Innholdsfortegnelse for 25-May-2022 i Shooting Times & Country

India’s announcement that it will restrict the export of wheat, plus a downbeat report from the US government, has pushed wheat prices even higher, piling the financial pressure on shoots. Wheat production in India had been hoped to counter some of the global deficit caused by the war in Ukraine and by less-than-ideal weather in key wheat-growing regions. However, as Indian wheat prices shot up in expectation of crops finding eager international buyers, India’s government grew concerned about the ability of its people to buy flour, so banned nearly all wheat exports. Further compounding the problem, the US Department of Agriculture issued its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate just as the news of India’s ban was breaking. The report predicted that there would be a significant drop in wheat…

If you’re looking for fresh food that’s steeped in local flavour, food that comes directly from the countryside around you, pay a visit to your nearest farmers’ market. Take, for instance, our local monthly market a couple of miles away in the small Suffolk town of Halesworth. It’s a place where you’ll find an entire menu of meats, cheeses and fresh produce from farms, smallholdings and back gardens in the surrounding villages. There’s honey, delicious freshly baked bread, Steve the smallholder with his pork, bacon, sausages and goats’ cheese and Lottie’s fresh farm beef from Cratfield. In season you’ll find armfuls of lettuce, cabbages, calabrese and other greenery of all kinds. Then there’s locally grown grass-fed Norfolk horn lamb and mutton, and wild venison. “There is a growing demand for…

Every deerstalker worth their salt wants to own the ultimate rifle. You might think that firing money at it is a simple solution, but for most it’s a journey. Knowing what I know now, could the journey have been a straighter, shorter and cheaper road? There are a few questions to ask at the beginning of any rifle purchase: calibre is a major one. First consider the game you wish to take and the recoil you are prepared to handle. Next is the weight of the rifle. The lighter it is, the easier it will be to handle and carry, but the heavier it is, then the better it absorbs recoil. After that, there’s a lot of personal preference. Some want a tool to do a job, others see the…

I was asked recently what I would like for my birthday. I thought about this while the usual suspects whistled through my imagination. Aston Martin DB6 shooting brake, pair of Woodward hammerguns, a week at the grouse and more besides. Much more. And less — less waist, more hair. It was, however, a serious question that only crops up once a year after all so is deserving of a serious answer. So I responded that what I really wanted was a shooting lesson. I should perhaps be flattered by the scepticism that this answer elicited. I have, it is true, been shooting for five decades or more with all sorts of guns. I have volumes of gamebooks cataloguing my sporting outings the length and breadth of these isles and beyond.…

OUR VERDICT I admit that I have always had a fascination with repeating shotguns. The semi-automatic is the most practical and versatile shotgun design available. It has been the shotgun of choice for the American sportsman since the turn of the 19th century, yet the design has never enjoyed the same popularity in the UK. We are a very different market, our sporting traditions and heritage are deeply rooted and greatly valued by us all. However, for some strange reason, we all accept the shooting of game with a pair, or even a trio, of guns to improve rate of fire, yet the thought of semi-auto on a formal day’s shooting is an outrageous concept and viewed as unsporting. I can’t accept that this is simply down to rate of…

The cacophony of skylarks and peewits has been replaced by the chorus of blackbirds above my small, terraced garden. It’s a time to relax and recuperate after a long season but, more importantly, to implement plans for the future. To quote the late Steve Jobs, “if you look closely, most overnight success took a long time”. The same can be applied to my dogs and ferrets. Success doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and effort. Sometimes the boring jobs are the foundations for the day-to-day lives of the animals we rely on. We are only as good as the animals we work with and we have to give them the best conditions that we possibly can. Sandwiched between my hectic schedule, I have finally got round to doing all those…

WOODWARD & SONS The Automatic was a distinctive sidelock sold by Woodward, mostly in the 1880s and 1890s. It had a pronounced tumbler pivot and this label in the case lid tells the owner how to operate the gun. Many owners would have been buying their first hammerless gun, having grown up with hammerguns. The address of 64 St James’s Street was valid from 1873 until the firm sold out to Purdey in 1948. The name James Woodward & Sons was also used from 1873. The first gun to use the name Automatic was a self-cocking hammergun, but the sidelocks are much more common.…

On 25 May 1659, Lord Protector Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver, resigned from his position, leading to the restoration and crowning of King Charles II in 1660. Charles was addicted to beautiful women, coursing and racing. He indulged these predilections to the full at Newmarket. Charles built a palace in the town to replace the ramshackle one his grandfather James I had erected 40 years earlier. The court left London twice a year to sit at Newmarket, affairs of state mere sideshows to the important business of hawking, hunting and whoring. The fine old turf of Newmarket Heath Charles found to be easy on the legs of his horses, and hares and game were plentiful. Charles won the Town Plate race as a jockey in 1671 and 1675. Newmarket’s Rowley…

No poults, chicks or eggs will come from France to the UK for this rearing season. Despite the reassurances of some French and British game farmers, a clarification of the law around importing birds, chicks and eggs from France has ended hopes of a supply arriving in time for birds to be ready for the coming shooting season. Shooting Times understands that a series of meetings between French and UK authorities, as well as representatives of the shooting and game farming industries, have been trying to find a way forward. However, all proposed solutions have run into a brick wall in the form of EU and UK law. These laws prevent the import of poultry, including chicks and eggs, for 90 days after an outbreak has ended. A great deal…

RABBITS A late spring evening, a rifle, a steady dog and a few rabbits mooching beneath a hedge — what could be better? The .22 rimfire with a sound moderator and subsonic ammunition is the classic rabbiting outfit, but if you are looking to shoot at longer range and are not too worried about meat damage, a .17 HMR is a great choice. And with careful shot placement and good fieldcraft, a simple .22 air rifle is a superb tool. FOXING Almost wherever you are, you’ll not be far away from a farmer cutting silage. The ‘aftermath’ — which is what the newly mown field is called — can be a magnet for foxes. If there are any freshly mown fields on your permission, it is well worth looking over…

Colombia’s supreme court has banned all catch-and-release fishing, citing cruelty. In an eight-to-one decision, the justices ruled that sports fishing was unconstitutional because it “violates the principles of environmental protection and animal welfare” and results in the “deterioration of the nation’s hydrobiological resources”. A sports fishing industry has recently begun to flourish in Colombia’s more remote regions after a peace deal was signed with the FARC rebel group. “We were beginning to recover from the pandemic with the arrival of skilled adventurers, the majority flying in from Bogotá in chartered aircraft and hiring guides to take them fishing in our pristine canyons and lagoons,” Sergio Torres, a guide in La Uribe, Meta, told Colombia’s The Citypaper. “They spend good money to catch large fish, and are very environmentally aware,” he…

I love the autumn and I love the winter — I like cold, bleak days on the hill and I adore the burnt orange landscape these seasons bring. But working with roe deer has given me a new appreciation for the spring. “The wild boar leave tantalising traces of their presence in the soft earth” We’ve been blessed with pretty good weather here over the past few weeks; clear, hot, sunshine interspersed with some overcast days and humid rain. The temperature is still dropping low enough during the night to leave a nice dew on the grass and the combination has left these forests flushed with green. Stalking the roebucks in this weather has been utter bliss. The slow morning stalking routine and the occasional, still evening stalk leaves me…

Iwon’t keep on about my jaw injury, but it feels like months since I fell out of that ash tree. I was recently speaking to a friend, who is an ex-England rugby player, about injuries. He was absolutely right when he said it will feel like eternity to me and to everyone else like not long at all. I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone so long without firing a shot. Enough of me whining and back to the pigeon shooting. I finally got the all-clear a little over a week ago. OK, that’s not entirely true, but I felt sound, so I decided to trust myself; with my O level in biology, I feel qualified to make such calls. As I stepped into the hide, I was full…

The globe had simply stopped spinning — for a moment at least — and time and space in the world of extraordinary collectible firearms stood still. Those who were there will always remember the day. In the spring of 2006, Holts held the universe of such desirable objects of fine art in its hand. When the World Series, described as a magnificent garniture of six sidelock ejector double rifles by Asprey (London) representing the six continents, came up for sale, a who’s who of collectors from around the world were present. “The World Series collection was an extraordinary lot to come to auction,” principal Nick Holt said. “They were auctioned at the Duke of York’s Barracks in London on 16 March 2006. They were the crowning guns in an especially…

I sometimes visit the village allotment to talk to old friends and, occasionally, steal their weeds. Years ago, I was chatting to old Charlie — not to be confused with young Charlie, or Charlie the hair — and asked him what he hoped to grow in the plot he was digging over. “Spinach!” he announced. Putting aside (for the greater good) the reticence that comes with not wishing to appear a smart alec, I pointed out that he was wasting his time. He was laboriously digging over what was already a first-class crop of fat hen (main picture), a common weed of cultivated ground. Hundreds of young plants were already available for picking, with many more still to come over the summer months. To make things worse, spinach and fat…

Q I have built up a team of seven jills and one hob ferret. I don’t plan to breed them but have seen various information on the options to prevent unwanted kits. What would you recommend? A I have kept a lot of jill ferrets over years but after decades of searching for the complete answer, I am still looking. The situation is different each year but there are three choices: to breed, leave in season or remove from season. If you want to remove them from their season, you have two choices — a jill jab, or the natural way with a vasectomised hob ferret, called a hoblet. The jill jab is becoming quite expensive, but the cost of a vasectomy operation for the ferret can creep up, too.…

One day, in my dim and distant youth, I noticed a wisp of fishing line hanging from the mouth of my sister’s horse. My blood froze as I recalled that I had been practising my fly casting on the lawn next to the paddock. Full of trepidation, I gently grasped the end of the line, while making comforting noises to the animal. Thankfully, it soon became clear that there was no hook on the end. The monofilament tippet slid out easily, all 3ft of it. The fact that grazing livestock will chew and sometimes ingest non-food objects is well known. Some horses have a habit of gnawing on wooden rails and are known as ‘crib-biters’. Deer will chew shed antlers. Both deer and cattle like nibbling at bones, which seldom…

A firearm surrender programme run by all the UK’s police forces is under way. The scheme, which began on 12 May and runs until 29 May, allows anyone to hand over a gun at a police station without fear of prosecution. Superintendent Graham Barnett, from Surrey Police and Sussex Police Joint Operations Command, said: “If you have firearms or ammunition that you don’t know how to safely dispose of, we can help. By surrendering your weapons now, it will prevent them from falling into the hands of criminals and endangering the public. Whether what you have is illegal or not, and whatever and however you came to have it, if you no longer want it, please hand it in.” But not everyone from the shooting community approves. Firearms enthusiast Eddie…

A gamekeeper in Kent helped catch and convict the murderer of a police community support officer. A video shown in court recorded the moment that gamekeeper Gavin Tucker challenged 22-year-old Callum Wheeler after finding him behaving suspiciously on private land near where the body of Julia James had been found only 24 hours earlier. The interaction between Mr Tucker and Wheeler, who was carrying a holdall with a large object sticking out of it, was caught on the keeper’s dashcam. Mr Tucker also had the presence of mind to take clear photographs of Wheeler’s face and to call 999 to report him. Using the photographs taken by Mr Tucker, police launched an appeal and were able to identify and arrest Wheeler. In his bedroom they found the handle of a…

Hunting pits found around Stonehenge The hunting and shooting men and women of Wiltshire are heirs to a tradition stretching back at least 10,000 years, according to the findings of archeologists. Excavations undertaken at Stonehenge have discovered that thousands of pits dug around the site, one of which is more than 6ft deep and 13ft wide — the biggest of its kind found in north-west Europe — were used to catch animals such as boar and deer. Big news for our endangered birds More than 1,900 farmers, gamekeepers and other land managers braved appalling conditions to monitor birds on their land for the GWCT’s Big Farmland Bird Count 2022. The survey covered 607,000 hectares and more than 420,000 individual birds were counted. Among them were 26 red-listed species, with seven…

Think of the British countryside today and a number of images spring immediately to mind. A village green, a thatched cottage, perhaps even a parish church. But I’m prepared to wager that hedgerows will feature somewhere in those imaginings. Hedgerows, innocent and ever present, divide fields into the patchwork quilt landscape that is so much a part of our cultural heritage and is, to us, so familiar. You might be surprised to learn, however, that this beloved feature of our rural landscape was once the cause of riot, bloodshed and death and that, far from being ancient, is in the vast majority of cases a relatively recent addition to our countryside. Truly ancient hedgerows are rare in Britain and, hard as it may be to imagine, our countryside was once…

“The grass field, enclosed on three sides by mature woodland, oozed deer appeal” I only used to travel south once a year — heading to the Home Counties to stalk Chinese water deer at Paul Childerley’s headquarters, assisting his deer cull and introducing some of my clients to the deer species we don’t find in Ayrshire. Recently, though, I have increased the frequency of my trips and now make the cross-border journey up to five times a year, delivering deer management training for Deer Stalking Certificates (DSC) Levels 1 and 2. It’s always privilege to stalk on new ground. I certainly enjoy the change of pace that Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire presents to my own patch and I eagerly look forward to those few days away — apart from the traffic.…

There’s one trouble with getting a reputation as a dog person — people expect you to know a lot about all dogs and not (as in my case) mainly gundogs. Although gundogs may be my speciality, my limited knowledge does include most breeds of sporting dogs, but I’m not so good on papillons or pinschers, let alone samoyeds or shih tzus. Nor do I have much knowledge or experience of showing. However, against my better judgement, I’ve been persuaded to organise a dog show for a local charitable event, to be held next month. I’ve done it once before, in the days before the wretched pandemic, but that was three years ago. I was rather hoping that the organisers would have forgotten me. Alas, they hadn’t, though when I was…

When I was five or six years old, I went out one night to carry a flask of tea to my father, who was in the lambing sheds. It was only a short walk from the house, but I loved the chore because it made me feel like I was helping. Having a specific responsibility was important back then, even though I’d give a great deal to have an hour without any responsibilities now. It was a horrible night, with rain slashing on the tin roof of the shed, and as I pushed the heavy door closed behind me, I was greeted by the smell of warm sheep, hot straw and dusty heat bulbs glowing in the pens. My father was in the pen that lay furthest from the door,…

It was a good shoot as shoots go and as shoots go, it went. It has happened to me a number of times. Now it is happening again. Sometimes the parting of the ways has been my fault, or anyway partly my fault, perhaps because the owner of the land or lease and I did not see entirely eye-to-eye about how the shooting should be conducted. In which case it is best to part, amicably if possible. At other times, the parting of the ways has come as suddenly and unexpectedly as the outraged rise of a cock pheasant stepped upon while walking dogless through long grass. It happened to some friends of mine the season before last. After a relationship that had existed apparently on the best of terms…

Q I’ve recently bought a .223 for foxes. I was wondering what would be the best distance to zero it at and what the best weight of ammunition is? A I’m a big fan of the .223 as a foxing round as it’s pretty flat-shooting with lighter ammunition. In fact, using 35-gr ammunition, it performs much like the .204. First, bullet weight will depend on the barrel twist. As a rule, the .223 should shoot well with 50-gr to 55-gr ammo. This is a good bullet weight for foxes. If you zero an inch high at 100 yards then, give or take, you will be bang on at 50 yards and at 200 yards. This means that, realistically, you should be able to point and shoot at a fox out…

Q I saw that the Maltese government had agreed to allow spring shooting of turtle doves (News, 27 April). Are any of the doves that migrate through Malta heading for Britain? A The doves shot in Malta would have been migrating towards breeding territories in central and eastern Europe. Our birds migrate from wintering grounds in west Africa through Morocco, Spain and France. How much the traditional spring shooting of doves affects the population is not known, but shooting any birds shortly before they breed can hardly be helpful to maintaining a healthy population. Turtle doves are still widespread breeding birds throughout mainland Europe, but the overall population is thought to have declined by 30% since the turn of the century. In the UK, the decline has been much more…