Innholdsfortegnelse for 17-Jun-2020 i Shooting Times & Country

Last week, I was delighted to hear that our stalwart contributor, Patrick Laurie, is on the longlist for the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing for his book, Native. The award is Britain’s foremost rural writing award. This got me thinking about how lucky Shooting Times is to have such a high calibre of contributors. Over the past few months, we’ve had fewer advertising pages. Inevitably, this has meant I’ve had to call on our team to write more articles. Without fail, they’ve stepped up to produce all sorts of innovative content, while complying with social distancing. And the feedback we’ve had from readers is that Shooting Times has been a source of relief during dark moments, which has inspired us to redouble our efforts to produce the best magazine…

MORE SUPER? I enjoyed the article by Richard Hardy on the .17HMR and falling out of love with the .22 rimfire (Power of a Shire with the speed of a sprinter, 3 June). My father and I had a .17HMR and have traded it for a .17 Winchester Super Magnum rimfire, which is far superior. The ammunition is about the same price. Why have so few people heard about the WSM round? I would be interested to hear Mr Hardy’s thoughts. Michelle Butler, Northamptonshire Richard Hardy responds: I have tried a few rounds through a .17 WSM and it is both highly accurate and effective. It is more suitable than the .17HMR for foxes at range but could be overkill for small vermin at shorter distances. Popularity of the WSM…

The first cut silage is in the pit, something in the larder to see us through the winter. There wasn’t much of it, but it was bone dry. In the annual speculation about how much bigger or smaller it would look if the moisture level was different, we consoled ourselves, without any scientific evidence, that the dry matter ‘probably’ equated to what we get in normal years. We’ll see. It was so dry that, even after the contractor’s new five-tonne roller followed the buck-rake, the silage was soft and bouncy when we walked over it to put the sheets on. I have never seen it so dry. Silage chat on Twitter led to a sharp riposte from Robin Page. He tweeted: “I’m sorry, Jamie, but I don’t think you should…

Before we can hot smoke anything, it needs to be cured and I like to use a dry cure. The recipe is below and will make plenty that you can keep in a jar for use as and when you decide to fire up the smoker. 300g fine salt (ideally pure dried vacuum salt – ask your butcher) 300g golden granulated sugar 6 fresh bay leaves 1 tsp fennel seeds, another of black peppercorns and another of coriander seeds. Chop up the bay leaves, crush the pepper, fennel and coriander lightly and mix together with the salt and sugar.…

Most of you know that I am very fond of running water, especially the sort that is able to provide a good home for trout. I am more or less certain almost all of you know that I am also very fond of red wine, particularly when I can find an excuse for drinking it at lunchtime. Perhaps the best excuse for doing this is when I find myself sitting by running water after spending the morning trying to catch a few trout. Then, more often than not, I tell myself — especially if I have succeeded in what I set out to do — that, in truth, I do not need an excuse to fill my scratched old metal beaker because it is my solemn and sacred duty first…

As far as I am aware, there is no other sport comparable to field trials where one week you might be judging someone who may well be judging you the following week. Despite its obvious flaws, it’s a system that works well. Judges are chosen and asked to officiate by the club or society that has organised the trial. Their names are known well in advance, allowing handlers who don’t like to run their dog under a certain judge time to withdraw before the competition. For the spaniel and retriever championships, the judges are selected by committees of either the International Gundog League (in the case of retrievers) or the Kennel Club (spaniels and HPRs). It has always been regarded as a great honour to judge the championship, though it…

Puppy training has stalled GUNDOG TRAINING Q This spring has been one we will all never forget, but it’s been difficult trying to train my young dog with none of the help I was expecting to get from more experienced trainers. I’m concerned my labrador bitch is going to suffer because of my lack of knowledge. Will I be able to get things back on track once I can get more assistance? A So many have been in the same situation this spring, which is traditionally a great time to start training youngsters. As well as those not being able to get the training advice they need, there are some youngsters that really do need to be pushing on with their education. Whether you have a puppy that is still…

8X57R The 8mm Mauser cartridge is an effective and popular calibre in Europe. It challenges the popular American deer rifle cartridges for performance, though it is rarely seen in the US. Standard loads show the 8x57 beat the .30-30 and the .308 Winchester for speed when throwing the same bullet weights. The 8x57R is a bottle-necked, centrefire, rimmed version of the original cartridge and is used in break-action single and double rifles and drillings. Despite the name, Mauser had no part in its development. Its origins can be traced back to the 1888 Patrone, from which was developed (in 1903) the 7.92x57. This became hugely popular as a bolt-action rifle military round, being used by German, Chinese and Polish armies in World War II. For soft-skinned medium game, Sellier &…

1 Laksen Cottonwoods Leigh Vest RRP: £158.99 Farlows.co.uk This vest is lightweight and features two deep cartridge pockets, which give you easy access to the cartridges quickly. It has an adjustable back and the shoulders are quilted for extra comfort and durability when shooting. Available in sizes S-XXL. 2 Bushnell Engage 1700 Laser Rangefinder in 6x24 RRP: £246 Edgarbrothers.com This Rangefinder offers two times brighter optics, with a 40% larger objective lens paired with an all-glass optical system that brings more light to your eye for a brighter image, adding that all important extra time to your stalk at dusk or dawn. Its barrier technology also repels water, dirt or debris for an unobstructed view. 3 ProTac HL5-X RRP: £105.98 Streamlight.com This a high-performance torch with a…

The birdsong could easily be heard as I chatted to Les Bashford on the phone. He told me that Brian Thomas, one of the group leaders for the RSPB in the southeast, is writing a book on the diversity of avian life on the 3,000-acre Surrey estate where Les is the keeper. He has a unique and quite remarkable beat. It sits within the M25 — a stone’s throw from the City of London. The location and locals provide challenges that few gamekeepers would be prepared to face. Yet Les is a loyal man and loves this quirky, heavily wooded place. Originally from Kent, Les started on the estate on work experience in 1997. This was extended until he was taken on full time in 1999, becoming a beat keeper…

SUPPORT Support your local gun shop. With lockdown easing most gun shops will now be reopening in some form. After two months without customers they need your trade more than ever. Even if you can’t afford a new Beretta, nip down and pick up a pair of socks, a box of cartridges or some decoys. CHECK Use the good weather to catch up on the maintenance of shoot buildings. As long as social distancing is maintained and hygiene is practised, there is no reason why shoots can’t now spend some time repairing any winter damage to their buildings. Simple tasks such as unblocking gutters and painting window frames can save a great deal of future expense.…

Gamekeepers are the UK’s unsung conservation heroes, according to a new publication by the GWCT. In Moorland Conservationists; the Untold Story, former Shooting Times editor Joe Dimbleby profiled the conservation work undertaken on nine upland estates. One of the moorland managers profiled is Roy Burrows, who looks after moorland on the Summerstone Estate in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire. He has created new ponds and meadows, repaired more than a kilometre of stone wall, planted 65,000 trees and installed 500 bird boxes. Another of the keepers profiled is Ronnie Kippen. Despite officially retiring as the head keeper of Garrows Estate in Perthshire, Ronnie has continued to work with owner Sir John Kemp-Welch to reduce grazing, bring back vanished plants and boost insect numbers. This has sustained the estate’s rich population of waders…

Tom Payne’s windy day in Lincolnshire (Gone with the wind, 3 June), where the soil is silt, reminds me of the regular ‘fen blows’ experienced a few miles south in my native Cambridgeshire fens, where the soil is peat. All too often the March winds plane off the surface peat — including newly drilled sugar beet or carrots — and carry it up in a mighty dust storm to be deposited miles away. Usually the storms, which can be a dense black cloud hundreds of feet high and thousands of yards long, stick to the open fen, but one I recorded in my book, Fenland Fowler, will be remembered. Here is what I wrote at the time: “We had had a week of wind but on Tuesday 19 March 1968…

Should my guns eventually be catalogued by an auctioneer, I expect my ownership to make not a jot of difference to the valuation. Frankly, nobody is going to pay more for the bragging rights of owning a gun once waved at pheasants in my distinctly average hands. If, however, a gun once graced the crooked arm of England’s greatest shot, a famous big-game hunter or a writer with a cult following, the story is very different. For those bragging rights, collectors will pay handsomely. Such guns have what the professionals call provenance — a history that is verifiable and evocative, valuable even. Because our best guns last several lifetimes of fair use, their story and that of their owner becomes part of the folklore that attaches itself to the gun.…

An old biscuit tin A few screws A drill – or a nail and a hammer will do An old cooling rack or bit of small-gauge weld mesh or even some chicken wire A source of heat Some dust-extracted hardwood (ideally oak) sawdust The process of making the smoker: 1 Drill two holes on each side of the smoker. These are to put screws through to rest the wire rack on, so they need to be level with each other about two-thirds of the way down the side of the tin. If you are one of those people proficient in the art of DIY, you will have a field day making this more complicated and laborious than it needs to be. Somewhat irritatingly, however, your smoker will doubtless be far…

This has been an unusual time for all of us in pretty much every aspect of our lives and dog training is no exception. In some ways lockdown has helped in that people now have more time to spend with their dogs. However, given that most were unable to leave their homes and take their dogs anywhere, much of the training people normally do has been seriously curtailed. I am lucky in that I have plenty of ground to continue training on, but even I have to admit that the repetitive nature of what I’ve been able to do has led to me and my pack becoming a little flat. Normally, at this time of year, I would be travelling up and down the country spending time with lots of…

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…

It was threading ragworms onto hooks under the tutelage of my father that put me off fishing, for a while at least. Ragworms are hideous creatures with an understandable tendency to bite, but nothing, I thought, deserves so cruel a fate. On the subsequent, and slightly terrifying, expedition to the middle of the Solent, I beat triumphantly my father by two whiting to nil, but all was ruined when my mother refused to cook them despite my heartfelt pleas. No concerns of bait and boat, however, attend the catching of mackerel from the beach. The lure is insensible and the beach does not rock dangerously from side to side. On the right day, you can catch eight mackerel on a line and any cooking facilities, no longer under the authority…

As the broods of young grouse continue to grow and enjoy the sunshine, their guardians’ thoughts are increasingly turning towards whether — and perhaps how — they might be able to run any sort of shoot programme. It’s looking like being a pretty good season south of the border. However, if — and it is a huge if — social distancing is here for some time, many of the usual shoot-day practices will simply not be permissible. Squeezing a few beaters into any sort of transport will be a non-starter if they have to keep 6ft apart. Loaders will also be out, and other helpers will not be able to share a vehicle to get on and off the moor. It would be possible for a family member to load,…

You’ve seen a poo tree, haven’t you? The poo tree is an increasingly common invasive species, typically found in the vicinity of car parks near public green spaces. The chief identifying feature of the poo tree is the plethora of little plastic bags, all tightly knotted, that festoon its lower branches. Each of these strange fruits contains dog excrement. Yes, dog walkers who have gone to the trouble of scooping their pet’s poo into a bag then hang the noisome offering on a branch so that some other poor sod can dispose of it for them. Or perhaps the poo-hangers honestly think their nasty little offerings will somehow disappear in time due to the actions of the wind and the rain. I really cannot fathom the mindset of these folk.…

Dumyat a guest at Perthshire estate Sporting estates have highlighted their role in helping the short-eared owl, Dumyat, who has featured on the BBC’s Springwatch. The segment told the remarkable story of Dumyat’s journeys between Scotland, Norway, Cornwall and Ireland, and her remarkable habit of leaving her chicks in her mate’s care. What was left out was Dumyat’s dependence on managed moors on sporting estates. The Tayside and Central Scotland Moorland group was quick to fill the gap by pointing out that the owl had in fact made several prolonged visits to estates and that her second brood hatched on a grouse moor in Perthshire. Marine review won’t affect ’fowling A government review of the protection of vulnerable areas of coastline and seabed will have no effect on wildfowling, it…

ACCORDING TO MY rain gauge, only 3mm of rain fell in my garden between dawn on 1 May and dusk on 31 May, making it the driest month I have recorded since April 2011. One of the consequences of the drought has been the need to water my new hedge, a conservation mixture of native species, including beech, yew, wild privet and field maple. Curiously, most fatalities have been hawthorn and blackthorn, despite daily watering, and most of the more unusual species have survived. A welcome consequence of the drought has been an absence of ticks. I have yet to find a single one on my dogs this year. Ticks like nothing better than to lurk in wet, rank grass and they avoid dry areas because of the risk of…

This is one of those recipes that is self-defeating. It does not need any or all of the ingredients listed. This is actually an invitation to be unshackled from the intricacy of a recipe. Adopt a philosophy of using what is available to make something simple and delicious in only a few minutes. It will use up some odds and ends from the fridge, produce a satisfying meal in virtually no time and create minimal washing-up, too. This format can be adapted to use a range of ingredients, but there are some basic rules well worth thinking about beforehand. Once a decision has been made on a selection of items from the fridge that need using up, or just happen to be there, it is time to think about how…

Latin name: Daldinia concentrica Common name: King Alfred’s cakes Other names: Cramp balls, coal fungus, carbon fungus How to spot it and where to find it: Next time you are walking through an ash or beech wood, keep your eyes open for these distinctive fungi. Pinkish-brown when growing, they form round black lumps, roughly the size of golf balls, on trees — particularly dead branches — and are called King Alfred’s cakes because of their burnt appearance. Inside the fruiting body are concentric silver-grey and black layers that led to the specific epithet, concentrica. Interesting facts: The name, of course, comes from the legend of King Alfred taking refuge from the Vikings in a peasant’s home in AD878, and being scolded because he allowed some cakes baking on the hearth…