Innholdsfortegnelse for 30-Mar-2022 i Shooting Times & Country

The Home Office’s ageing database system — which is used to record the details of firearms and their owners — is to be replaced in what may be a major step towards a fully integrated online licensing system. The National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS) was introduced in the early 2000s and has not been significantly updated since. The system has had problematic history. It went £1.5 million over its £5 million budget, and in 2013, South Yorkshire Police was forced to write to certificate holders asking what guns they had after a data entry clerk failed to update thousands of records. Gaps in the database’s functionality have been an obstacle to developing a fully integrated online system for firearms licensing. Now the Home Office is tendering to replace the…

Defra officials, including the UK chief vet, have responded angrily to claims made by a leading member of an anti-hunting group that the badger cull has had no effect on tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle. A paper published in Vet Record claimed that the policy had “been ineffective in reducing bTB in cattle herds”. The claim was widely reported, with both The Times and the Independent picking it up. However, concerns were raised when it became clear that one of the authors was the policy director of Born Free, an animal welfare group that says it is “ethically opposed to the hunting or killing of any animal for sport or pleasure” and that it “opposes the UK government’s policy of badger culling as part of its efforts to control bovine TB…

My cold cider arrived at the table and I took a large gulp, enjoying its sweet tang. The noise of the pub around me became inconsequential as my thirst was quenched. As a coeliac, I’ve long been a cider man and opening menus always brings a moment of trepidation because the gluten-free (GF) options tend to be feeble and I’m usually left ordering a bowl of chips and a salad. But as I turned the page, my worries subsided as the so-called GF options were better than usual. Among the starters, between a Riojapoached pear and beetroot soup, was pan-fried woodpigeon with a fig salad. It was a decision that didn’t take long to make. Pan-fried pigeon breast, seared for a few seconds a side, is one of the kings…

I imagine most people reading this will agree that grey squirrels are a wholly unwelcome addition to our national fauna. However, the majority of Britons aren’t rustics or readers of Shooting Times. More than 80% of the UK population lives in towns and cities and for the majority of them the grey squirrel is one of the few ‘furry and cute’ mammals they get to see in their parks and gardens. The wholesale damage grey squirrels cause to woodlands by stripping thin-barked species such as sycamore, beech, oak, sweet chestnut, pine, larch and Norway spruce is of little consequence to them — townspeople tend not to own commercial forestry nor manage woodland for a living. And most city dwellers are ambivalent towards squirrel pox, the fatal disease spread by grey…

The first mallard pairs are already settled on the riverbank and cock pheasants are well advanced with their clattering displays. Some of this behaviour encourages the birds to abandon any care for self-preservation and, while it might be spectacular to watch a couple of pheasants showing themselves off to their best advantage, I wonder why they so often choose to squabble on small and winding country roads. Het up and dangerously hormonal, they seem oblivious to the oncoming traffic. Even when I slow down in my truck to a walking pace and offer plenty of room, they carry on with their jousting and shout at the sound of my engine as if they owned the road. I have to remind myself that I live in the midst of a broad…

During spring and summer, the success or failure of the shooting season to come is decided partly by nature and partly by the efforts of either the gamekeeper or the shoot owner. We are here considering only the smaller shoot where no keeper is employed and there is only the owner or tenant to perform a little amateur keepering. Without a full-time keeper, little can be done in the way of hand-rearing, or with partridges on the Euston system, and it is best to concentrate on waging war on vermin. A few weekends devoted to clearing some of the vermin off your ground will yield surprising dividends in the form of larger bags later in the year. Crows and magpies are the chief feathered offenders on the average shoot and…

THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELD The ragged leaves and vibrant golden heads of Taraxacum officinale — better known to most as dandelions — are beginning to appear. Tenacious plants, they don’t seem to care whether their lengthy tap roots find a home in a fecund farmland meadow or the arid cracks of an urban pavement. Dandelion flowers, which can be dried and ground to produce a dye, are a vital source of nectar for pollinating insects. The downy seeds are adored by goldfinches and the leaves are a food source for many butterfly and moth caterpillars. The milky sap dandelions exude is integral to the production of natural latex. This rubbery product is now being used by a Chinese firm to manufacture incontinence pants. This is a somewhat apposite use, adding…

Destructive and abundant predatory birds are to be given greater protection in Wales — at the expense of the country’s dwindling ground nesters and songbirds. The board of Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has voted to approve a set of changes to the Welsh general licences that will prevent their use to control magpies, jackdaws and jays for conservation purposes. The updated licences will also impose a limited time window to control carrion crows for conservation. “NRW have shown that they are anti-shooting, now they seem to be anti-conservation too” The proposals, which were published last week, were strongly opposed by BASC and the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation. In advance of the meeting, BASC’s Steve Griffiths said: “Being unable to control the birds for conservation reasons will put hundreds of individual projects…

Feed wheat prices have broken the £300 per tonne barrier as farmers withhold stocks and traders fear disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Wheat prices have been rapidly rising over the past few weeks, with a sudden jump in futures prices over the weekend. Futures prices are prices agreed in advance for a product that will be delivered on a set date and the May 2022 future price has reached £302 per tonne. Prices drop steeply immediately after harvest, but even ‘new crop’ future prices have now topped £260 per tonne. Rapeseed, which is used in compound feed, has also soared in price as a major loss of Ukrainian sunflower oil is expected. Rapeseed oil can be used to replace sunflower oil in certain applications, so demand for it…

There is a large amount of concern about what the next shooting season will look like (News, 23 March). Hysteria is mounting about the shortage of poults, feed and gas. The shooting community used to only rear game to supplement wild stocks, thereby ensuring a shootable surplus, yet guaranteeing the number of birds required to over-year. This situation is no longer true. We have morphed from a shooting community into a ‘shooting industry’. Like all industries, shoots are under financial pressure to deliver more for less. This culture encourages most of the practices our opponents criticise us for. Perhaps now is the perfect time for us to look critically at our sport. We should make decisions to go forward in a more sustainable, conservation-minded way. Richard Gould, by email IN…

Legends are often based on rumours, and rumours are seldom based on facts, so I’ve never been quite sure whether the legend of Alex, the red-bearded Scotsman, is true. According to the story, Alex was a familiar figure on driven shoots on the Welsh borders, wearing a kilt complete with sporran and carrying a 16-bore Stephen Grant hammergun that had reputedly once belonged to King Edward VII. Alex was always accompanied by his black retriever, Dougal. Now Dougal was no ordinary gundog: invariably described as a giant poodle, he looked all the more impressive because he featured a so-called lion clip. The lion clip — a completely shaven body, except for the joints and what might be called the mane — is reputed to have evolved when poodles were working…

IT is true what they say about pride coming before a fall. Last week, I was walking my dogs in a local wood. The sun had recently risen, a woodpecker was drumming. It was a great start to the day. Both spaniels were trotting along 10 yards ahead of me, perfectly under control, when a muntjac doe dashed across the path in front of them. Neither bothered to give it more than a glance and I felt that touch of pride that comes from having steady dogs. Thirty seconds later, everything changed. A muntjac fawn the size of a large rabbit suddenly appeared — no doubt the offspring of the doe we had seen. Emma the sprocker, who had never seen such a small muntjac before, set off in hot…

“Your ferret may be bottled up with a rabbit, or trapped by the warren’s design” In a world packed full of technology, ferreting’s simplicity is one of the best things about it. The essential techniques haven’t changed much since its inception. In fact, the only real change in ferreting is one piece of technology that we should not operate without — the ferret-finder. One of ferreting’s attractions is that even though the kit and the theory have remained the same, every day in the field is different. I could ferret the same rabbit holes with the same ferrets in the same fashion, and I would always end up with a different outcome and experience. This is what makes ferreting amazing. If rabbits were predictable, they would soon become extinct as…

OUR VERDICT Over the past couple of decades, competitive clay shooting has grown substantially, as have the abilities, ambitions and, importantly, the of its budgets participants. No longer are competitive shooters satisfied with an off-the-shelf, general-purpose and moderately priced Sporting clay gun. This means there has been growth in the development of dedicated ‘target guns’ and, if you visit one of this year’s championships, you will see the domination of brands such as Krieghoff, Perazzi, Caesar Guerini and Blaser. The Zoli Z-Sport falls neatly into this class of target gun. As with all guns of this type, the overall weight is the most notable change from a traditional Sporter. At 8lb 6oz, it is not a gun you would use for general use or as an all-rounder. I will not…

FBEESLEY This label comes from an important maker at an important time in the history of British gunmaking. Beesley set up shop at 85 Edgware Road in 1885 and remained there until 1891, so we can date this label to within six years. The paper and ink label claims a royal warrant, as well as stating he was the inventor of Purdey’s hammerless gun. Interestingly, he is also offering to convert guns to hammerless for £8. Written on the label in pen and ink is load information for the cartridges intended for use with the gun. The mention of ‘EC’ powder is indicative of the late 1800s, when smokeless powders were becoming more common.…

The media recently carried a story about the University of the Highlands and Islands, based in Inverness, issuing a trigger warning about Hemingway’s classic novel The Old Man and the Sea. Students were warned that it contained “graphic fishing scenes” (Quote of the Week, 16 March). Even the Guardian sniffily agreed that the warning was ludicrous — though it buried the admission within a sneering column that concluded: “… let’s be clear: an overzealous attempt to inform students about content they may find upsetting is not something to be outraged by…” I’d forgive you for thinking that this was merely the latest example of a very recent phenomenon, the snowflake society, where cosseted youngsters, often students, think they have a right not to be offended by anything. Hardly the mind-broadening…

The fieldsports and shooting community has stepped in to show support for Ukraine. Among those helping out was North Cotswold Hunt in Worcestershire, which raised £5,000 in cash donations and sent a lorryload of clothing and other vital supplies to Poland. Ollie Dale, Master and huntsman of the North Cotswold, said: “We have been truly overwhelmed by the generosity of our followers and members of the public.” The Angling Trust launched its Anglers for Ukraine appeal at The Big One fishing show in Farnborough, Hampshire, where fishing retailer Outlaw Pro donated all takings from its trades stand, a total of nearly £10,000, to the appeal. Serhii Vasylchyshyn, from the Ukrainian Sport Fishing Federation, said: “It means a great deal to us Ukrainians to know that our fellow anglers in the…

The two largest suppliers of gamebirds will not send any eggs or chicks to the UK until June at the earliest. L’Envol de Retz and Gibovendee have told customers to plan for the delay in response to the worsening bird flu situation in the Pays de la Loire region of France, where they are based. The decision will cause huge disruption to the shooting season, effectively delaying its start for many shoots by up to two months and possibly forcing shoots to cancel completely. A serious outbreak of the highly pathogenic form of the disease began in the Pays de la Loire region earlier this month (News, 23 March). As it rapidly spread from premises to premises, the French authorities introduced draconian measures, including movement bans and mass culls. Shooting…

Quail hunting dog rescued from well A US bird dog has been the subject of a rescue. The young pointer, called Maria, was working on a quail hunt in Texas when she went into thick cover to pick a wounded bird. When she did not emerge, the hunting party followed her, only to find she had fallen 50ft into an abandoned well. State game wardens soon arrived and lured her into a cage tied to a rope, which was then hoisted up. Remarkably, Maria was unharmed. The game wardens published an account of the rescue titled “How do you solve a problem like Maria?”. Birthday honour Democratic Unionist MP Jim Shannon has wished Shooting Times a happy birthday in Parliament. In an Early Day Motion, Mr Shannon said: “That this…

I have a confession: wandering with the beaters is one of my favourite places to be on a game shoot. I say that even as a member of the gun trade who, when asked to go with the beaters, invariably ends up with a performance review committee of customers past and present scrutinising my every miss. It is at times like these that the ability to turn electric ear defenders off and mute the inevitable abuse is a godsend. Yet filling the role of walking Gun remains an opportunity to remember the early days of my game shooting. My father would be asked by some kindly host to “bring along the boy if he’s free, he can walk all day”. But it’s not only the memories of my youth. Being…

Crow shooting is a wonderful game of cat and mouse against a rather cunning adversary. The shooting provides excellent sporting opportunities and essential pest management, as crows will cause tremendous damage, both in terms of wildlife and agriculture, if left unchecked. Unfortunately, the ongoing destruction caused by crows makes them public enemy number one on my permission. In order to be truly successful, you do need the best kit. Crow control isn’t only about having a nice afternoon — you really need to get the job done. 3D leaf poncho RRP £19.99 to £35 amazon.co.uk Using a hide is the most common concealment method in a decoyer’s arsenal. Hides provide the relevant cover to keep us hidden in a comfortable environment to sit and watch as time passes by. There…

“I have never met a stalker who only wants to go out and shoot large males in the UK” Heading into April, the thoughts of many stalkers turn towards roebucks. It’s one of the most eagerly awaited times of the year, akin to the Glorious Twelfth for keen Shots, and there is very little that can beat the excitement of heading out at first light on 1 April. The start of the roebuck season marks the end of winter. There is always a feel-good factor in the air and the adrenaline of getting out after a big buck starts to kick in. As a deer manager, I am constantly monitoring the roe on my grounds and particularly so in early spring, when I can fully assess how the deer have…

“Never wear a cap in the same tweed as your suit. Only the staff wear uniforms” Headwear is one of the few areas of the sporting wardrobe where you can make your mark. The cap is a generic term that defines a soft hat with a brim that, instead of circling the entire form, protrudes only at one end. And a flat cap describes those which have a fold at the front rather than a peak, such as is much favoured by the military. And that’s that. That’s a flat ’at. However, if you think that there is only one style of flat cap, then I am afraid you are in for a rude shock. If you were to venture into a decent hattery and ask for a flat cap,…

Offering a mental challenge GUNDOGS Q I bought my first cocker spaniel last year. I was sure to do my research on reputable breeders and health-tested parents. The pedigree is very impressive, with many field trial champions, and the mother had a lovely temperament. We knew we were getting a high-energy dog, but aimed for her to be a family pet. I was told that if we could offer her the appropriate exercise, we would be an ideal home. Sadly, I am starting to think that was wrong. No matter how much we walk her, she is still manic. We have been on basic obedience courses, with little or no improvement. She has no interest in toys or treats, preferring to sniff and hunt. We have been considering if we…