Innholdsfortegnelse for 14-Apr-2021 i Shooting Times & Country

Some years ago on the River Nith, Rab Kerr, the then river manager on the Buccleuch Estate, said to me that when he was a young man, poaching was a big problem, and much of his life was taken up with trying to keep local lads off the river. A year or two later, Rab’s son, Scott, who took over from him, said to me he reckoned he could probably drive a minibus into Dumfries and ask all the boys hanging about if they fancied a free day’s fishing only to return with the bus as empty as it was when he set out. Sadly, Scott Kerr was made redundant two seasons ago. It simply didn’t add up to have somebody full time when so few people were fishing. Nobody…

It has been a time of huge change here. Our suckler herd is now fading into memory. And the patchwork of stubble, plough and grass we once had at this time of year, with our old mixed beef and arable operation, has given way to a sea of grass. I would never have imagined how much grass until we adopted the new mob-grazing system. Some fields have been grazed twice already and spring has barely begun. The milking herd is now up to around 500 with only a few cows left to calve, or kept separate while any medical problems are dealt with. We are grazing them in tight paddocks and so they look, from a distance, like a herd of wildebeest on the Serengeti. The queue for milking snakes…

The orchard looks like a summer sky filled with billowing clouds. The trees have thrown off their drab winter colours and burst into a rolling landscape of creams and whites, like a marquee decked out for a country wedding. The blossom is irresistible to insects of all sorts and each row of trees hums with life. My wife and I keep everything crossed that the frosts and winter storms are behind us and that the busy flies and bees will pollinate a good harvest. Lizzie plums are an early-flowering variety and ours are planted on a rather exposed north-facing slope. They produce plum harvests that are either feast or famine. In the best years, restaurants with names as illustrious as the Roux brothers are keen to buy the succulent fruit…

With all the news about new rules for trapping stoats, and changes to general licences for corvid control, it’s easy to forget that there are other predators out there that we need to address, and now is a good time to be on the case. With most of our game nesting, and lots of other wildlife that stands to benefit from our activities, spring is a key time to control common generalists, including the American mink. In the late 1960s, my father spent several years of his Ministry of Agriculture career working on improving mink control. Indeed, he got so familiar with them that he christened the species ‘inky stinky’; not a bad name for an inky-black predator with a propensity for evacuating its far from sweet-smelling scent glands when…

THERE’S ONE PIECE of advice for the would-be gundog owner in every book I have: if you want a puppy to bring on as a gundog, make sure you buy one from working stock. It’s really such an obvious piece of advice that it hardly bears repeating, while I have never met anyone who has deliberately bought a show-bred dog with the aim of making it into a worker. I have, however, met many people with show-bred dogs, bought initially as pets, who have attempted to turn them into workers. As a teenager, I had a show-bred cocker that I tried, unsuccessfully, to make a shooting dog. Looking back, I believe that I might have succeeded if I’d tried training him as a puppy, as he certainly had some basic…

Back in the 1980s, when London had only a few good and authentic ethnic restaurants, we’d make a journey to south London to an Indonesian restaurant in Battersea that was run by the characterful Nancy Lam. The flavours of her food can only be described as explosive. As was the chef. If anyone was too demanding, she used to roundly berate them — mostly the men at the table. We did not mind. Her food was so fascinating, so different, we would have put up with anything to eat there. Dishes such as pork or chicken satay were new to us, as was nasi goreng, the best of south-east Asian fried-rice dishes, to my mind. I make a version with grated carrot that has a comforting sweetness — such a…

FERRET MUZZLES Edwardian ferrets must have been wild little things because everyone seemed to sell ferret muzzles in gun catalogues, which were full of ephemera relating to shooting sports and pest control. The muzzle had a bar that went through the mouth, like a horse’s bit, and the ring fastened the jaws closed around it. The canine teeth stopped the bar sliding forwards and the ring stopped the jaws from opening. They even came in three sizes. The price ranged from 5p to 7p each in the first quarter of the 20th century.…

The deadline on the petition started by Shooting Timescontributor Ed Coles to increase the penalties for poaching and hare coursing is rapidly approaching. Sign it while you still have the chance at bit.ly/coursingpetition With the season now here, it is time to hunt one of the UK’s smartest, most beautiful and tastiest quarry species — the roebuck. If you are not lucky enough to have your own ground, there is likely to be a commercial operator nearby who can offer dawn and dusk outings.…

Keep calm and bid on a lockdown rifle If you ever need to be reminded to ‘keep calm and carry on’ while shooting, gunmaker John Rigby & Co may have the rifle for you .Ten rifles were made during the spring 2020 COVID-19 lockdown while the gunmakers were living at Rigby’s Pensbury Place headquarters. Each one has the famous wartime slogan engraved into it. Number one of the set will be sold by auction, with the sale proceeds to be donated to the NHS. If you miss out on that one, nine others will be offered for £14,950 plus VAT. Botswana restarts trophy hunting Trophy hunting operations have restarted in Botswana after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the abandonment of last season’s licensed cull. This year, licences have been issued to…

When we think about mink control, we tend to think about water vole conservation, but there are lots of other reasons. Most predators will ‘surplus kill’ given abundant prey, but mink are particularly strong on this, hence the mayhem if one gets among your newly released poults in their pen. Similarly, one visit to a nesting gull or tern colony on a little island is all that it takes to destroy the lot. They will also kill nesting ducks and waders, spawning trout and other fish. The League Against Cruel Sports may be of the view that they should be an honorary native, but most rational people would disagree.…

I like the scratch-resistant, satin black/ blued finish on the action and barrel. Being non-reflective, it is perfect for hunting and stealthy stalking. The Nikko Metor 3-12x56 30mm illuminated scope was fitted via a 6in one-piece aluminium-blacked Picatinny rail and the quick-detachable 30mm low mounts are supplied as part of the package. As expected, accuracy was good. Lightweight Winchester 55-gr Ballistic Silvertips shot 1in groups at 3,406fps and 1,417ft/lb energy, while the good all-rounder Hornady SST 75-gr ST loads shot 3,308fps and 1,822ft/lb with three shots in 0.85in. A lead-free option is the Federal Barnes Triple-Shock 85-gr bullets, which shot 3,061fps for 1,769ft/lb and 1.25in groupings. For large-species deer, then either the Norma Soft Point 100-gr, at 2,874fps and 1,834ft/lb with 0.95in groups, or the Geco Softpoint 105-gr, at 2,773fps,…

It’s nearly half a century since I first met Keith Howman. I was covering a day’s shooting, won in a Game Conservancy raffle, for Shooting Times. Keith was one of the Guns and we soon discovered that we shared an interest in rare pheasants. A few years later, Keith was one of the founders of the World Pheasant Association (WPA). I’ve remained in contact with Keith ever since and followed his exploits in establishing the WPA in Asia, visiting Pakistan no fewer than 19 times. Though I thought I knew Keith well, I didn’t appreciate his passion for game fishing. All is revealed in his memoirs, aptly titled A Well Travelled Life, in which we discover that he and his wife, Jean, have fished in 34 countries, from Argentina to…

Latin name: Glechoma hederacea Common name: Ground ivy Other names: Alehoof, blue runner, candlesticks, cat’s paws, creeping charlie, crow’s guts, devil’s candlestick, field balsam, gill-go-by-the-street, hayfoot, hedge maids, hen and chickens, robin-run-away, turnhoof, wild snakeroot How to spot it and where to find it: An evergreen, creeping plant of woodlands, hedgerows and damp ground, ground ivy is often found in large clumps, carpeting the ground with pretty — and highly scented — blue or violet flowers. Its bright green leaves are kidney shaped, with toothed margins and grow out from the stem on longish stalks. The upper surface of the leaves is coated with bristly hairs, as are the stems. Interesting facts: Despite the name, ground ivy is actually part of the large and varied mint family, and related to…

A biting northerly wind is chilling me to the bone as I make my way about my daily rounds. Pausing as I open a gate, I’m always taken by surprise by the speed of the growth in the arable crops on the estate. Seeds sown in the autumn in a hurried but organised fashion quickly sprout and then are curbed by nature’s need for rest in the winter months. As the days lengthen and the clocks change, all vegetation begins to take on a new urgency. This sprouting of the new season is a welcome reminder that summer is around the corner. Grey partridges have been paired for almost a couple of months now. Territorial disputes still erupt between neighbouring pairs and are usually settled quickly with only a few…

Are you experiencing pain or bruising in your face, shoulder or second finger of your trigger hand? Practising your mount in a mirror — are you having to adjust to align your eye over the rib? Closed eye gun mount — mount your gun on a ceiling corner and close your eyes as you do it. Open them immediately afterwards — are you having to correct your alignment? Traditionally, point of impact was assessed by mounting and firing at a pattern board or sheet with a centre cross at 16 yards with a tight choke. Is the pattern where you want it to be? If you suspect any problems, engage a good shooting instructor or coach…

Harnessing the force of gunpowder to save lives is a relatively novel concept. After all, guns project missiles that are designed to kill or injure. How about a gun designed to carry a line to people trapped on a wrecked ship? The basic idea was that if a light line could be projected to people trapped on a ship, that could then be used to haul a stouter rope across, which the stranded sailors could use to escape. I suspect the concept is a lot older than guns as arrows have always been used for many purposes — for example, carrying fire, fitted with whistling heads for signalling and blunt-tipped ones to carry written messages. Tying a light line to an arrow would be a practicable way to get it…

It is hard not to like the Contractor. Howa has been making rifles for a long time now and knows a thing or two about a good, reliable and affordable bolt action. Three red hinds were harvested during the field test, proving that you can rely on a Howa Contractor to bring home the venison. Accuracy Howa rifles always shoot well and this Contractor is no exception Handling A nimble, well-balanced stalking rifle that won’t tire you out Trigger Adjustable for weight and travel and safe to use in all weather conditions Stock The Hogue synthetic stock is light, rugged and comfortable — ideal for stalking Value Good value considering how well the Howa Contractor shot in the tests Overall score A reliable and affordable bolt action for real-world stalking…

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…

There is a story about a business tycoon who held the lease on a famous grouse moor. One day, he rang the keeper and asked for a day’s shooting to be laid on for a certain date in the near future. Slightly flustered by this sudden addition to his carefully planned shoot calendar, the keeper asked who the other Guns were. “Nobody,” replied his boss. “It’s just me.” Taken aback, the keeper said it would be difficult to get a decent bag on each drive if only a single butt was occupied. The tycoon said, testily, that he’d give his chauffeur a gun. Would that do? I am assured this story is true, though I have heard it in various permutations over the years. I suspect it’s one of those…