Innholdsfortegnelse for 08-Sep-2021 i Shooting Times & Country

A leading countryside campaigner has spoken out over what he claims is the real cause of capercaillie decline. As reported previously, capercaillie are in serious and possibly terminal decline in Scotland (News, 16 June). Former Angus Glens gamekeeper Bert Burnett revealed to Shooting Times what his experiences told him about what was driving the population crash. “Between 1964 and 1971, I worked on an estate in Angus that had a strong population of caper. In seven years across 8,500 acres, we killed only one fox; by 1990 they were killing 150 foxes a year,” he said. “The change was the result of commercial tree planting and the huge predator burden it created. “The disappearance of the caper was not down to fence collisions, climate change, lack of forestry, lack of…

Employees of one of the country’s most prestigious hunts have been found not guilty under the Hunting Act 2004 after prosecutors abandoned their case. Huntsman John Finnegan, 36, and whipper-in Rhys Matcham, 30, of the Quorn were prosecuted using evidence filmed by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), which claimed it showed “a proper old-fashioned fox hunt”. However, defence barrister Stephen Welford tore LACS’s evidence apart during cross-examination, forcing LACS investigator Roger Swaine to acknowledge that hounds may have accidentally flushed a fox while following an artificial trail. Two more LACS witnesses went on to admit that they hadn’t even seen a fox. Explaining his decision to drop the case, prosecutor Mark Fielding said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has a duty to review the prospects of success of a matter…

A pair of 14-bore percussion guns built by Charles Lancaster for Prince Albert are going up for sale. The guns were bought for him by Queen Victoria in 1850. Auctioneer Gavin Gardiner, whose company is selling the guns, said: “Albert was a keen Shot, and Charles Lancaster was one of London’s leading gunmakers at the time and received its royal warrant in 1843. Albert continued using Lancaster guns until his death in 1861.” The only pair of Prince Albert-owned guns outside of the Royal Collection, they are expected to sell for between £30,000 and £40,000. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @SHOOTINGTIMESUK…

Summer evenings for me invoke thoughts of barbecues in the garden, Test Match Special babbling away in the background, with listeners occasionally tuning-in more acutely as the raising of commentary voices declare another England wicket. Or perhaps long evenings in the pub, with cold pints and good friends, whiling away the hours chatting about nothing in particular. While both of these find themselves high up on my list of summer evening activities, further up the list sits a more solitary pastime. I find great solace in spending an evening out on the farm with my rifle, quietly awaiting a muntjac. There is a beauty in the quiet you experience when you are stalking, and it is a rare silence in such a hectic world. On our little farm in Bedfordshire,…

My grey partridges have been a pleasure this summer. Unlike their red-legged counterparts of previous years, they’ve been placid and calm. When I’ve introduced new birds to a pen, they’ve reacted well. I’ve lost none. Now it’s time to start trickling them into the fields and they continue to be easy to manage. On day one, I saw a covey on a neighbour’s land and I thought that the naysayers’ predictions had come to pass — grey partridges stray quickly and never come back. But at the pens the following morning, the new releases were nearby — within 50m — calling to the birds left safely inside the netting. The covey I saw must have been a welcome wild pack. My own releases are proving to be loyal and good-natured…

I try to find an East Anglian link in everything. When it comes to partridge shooting, it is not such a struggle compared with other activities, such as mountaineering or motorway spotting. Of course, using the term ‘partridge shooting’ to encompass both Alectoris rufa and Perdix perdix is a misnomer. While the two are related and inextricably linked with the big skies and sweeping landscapes of Suffolk and Norfolk, they are, as sporting birds, quite different. For the purposes of this article, I will leave my beloved greys alone and concentrate on redlegs. As the season opened, I asked two of the finest and most East Anglian of partridge aficionados for their tips on these magnificent, yet sometimes maligned, gamebirds. Following a number of miserable failures at introduction during the…

Last month, a friend tried to take his dog to the vet as he was concerned about a fast-growing cyst. The dog is a German shorthaired pointer that has worked all its life, but is now retired. It was not a happy experience for either dog or owner. Initially, no appointments were available for nine days, the receptionist in the practice insisting that “we’re very busy at the moment”. Under some pressure, she conceded that if it was an emergency, it might be possible to see the dog earlier, but she couldn’t make any promises. As the cyst was getting worryingly large, an appointment was eventually made, though not for a couple of days. When the vet did finally see the dog, my friend wasn’t allowed to accompany it into…

It has been a long time coming, but the season is officially upon us. I, like many others, will be keeping everything crossed that it can go ahead uninterrupted, with no more lockdowns. My dogs are going to be rusty, to say the least. It has been ages since they were consistently working on live game, having had a limited season last year, and I know plenty of other people for whom this is the case. Because of this, there is a danger that many handlers are going to be so relieved to be out that they will initially not be too concerned about what their dog is doing. It is easy to think “let’s just get out and deal with the problems after”, but the time to try to…

When I think of late summer, I think of roadside banks and verges aglow with rosebay willowherb; of waste ground smothered by a fading spread of half-seeded meadowsweet; of long, leaning stalks of yellow grass; of ragwort and of rowans already hung with thick clusters of red berries. I think of thistledown and spiders’ webs; of tired leaves on the trees and of riverbanks so matted and tangled with the rank profusion of spring and summer growth that you risk a sprained ankle with every step along them — which is, of course, a risk worth taking when it brings you the possibility of trout. I think of all this and much more. But above all, I think of pheasant poults and I am pleased to report that the pheasant…

This week, I am in a totally new environment. I’ve enjoyed a few good outings of late, and though bags haven’t been exceptional, they are important for the farmers who are preparing for the next crop rotation. But rather than setting up my usual hide over the stubble, I find myself rocking back and forth in the delivery suite of the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. After nipping out for a promising outing on the pigeons, I was forced to reload the Land Rover and rush back to my brave other half to await delivery of our first baby. Don’t get me wrong, I am a dedicated pigeon Shot, but this event wasn’t one to miss. The pigeons will still be there when I get back, and I might even…

DOG Early-season work can be hard for dogs. A dog that is yet to get back to peak fitness working hard on a hot day is a recipe for dehydration and heatstroke. Make sure your dog has ample opportunity to drink, and watch out for heavy panting, excessive drooling or any sign your dog is lethargic, drowsy or uncoordinated; these are warning signs of heatstroke. SHOOT Getting rid of single-use plastics is a top environmental priority. Your shoot can help by making sure that all plastic cartridges used are recycled. There are a number of companies that will supply and collect cartridge recycling bags. Look into it now so you are ready when the season gets going in earnest.…

Furious gamekeepers have threatened to withdraw their support for a deer management best practice code in protest over the out-of-season culling of female deer. Members of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) are considering leaving the partnership that backs the wild deer best practice guides after Forestry and Land Scotland told its wildlife rangers and contractors to begin an out-of-season cull of female deer on 1 September, seven weeks before the hind season opens. The forestry agency has a licence that allows it to cull out of season; however, the conditions of the licence demand it is used as a last resort. The SGA now claims that the licence is used as a ‘first resort’ and that commencing a blanket hind and doe cull in September will orphan young calves, dooming…

The woodpigeon is not only a formidable agricultural pest — it is also one of the most challenging adversaries to shoot. I can’t think of another quarry that offers the same range of angle, height and speed. The birds don’t make for easy shooting and frustration can arise when you are trying your utmost to protect a farmer’s valuable crops. The woodpigeon’s prowess on the wing can intimidate less experienced Shots, and many find themselves downgraded to glorified scarecrows. But are pigeons really that challenging, or do shooters just get carried away with the hype behind the challenge? “Taking wild shots on the edge of the clean kill zone results in missed efforts and wounded birds” I could go into great detail on how to improve your ability to shoot…

The forest is alive with noise. Poju has been barking constantly for the past half hour. He’s spotted our quarry and is urging us forward to bag the prize. I’m waiting with Poju’s handler, Miranda Frings, on the fringe of a patch of marshland, but somewhere between us and the dog my fellow hunter, Daniel Smith, is edging his way towards the sound’s source. His slow, stealthy movements are at odds with my own racing pulse. There’s a still quality to the afternoon that surrounds and emphasises the dog’s insistent barking. Then a sharp bang splits the air, followed by silence — the bird has fallen. Poju, who was named as Sweden’s champion in 2019, has done his job well and is now quiet once more. Hunting by sound The…

Now more than ever, many gundog enthusiasts around the country are excited and preparing for the shooting season. A lot of those are novices or first-time handlers and will currently be wondering whether their dog is now ready for the season. Are the dogs’ and handlers’ skills good enough to be useful on the shooting field? Like most things in the gundog world, there are a hundred different answers to this question. Everything is based on personal experience and at some point that will have been the correct approach for a single dog. So for each individual it is a difficult question to answer with a blanket response. Any trainer worth their salt will have seen a lot more dogs ruined by rushing and overwhelming them. Sadly, it is a…

One of the greatest lost shoots of the British Isles is the Lews Castle Home Shootings, situated on the outskirts of the town of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. It provided superlative walked-up wild gamebird shooting, deerstalking and angling facilities for successive owners and their guests, as well as a number of seasonal sporting tenants, from the mid-Victorian period until 1924. Sportsmen usually travelled to this far-flung outpost of Scotland on the overnight sleeper from London to Inverness, then onwards by train to Stromeferry or Kyle of Lochalsh, before taking a steamer or private yacht to their final destination, a journey that took around 24 hours. Shots, stalkers and anglers enjoyed home-from-home comforts either in Lews Castle, a 19th-century, castellated pile complete with walled vegetable…

OUR VERDICT Too many shooters dismiss thermal optics as being too expensive and too complicated to be worth bothering with. While this kit is not exactly cheap, it is a lot more affordable than it was just a few years ago, quality has increased significantly and most modern units are very simple to use. The InfiRay Tube TL35 is a great example of the advancement of thermal night-vision scopes. Its £2,749.95 price tag means it is not something that most of us would buy on a whim, but shooters tasked with serious after-dark pest control are likely to find it an extremely useful addition to their armoury. Traditionalists who, like me, are making a slow and cautious shift towards thermal optics will be pleased to learn that the Tube TL35…

This is a typical label style of its day, before expensive leather-embossed labels became the norm. It bears the royal warrant of the monarch, Dieu et mon droit(God and my right). The label is paper and printed with black ink. It proclaims Lancaster’s status as “Inventor of the improved copper primer gun”. The address 151 New Bond Street was Lancaster’s first, dating from 1826 and lasting through two generations to 1892, when it moved to Panton Street. This is an early label, probably for a muzzle-loader dating from 1850, or earlier. It remains in impressive condition for a label of its age. Charles Lancaster is one of Britain’s oldest gunmakers and the company has recently been resurrected into the mainstream by George Juer and Tom Cosby, who intend to release…

When in flower, linseed brings a startling azure splash to the sea of arable yellows and golds. The seed is beloved by gamebirds and its oil boosts milk yields in dairy cows, rejuvenates woodwork and even adds a shine to the coat of your gundog. But there is a downside — it self-combusts. Last summer, a cottage in the Suffolk village of Woolpit suffered extensive damage from a fire that started in a garden workshop. The cottage owner’s initial fears they’d suffered an arson attack were quelled by Station Commander Mark Walker of Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service. He found the cause appeared to be a discarded rag used to linseed-oil a table. Commander Walker said: “Linseed oil self-heats. If oil is trapped in the folds of a cloth, it…

Driving south from Scotland yesterday, I was pleased to see several small skeins and family parties of greylags crossing the motorway. Not so long ago, you would have struggled to see a greylag south of Caithness at this time of year, but back in the 1950s and 1960s wildfowlers, my father included, rounded up flightless geese and brought them south. As a result, what tend to be called ‘feral’ greylags now breed throughout the country, but why do we consider them feral? If you investigate their history, you discover that they once bred throughout the country, but were pushed back to the far north by human activity. So, while I sympathise with farmers over crop damage, I also celebrate the welcome return of a wonderful native species. Aside from providing…

As the partridge season opens, the evidence seems to be that wild greys have struggled, with the wet spring and a sullen summer hitting broods. Wet weather applies several different pressures on grey partridges. As well as chilling chicks, it also forces hen birds to forage for longer periods and to stray further from their nests. This leaves both hen birds and chicks vulnerable to predation from foxes, stoats and crows. “As thunderstorms struck southern England in July, grey partridge chicks would have been desperately sheltering from the rain,” explained Dr Julie Ewald, head of geographical information systems at the GWCT. “This unseasonal weather makes good farmland habitat even more important, reducing the distance chicks need to forage and the risk of predation.” Intensification of agriculture and increased numbers of…

Michelle Butler raises some interesting points regarding the lack of effective grey squirrel control in Britain (Letters, 25 August). However, the bleak picture she paints can be changed with determination and an efficient approach. First, a return to the use of warfarin for squirrel control is extremely unlikely under any circumstances. Poisons in general are, and should be, avoided and warfarin is less welcome than lead shot in the countryside. We also need to remember that when the Forestry Commission first started using warfarin, it was to reduce damage to trees in the spring and summer. It was never aimed at controlling the population at large. To do that requires an effort in the autumn and early winter to reduce the breeding population where possible. This is particularly difficult in…

Of all the arguments for not getting vaccinated, the ability to cast a fishing rod or point a gun must rank among the least common. I worried that the injection, like last time, would deaden my skinny arm, making it harder to cast and shoot. The sea-trout rivers of west Wales require precision casting, not to mention the need for dexterity in a pigeon hide. Nevertheless, when my appointment came around, I duly ventured to our local leisure centre for a second dose of Pfizer’s finest. Predictably, my arm became painful, so I left it hanging feebly by my side while I cursed Covid. How was I going to keep on top of the pigeons? “I worried that the injection, like last time, would deaden my skinny arm” Miraculously, the…

I don’t recommend getting Covid at any time, but I certainly don’t recommend getting it just as hound exercise is in full swing and you are about to add horses to the equation. The past few weeks have been hard work. Isolating and getting over the virus has been difficult, not to mention a logistical nightmare. My whipper-in and the grooms have done a great job of keeping things ticking over while I was confined to barracks. With hounds and horses well into their fitness work, it was not ideal for me to be off games for 10 days, but everyone pulled together and for that I am very grateful. One upside is that I don’t appear to have passed the virus on to anyone, which is a minor miracle.…

Of all the game fish, fresh or saltwater, for me, Atlantic salmon is the pinnacle of them all. It is a fish with unrivalled strength and beauty. But more than that, it has mystery and adventure, wildness and many peculiarities. By the time you encounter one, they have swum thousands of miles, dodged seals and dolphins, evaded trawlers and leaped rapids and waterfalls. Many will not fish for anything else. In times gone by, they were plentiful in UK rivers, but in recent decades there has been a cataclysmic decline in numbers, in particular among the larger fish. There are theories as to why, but much is still unexplained. There is a lot to be done if future generations are to enjoy the sport. Finally, you should know that they…

North of my ranch live the Samburu, cattle-keeping nomads who claim they once migrated from the planet Venus, after their livestock utterly devastated it by overgrazing. When it was reduced to dust, their god Nkai sent them and their cows down a celestial rope to Earth. They touched down at some springs within sight of our house and immediately got down to repeating their Venusian mistakes. In 2020, when it was wet, there were locust plagues, but this year we have a severe drought. The Samburu, having turned their own lands to an eroded dead zone, have recently been invading ranches so that their herds can graze our carefully conserved pastures. Some farms have been violently attacked, but so far we’ve been OK and I lease my neighbour’s grazing. As…

My plan for the Tube was to pair it with my .22 rimfire and take it into the fields and pit it against the rabbits that have made an impressive comeback in my locality over recent months. Before I could do that, I had to take it to the range, get it zeroed and familiarise myself with the new set-up. Sat at the bench with the unit switched on, I began by using the ocular focusing ring to get the display focused for my eye. With that sorted, you only need to use the front focusing ring to bring the target into sharp relief just as you would with the parallax dial on a telescopic sight. A short press of the Tube’s top turret opens the menu, which enables you…

We’d had a wholly delightful morning’s partridge shooting within sight of Salisbury’s famous spire. And now, the dogs having been watered and the beaters seen to, we were sitting with our backs to a rick, eating our lunches in the temperate golden sunshine of a perfect September day. Inevitably, the conversation turned to the morning’s sport. And then under the mellowing influences of the occasion — solid, liquid and abstract — it took the philosophical turn of speculating on the sources of pleasure in shooting. We were all agreed that despite our relish for roast partridge, we took no pleasure in the killing of the birds — though we certainly did in the exercise of skill whereby we were able to kill them quickly, cleanly and expertly. Then dogs and…

Which wildflowers to sow? PLANTS Q Our hedges have nice grassy bases, but there are not many wildflowers. I would like to add to their value by sowing some wildflower seed, but I am told that the flowers will struggle to compete with the grass. I am also unsure what flowers to choose. Can you offer any advice? A You are quite right that sowing wildflowers into established grass is rarely successful. Even if the seeds reach the ground and germinate, rather than getting caught above soil level, they rarely establish successfully. You are much more likely to succeed if you grow some seedlings and then plant them out as small established plants. You can either buy seed and grow at home or buy plug plants. Either way, I would…

Latin name: Meum athamanticum Common name: Bald money Other names: Bad money, bearwort, beast’s wort, mew, spignel How to spot it and where to find it: With feathery leaves and umbrella-shaped clusters of small white flowers, bald money is an attractive perennial herb. The flowers appear in midsummer so may well be dying off now, but the bright green leaves are pretty as well as aromatic. Bald money prefers a moist or well-drained soil and grows well in a half shade. Once common in the UK, it is now only seen in some northern locations, but is still quite plentiful in the Scottish Highlands. Interesting facts: Bald money is part of the Apiaceae family, which includes celery, carrot, parsnip, parsley and fennel. Its seeds are said to taste strongly of…

I am an unashamed traditionalist. I like old guns, built on classic principles and wielded in a time-honoured manner where safety and respect for the quarry are paramount. Of course, what one person sees as a fine tradition, another might see as outmoded. In considering tradition, much also depends on how far you wind back the clock. The current method of stalking individual red deer on the open hill was first described by William Scrope in 1838, and the craze for creating Scottish highland deer forests reached its height in the period 1880 to 1910. In black-powder days, you generally had to get within 100 yards of your quarry. Even after smokeless propellants and telescopic sights became the norm, 200 yards was considered a reasonable maximum. Yet today, you hear…