game market has had a tough time. In the 1970s,…

The annual Shooting Times Woodcock Club dinner, which is sponsored by Seeland, will be held at the Savile Club in Mayfair on 19 March. The club was established in 1949 and has been run by Shooting Times since the early 1980s. Membership is open to anyone who has shot a right-and-left on woodcock and there are around 1,400 members. This year, the club is welcoming just 17 new members, down from 50 at last year’s event. The speaker at this year’s dinner is the current Secretary of State for Wales and keen game Shot Simon Hart. The dinner will be accompanied by an auction, with lots including tweed breeks from Campbell’s of Beauly, hind stalking on Deeside and driven snipe shooting in Northern Ireland. The event raises much-needed funds for…

General licences are lawful, says NRW Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has refused to bow to pressure from campaign group Wild Justice over general licences. In a letter to interested groups, NRW said it believed the licences were lawful. Wild Justice will now have to take court action against NRW if it wishes to further challenge the licences. Steve Griffiths, BASC Wales director, said: “NRW’s commitment to the current set of general licences provides users with the confidence and security that they are undertaking essential pest control legally.” NGO award for top keepering student Eighteen-year-old Lewis Stewart, from Doncaster, who studied game management at Newton Rigg College, has won the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation’s (NGO) Frank Jenkins Memorial Trophy, marking him out as the top young gamekeeping student in the country. According…

• 19,000 tonnes of lead shot are discharged on to European soil every year (ECHA). • One million water birds die each year from lead poisoning (ECHA). • One lead shot ingested will kill a small water bird (ECHA). • Three times a year is the maximum number the EU recommends people eat a meal of meat killed with lead (Food Standards Agency). • Going up two sizes larger is the recommendation when choosing steel shot to replace lead (Gun Trade Association). • Nine shooting groups signed the declaration supporting a total withdrawal of lead shot. • Three European countries have a total ban on lead for hunting: Denmark, Sweden and Germany (FACE).…

There’s a strict rule in field trials that dogs making a noise of any sort are eliminated. A friend, an A-panel judge, told me a story of driving 100 miles to compete in a retriever trial. The traffic was bad, so when he arrived he wasn’t in the best of moods. As luck would have it, he was the first to run, but he had only been in line for a couple of minutes when he was told to put his dog back on its lead. He asked why, only for the judge to snap back at him that his dog had whimpered. My friend did as he was told, though quietly seething, as he was certain that his dog had done no such thing. I suspect that there might…

HELP With lambing now well under way in many areas, farmers may need your help in protecting their flocks from foxes. Lamps and thermal-imaging equipment are the key tools in the foxer’s box, but night shooting is dangerous and should only be undertaken on land where you are thoroughly familiar with the terrain and with farming operations. You may wish to consider mixing in a daytime shoot as well, to target foxes that have become wise to the night’s dangers. FISHING With just a few days to go until trout fishing restarts, now is your chance to stock up. Stillwater fish will often be lying deep and sluggish in the cold water, so micro dry flies and terrestrial imitations may need to wait until later in the year. For river…

THANKS FOR NOTHING The story about a lost mobile phone at the British Shooting Show (Letters, 26 February) reminded me of an incident some months ago. I was walking my dog adjacent to a field when I came across an envelope on the grass verge. I picked it up and it felt like it was full of £20 notes. There were two names written on the front of the envelope and I knew where they lived so drove the three miles to their house and knocked on the door. No one was at home. I went again at lunchtime but still received no answer. I tried once again at teatime and left a note on this occasion. I got a phone call later asking what I had found but I…

David Grimwood is a good man to know. For starters, he is the conservation officer for the Alde and Ore Wildfowlers. He is a passionate naturalist and is ever prepared to impart his boundless knowledge of the birds that dwell along this wild, picturesque slice of Suffolk’s coastline. He also is one of the finest wild food chefs. His restaurant, the Froize in Chillesford, carries a well-deserved reputation for being a sublime East Anglian eatery serving seasonal, traceable and delicious food. Many of his dishes revolve around game, much of which has fallen to David’s own gun or those of his regulars. All of his culinary meaty delights are accompanied by foraged fruit or mushrooms, local vegetables and a joyful explanation from David about his ethos for eating local, eating…

Having water on a shoot always brings a special joy, and even a small scrape or splash can attract a few snipe or the odd duck. How much it will cost to create a pond or splash is hard to predict. On a heavy clay soil, a weekend’s digger hire of a few hundred pounds could well be all you need to create a significant pond that will trap rainwater and fill of its own accord. At the other end of the scale, digging a pond on permeable soil, and lining it with puddled clay or butyl, can cost thousands. Think on this, though; once it is there it has a long-term future. The pond on my own shoot was about as expensive as you can get, and I’m lucky…

• The ECHA proposes to restrict the use of lead shot in “terrains other than wetlands” by 2022. The “call for evidence” phase expired in December 2019. “Dossier submission” is expected in October 2020. • In 2018 the ECHA published an investigation report recommending that further measures to regulate the use of lead shot should be taken. • It seems likely that the current agenda will lead to the EU issuing a blanket ban on the use of lead for hunting, in 2022, and that will impact on food safety standards and on the importation and sale restrictions applied to game shot with lead.…

“Cheap airgun pellets are a complete non-starter and a false economy” Pellet selection can make a huge difference to airgun accuracy, yet it is something that is all too often overlooked. Even if you invest in a high-end air rifle, the gun simply will not shoot with consistent precision unless it is matched with the right ammunition. Cheap airgun pellets are a complete non-starter and a false economy. Inconsistent weight, shape and head size is detrimental to accuracy, making them useless for serious target shooting or for tackling live quarry. I wouldn’t even recommend using sub-standard pellets for practice sessions; time on the range should be spent using your first choice of ammo so you can learn exactly how it will perform in readiness for competition or targeting pests. It…

MUCH AS I LIKE TO pretend that I do this work all the time, I also have a part-time office job. It’s still working within the land management sector but is far more paper and computer based than a day on the hill, something that has taken a while to get used to. When I started gamekeeping I never really understood the attraction of standing around at the edge of a wood, shotgun and rifle at the ready on the off chance a fox would appear, while rain, wind and snow — as is usually the weather at this time of year — battered my hood. However, after a year of spending a lot of time looking at screens, behind the steering wheel on my way to meetings or sitting…

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…

Latin name: Conopodium majus Common name: Pignut Other names: Earthnut, arnut, kipper nut How to spot it and where to find it: This small umbellifer – a member of the carrot family – is found in woodland, hedgerows, field edges, roadside verges and dry grassland. Its fine stems and delicate frondy leaves are reminiscent of carrot, and its umbrella-like clusters of creamy-white flowers appear in May and June. Interesting facts: It is not, however, the flowers that make this perennial herb such a delight; its underground tubers – the nuts – are among the most tasty treats that the forager can unearth. Their flavour has been described as somewhere between celery and a raw hazelnut. The root or tuber is said to look like an ugly sweet chestnut or, as…

1 Stornoway Active jacket RRP: £369.99  gb.harkila.com This jacket is a modern update of the classic tweed jacket. It features a windproof and waterproof membrane capable of withstanding the toughest weather and, unlike the tweed jacket, this has the benefit of letting water run right off you. 2 John Rothery starting pistol RRP: £46.95  tackleandguns.net This starting pistol can help accustom your new gundog to live shots in the close season. Capable of holding eight rounds, it effectively recreates that exciting moment in the field in a training environment and allows you to test your dog’s response in similar conditions. You must be 18 or over to buy this gun. 3 Saint Hubert gun slip RRP: £180  browning.com Made from leather and plenty of thick internal foam,…

14 MARCH GUNDOG HEART & EYE TESTING WITH JAN & HAMISH CORMIE Unit 1D/E Dulford Business Park julia.birchall-mann@ basc.org.uk 17 MARCH ADVANCED AIRGUN HUNTER COURSE Marford Mill, North Wales basc.org.uk/events 21-22 MARCH WEST OF ENGLAND GAME FAIR Royal Bath & West Showground, Somerset westofengland gamefair.co.uk 26 MARCH HIGHLAND DINNER & SPORTING AUCTION The Storehouse, Foulis Ferry, Evanton, Ross-shire gwct.org.uk/events 28 MARCH LADIES INTRODUCTION TO CLAY SHOOTING AND CAKE Mid Wales Shooting Centre, Ffinnant, Powys shotgunandchelsea bunclub.co.uk/events 26 APRIL AZERLEY ESTATE CHARITY CLAY SHOOT Azerley, Ripon, North Yorkshire azerleyclayshoot.co.uk…

I was born in 1931. My first recollection has to be my mother’s roast rabbit; I can see it now in my mind’s eye, lying there in its bronze glory before being attacked by my siblings and me. At the back of the woodshed were the ferret hutches, which took me to the other end of the proceedings. My father and a friend, Tom Amor, went rabbiting on Sundays and I went with them as soon as I was big enough. How exciting it was to hear the bunnies rumbling as the ferret caught up with them under ground, and if they bolted into one of the nets, oh my goodness! It was rather different if the ferret killed. You then put a collar and line on a big old…

Regular readers and followers and subscribers to social media platforms will have read the two recent announcements by members of the shoot liaison committee (SLC). The committee, a group of organisations working together for the common good, use the SLC meetings to discuss topics of mutual concern and as an opportunity to exchange ideas and thoughts on the future of shooting and country sports. Almost the umbrella countryside organisation some have been calling for, but with each member having an area of specialist expertise. I attend the meetings on behalf of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation and am happy to point out that while we tend to agree on most things, there are some on which we don’t always agree 100%. Which is why we meet, why we debate and how…

“Flighting needs the least kit. You can happily venture out into the woods with a gun and a pocketful of cartridges” Enough is enough. I had the eighth person come up to me in the pub asking: “When do you think we will be shooting over the spring drillings?” The ground in many counties is going to take a long time to dry enough so that you can get machinery on to it, let alone drill a crop. It’s not making the pigeon shooting job easy. Many farms and estates won’t let me on due to the state of the ground and even if I could get somewhere in the area, the transfer of kit and birds becomes a headache in itself. I don’t mind a long walk across a…

BEATING DOGS ARE the unsung heroes of the shooting field. On many shoots, they are far more useful than their human handlers, able to use their size and agility to get to places no two-legged beater can reach, and their noses to find game that would otherwise never be flushed. Yet, while you will find numerous books on how to train your puppy to become a shooting dog, beating dogs hardly warrant a mention. The requirements of a good beating dog are simple. Most important is the ability to work closely with their handler, never venturing more than 30 yards away. Prompt recall is essential, as is walking happily to heel, or at least within a few feet, when required to do so. An enthusiasm for hunting is essential, together…

I have been fascinated with wild boar for a very long time now, ever since I moved to the south of England from Snowdonia in 1993. I have a vivid memory of having a Sunday lunch at a pub in Peasmarsh in East Sussex when I was around eight years old. I remember my father talking to a local resident, who pointed to the woodland behind the pub and said they had a local population of wild boar. I was amazed because I never even knew they existed; I thought they were merely mythological creatures. But here I was looking at a woodland where these beasts roamed. I always wanted to see one for real from then on. It wasn’t until I was around 27 that “To see a wild…

A rimless bottle-neck cartridge, designed in 1911 for use in big bolt rifles, the .416 offered reliable stopping power in an inexpensive package, which was exactly what game wardens and professional hunters needed. Originally loaded with cordite and intended for the Indian and African hunter, the .416 typically pushes a 400-gr bullet at around 2,400fps. It produces relatively low pressures, but is considered powerful enough for anything from elephant down and became popular with professional hunters. Popularity waned in the 1970s, but was revitalised by Ruger in the 1990s and is now the signature big game round in modern Rigby production models. The .416 Rigby was joined this year by the .416 No2; a rimmed version of the cartridge, designed by Rigby for use in its double rifles. The old…

Swimming and getting nowhere; such is the life of the brown trout. Some brown trout, anyway. They gently wiggle their way through the current, moving not a jot forward nor back; waiting, no doubt, for something to turn up. “Brown trout” is often a misnomer for this creature, as many of its kind are highly and colourfully ornamented and will observe wildly differing lifestyles. Some, like those I still watch from the bridge across the Frome in my village, are riverine. Others prefer lakes and some take to the ocean, like their cousin, the Atlantic salmon. Thus, the species (Salmo trutta) exists in several hundred “morphs”, making it a challenge to taxonomists for decades. Some morphs have common names, such as sonaghan, gillaroo and ferox. However,rainbow trout is a different…

“But isn’t copper toxic?” asked a friend. He is a staunch defender of lead ammunition. In a discussion about centrefire rifle ammunition, I suggested he read Megan Rowland’s recent piece (The new revolution, 26 February). She gave a detailed account of using copper bullets for stalking and indicated that this may be the way forward. My lead-head friend is unconvinced. As it happens, he’s right on one thing; copper can indeed be toxic. But here’s the kicker; a certain amount of copper is actually essential for good health. It is only when it is present in the body above a certain level that it becomes problematic. And that’s a key distinction from lead, which has no safe limit whatsoever. Lead begins causing damage in even the tiniest amounts. It is…