Innholdsfortegnelse for 13-Oct-2021 i Shooting Times & Country

With the game shooting season well under way in the UK and my client stalking diary looking healthy with bookings, is it safe to assume things are getting back to normal after the pandemic? What I know about virology could be written on the back of a postage stamp but I sincerely hope so. After a year and a half of travel disruption, 2022 might be the perfect year for adventure and that sporting trip you’ve always dreamed of. Several foreign clients are now enquiring about hunting in the UK again, so I’m optimistic I’ll also be able to go on the trips I had planned. If you’re only in the early stages of planning some sport abroad, the options can be pretty daunting. Over the past 10 years, I’ve…

For the majority of us, our shooting journey is punctuated by different bore sizes. It is perhaps an accurate representation of our growth and development through life; we tend to strive to achieve bigger and better until old age sets in and we retract to comfort and contentment. Many young Shots learn with a .410 or 28-bore, at a shooting ground or on the family farm. The progression moves on to a 20-bore then often a 12-bore. For those who may be getting on in years, or who enjoy primarily walked-up days, the lighter weight of a 20-bore can be appealing, a comfortable option for an active and tiring day’s sport. We have previously been spoilt for choice, with a diverse selection of guns and suitable cartridges available to meet…

Companion to collier and countryman, poacher and peer of the realm, the English whippet is a remarkable sporting dog, with a lineage speckled by the soot and smoke of the Industrial Revolution. Sometimes seen as frail and genteel, the whippet is anything but, having the heart of a lion in the chase and being remarkably hardy. This diminutive longdog is possessed of blistering acceleration, being capable of speeds of up to 35mph, and for its size and weight, is the fastest of all land mammals. To see a whippet in full flight is an unforgettable experience. Many are the theories concerning the whippet’s origin, but that small greyhounds existed in antiquity is beyond doubt. These dogs arguably formed the breed’s foundation, receiving an infusion of terrier blood during the 19th…

Sir Winston Churchill’s old house, Chartwell, is a property of the National Trust. If you search on the internet, you will find a splendid photograph of Sir Winston riding there at a meet of the Old Surrey and Burstow Foxhounds. The first time I hacked a horse to a meet, it was to Chartwell. It took an hour to ride to there, so by the time I arrived, Oliver, my mount, was already lathered up. The Churchill connection made that day special for me and it’s one of my favourite hunting memories. I don’t know whether the hunt still meets at Chartwell, but I’m saddened to see that once again there’s an attempt by members of the National Trust to ban hounds from all its properties. If its resolution gains…

The collapse of rabbit numbers in this part of the world has been a disaster for my sporting existence. When I was a teenager, it was possible to shoot a dozen rabbits in half an hour on the fields around the farm buildings. Rabbit meat was easy to come by and if you had said that rabbits would ever vanish, I might have laughed in your face. But for whatever strange reason, the bunnies have gone and many of their old holes have crumbled down and fallen to pieces. I used to keep several ferrets, but they went into retirement and the decline of the rabbits meant that none were replaced. Now that I have a small son, it seems obvious that I should return to the old pursuit. Ferrets…

Q I am having serious problems with people tampering with the feeding stations I use to control grey squirrels. In some cases, hoppers are being pulled off trees and emptied, but several have been completely destroyed over recent months. This mindless vandalism is costly and also disrupts my ability to control these destructive pests. Is there any way I can make my feeding stations more secure? A I have experienced the same problem on numerous occasions. My initial response was to put up signs explaining why the feeders were in place. I clearly overestimated the culprit’s ability to understand the importance of responsible wildlife management, as the signs were promptly vandalised along with the feeding stations. This year, I have set up trail cams in areas where vandalism has been…

Q Have you tried Norma’s new Ecostrike lead-free ammunition and is it any good? A I have only tried the new .308 Win loads in my old Tikka LSA 55 rifle, with interesting results. A copper bullet will expand and often retain up to 100% of its weight and the Ecostrike 150-gr bullet retained 146.4-gr in my recent tests. Most lead-cored bullets of the same weight, with ballistic tips, only retained 108.6-gr, but lost a lot of the front section of the projectile that causes much of the hydrostatic shock effect that is so lethal and instantaneous. This means that lead-cored bullets penetrate less, but release energy within the beast shot, where it’s needed. In contrast, most lead-free weight-for-weight equivalents will penetrate right through, with less hydrostatic shock effect, wasting…

Q How long should we dog-in for? I’m never quite sure if we should stop when things quieten down, or keep going until we start shooting. A It is impossible to give a date or an age at which the birds will stop wandering, as there are so many variables, but as a very rough guide, I would keep going until you have had a couple of weeks of doing little, when you feel you aren’t achieving much and are starting to get bored. A lot will depend on stocking rates, the strain of bird and the holding capacity of the ground, but if everything is as it should be, I wouldn’t expect you to be dogging-in much once you get into November. If you are, it would be worth…

The media is fond of highlighting the fortunes of different age groups in society, whether in terms of careers, education, the tax burden or whatever. How have things changed for generations of shooters? When I was a boy, I had to save up for every box of shotgun cartridges. At that time, pigeon shooters expected to have their cartridges provided by the farmer — even though there was a ready market for the shot birds. At university, we had a clay pigeon shooting club but struggled to organise and pay for everything ourselves. Today, by contrast, organisations such as BASC fall over themselves to help with all manner of young Shots events, including live quarry days. Long gone is the age when youngsters were expected to spend an initial season…

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) has issued an apparent rebuke to BASC over its plans for more involvement of recreational deerstalkers in managing Scotland’s deer (News, 6 October). In a scathing blog, SGA chairman Alex Hogg questioned the motive behind the BASC plan. Mr Hogg said: “If this is about opportunism and winning new shooting grounds for members, then there are likely to be questions asked about how this will make things better for deer management in Scotland today.” “If this is about opportunism, there are questions to be asked” In 2019 the SGA made its own calls for communities to be given more of a role in deer management with a ‘10-year vision’ for deer in Scotland. That vision called for a pilot scheme which used recreational stalkers to…

A courser has been given a £1,700 fine after he was spotted by a gamekeeper on an estate near Cirencester. Anthony Williams, from Newent, in Gloucestershire, was seen by the keeper after he entered private land under cover of darkness, accompanied by two boys and a number of lurchers, and began to course hares. A Gloucestershire police spokesman said: “The crime was being watched by the gamekeeper on the private estate near Cirencester and he immediately called 999. Police officers quickly arrived and the man and two boys were arrested at the scene. Their vehicle and the dogs were also seized.” The two boys were dealt with by a youth offending team. But 30-year-old Williams was charged with Hunting Act offences and on conviction received a bill of £1,713 for…

I read Mike Swan’s feature with interest and could not disagree with a word he wrote (Club together for the survival of our sport, 29 September). Unsurprisingly, I agree when he says: “The KWCA is a good example of the sort of club that might attract you.” One of Mike’s general premises is strength in numbers and this has never been truer than it is today. From the day when the KWCA [Kent Wildfowling & Conservation Association] disaffiliated from BASC, for what we perceived as poor service delivery and an inability to effectively protect our sport, the club has never looked back. Our membership stands at more than 1,000 for the first time, and the members keep on coming on a weekly, if not daily, basis. We like to think…

A sun the colour of a ripening pumpkin cast its final rays. Scout and I crouched on the water’s edge watching the ripples reflecting the palette of salmon pinks and cherry reds above. Circling overhead, a single mallard was calling. I did my best to answer with the chatter of feeding ducks. It was enough. The paddles dropped; the wings set. From out of a powdery sky a twisting, lurching, eager descent had begun, pitching the bird in towards my decoys. “From out of the sky, a twisting, eager descent had begun” The first shot was above its target. The duck had committed and was falling fast. At the report, it turned hard and banked off stiffly on urgent wings. It was heading back into the safety of the setting…

From Billy Casper with the world’s most famous kestrel on his fist in Ken Loach’s 1969 adaptation of Barry Hines’ Kes, to Helen Macdonald’s best-selling 2014 memoir H is for Hawk, it seems that Britain is a country with hooked beaks and talons in our sporting soul. There is probably no reader of Shooting Times who hasn’t stopped for a moment to marvel at a hawk or even an eagle being flown in the ring at their local game fair. These birds are truly incredible creatures and hunting with them, for my money, is one of the purest and most exhilarating sports ever to be played out in the field. But the whole thing is a little daunting. You can put a gun away in the cabinet, or a fishing…

People often ask me what my favourite wild plant is. This is always a difficult question and my mind changes every now and then, with sea buckthorn often battling it out with penny buns, but sea beet is up there with them. Of all the edible leaf vegetables, it is certainly the best and something I collect every time I visit the seaside. I am writing about sea beet in October not because it is at its best then, but because it is still commonly found in excellent condition when so much else has battened down the hatches until spring. Indeed, we have a tradition in our household to collect it on Christmas Eve to go with our dinner the next day. Such a tradition may, however, be harder to…

OUR VERDICT As an elite piece of equipment, why is it that the shotgun hasn’t seen the advancements in technology that rifles have? Radical changes in design have been few and most never gain traction. Changes in aesthetics and materials and tweaking are constant, but these are more to do with sales than making you shoot straighter. Have gunmakers really arrived at that Concorde moment where practical improvements have peaked and nothing can get better? The gun I have the pleasure of reviewing this month is from a maker whose sole mission is to make you shoot better, straighter, further, higher and more consistently. John Jeffries Custom Shotguns is focused on improving accuracy, while the practical mechanical aspects of gun production and design have been entrusted to partners such as…

Warm sun kissed the heather-clad tops of the Cromdale hills. For the past week, my wife and I have been the guests of Maurice Kruch, shooting grouse at Revack and Dorback. The hospitality has been quite sensational and I count myself as extremely fortunate to have enjoyed such a wonderful time. Fellow Yorkshireman and friend David Wilkinson was the only other Briton and we were joined by three of Maurice’s Belgian friends and two Frenchmen, for a total of eight Guns. The original plan was that we would shoot with double guns and loaders, but the shortage of grouse seemed universal so it was agreed that we would use single guns, with the help of the loaders. Miraculously, we seemed to bring good weather with us and it was a…

Q In my youth, the stubbles always seemed to be weedy and full of game at this time of year, but they are almost a desert these days. Do you have any ideas why this is so? A Agricultural improvements mean that, though fewer chemicals may be used, modern herbicides are very effective. As a result, the slower-growing weeds that often used to flourish after harvest will have been knobbled in their early stages when the crop was sprayed to deal with the more important ones. These relatively barren stubbles offer much less food, as well as less cover, compared with a few decades ago. Also, modern cereal varieties are usually much less inclined to get blown down in summer storms and, as a result, there is usually much less…

A Scottish farmer has expressed dismay after finding New Zealand venison in a pack marked ‘Highland Game’ and apparently endorsed by Forestry and Land Scotland. Sybil Macpherson took to Facebook after spotting the product in her local supermarket. In a post accompanied by a photograph, Mrs Macpherson said: “I was surprised and disappointed to read the label on this venison for sale yesterday. Why, when we have ample supplies of Scottish venison available, is Tesco selling imported meat labelled ‘Highland Game working with Forestry and Land Scotland’?” Shooting Timeshas been aware for some time of reports that Dundee-based company Highland Game has been continuing to import significant volumes of venison from New Zealand, despite a stubbornly low price for domestic venison. Farmed venison is preferred by some producers as carcasses…

Project Penelope to study wigeon Funds from the UK’s wildfowlers will help to pay for a cutting-edge project studying Europe’s wigeon. Project Penelope – taken from the bird’s Latin name Mareca penelope— will record the species’ winter movements, flight paths and breeding sites. Funded by the Wildlife Habitat Charitable Trust and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland, 6,000 wigeon will be ringed and 100 fitted with high-tech satellite tags. Dr Matt Ellis, BASC’s head of science, said: “The findings from this study could be monumental to understanding the reasons behind the species’ breeding population decline.” Geese and ducks start to pour in Pink-footed geese and migrating ducks have begun to arrive in earnest. Large numbers of geese have been spotted from Orkney to Norfolk, with big skeins seen…

Alasdair Mitchell notes that shooters are bound by law, regulations and expectations in a way that doesn’t seem to apply to the likes of climate and animal rights activists (Sharpshooter, 6 October). He writes that serial road blockers were aided in their activities by a recent Supreme Court finding, known as the Ziegler judgement. This held that briefly and peacefully obstructing a highway for political causes fell within the realms of lawful protest. This opened the floodgates to road-blocking stunts. Surely this judgement referred to protest marches that frequently occur around the country. Not climate protesters sitting across a main road for as long as they wish, preventing the lawful movement of the public in their daily activities? This country has lost its way, yet again aided by liberal lawyers…

The hammers rang and the acrid odour of coal fires permeated the air in what was then the epicentre of the world’s gunmaking industry, in the industrial area north of Birmingham city centre. “What we now call the Gun Quarter was the nucleation point for gunmaking in Birmingham,” said David Williams, honorary historical consultant at Royal Armouries and emeritus professor at Loughborough University. “It is an example of what economists call an industrial district, a concentration of skills and capabilities in a location that is internationally important. Gunmaking really started to grow in Birmingham towards the end of the 17th century as William III grew his standing army.” Opportunity Sensing an opportunity to supply muskets to this growing military force, Sir Richard Newdigate, local MP and baronet, put forth the…

One of the things I most enjoy about stalking is working with newcomers. Often these are people who have done a fair bit of game shooting or fishing but have decided it’s time to get into stalking properly. Inevitably, if you’re deciding to take up stalking or you’re keen to start doing more of it, you’ll need to fork out for some kit. From rifles to boots, I am constantly asked about what is best. Guidance on stalking often starts with choosing the right clothing and making sure anything you’ve already got is fit for purpose. Sartorially, we are lucky. A huge amount of research has gone into producing high-quality kit that is both breathable and waterproof. We have generally moved on from ex-military jackets out of the local army…

EJ CHURCHILL While most case labels are made from paper, card or leather, these are of ivorine construction, held in place by small brass pins. They are specific to one maker and one type of gun. The maker is EJ Churchill, which began promoting a new type of game gun around the time of World War I. With its distinctive stock, often with swept comb, and short 25in barrels, as well as its light weight, it caused a great deal of excitement and enabled Churchill to prosper in the 1930s. The first of the labels simply states Churchill’s name and the Orange Street address, off Leicester Square. The other promotes the unique case design — the V C, or Very Compact, case. The toe-under, lightweight case designed for the XXV…

Latin name: Suillellus luridus Common name: Lurid bolete How to spot it and where to find it: At first glance, there is nothing particularly lurid about this fungus. The cap is generally a rather dull tawny brown, sometimes with a pinkish edge, darkening with age, though the hue can vary considerably, from peach to yellow, grey and sepia. It is velvety in texture when young, becoming smooth with age. Its pores are yellow when very young, but become orange to red, staining dark blue/black where bruised. The stem has an orange-red reticulation over a yellowish background. Right at the base, it is a wine-red colour and there is often a wine-red line between the cap flesh and the pores. The lurid bolete prefers deciduous woodland, particularly beech and oak, but…

For beaters, owning a decent stick is nearly as important as possessing a spaniel with hearing. Hazel, holly and blackthorn are the standard materials used. Less commonly seen these days are sticks crafted from cabbages. The Jersey cabbage grows to 6ft and was once an important export. Lower leaves are removed from the stalk for livestock fodder and to encourage a straight shaft to form. At the end of the growing season, the stem is cut, dried, varnished and usually topped with a wooden handle and tailed with metal ferrule. Billy Hall, an octogenarian farmer from Ringsfield, uses his cabbage stick daily. “Nothing gives a whack like a cabbage stick,” he reckons. “People do give you a rum look, mind, when they ask what your stick is made from.” A…