Innholdsfortegnelse for 25-Nov-2020 i Shooting Times & Country

Last week, I drove to Findhorn on the Moray coast. Sadly, I wasn’t there on wildfowling business; I was there to meet a man who has devoted his life to pine forest restoration, for part of something I’m writing on the battle to save the capercaillie. He wasn’t the sort of man you meet often on the Gun bus — he spoke at length about his spiritual awakening in his early 20s and the spirituality of the land. Some of his views were very different from mine but life without diversity of thought would be pretty dull. Ultimately, he concluded that what it would take to save the capercaillie is a lot more ‘love’. It’s an interesting opinion and I’m not quite sure how predator control fits into his vision,…

BASC is encouraging game fans to enjoy British Game Week at home this year. The week, which runs from 23 to 29 November, is organised jointly by the British Game Alliance and BASC’s Taste of Game and will feature competitions, streamed cookery videos and a live ‘cookalong’ on Facebook. People will be able to get recipe ideas and inspiration and find out where to order game meat online via the Taste of Game website. Annette Woolcock, head of Taste of Game, said: “The world is a strange place right now and we have a whole host of easy-to-cook recipes for some real comfort food. “Why not pop on a venison stew or lasagne or settle down for a movie night with some venison nachos? Or how about trying a tandoori…

The Gamekeepers’ Welfare Trust (GWT) is offering a new counselling service to all gamekeepers, stalkers and gillies. The service, which will be launched on 1 December, will sit alongside Jamie’s Helpline and the Stag and HIND resilience training offered by the Trust. BASC council member and consultant psychiatrist Professor Ann Mortimer said: “The GWT initiative is greatly welcomed as a source of professional support during these very difficult times. Given that shotgun and firearms certification are an essential part of the gamekeeper’s role, most are naturally apprehensive about seeking help with low mood or anxiety. Without help, there may be an escalating and substantial compromise of emotional well-being, borne alone. Counselling represents a way forward, offering potential resolution and personal support.” Helen Benson, GWT chief executive, told Shooting Times: “If…

The memories flooded back on reading your article about the sporting parson (Praise be: the creed of horse and hound, 18 November). When my wife and I were organising our wedding in 1973, we had to visit the rector who was to officiate a few days before the ceremony. Though my wife was a farmer’s daughter, she was not initiated into the hunting and shooting fields until she met me and never really thought about them. We went into his study not really knowing what to expect; what we got was a shock to Irene. The rector, whose title was Canon, was slightly eccentric, driving round his parish in an MGB GT and running a smallholding in the ancient priory he lived in. He brought out a decanter of sherry,…

Koulibiac is a Russian showstopper pie, served as a centrepiece at feasts. It is a standing pie — it is not made in a dish, but ‘built’ on a baking sheet. Traditionally, the layers include salmon, sautéed mushrooms and cooked rice. “It is a standing pie — not made in a dish, but ‘built’ on a sheet” I first became aware of koulibiac as a child. My grandmother’s second husband was a Russian émigré, whose family had fled Russia when he was a child. We ate some Russian dishes at their house in France, but it was my mother who found an authentic recipe for the pie in the Time Life book Russian Cooking. This one is not dissimilar, but I find the rice element too stodgy so I have…

SPORTING BALLISTITE The smokeless powders I have written about recently were all bulk powders. Bulk powders were made to deliver the same pressure as the equivalent volume of blackpowder. This was useful, because a loader could use the same measure for loading cartridges, whether using the standard three drams of blackpowder or an equal volume of, for example, EC powder. However, Sporting Ballistite, made by Nobel Industries, was a dense powder not a bulk powder, meaning less of it was needed to produce the same pressure. Home-loaders had to be wary of dense powders because it was easy to overload and cause cartridges to exert too much pressure. In extreme cases, this could damage the gun. Sporting Ballistite was a gelatinised powder loaded into cartridges with cone-shaped bases and special…

I expect that most people who have pheasants piling up in the shed and taking over the freezer are thoroughly sick of eating the bird by now. Game pie, roast pheasant with bacon, pan-fried pheasant breast with wild mushrooms – all excellent, of course, but very traditional and, dare I say it, tending to the conservative. We forget that the pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, is a highly exotic bird with no close native relatives and yet we cook it like our grandmothers used to — traditional and British. I was bemoaning a surfeit of pheasant — not, in the great scheme of things, something that anyone has any business complaining about — to a friend who suggested I make a Thai green curry with it. Just the breasts, you understand —…

The silence that precedes any shoot day, never mind the last day of the season, enveloped me. Suddenly my attention was drawn towards a glint on a neighbouring Gun’s barrels. It was the last day before the November lockdown. Sun glinting on barrels in the High Pennines in early November is a rare sight and it somehow signalled that a very special day was about to begin. Unlike so many other shoots, this day had been planned well in advance to take advantage of the abundant stocks of grouse in this part of the Pennines in 2020. They were not trying to beat the lockdown. We were blessed with the most remarkable weather that any upland area could wish for and that created a feel-good factor that was memorable. As…

Farewell to country cook Prue Coats Shooting Timeswas saddened to learn of the death of Prue Coats, who died at the age of 95 on 26 October. Prue was the wife of the late Archie Coats, a legendary figure in the world of pigeon shooting. She was for many years a columnist and cookery writer for Shooting Timesandpublished several books, among them Prue’s Perfect Guide to the Shoot Lunchand The Poacher’s Cookbook: Game and Country Recipes. West of Scotland in Level 4 lockdown Shoots across the west of Scotland have been forced to close as councils from Stirlingshire to South Ayrshire go into Level 4 restrictions — the highest of Scotland’s five-tier system. As well as preventing gatherings, the restrictions block non-essential movement into or out of Level 4 council…

This is David Woodhouse and his eight-year-old springador, Duke. David says Duke is possibly the best gundog that he has ever owned, and he has been training gundogs for most of his life. He has always been concerned about the effect that the noise from the guns would have on the dogs’ hearing so decided to try to introduce ear defenders to Duke at a young age and now he sits patiently waiting for them to be placed on his head. As you can see from the photo, he is comfortable wearing the ear defenders. The pictures were taken by David’s wife Juliette and we thought if everyone could see this image, it would perhaps encourage more people to try to protect their dog’s ears. Kay Brownsword, by email…

Ingredients FOR THE PIGEON 3 PIGEON 1 BAY LEAF 1 SPRIG THYME 50G BUTTER FOR THE ROOT VEGETABLE MASH 100G CARROTS 100G SWEDE 100G CELERIAC 100G SQUASH 100G PARSNIPS 100G SWEET POTATOES 100G BUTTER 1 CLOVE GARLIC 1 SPRIG ROSEMARY FOR THE BRAISED RED CABBAGE 1 RED CABBAGE, FINELY SLICED 1 BOTTLE RED WINE 10ML WHITE WINE VINEGAR 30G DEMERARA SUGAR 40G REDCURRANT JELLY 1 CINNAMON STICK 2 JUNIPER BERRIES 2 STAR ANISE 1 BAY LEAF 1 SPRIG THYME FOR THE BEANS IN BACON (PER BUNDLE) 20G BLANCHED FRENCH BEANS 1 RASHER STREAKY BACON FOR THE SPINACH 100G BABY SPINACH 20G BUTTER FOR THE SPINACH 1 Pick the large stalks off the spinach, wash the leaves and dry well. 2 Wilt down using butter, salt and nutmeg. THE METHOD…

The Sauer came fitted with a Minox ZX5 3-15 x 56mm scope, quick-detach mounts and a Sauer Titanium Pro sound moderator that proved highly effective in the Scottish gloom. For a cheap gun the Sauer shot very well. Hornady SST 150-gr loads shot a 1in group for three shots at 2,794fps and 2,601ft/lb, while the Remington Core Lokt 150-gr shot just over 1in at 2,771fps and 2,558ft/lb. The Barnes 165-gr TSX all-copper loads shot consistent 1in groups too at 2,644fps and 2,561ft/lb. Reloads fared better as expected. The best load I could manage was the new Sierra tipped GameKing 150-gr bullets, achieving 2,785fps for 2,584ftlb energy with 43.25 grains of Vit N135 powder for 0.75in three-shot groups at 100 yards. A lighter load using 125-gr Nosler Ballistic Tips with 48.0…

Back on a sunny day in early autumn, I sat on a bench overlooking the sea on the East Anglia coast, watching the world and his dog walk by. Dog walking is a funny business. I walk my dogs on a wooded heath not far from home. We rarely meet many other people, but we have got to know the regulars. Gundogs, mainly working-bred though not worked, accompany the great majority of fellow walkers. Cockers are most common, followed by labradors and then springers. Cockapoos have become remarkably numerous, labradoodles less so. Curiously, in all the years I have walked the heath, I’ve never encountered a single bulldog, while sightings of French bulldogs are exceedingly rare, as are those of Staffordshire bull terriers and pugs. Yet all four are reputedly…

Latin name: Molinia caerulea Common name: Purple moor grass Other names: Indian grass, lavender grass How to spot it and where to find it: A perennial herb, purple moor grass is found in a wide variety of habitats, though it likes the moisture of open heath, moors, bogs and fens. It is a tolerant plant, however, that can fare just as well on mountain cliffs and grasslands, stony lake margins and open woodland, particularly birch. It forms clumps of basal foliage, with purple flowers held aloft or arching gracefully on slender stalks. The leaves are grey green above and dark green beneath. Unusually for a grass, it is deciduous. Interesting facts: There has been an increase in purple moor grass in some areas of the UK, which concerns farmers as…

1 Hunters flask RRP: £79.99 farlows.co.uk An ideal gift for the winter wildfowler, this 10oz flask comes with four cups. So it is perfect for days out in the field and for sharing with a fellow fowler on those cold mornings or evenings on the foreshore. 2 Bradley smoker RRP: £399 bradleysmoker.co.uk This smokehouse, which is sold complete with a smoke generator, burns flavour bisquettes for 20 minutes each so the temperature does not fluctuate and the food is not tainted with an aftertaste. While other smokers need to be tended constantly, the Bradley automatically produces clean, cool smoke for up to nine hours safely and without intervention, so you can relax. 3 Beretta Lite Active jacket RRP: £239.95 gmk.co.uk A smart, modern-looking, lighter weight jacket, the…

A letter from a professor calling grouse moors “ecological deserts” appeared recently in a national Sunday newspaper. It sparked a timely response from Ross Ewing of BASC Scotland, whose own letter made the professor look rather ill-informed. I would not blame some readers of the professor’s letter for assuming that he must be active in the field of moorland ecology. After all, he was clearly labelled ‘professor’ and that carries weight. Yet it turns out that he is long retired, being in his 86th year. And when he was working, his area of study was rural planning and development within the geography department of a university. He seems to be keen on writing letters to newspapers on various matters. He may be perfectly entitled to call himself an ‘emeritus professor’…

WHEN GAME WAS A SPECIAL FOOD David Tomlinson’s viewpoint (We’ve got to go lead-free, 11 November) is based on the false premise that if Waitrose says it will not accept game shot with lead that is reason enough to change to lead alternatives. Many people who shoot do not contribute to the unsustainable numbers of dead game looking for a market that will never exist. Many prefer to shoot a bag that is shared between participants, friends and some local food outlets. The fact that everyone who uses small-bore shotguns or those with damascus barrels should be damned because there are too many gamebirds in the supply chain is shameful. There will never be a market for the current annual bag because — and I appreciate that this is going…

Last week, it was my privilege to stand in glorious parkland, studded with ancient oaks, chestnuts and beeches, and shoot pheasants. The leaves were at their exuberant best with the palette of reds, yellows and oranges at its most fiery in the gloom of a dreich November afternoon. But the stars of the show were the larches flecking the giant stands of conifers with gold on the hills above us. Our host, a keen and knowledgeable forester, as many Dumfriesshire lairds are, bemoaned the fact that they had succumbed to the deadly Phytophthora ramorum and were due to be clear felled. He is not going to replant with any larches, nor would he be granted permission to do so. The character of the Scottish landscape will be changed forever and…

In 1982, when I started as a trainee game adviser with the GWCT, we had a rule of thumb that it took about eight tons of food per 1,000 pheasant poults to feed through release, shooting and into late winter for those left. Today, for most shoots, that figure has risen to about 10 tons. If you subtract the two tons of grower pellets that are needed to make sure the poults develop properly, there has been a 33% increase in wheat used. I have no doubt that a part of this increase is what is needed to feed into the spring. GWCT research in the 1990s showed that the then conventional approach of feeding to the end of March left a hungry gap. A couple of extra months of…

Accuracy Good dependable accuracy from both factory and reloads Handling Lightweight and not worried about scratching this one Trigger Crisp let off and safe Stock Simple design and tough, and better for it Value Sauer technology at a realistic price point Overall score You’ll feel instantly at home with this rifle…

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 Contact the team Email: stanswers@futurenet.com By post:…

During the 19th century, firearms technology advanced very quickly. Some idea of the speed of this can be gained by considering that in 1815, the Battle of Waterloo was fought with muzzle-loading flintlock muskets. Their ignition was not particularly reliable — especially in wet weather — their top rate of fire was only about three rounds a minute and their accuracy was negligible at ranges greater than 100 yards. A century later during World War I, the combatants had mechanically reliable rifles capable of firing 30 aimed shots a minute at an effective range of about 600 yards. That is a huge advance in a relatively short time. It is probably this rapidity of development that accounts for my interest in 19th-century firearms. There was such a fertility of ideas…