Innholdsfortegnelse for 29-Dec-2021 i Shooting Times & Country

Residents of one of Scotland’s most remote areas who lost the contents of their freezers due to Storm Arwen can have them refilled by local sporting estates. Residents of Aberdeenshire Council’s Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside ward experienced multi-day power cuts after the storm, with many then forced to ditch their frozen meat. Now local councillor Geva Blackett has pulled together a group of estates to donate game and venison to make sure no one is short over the festive period. Every year, Balmoral, Invercauld and Glenmuick estates donate venison to individuals and families in Deeside and Donside. Before Covid, their donations were used to prepare community lunches. This year, they will be used to make up packs of sausages, mince, stewing meat, oven-ready pheasants and partridges, which will be…

PEPPERED PHEASANT This hen (right) was one of a brace my daughter was given. Warning: may contain lead. Will Fenn, by email LIGHTS NOT FANTASTIC As in many other parts of the media, your magazine’s contributors have quite rightly shown interest in the COP26 meeting in November and the long-term magnitude of the agreements reached. What has amused me recently on local TV are the nightly pictures of the Christmas lights outside homes in the region. Granted, some are done as a fundraising stunt for charity, but to me it seems a hypocritical waste of energy. The electricity used to run what is essentially a childish whimsy is a diabolical waste. What would people in the north of the country — many of whom have had no electricity for essentials…

One of the best things about my line of work is the variety. I see so many different dogs and handlers, facing a vast array of problems and challenges. It is rare to feel like things are getting stale or boring. However, one problem that I see time and time again is nervous, anxious, fearful and reactive dogs. Now, while this is not necessarily an uncommon problem, more than 84% of the dogs arriving with this problem have one common denominator — they’ve all been castrated or spayed before 12 months of age. I had a look back at all the dogs I had seen in the near 20 years I have been working for myself and they were nearly all the same. So, I started to do a little…

Too many shooters seem to be ignorant to the damage that the noise from gunshots can do to their hearing. You only get one pair of ears, so it makes good sense to look after them, especially when you consider how affordable good hearing protection is these days. Blocking out the harmful noise from your firearm doesn’t have to mean that you can’t hear what’s going on around you. Electronic ear defenders have integral speakers that amplify sounds so you can chat with friends and listen to shooting instructors, or tune into the subtle sounds that herald the imminent arrival of your quarry. The following round-up comprises five effective and reliable sets of electronic ear defenders. With prices ranging from £59.99 to £294, there should be something for everyone. 1…

Judging by my emails, being peppered with shot is an occasional occupational hazard for pickers-up and beaters (Blindingly obvious, 17 November). Much the most memorable story of such an incident came from Maurice. He was on a private shoot, guests only. The Guns were wealthy men who had made a lot of money in the City. Maurice was flanking the outside of a strip of maize on a hillside, some 150m from the Guns, who were in the valley below him. The story is best told in his own words. “A pheasant flushed from the bottom of the maize and flew horizontally, effectively at my foot level. I could see the Gun in the valley below mount on the bird and knew what was about to happen. The shot caught…

KEEPA is well into his trialling and shooting season and in general running well. He has been picking-up on some big days, including one shoot where there are heavy drives. But there is one skill my older bitch has that I did not realise I hadn’t perfected with Keepa. This is the ‘mark’ command. I have never talked about this before. Training a dog to mark its retrieves is a great skill for them to have and makes life a lot easier. However, when I train, the dogs know to mark a falling bird. But what if there is more than one in the air falling at the same time? If I want to send him in a certain direction, I turn my body and ensure he is facing the…

Some 3,500 acres of valuable highland Kenya wilderness on my farm boundary is about to be sold off in fragmented 50-acre plots. Currently, it’s home to cheetah, elephant, lion, buffalo and dozens of assorted plains game and other species. The bush is acacia woodland, with open grasslands looking towards the snowy peak of Mount Kenya on the horizon. The land sits on the edge of a network of private wildlife conservancies that stretch continuously for perhaps 100 miles. In this vast space of hundreds of square miles, landowners are making plans to create the largest rhino sanctuary in the world. For the wilderness next to me, mismanaged by irresponsible neighbours who have now lost control and ownership of the place, it will soon be too late. As the land is…

William Powell was one of Birmingham’s long-established and long-lived gunmakers, occupying a distinctive building in Carrs Lane, as noted on this trade label. Claiming establishment in 1802, William Powell’s business is older than Westley Richards and Purdey. The company is no longer in Birmingham, as Peter Powell, the last serving member of the eponymous family, sold it upon his retirement and it now trades from Oxfordshire. This label, which is paper with black ink printing, comes from the case of a 12-bore boxlock shotgun. The date can be narrowed down to post-1901 because the numbering changed to 35 Carrs Lane that year. ‘William Powell & Son’ makes it pre-1936, as Powell then added (Gunmakers) Ltd to the name.…

THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELD There are a host of New Year superstitions, nearly all of which involve your own or a loved one’s demise at the hands of the previous year’s spirits. For instance, it is said that should you eat chicken on 1 January you will not only die, but will do so in poverty. Equally, if you brush the yard or do the laundry on New Year’s Day, you’ll be propping up the singles bar by February. While it may be considered good luck if a strange man knocks at your door at New Year, should a cat, a chimney sweep, a doctor or a gravedigger come first-footing, lore demands your death will soon follow. However, all this impending dire misfortune can be avoided. It is said that…

Conservationists and African community groups have responded with dismay to the announcement that the UK Government will introduce a ban on the import of hunting trophies. In its 2019 manifesto, the Government committed to banning the import of trophies from ‘endangered species’. However, environment secretary George Eustice said the ban will be brought forward and will include a commitment to ban trophies from species that are ‘near threatened’ — a much lower category of conservation concern. This announcement quoted a Government minister and the leaders of three campaign groups, but no conservation scientists. Among those quoted was Eduardo Gonçalves, chairman of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting. The decision to quote Mr Gonçalves on an official Government statement was met with anger and disbelief after the evidence he presented to…

Confusion over the general licences to shoot birds in Northern Ireland is continuing to grow, following a legal challenge by Wild Justice. In response to Wild Justice’s action, Daera, the government department responsible for the general licences — which Wild Justice described as “the worst in place anywhere in the UK” — has announced it is withdrawing them, leaving gamekeepers and farmers in the province totally unclear about where they stand. In an attempt to clarify the situation, a spokesman for Daera told Shooting Times: “General licences will be replaced by interim licences, pending the launch of a full consultation in due course. Some species of birds previously listed on the general licences are being removed. While these interim licences are in place, those who require them will not have…

When it comes to fowling, hope floats I wonder if any other partners will recognise this same alarming pattern of behaviour that I observe periodically in my husband. Days before an evening’s duck shooting on the marshes, he can be found cleaning his guns for hours and practising his swing. I then catch him filling the bath and placing his decoys in it “just to make sure they float correctly”. Finally, the great day arrives and he and the dog go off, he having assured me that there is no need to buy a Sunday joint as we will be having roast duck for dinner. Hours later they both return soaked and muddy and the only ducks in the bag are the plastic ones he took with him. Caroline Fearn,…

It will probably not come as any sort of surprise to learn that shooting sports are predominately the pastime of men. The most recent Home Office figures reveal that 94% of shotgun and firearms certificate holders in England and Wales are male. The 6% minority, however, equates to more than 36,000 individuals and this figure only represents those who are licensed, failing to highlight the numerous women who have significant involvement in fieldsports in a variety of capacities. Oddly, there still seems to be some stigma around women on the shooting field. Speak to any lady, whether they are picking-up, beating or shooting, and they will likely have a story to tell about inappropriate remarks or an atmosphere change when they arrive on a male-dominated shoot day. I hope these…

Today, few people making the 10-mile road journey from the A31 to the Sandbanks peninsula, now some of the most expensive real estate in the world, realise they are travelling through land that formed the Canford Manor shoot, one of the greatest lost shoots in England. Owned by the 1st Lord Wimborne, the shoot regularly produced bags of between 500 and 1,500 pheasants brought down by guests who included the cream of shooting society, from Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence (the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) and the Dukes Teck, Marlborough, Wellington, Westminster and Roxburghe, the Marquesses of Bath and Northampton and the Lords Rendlesham, Castlerosse and Lovat, Winston Churchill and the Venerable William Sinclair, Archdeacon of London and Grand Chaplain of the United Grand Lodge of…

US Marine Corps general Jim Mattis once said “there is nothing better than getting shot at and missed”, while Mark Boal, writer of The Hurt Locker, states that “war is a drug… a potent and lethal addiction”. Certainly, I loved being on operations with the Royal Marines. There was rarely a dull moment; most days brought adventure and challenge in equal measure. Now I’m a ‘civvy,’ I know that I’m not the only service leaver who finds ‘civvy-street’ to be somewhat dull by comparison. So I am grateful that pursuing wild birds in wild places has always held — and continues to generate — a sense of real excitement. Wildfowling is an adventure. I was reminded of this on a recent outing. Rain swept the windscreen and obscured the late…

Night-vision foxing options FOXING Q I’m thinking about taking the plunge from a lamp to a thermal or night-vision scope for fox shooting. What are the differences and advantages of each? A Night vision works by using an infrared torch with an invisible beam — at least to humans — to provide a light source, giving a green or black and white image, allowing you to clearly see your quarry. With night vision, like the lamp, you will get eyeshine back when a fox looks at you. Thermal works by displaying everything relating to its temperature, making anything living or ‘hot’ stand out clearly against its background. Although you don’t get eyeshine with thermal, as long as you have a direct line of sight to your quarry, any part of…

Latin name: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum Common name: Jelly mushroom Other names: Toothed jelly fungus, false hedgehog, white jelly mushroom, cat’s tongue How to spot it and where to find it: There is something otherworldly about this mushroom. Its fruiting bodies, which range in size from 2cm to 10cm, are domed and generally greyish-white, with translucent edges. But the underside is covered with tiny, blunt spines, typically 3mm long. The spines are white or grey and taper towards the base. The mushroom occurs on well-rotted coniferous wood, most commonly on spruce varieties, though sometimes on pine. Felled trunks left to rot in shady, damp parts of the forest are likely to be its hosts. Interesting facts: This is both a jelly fungus and a toothed mushroom, and is the only known one…

Does shock play a major role in the humane killing of live quarry with a shotgun? I was intrigued by comments from Keith Williams (Letters, 24 November), who suggested that steel shot may produce less shock effect than lead. In rifle shooting, many hunters extol the virtues of so-called ‘hydrostatic shock’. A few deny it even exists. Most regard it as a potentially useful but unpredictable side effect. And when it comes to shotguns, the ballistic evidence seems even less clear. Rifle bullets can kill quickly by destroying vital tissue with a resulting catastrophic loss of blood pressure, or by switching off the central nervous system, or both. The energy transfer may be enhanced by a number of factors, including the expansion of the bullet and high velocity. Both will…

Significant numbers of pheasants are dying as the bird flu outbreak is confirmed as the UK’s largest ever. Sudden deaths of gamebirds have been reported from northern England and southern Scotland. Shooting Times has been unable to confirm that the deaths are related to the bird flu outbreak. However, it is clear the situation continues to worsen. Outbreaks of the most deadly form of the disease, known as high-path bird flu, have now been confirmed at 41 premises in England as well as at sites in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The disease also appears to be spreading rapidly among wild birds, with significant numbers now confirmed as having died of the disease. The majority of wild birds infected so far are geese and swans, with mute swans and barnacle geese…

A segment on Countryfile looking at lead shot in game has met with criticism from the shooting community who have described it as “alarmist” and “silly”. The 10-minute piece, presented by Tom Heap, began with the claim that game may “contain a hidden risk”. The potentially harmful effects of lead on brain function were repeatedly emphasised, despite a complete lack of evidence of any cases of anyone suffering lead poisoning from consuming lead-shot game in the UK. In an interview with British Game Assurance chief executive Liam Stokes, (right) Mr Heap even claimed that lead-shot game “could potentially cause brain damage”. Continuing the alarmist theme, Heap described buying wild game as “playing Russian roulette with lead poisoning”. The claim came despite the majority of birds tested by the show containing…

Parliament hears disposable BBQ bill The Disposable Barbecues Bill has had its first reading in Parliament. The bill, which was proposed by High Peak MP Robert Largan, would would give local authorities the power to ban the sale of the devices. Disposable barbecues have been implicated in several severe wildfires in recent years. The proposed restriction was welcomed by Peak District gamekeeper Richard Bailey, who said: “We are doing everything we can to limit the threat of wildfires, but disposable barbecues should never be taken on to a moor. I’m pleased that this bill has been proposed, and I hope it will achieve cross-party support.” Schöffel donates £12,000 to GWT The Gamekeepers’ Welfare Trust is to receive a hefty donation from Schöffel thanks to its Giveback initiative over the Black…

East Anglia was a wonderful place to grow up in during the 1960s and 1970s. There were endless opportunities for wildfowling in those secretive marshes along the edges of the Broads if I wasn’t hunting for pheasants and woodcock on my father’s little rough shoot. In the winter there was sport with the local harrier pack and in the summer there were the otterhounds. “The land had been farmed but yielded slim returns” But this was high farming country and change was in the air. Wherever I went along fen and river, land was being drained and grazing marshes were being sprayed off and put under the plough. On the arable uplands, ancient hedgerows were being bulldozed and spreading oaks ripped out to make ever bigger fields to accommodate ever…

December marks a challenging time in the deerstalking calendar. The difficulty is not from the weather or short days, but because of Christmas. Office Christmas parties, family gatherings and large quantities of alcohol distract most of us from the woodland and hills. There is so much going on that it can be hard to find time to properly manage deer. In fact, some of the common deer management issues arise from the fact most of us aren’t culling enough does in winter. The management of roe deer is at its critical stage at this time of year. Roe does are only on the menu for five months of the year against seven months for bucks. To complicate matters, doe days are short, brutally cold and come at a time of…

IF AT FIRST YOU don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s a rule that applies to Rory Major, who last month finally achieved his lifelong ambition to win the HPR Championship. As he admits with a wry smile: “It’s only taken me 34 years to win it. I have qualified for every championship since it started in 1986, both with my own dogs and those I’ve handled for other people. My own dogs have run in 11 championships.” In recent years, Rory has qualified what he describes as ‘multiple dogs’, which may sound an exaggeration but it is true. In 2019, for example, he ran four dogs in the event, a Brittany, a German wirehaired pointer, a Hungarian wirehaired vizsla and a large Munsterlander. Despite such a formidable array of dog…

How many times do we take our dogs out shooting and they behave very differently from when we are training at home? How many times do we say ‘my dog will never…’ and sure enough they go on to do that very thing like there is no tomorrow? They always say never work with children or animals, and this is part of the reason why. Both seem to love showing you up. But why are dogs so different when not at home? It is a common occurrence and most people who compete with dogs are well aware of this potential pitfall. In competitions a dog can become ‘trial-wise’ or ‘test-wise’. This essentially means they know they are at a competition so behave differently. This can be because you act differently…

With New Year nearly upon us, hunts around the country will be preparing for their first outing of 2022. The festive period has been filled with parties and carol evenings, getting everyone into the Christmas spirit. It was good to be able to enjoy them again after last year’s enforced hiatus. Many people will have planned their Christmas to include seeing hounds on Boxing Day. Whether it be in the main square of a local market town or any other fitting venue, it’s always good to see people enjoying the spectacle of a traditional meet. This Christmas was no different — despite the fact that Boxing Day fell on a Sunday — and we are already hearing reports of some incredibly positive gatherings on the 27th instead. New Year’s Day…

Only a few grey slate roofs and the tall chimney of a disused distillery. Only a small station on the Highland line with a clump of trees on one side — and look at it gleaming on the other with the Grampian hills around it — but it is a place with a magical name. Dalwhinnie has been called ‘the darling of the Highlands’ and so it is for those who have lived there and shot their first grouse and ptarmigan on the steep hillsides and fished in the deep waters of the loch. Dalwhinnie grouse fly a little faster than other grouse and trout from Loch Ericht and Loch Muick fight a little harder and taste better for breakfast than ordinary trout. And the air of Dalwhinnie is a…