Innholdsfortegnelse for 07-Jul-2021 i Shooting Times & Country

A shoot in Sussex has lost 400 poults to a fox attack after the locks on their pen were forced. James Robinson, who has run the Hundred Acre Shoot for nearly 30 years, told the Facebook group Wivelsfield Life: “I’m sad to report that a member of our community has shown a complete lack of respect, understanding and tolerance for people with different views to their own. Yesterday, the gates to one of our pheasant pens were tampered with and forced open, resulting in the death of 400 young pheasants.” Speaking to Shooting Times, Mr Robinson said it was only the second problem of that type he had experienced in all the time he had been at the shoot. He explained what he thought motivated the attack — “it is…

A Dutch hunter who shot a wolf that was attacking three hunting dogs has been acquitted by a German court. Jan Boomkamp, 71, was in a high seat during a driven hunt near Berlin when he first spotted the animal. Mr Boomkamp told the Dutch paper AD: “He looked at me and I at him. He was not very impressed by my presence. I waved at him and he disappeared.” However, the wolf soon reappeared and attacked a German wirehaired pointer and two German hunting terriers. Mr Boomkamp tried to drive the animal away by shouting and clapping then by firing a warning shot, but it did not retreat. Fearful that the wolf would kill the dogs, Mr Boomkamp shot it. Wolves have full protected status in Germany and can…

We had planned to go shark fishing. Taking two big rods and reels bought from eBay, a bucket of chum made in the garden, out of sight, secretly using my wife’s electric mincer, and a packet of party balloons to serve as floats. But the word on Lyme Bay from the trawlermen, netters and Pete the lobsterman was, don’t do it. Too early. Give it a month. Everything in the English Channel is happening later than normal. Mackerel, a month late. Bream, late. Bass, late. Spawning, late. So, me and the two Pauls decided we should go ray fishing instead. And there’s the rub. We ‘decided’ to go ray fishing. We made a conscious decision to target one specific fish species in a quadrillion square metres of murky sea water.…

While I’m the first to admit that a shotgun is usually the best option for controlling corvids over open ground, there are plenty of times when an airgun is a more appropriate choice. The former will usually help you to make the necessary big bags when crows and rooks are descending on seed drills, but the latter will always win out when you need to take a more discreet approach. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been helping a farmer friend to thin out the hordes of crows and jackdaws that have been raiding his silage heaps. Though he has covered this valuable feed as best he can, the scavenging corvids are relentless and have still been flocking to the end that is usually left open for machines…

Those featured in this column to date have nearly a century of experience between them — some with wild birds, some with reared, one on a part-time basis. So I was keen to quiz 20-year-old Lily Twigger, a recent graduate from gamekeeping college, on her entry to the sector. It’s a well-trodden pathway that led Lily to her gamekeeping (Level 3 Land and Wildlife Management) diploma at Newton Rigg in Cumbria. From the age of five, she frequented the beating line of the local walk one, stand one shoots in mid-Wales with her father. “The Guns were fantastic and always made me feel very welcome,” she said. “Then a family friend was kind enough to give me my first dog — a cocker spaniel I named Shirley — and that…

If you asked an experienced pigeon shooter to name the highlights of his year, I’m pretty certain that the time of the newly sown peas would come reasonably high on his list. Pigeons have an uncanny instinct for a good thing. Shrivelled, bullet-hard seed peas are one of them. To human eyes they look like a shortcut to a bad attack of heartburn in the gizzard, but not to a pigeon. You can drill peas. Roll them. Choose any way you can devise to cover them with a decent coating of soil, and the pigeons will still find them. I was invited to have a go at defending such a crop on some of the rich Hampshire acres over which Archie Coats mounts guard. There were five large fields of…

An attempt to stir up trouble for TV presenter Phil Spencer over his decision to try deerstalking in 2011 has met with stinging rebukes from deer managers and conservation biologists. The 10-year-old video of Mr Spencer saying he was “absolutely chuffed to bits” with a fallow pricket he shot was dug up by animal rights activists. They spread the video across social media, where it was picked up by Dominic Dyer, former chief executive of the Badger Trust, who tweeted: “I expect Phil Spencer will be mobilising his friends in the media to say he is being demonised over shooting deer. The problem, Phil, is not so much the shooting, it’s the pleasure and joy you get from the killing of a wild animal. What next for you, a lion…

CHECK Go easy on hot pheasants, as the birds are prone to stress. In very hot weather, avoid disturbing them during the hottest parts of the day and always make sure they have easy access to plenty of clean drinking water. GATHER Organise a shoot social. A summer barbecue or picnic can be a great way to get your team back together before the season starts and to make them aware of any changes. If you missed out on most or all of the past season, it could be particularly important to check up on your beaters, pickers-up and helpers and to make sure they are fit and ready to go when the season starts.…

The bureaucratic chaos caused by the general licence revocation has been laid bare in information released by Defra. In an annual summary of the number of wildlife management licences issued, Defra revealed that after the general licences were revoked (News, 1 May 2019), it was forced to issue more than 850 individual licences. One applicant in Staffordshire was forced to apply for 19 different licences in order to maintain crow and magpie control. These included separate licences to shoot crows and magpies and, absurdly, one licence to kill magpies ‘by hand’ and another licence to ‘possess’ the dead magpies. Another applicant, who wished to destroy black-backed gull nests to ‘preserve public safety’, had to apply for five separate licences to destroy 10 nests. In the confusion, other applicants made multiple…

Your front cover asks “Are wildfowlers still using lead?” (23 June). This prompted me to go straight to the inside article to read more. I don’t know where the Conservation Evidence Journal obtained its estimate, but I suspect it was by examining ducks freely obtained through game dealers and extrapolating its findings. On that basis I’m certain the ducks shot were from organised inland shoots that have nothing to do with wildfowling. Ask any wildfowler and they will say their bag goes home for the pot. The rules within my own wildfowling club here in Colchester are very straightforward and very strict. If you don’t use non-toxic shot, you’re out, simple as that. I suspect that is echoed by other clubs throughout the land. Remember all wildfowlers are duck shooters…

On an October evening, as dusk is settling over the countryside, I can open the window of my east Suffolk farmhouse and hear the red deer roar. It is a thrilling, spine-tingling sound, caught on the autumn breeze as the big stags challenge for the privilege of covering the hinds and taking forward the red deer population of East Anglia. They are mighty beasts, indeed. When I once shot an 18½ stone (117kg) stag in the Highlands, I well remember how impressed the stalker was with its bodyweight. I also remember in painful detail the drag back to the nearest point to which he could get a vehicle. Compared with our East Anglian woodland deer, however, that Scottish stag was a mere stripling. In these parts, weights above 200kg are…

Are the best Shots twitchers?” asked a good friend while we were having a serious chat about shooting. Having given the matter some thought, whether or not it is true on a technical level, it most certainly is true when applied to the enjoyment of every day spent out with a gun. Never will I forget an early morning outing in north Norfolk on a coastal heath, when a nightingale was so beautifully singing in scrub adjacent to the lane. A shaft of sunlight penetrated deep into the darkness of that thicket and lit up the bird within touching distance. With its inclined open beak and inner pink throat, a clear, unique flow of notes made magical music. That wonderful experience was shared with my great shooting friend, the late…

OUR VERDICT I have a high regard for the Italian firearms maker Benelli as its shotguns always buck the trend and it follows its own path in design and handling concepts. The 828U over-and-under shotgun is an eye-catcher, as are its famed semiautomatics. Now Benelli has designed its first bolt-action rifle, the Lupo, and it’s a cracker. We were lucky to get our hands on the first Lupo in the country back in February and, true to form, Benelli had excelled itself with a radical-looking and great-handling sporting bolt-action rifle. The key feature of the Lupo — Italian for wolf — is the futuristic but elegant design. Benelli has not held back with this modern-day fast-operating bolt-action rifle with detachable five-shot magazine. “The key to the Lupo — Italian for…

Golden plover are probably the most obscure and beautiful birds on the British quarry list. In full spring plumage, the males strike a gorgeous balance between rich gold, ice-white and black, and the effect is sure to make a lasting impression on human passers-by. Their call is soft and plaintive, evocative of marsh, moorland or mudflat. Hear it once and remember it forever. Outside the breeding season, the bird’s colours are softer and more subtle and this is when they are sometimes encountered by wildfowlers on the foreshore. Only a handful of plover are shot each year and, after 20 years of shooting across the UK, I have only ever seen a single bird killed. This was bagged when it rose from the slopes of a steep mountain near Cape…

You’ve got to admire the mink. They never chose to live in Britain, and the fact that we imported thousands of them to fuel a trade in luxury fur says more about us than it ever will about them. Ever since their big escape from fur farms in the 1960s, these predators have retained a steady background presence on coasts, canals, lakes, lochs and llyns, from Cornwall to Caithness. They are survivors, cast adrift in the world but making the best of it. Capturing that sense of opportunistic prosperity, the poet Ted Hughes celebrated their tenacious character in his poem The Merry Mink: “Since he’s here, he’s decided to like it... Little black thundercloud, lost from his mythology, a-boil with lightnings he can’t get rid of.” I often think of…

It was a sign that things are returning to normal when an invitation to the local hunt’s puppy show arrived in my inbox last month. For hunt supporters, the puppy show is one of the highlights of the summer — a chance to meet up with old friends, view the new entry and enjoy the cucumber sandwiches and Victoria sandwich cakes. I’m joking about the cucumber sandwiches, but a great selection of cakes is a racing certainty. For many hunt supporters, the puppy show is the only time they visit the hunt kennels, which are invariably freshly scrubbed, painted and looking their best. Most huntsmen take almost as much pride in their kennels as their hounds, so a great deal of hard work goes into preparing everything for the big…

A letter in the Daily Telegraph: “Hedgehogs are one of Britain’s most popular wild animals. Sadly, in New Zealand they are considered a nuisance and are all due to be exterminated. As these are the descendents of British hedgehogs, the obvious solution is to bring them home to Britain, where our dwindling population is heading for extinction.” This proposal has some merit. Conservationists are always shifting animals around the world. Look at the reintroduction of sea eagles to Scotland, with birds initially obtained from Norway, or Scottish golden eagle chicks being captured for release in Ireland. There is nothing new in this sort of international live export trade; in 1837, the capercaillie was reintroduced to Perthshire woodland, courtesy of sporting interests, with stock from Sweden. More recently, we’ve seen the…

The Welsh government has classed game shoots with strip clubs and illegal bookmakers as businesses it will not offer Covid recovery support to. After funding was refused to a shooting business in Wales, shooting and countryside organisations questioned how the decision had been made. The issue was raised by Hannah Blythyn MS, who asked for an explanation from Vaughan Gething, the Welsh Minister for the Economy. In a letter explaining the decision to withhold funding, the minister listed a series of activities that would not be supported — these included “gambling, pornography, offering sexual services” and “any kind of illegal activities”. He went on to say that “the Welsh government does not support activity which may lead to animal cruelty as a leisure activity” and that it would not support…

BASC has launched a qualification designed to give new entrants a route into game shooting. The Game Shooter Certificate is modelled on the Deer Stalking Certificate and is designed for people coming into game shooting from outside of the sport. Former British Army trainer Nick Lane, who is now BASC’s senior training development officer, explained the idea behind the course. He said: “It is intended for the new sportsman or woman who would like to get into the sport but doesn’t have someone to mentor them in the traditional way, or for the recent entrant who is looking to improve their skills and knowledge.” The course covers safety, firearms law and shotgun shooting, before the day, on the day, end of the day, etiquette, cartridges, taking the shot, gundogs, quarry…

French court bans glue-trap hunting A French court has effectively banned ‘glue hunting’ for songbirds. The practice of using sticky substances painted on to branches to catch birds is banned in the EU; however, a derogation in French law allowed it to continue. After a protracted legal dispute, the European Court of Justice found against the use of the traps and now France’s highest appeal court has ruled that the practice must end. Eric Camoin, president of the Association Nationale de Défense des Chasses Traditionnelles, said the court had “given in to the lobbying by the environment minister and by the enemies of hunting”. Pandemic effect on lowland deer The Covid pandemic has had a huge effect on lowland deer management, according to a new survey. The survey — commissioned…

I was so focused on watching a young brown hare that I hadn’t seen the fox. A barn owl had caught my attention first, its eyes glowing as it ghosted noiselessly over the meadow. Then my night sight picked out the dark silhouette of the hare, its ears unmistakable in the Pulsar scope. Beside it, three rabbits chased around the freshly cut hay. Then one behind seemed to jump up and take a seat atop a bale. That can’t be possible, I thought and refocused. A rabbit on a round bale? I squinted, adjusted the zoom, flicking from four-times magnification to eight. The hare moved slightly, its ears raised. The rabbits paused. What was it sitting so still on that bale? The lights of a car swept over the field…

Managing woodpigeon numbers to prevent crop damage makes driven pheasant shooting seem like a modern craze. All the way back in the mid-17th century, Gilbert White, Britain’s first naturalist, wrote of the importance of controlling woodies where turnips are being grown. Back then, they used muzzle-loaders and were therefore unable to shoot on the wing. Consequently, he writes of the effectiveness of shooting birds at roost and decoying stubbles using hand-carved decoys made from ash and beech. Moving into the 19th century, renowned game Shot Lord Walsingham discussed decoying, roosting and flighting to prevent crop damage in the Shooting: Field and Covert volume of the Badminton library, published in 1889. According to Walsingham, using stuffed woodpigeon as decoys for roost shooting and shooting over crops was often very succesful over…

Which magnum is better? RIFLES Q I am interested in the Savage B.Mag rifle in .17 Winchester Short Magnum (WSM) calibre. Is it any better than a .17 HMR? A I am a small-calibre fan, so when the .17 WSM was first announced in 2013, I was excited. I love the .17 calibre cartridges, but prefer the reloadable .17 Hornet, .17 Fireball or .17 Rem and, indeed, the .17 PPC to the smaller rimfire .17 HMR. But the .17 WSM stood out as a really cracking .17 rimfire cartridge with real potential for the reloading-shy shooter. The .17 WSM has an overall length of 40mm, with a neck diameter of 4.96mm and bullet diameter of 4.33mm (0.1705in). The case has a diameter of 6.81mm all the way to the shoulder.…

OIL BOTTLES Metal oil bottles were a standard accessory and appeared frequently in gun cases. Available in several different sizes and shapes, they were made with Britannia metal. The illustration shows (from left) a 2in oil bottle for a gun case (priced wholesale at 36s per dozen), 21/8in-deep oil bottle for a gun case (priced at 48s per dozen) and an oil or Vaseline pot with retractable dispenser (priced at 68s per dozen). Today, a good oil bottle might cost £30 to £40, but if it has been embossed with the name of a maker, it might cost as much as £100. They were made for the trade by Hawksley. DH…

THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELD The Anglo-Saxons knew July as ‘Heymonath’, which loosely translates as Hay Month. The best hay is made in July on the cusp of when the seed sets and just prior to its fall. Quite when to cut is largely weather dependent, and rain is the greatest enemy of a quality hay crop. This truth is most likely responsible for the plethora of rural lore that relates to precipitation in July. “If the first of July be rainy weather, twill rain, more or less, for four weeks together.” It is similarly believed that a bright St Swithun’s day (15 July) will be followed by 40 dry days; conversely, a wet one foretells of a month best suited to ducks. Nesting lapwing, curlew, skylark and yellow wagtail are…