Innholdsfortegnelse for 17-Mar-2021 i Shooting Times & Country

I’ve always been proud of what a varied lot Shooting Times readers are. Only last week, I found myself talking wildfowling with a reader who lives on the Holkham estate and not long after I put the phone down, I had another call from a keen Shooting Times- reading wildfowler who lives in Iraq. Two days after the long-distance call, I was walking around Burgess Park, which lies between Bermondsey and Peckham. There’s a coffee place nearby that my girlfriend likes, but in truth I only ever want to go to see the fishing. It sounds an unlikely spot, set against the backdrop of flats and London buses, but those who know it well will tell you that as far as carp and roach go, it’s the best place in…

POINTS OF VIEW Honest and truthful journalism, particularly in our arena, should always be respected. You printed Graham Downing’s muntjac piece (The heat is on, 10 February), which I enjoyed. This raised some criticism from Mr Lorne, whose points were important (Letters, 3 March). Yet many readers will wonder why you didn’t add an ‘editorial’ response. Mr Lorne’s agenda saddened me slightly, attacking a fellow shooter. But the responsibility for printing the piece sat with Shooting Times. If there was anything in the article that breached good practice, it should never have been published. Over to you, sir. Ian Barnett, Norfolk The Editor responds: Nothing in Graham’s piece breached good practice. People have differing points of view and it is right that we give them all space. BARD ADVICE You…

The tide is in under a cold, clear sky and, consequently, we are blanketed in a thick haar, or sea fog — the natural equivalent of running a hot bath in a cold bathroom. They are more of a feature of life on the east coast, but we get them in the mornings on the Solway sometimes as well. It is frustrating, as I know that a mile inland it will be a lovely day. The sun’s attempts at burning through are like spring’s nascent efforts. It seems tantalisingly close – I broke out into ‘shirtsleeve order’ for the first time a few days ago – and there are signs of life stirring everywhere. The pigeon are paired up, gliding around contentedly like smitten lovers and cooing in the woods.…

Pikes’ colonisation of closed waters has been studied by natural history greats such as Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, who theorised that fish eggs could be transported and dispersed by birds. Though there is little modern scientific evidence to confirm this theory, we do know that fish eggs are sticky and can survive out of water for some time, showing there may be some truth in birds playing a role in pike colonisation. However, it is more likely that human introduction for a food source or more recently for sport fishing has allowed pike to colonise UK still waters so effectively.…

Semi-automatic rimfires are all about reliability. Accuracy is also key, but if they fail to reload you might as well buy a bolt action. I sighted in the A22 at 50 yards, initially fitted with the supplied Bushnell Compact scope and SAK moderator, and it was hefty but very steady to shoot. The A22 feels more like a centrefire in the hand, but that extra weight makes it feel totally dead to shot and you can see those slow subsonics travelling downrange. Being primarily a hunting gun, use with a moderator dictates subsonic ammunition. Some semis struggle with low-velocity ammunition but the A22 was not fickle at all – even the slow RWS and Norma subsonics at below 950fps velocity were reliable. Accuracy was a little pickier but the best…

For those of us who enjoy competing with our dogs, 2020 was a year best forgotten. A few trials and tests did take place, but not many, and all the major championships were abandoned. Whether cancelling outdoor events, where the chance of catching COVID-19 was negligible, really made sense is debatable but, due to the lockdowns, there was sadly no choice. However, what happened is history and, with the great success of the vaccine roll-out, we can now start to look forward to returning to normal. The Kennel Club is showing commendable enthusiasm for getting trials, tests and shows back, and is currently conducting an online survey to gauge public support for a return to competitions. You can take part by visiting thekennelclub.org.uk/returntoevents but you will have to be quick,…

Most people are aware of the need to clean a gun’s barrels, but many overlook the chambers, which is where corrosion can start — especially the forcing cones, leading from the chamber into the bore. Because the chamber is wider than the bore, a standard cleaning head will not fit, so a special chamber brush was often supplied with the gun, in addition to the cleaning rods and heads. The example pictured is typical. It has a horn handle and brass fittings, the stiff-bristle brush is closely packed, and the short handle allows for vigorous scrubbing. To protect the gun case baize from becoming fouled, the brush is provided with a metal slip-over cover to enclose the bristles during storage or transportation.…

Moonlight revealed the eerie shape of a heron as it came into my peripheral vision. I watched with interest as the bird cautiously and purposefully moved along the margin of a small pond. Spotting a possible target, the heron’s body shape changed to master predator, engaging the perfect stance to launch an attack on the unsuspecting victim. With the power of a released coiled spring, the heron struck into the water and produced a small morsel that was eagerly devoured. Silently, and without disturbance, the bird started the process over again. The similarities to my purpose was profound. An hour earlier, I had made my way silently and cautiously along the pond edge, slipping into one of the duck butts, my movements reminiscent of the stealth and weightless foot movement…

If you plan to shoot this year, now is the time to book. Deposits coming into shoots at this time of year are vital to their cash flow, allowing them to buy birds for the season ahead. Holding off on making bookings until the season is under way is likely to leave shoots and game farms in a very perilous situation. Spring is the optimum time to use Larsen traps to reduce corvid numbers and give struggling groundnesters a chance. The laws on using Larsen traps have changed over the past few years and you should check with your shooting or gamekeeping organisation if you are at all unclear over legal issues.…

A stolen springer spaniel has been recovered after a late-night high-speed chase through the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire countryside. Lupin was snatched from a farm near Hallaton in Leicestershire at around 10.15pm. However, the thieves quickly found themselves in trouble when their transport was detected by a Lincolnshire Police armed response vehicle. The driver refused to stop and a dramatic chase through the country roads followed. Nottinghamshire police joined the hunt at 11.40pm when the vehicle entered the county near Newark. A police spokesman said: “Nottinghamshire Police initiated a pursuit utilising both forces’ operational support resources and the vehicle was followed through Newark before being abandoned in Besthorpe.” The suspected thieves fled into the night. Despite a search involving officers from both forces, supported by police dogs, they were not found.…

The news that most pheasants are still being shot with lead (News, 10 March) is hardly surprising. In common with most shooters, I buy my cartridges in modest bulk and, at any one time, I am likely to have enough for two or three years in stock. Having used non-lead alternatives for all of my wildfowling for 25 years, I have no concern over making the switch for game and pigeon too, but I have no intention of throwing away a couple of thousand lead cartridges. So in a year or so, I shall be buying steel with biodegradable wads for all of my shooting, and I would encourage everyone else to do likewise. Our credibility as working conservationists is at stake here. We all need to embrace this change…

Until practicable revolver designs had been perfected in the 1830s, the only way to increase a gun’s firing rate was to give it multiple barrels that could either all fire at once or could be selected to fire at the user’s pleasure. The number of barrels was generally limited to a maximum of three, mainly due to considerations of weight. That said, there were guns built with greater numbers of barrels; for example, Samuel Nock’s seven-barrelled ‘volley’ gun of 1780, which had limited service in the Royal Navy. The pistol equivalent of the volley gun was the ‘duck’s foot’, which had four barrels mounted on a single breech plate. This bizarre-looking firearm was given its name because the way that the barrels were mounted reminded people of a duck’s webbed…

Accuracy A tad fussy but good overall Handling Barrel a little too long Trigger AccuTrigger system is good for a semi-auto Stock Solid, rugged and weatherproof Value Reliable and very good in parts Overall score A bit hefty but reliable and accurate with the right ammo…

Latin name: Helleborus viridis Common name: Green hellebore Other names: Bastard hellebore, bear’s foot, boar’s foot, pegroots, fellon grass How to spot it and where to find it: Shy and demure, the green hellebore has a dainty beauty — if you are lucky enough to see one. Look for it in woodland glades, banks and hedgerows, especially on limestone or chalk. It has palmate dark-green, toothed leaves, which appear after clusters of delicate apple-green flowers set off by bright yellow stamens. Interesting facts: Hellebores are members of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae; the flower structure and shape of the leaves gives this away. An old name for hellebore is Melampodium, referring to the physician of ancient Greece who used the milk of goats fed on hellebore to cure the daughters of…

I sometimes wonder if today’s Armed Forces face an uphill struggle in recruiting young people, given fashionable attitudes to firearms and fieldsports. Or do humans, being hunters by nature, have certain instinctive aptitudes that no amount of modern-day channelling and cosseting can suppress? To give an example, about 20 years ago I worked on a communications campaign aimed at helping Army recruitment. A senior officer revealed that research had shown a major motivating factor for students who joined their university officer training corps was the desire to shoot guns. “But we are simply not allowed to say that publicly,” he said. When conscription was still on the boil, many more civilians would have had a familiarity with firearms. Long after that era, when I was patrolling the streets of Northern…

Scotland enjoyed a stronger-than-expected fishing season last year, with the summer providing exceptional catches on some rivers. Over the past two months, the country’s major salmon rivers have published their annual reports. The general picture is that, despite very significant disruption, catches were up. The Spey recorded 5,622 salmon and grilse caught, which is a 10% increase on the 5,090 caught in 2019. The Dee did less well but, despite the effect of the lockdowns and travel restrictions, it finished the season just 500 fish short of its five-year average. Approximately 5,500 fish were landed on the Tay, with the Covid disruption believed to have reduced catches by 500 to 1,000 fish. This was the third consecutive year of improvement for the river since an all-time low in 2018. The…

Curlew and lapwing benefit from project A group of Shropshire farmers are working with the GWCT to restore biodiversity. The Corvedale Farmland Wildlife Project is a collaborative effort to bring back vanishing birds such as the curlew and the grey partridge. Dr Roger Draycott, who is leading the project for the GWCT, said: “In developing this new demonstration project we are aiming to show that by following our tested, research-based management measures for grey partridge recovery, including habitat improvements and predation control, other species such as curlew and lapwing will benefit.” For the project GWCT advisers are developing land management plans, including crop rotations, cover crops, pasture and water management for a minimum of five years. French deer ‘deserve peace’ French hunters have refused to continue shooting deer despite a…

Think of grey partridge habitat and most of us will imagine the flatlands of East Anglia; arable country and the tight cover of carefully managed hedgerows. It’s interesting to realise that many of the associations we make with partridge habitat are actually quite recent. These beautiful and exciting birds have declined so rapidly over the past half-century that it’s now hard to see them as our predecessors saw them; a widespread and adaptable bird with the ability to thrive in all manner of different habitats. As a good example, I love listening to the tales of sporting folk in Wales who remember shooting extraordinary numbers of partridges around the mine workings and spoil heaps of major industrial sites during the 1970s. It’s a telling reminder that, while we have come…

I ate a version of this dish not long before Christmas last year, in what seemed like a brief outbreak of unlocked freedom. The venue was the Fox Inn at Corscombe, Dorset, a pub that has recently been taken over by the chef Mark Hix. He was born in Dorset, yet for many years has used his talents in a number of acclaimed restaurants in London. He returned to open the Oyster and Fish House in Lyme Regis, throwing himself back into Dorset coastal life. In 2012, he founded Food Rocks, a food festival that generates cash for local charities. He is a friend of mine, and I loved working at the festival — a perfect model of organised chaos. His restaurant empire fell into administration in spring last year…

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 ELLENA SWIFT Award-winning gundog trainer and canine behaviour specialist 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: Shooting…

1 Seeland Skeet softshell jacket RRP: £94.99 gb.seeland.com The Seeland Skeet was designed utilising the expertise of pro Trap shooters, but we have found that it is also the perfect layer in the pigeon hide. Its generous fit allows you to shoot to the best of your ability, and it’s ideal for cool spring days. 2 Eley VIP Steel Pro Eco Wad cartridges RRP: £339 / 1,000 justcartridges.com These squibs are the first of their kind to be loaded by a UK manufacturer. Not only are they steel, but the non-plastic wad also dissolves in the rain. Many of our writers have used them on pigeon and the consensus is they really do the business. 3 Capriolo boot RRP: £179 brandecosse.com Wellingtons won’t do during warm pigeon-shooting…