Innholdsfortegnelse for 08-Apr-2020 i Shooting Times & Country

Other than those being called on to carry out essential pest control or those who have a bit of fishing or shooting on their doorstep, there is little in the way of fieldsports going on at the moment. Or perhaps more accurately, there is little stage one fieldsports going on, but there is a lot of time for stage two. At the end of it all, what we do is about gathering food for the table and lots of us have freezers stocked with game. So far during the lockdown I’ve cooked venison madras, pigeon confit, pigeon kebabs, venison steaks and finished off the partridges. One of the joys of eating game is that it brings back happy memories of days spent in the field. Poignantly, I’ve found the memories…

CASTING PRACTICE With getting out fishing being high on many people’s post-lockdown priority list, why not use the garden to brush up on your fly-casting skills? A tag of wool tied to the end of your leader will prevent the line cracking and is safer than a fly. Try landing it in a hoop at an increasing distance or staying on the same spot and aiming for a steadily smaller target. POLISH With a bit of time on your hands, now might be the ideal opportunity to bring leather products such as cartridge bags and belts back into tip-top condition. The first step is to clean them thoroughly. A damp cloth is most people’s preferred option, though proprietary leather cleaners are also available. Allow the leather to gently air dry…

The coronavirus outbreak is getting so serious I turned off the television and opened Shooting Times to escape for a while. Instead I found a different concern, as the magazine was concentrating upon the lead shot debate and all its issues. The implications of using lead shot have been in the headlines since I was a child but the suggestion that lead and plastic wads should be phased out within five years is a potentially drastic move. Most of my family shoot with older English side-by-sides and our local gunsmith couldn’t recommend a steel load that is suitable for guns of this vintage. For anybody with a family heirloom or who has saved to invest in a decent “name” shotgun, this is quite concerning because it could stop us using…

Venison prices have as good as halved in the past six months, with game dealers blaming the drop in price on an increase in pre-prepared venison products coming in from China. The New Zealand government has also increased cull quotas, which has meant more deep-chilled NZ venison arriving in the EU and the UK. Worryingly, some dealers who were taking muntjac no longer are. And a few are making noises about only wanting the larger species and not taking roe, muntjac or Chinese water deer. I am in no position to argue and have no reason not to believe what they tell me, but at the same time I am a little disappointed that it is the stalkers and shoots that have taken the hit on price, and that there…

THE RAPTOR, being an enhanced Ranger, has a similarly enhanced price tag. It’ll cost you £49,324.64 plus VAT. That’s £18k more than the lower spec Wildtrack edition, which is also a good truck. The Raptor is a very capable truck on and off road and I rather like it. If you’re looking for a pickup that can handle a few off-piste escapades, the Raptor could be for you.…

Our winter has been characterised by rain of almost biblical proportions. The wet meadows of the Hampshire Avon valley have been flooded for what seems like months and even the usually dryer chalk uplands have been transformed into sodden sponges. Every step is betrayed by comical squelching and it is often dangerously slippery underfoot to boot. Considering all these impediments, my roe doe cull has gone remarkably well, with the mantra of my wise old mentor — “Push really hard in November and the first few weeks of December, because Tanuary and February are rarely kind to the stalker” — proving its worth again. Given a fair wind, I’ll soon be slowly stalking some of my first bucks through coppice woodlands surrounded by carpets of bluebells, with the warmth of…

Most dogs, so the experts tell us, like routine. Walks at the same place, food at the same hour, bed in the same place. I think that to a certain extent this is true, especially as dogs get older. I’ve recently moved house. My new garden backs on to farmland, accessed by a footpath that passes my back gate. Two-year-old sprocker Emma relishes exploring her new territory. In contrast, Rowan, the springer, who will be 14 this month, doesn’t like the new walk and has to be encouraged to venture on to the path, which she does with great reluctance. However, she still relishes her walks on the ground she is used to. Such behaviour corresponds with that of wolves. Young wolves will wander widely, in search of new ground,…

BILL HARRIMAN BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING Airgunner and journalist from the West Country DIGGORY HADOKE Vintage gun expert, firearms dealer, author and journalist 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…

The Destructor bullet was another variation of the solid projectile, designed for use in a smooth-bore shotgun. Advertised as for “soft-skinned animals”, such as tiger and bear, the bullet is ribbed to promote rotation and accuracy. It contains 16 lead pellets, which break free and expand on impact, causing significant internal damage. It was available for 12-, 16- and 20-bore shotguns and was loaded into an Eley Gastight paper case.…

It’s funny how things work out. We’ve all been unceremoniously thrust into an environment where suddenly food shopping and visiting a supermarket seem a complete luxury. We wait with great anticipation to see if the sausages in our online food delivery have made the cut, and we prioritise pasta and loo roll over fresh fruit and vegetables. I generally get to the end of a day’s shooting with two thoughts. Will the gamekeeper will mind me taking as much game as I can fit in my car? And, why I am the only one with this thought? On one particular day I put this to a Gun who had politely declined to take any birds at all. The response was a simple one; it was easier to buy it at…

The coldest part of the night is often just before dawn. So it may be with this hideous pandemic. Yet, as they say at the Stock Exchange, no bells ring at the top or the bottom of the market; often, turning points only become clear after the event. And, even then, when will it all end? Uncertainty kills business. All we can say is that, at some point, things will start to get back to normal, as they did after foot-and-mouth. We are at a critical time of year for game shooting, when deposits are due for the coming season. I am certainly going to pay my syndicate fee. It’s not clear that we shall be able to shoot this coming season. But my own little DIY syndicate charges a…

Pheasant curry to ease food insecurity The Country Food Trust has launched an appeal to make 250,000 meals to help people facing food insecurity due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The charity has managed to source ingredients and production time this April to produce more of its pheasant curry pouches, which will be distributed via charities to those in need. If you would like to support the effort search for “Country Food Trust” on virginmoneygiving.com where you can make a donation. GWCT puts the BBC straight on greys The GWCT has corrected claims by the BBC that there are only 100 grey partridges left in the UK. The Trust pointed out that the claim — which was made on the BBC Radio 4 show Short Cuts on 24 March — was…

My great friend, Alex Keeble, who writes the Gamekeeper column for Shooting Times is blessed with classic old beech woods. Ever since I first visited him on the estate he works on, the huge tall spinneys dotted around the rolling country have never been far from my mind. Regular readers may remember a feature last year when we had a real red-letter day at Alex’s due to a hefty beechmast crop. Once again this year the woodland floor lay thick with mast and, as a result, Alex’s spot was like a sweet shop full to bursting with children who have been released after lockdown. When pigeon find beechmast they can become addicted to it; obsessed to a level of greed. This can come back to bite them as they gorge…

As I sit typing out this recipe in isolation, I never would have thought in a million years that we would have come to this situation: on strict lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus. I can only dream about being able to nip out to bag a few rabbits for the pot but thankfully I had some in my freezer. This recipe is a great spring dish. It is extremely tasty, versatile and easy to make. The longest part is butchering and preparing the rabbit. Wild rabbit Caesar salad is not exactly what I would call healthy, but it is hearty and full of flavour, which is important at times like these. When all this is over, why not make it and invite some friends round for dinner in the…

AUCHLYNE I was interested to read Lindsay Waddell’s comments about the Countryfile episode that featured Auchlyne (Upland Keeper, 25 March). I remember Bert and Jean Carrie — handyman and housekeeper — and Jean’s cinnamon tart always went down well. The programme was filmed around 10 or 12 days before it was broadcast. I thank Lindsay for his comments and agree that our iconic red deer are being reduced to vermin status. Emma Paterson, Auchlyne estate TIME TO LEARN Many Shooting Times readers will be more fortunate than most in these difficult days. With outdoor space to roam, land to manage and animals to feed, we can justify more than one outdoor excursion a day. The shooting community will fare better in the kitchen too. As I listen to tales of…

The red deer hind weighed in at a shade over 11st. She had been shot on Monday on the crags of Borrowdale in Westmorland, bought back home to Suffolk the following day and had hung in my cold shed for six days. Having arranged with my friendly local butcher, Shaun Palfrey, that he would carry out the butchery of the beast, all I had to do was skin her. Skinning a red is significantly easier than the muntjac I am more used to. Muntjac hides seem to have been glued to the carcass by some celestial hand. The red, however, peels like a banana, albeit a banana weighing in at 154lb. Therefore after a relatively short time, I had the skin off. The carcass was now ready to be taken…

It will come as no surprise that foxes are the UK’s biggest predator of both ground-nesting birds and released game. Because we don’t have large apex predators to assist with their control, as they do in some other parts of the world, it is down to us. If we don’t control foxes — and control is the key word here, not exterminate — our returns on released birds will drop and wild partridges — if you are lucky enough to have any — won’t survive. Foxes should be controlled year round and at the very least in spring and summer if you rely on reared birds. Not forgetting, of course, that foxing to protect gamebirds protects other ground-nesting birds such as lapwings and curlew too. Add on issues for free-range…

WANT TO INSURE A Porsche 911? You won’t be surprised to know that it will be expensive, as the 911 is in the highest insurance bracket, group 50. In contrast, a Ford Ka Plus, for example, along with certain models of the VW Polo, are in the lowest category, group one. It might make dog insurance much simpler if the various breeds could be similarly categorised. This thought was prompted by reading that the average dog insurance claim paid out by the Insurance Emporium during 2018-2019 was £1,028, but for certain breeds the claim was much higher. Leading the table with an average figure of £1,547 was the dogue de Bordeaux. This is a huge and powerful French mastiff. It only takes a glance at a dogue to appreciate that…

How to decoy on the edges PIGEON SHOOTING Q I have a really good roosting and flighting wood. Is it worth decoying the wood edge just to focus the line? A I am a big fan of decoying the edge of woods. I’m not trying to have birds decoy; I’m just trying to focus the line of traffic coming to the wood. This can be handy if you are shooting in conditions that are less than ideal — for example, a lighter wind or clear skies. Decoying the edge can focus the line, but will also reduce the height of approaching birds. Building a hide on the edge of your wood should work and is lots of fun. Place lofting poles behind in the trees if you can then decoy…

Latin name: Alliaria petiolata Common name: Jack-by-the-hedge Other names: Garlic mustard, poor man’s mustard, hedge garlic, penny hedge, sauce-alone How to spot it and where to find it: This herb is found in a wide range of habitats, such as woodland edges and clearings, hedgerows, roadside verges, riverbanks and waste ground. A biennial, in the first year of growth, its broad, heart-shaped leaves appear in rosettes close to the ground. The second-year leaves are more arrow-like. From April, groups of tiny, white flowers grow from the top of a flower spike. Interesting facts: Garlic mustard is monocarpic, meaning it flowers, sets seeds then dies. While its genus name suggests it is part of the onion family, it is actually a brassica. The flowers and flower buds are edible and, combined…

1 Gore-Tex high-cut boots RRP: £180  aigle.com Windproof, waterproof and breathable, these boots will protect you from the elements when the weather is at its worst. Their high-cut design offers increased ankle support, making them ideal for stalking muntjac in heavy cover. 2 Stabi APC 12x30 binoculars RRP: £768  kiteoptics.com There are other models on the market but what sets these stabilised binoculars apart is the correction angle. They feature a new technology that allows the instrument to correct the image stability by six times. This will allow perfectly stable images, not only from a trembling hand but from the back of a moving car or even a boat on a rough sea. 3 Grouse gun case RRP: £200  browning.eu This gun case is just the thing…