Innholdsfortegnelse for 19-Oct-2022 i Shooting Times & Country

By the time you read this, I’ll be on my way back from a trip to the Outer Hebrides to shoot grouse over a headstrong Gordon setter. For the most part, it’ll just be a case of chasing a dog around the hill for 20 or so heavy-going miles, but it’s everything that I love about shooting. The scenery is idyllic, there’s no phone signal and the birds are as wild as they come. I’ve been a few times now and every time I go, I always think that I will get a brace of grouse stuffed and cased. They are such beautiful birds and I like taxidermy. I always think of it as being such a great celebration of the wonder of the natural world. The only trouble, though,…

LETTER OF THE WEEK An amazing young Shot Here is a cracking picture of my son, Ronnie Blackwell, just before his 7th birthday, after shooting over some drilled wheat. He shot his first pigeon last week and this weekend he topped it, ending a superb afternoon with a bag of 20 to his name, shot with a .410 and a 28-bore. I’m still amazed by some of the shots he took and it’s a day his proud dad will never forget. William Blackwell, by email IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALAN PAINE Each week, the best letter wins a pair of water repellent Chorley gaiters supplied by Alan Paine. Visit alanpaine.co.uk for details of your local Alan Paine stockist. If your letter is chosen please contact ollie.harvey@futurenet.com to claim your prize NOT…

There’s been a definite nip in the air over the past couple of weeks and it’s nice to see the leaves changing as a result of the season rather than the bunches that simply dried up from the hot weather through the summer. Plants and trees can put on a burst of fruit and nuts through harsh conditions in an attempt to sow their own seed if they feel their existence is under threat, so the hedges are full of fruit and the trees laden with nut crops. Acorns and sweet chestnuts are plentiful on the ground and along with other wildlife, namely grey squirrels, the deer are making the most of them. As the light fades, the deer are literally racing each other out of the woods for first…

INNOVATIONS FOR THE FORESHORE 1 Monsoon Classic jacket RRP: £199.99 ridgelineclothing.co.uk Built for long days in relentlessly wet weather, Ridgeline’s Monsoon Classic jacket is the perfect choice. Waterproof and highly breathable, it offers protection, durability and comfort. The three-layer construction features a brushed polyester outer, which is hard-wearing, comfortable and silent. 2 Semperfli flask with thermometer RRP: £14.99 farlows.co.uk No foreshore foray is complete without a warming beverage. This 500ml battery-powered LED flask has a non-slip base, built-in tea strainer, temperature display and is guaranteed to provide thermal insulation for up to 12 hours. 3 Baschieri & Pellagri Dual Steel cartridges RRP: POA, contact local dealer baschieri-pellagri.com Two layers of different-sized pellets provide optimal performance. The steel and zinc-plated steel layout obtains a consistent shot pattern and striking power, while…

What is known, is the average house price in Northwood — in the leafy London borough of Hillingdon — is a wallet-assaulting £984,321. It remains unknown what the owners of those houses felt about the report of an 18th-century artillery piece within the environs of their well-heeled commuter paradise. However, the sensibilities of the Northwood denizens mattered little to Patrick Galbraith. He had a match in his hand and a primed Spanish naval cannon to fire. A spit, a phut and a smoking boom gave signal to the assembled Guns that the Shooting Times 140th anniversary clay shoot had begun. Warm welcome The Holland & Holland Shooting Grounds was perfect for the event. The fine old gunmakers, along with fellow partners GMK, made guests feel most welcome. A few of…

For some people, working from home has become shirking from home. I have highlighted aspects of this before (Sharpshooter, 18 May). What we are seeing is too many senior public sector managers wanting to spend more time with their Pelotons and allowing customer service to slide. Just look at the chaos in firearms licensing. The consequences of the ongoing firearms licensing shambles in Northern Ireland and parts of England and Wales are starting to feed through. BASC has reported an 8% decline in certificate holders over two years. Police Scotland, it should be noted, seem to be doing a much better job than some of their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. One of my own grandsons has just given up on waiting for his application for a firearms certificate to…

NEWS SHOOT Pheasant feeders can draw grey squirrels as well as pheasants. You should take any safe and ethical opportunities to cull grey squirrels. Local pest shooters may enjoy staking feeders out; however, for most people working on shoots, squirrel shooting will be opportunistic. CHECK As common snipe arrive, jack snipe arrive too. Jack snipe (below) are protected in most of the UK and should not be shot. Jack snipe flush very late, often from just in front of your feet, fly briefly and then drop down again. Common snipe flush earlier, zigzag and then fly higher. If in doubt, don’t shoot.…

When you’re shooting fallow deer on your own, knowing when and where to be is a critical part of the puzzle in finding them, combined with a significant dose of luck. But when you are coordinated with a few people, the luck element reduces as a greater area is covered and the deer move around more. A morning stalking on an estate near Bourne was a prime example of how a coordinated approach between three stalkers yields good results. With two of us positioned in high seats some distance from the block of woodland, a third stalker struck out on foot and, once he had made a shot and moved the deer on, the two of us in high seats were able to find luck as the herd searched for…

An inland creek near Brightlingsea with gravel pits on the north side and a millpond at its sluice has been productive this season. Several corn-fed mallard have found their way into the gamebag, mainly on a rising tide at dawn. I’d argue with anyone who says that this is not the finest of meat. At a smart restaurant in Southwold, duck is on the menu for £37 per portion with fat chips. Wildfowling is about so much more than something for the pot, but it’s a bonus if what we shoot costs a small fortune for those who don’t get out of bed and get muddy. A pair of plump mallard is always a satisfying reward for an early start and that’s before you factor in the sunrise, the glowing…

The weather is far from typical for deerstalking in the Scottish Highlands as outfitter Thomas Heinzel-Kienberger leads visiting hunters Rasmus Andersen and Mathias Nielsen across his family’s estate. The 5,000-acre parcel of land on the edge of Loch Rannoch in central Scotland is vivid with colours picked out by the hot sun. Small groves of trees break up hills tufted with yellowing grass and purple heather. There are also strong stags with wide, heavy antlers wandering the uplands. These are the type of deer the estate likes to present, and it protects males with these characteristics until their strength begins to wane. Visiting hunters are expected to shoot less favoured specimens — young or old, large or small — singled out by their guide. Intense pressure The number of deer…

The last days of September are filled with the sound of geese in the north. Working around the farm as autumn approaches, the sky rings to the constant din of pink-footed geese coming over at all heights. Some are dropping down steeply to the Solway, but most are high up on the very edge of visibility, heading further south into England. You can certainly hear them at all hours of the day and night, but even when you strain your eyes and stare into the bright skies, these higher birds are hard to see. Some migrant species appear as if from nowhere in the day, and it’s hard to believe they have travelled such long distances. Others drop in overnight and you find yourself wondering how long they have been…

Gundogs IF YOU WANT TO start a lively debate among dog owners, just mention the subject of neutering. It’s something that many people feel passionately about, while others simply follow the advice of their veterinary surgeon. Neutering — by which I mean castrating dogs or spaying bitches — is a routine and relatively risk-free operation performed by all small-animal vets, for whom it is a valuable source of income. The cost of the operation ranges widely depending on the breed of dog and where you live, but it is usually at least £200 for a bitch and up to £300 for a dog. Many pet owners routinely have their dogs neutered as a matter of course. The reason is rarely the health of their animal, but for their own convenience.…

The seasons have definitely shifted; the crisp, clean air and the drop in temperature signal the start of the shooting season. I would be the first to admit that I prefer deerstalking and pigeon shooting in the winter months. I have also never taken to driven game days, favouring a walked-up rough shoot on my permissions instead. I only take pheasant for my own pot, so this method is just perfect for that. The change in colours adds to the ambiance when out rambling in the countryside. Where many people long for summer days, I prefer wrapping up warm for lovely walks, country pubs and having a comforting hot meal at the end of a long day. I always find the cold makes you appreciate the little luxuries even more.…

Princess Royal is new BASC patron HRH The Princess Royal has been announced as BASC’s new patron. In response to her acceptance, BASC Council chairman Eoghan Cameron said: “We are privileged that The Princess Royal has accepted the invitation to become our new patron. The news has been warmly welcomed by all at BASC.” Princess Anne takes over from her father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, who was WAGBI then BASC patron for 53 years. Georgina Ballantine in her own words The voice of Georgina Ballantine has been heard in public for the first time in 100 years. Miss Ballantine, the daughter of a River Tay gillie, caught a 64lb salmon on 7 October 1922, a record that stands to this day. The recording was released by Miss Ballantine’s family…

The birds are at last starting to calm down. I had wrongly expected them to wander less and stay at home more this year with it being so dry, but the lack of rain and above-average temperatures didn’t seem to make much difference. I thought the drinkers would have kept them at home, especially when they were on the pellets and the ditches and streams were dry, but they didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been a terrible year for wandering — we have had better and we have had worse. They appear to be holding OK at the moment, but they are most definitely off the food and have been for a number of weeks. Last year there was little about in the way of wild food, and…

My recent article on payments for picking-up (David’s viewpoint, 7 September) prompted an interesting response from a reader, Peter, who keeps meticulously detailed accounts of his picking-up expenses. He emailed me to say that he expects to be paid for picking-up on a commercial shoot, explaining: “Why should I do it for nowt while they’re getting an income?” I expect most of us feel the same. Peter has cut back considerably on the number of shoots where he takes his team of labradors, and is now down to just one where he receives £50, a sum “which comes nowhere near covering the real costs. Fuel costs at 45p per mile are £9.45, so the net is just over £40. Last year, I had some fairly horrendous vet bills, including a…

October has been a relatively quiet month on the measuring front. This is perhaps to be expected as, at the time of writing, the roe rut is well and truly over, with very mixed reports as to how intense it was, and the red and sika rut is just getting into its swing. I would be most interested to hear from stalkers on the ground about how you have found the various ruts for our different species over the past few years. With wildly variable weather and subtle changes to the deer behaviour where I stalk, I think the last ‘full-on’ rut I had was around four or five years ago. While mildly infuriating when trying to get one’s male cull done, if nothing else it goes to show how…

The experts THE ULTIMATE SHOOTING QUIZ TEAM BILL HARRIMAN BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING Airgunner and journalist from the West Country DIGGORY HADOKE Vintage gun expert, firearms dealer, author and journalist BRUCE POTTS Shooting Times rifle reviewer and stalker MIKE SWAN Conservation expert and head of education for the GWCT DAVID TOMLINSON Highly regarded writer and ornithologist LIAM BELL Shropshire gamekeeper, keen wildfowler and amateur naturalist GRAHAM DOWNING Shooting consultant and sporting author TONY BUCKWELL Veterinary surgeon with a special interest in gundogs TOM PAYNE Professional shooting instructor and avid pigeon shooter ELLENA SWIFT Award-winning gundog trainer and canine behaviour specialist TIM MADDAMS Former head chef at River Cottage and runs a shoot in Devon SIMON WHITEHEAD Author, professional ferreter and rabbit controller IAIN…