Innholdsfortegnelse for 18-Jan-2023 i Shooting Times & Country

The issues causing delays in issuing firearms licences are seriously affecting the UK gun trade. That’s according to one of the country’s leading distributors, Karl Waktare of Beretta importers GMK. “The best customer for the trade is a new shooter. They need all the kit,” Waktare explained in an exclusive interview with Gun Trade News. Delays of up to six months in issuing licences have been reported by Guns, with a very mixed pattern emerging across the UK. Some police departments are up to date, while others, such as Devon and Cornwall, have fallen very far behind. The accusation comes at a time when Shooting Times has learned about the increasing usage of temporary permits by some police forces that are too busy to renew licences properly. Permits can be…

It was my wife’s uncle who knocked on my door that January morning in 1998. He had just been asked by the owner of a large manor house if he could remove some of the mallard that frequented the manor’s moat and ponds. The problem was that the essentially wild mallard often nested in the gardens in the spring, and then tended their broods on the manor’s fastidiously cared-for lawns and borders. During the summer months, their droppings and gleaning habits would reduce parts of the manicured lawns to a contaminated quagmire, which seriously hampered the family’s croquet games. The new owners had tired of the ducks’ intrusions. Uncle had wondered if I would like some mallard as call-ducks, but I had a better idea. Uncle’s pheasant cage-trap proved pretty…

Hand-eye coordination With almost all sports, hand-eye coordination plays a huge factor. In fact, it is probably the sole priority for most, if not all, sports. Obviously there are other factors depending on the sport, such as fitness and size, but let’s put it this way: “If you can’t catch the ball, then you don’t leave the blocks.” I’m not a believer in calling people ‘a natural’ — whether that be a natural rugby player, a natural cricketer or a natural Shot. What is actually being described is that the person involved has natural hand-eye coordination, allowing them to partake and start to learn the sport. The emphasis being on learning. A top shot doesn’t suddenly pick up a gun, mount it correctly without fault and with impeccable technique and…

Minority-breed spaniels The pace was steady as the red and white dog weaved methodically through the brambles beneath lines of tall pine trees. I was 30 yards behind the spaniel, a Welsh springer. Closer to the action was a judge with a notepad, a steward with a radio and Jane Sutherland, whistle between her teeth. We were flanked by a small team of Guns. On the lee side of the shelterbelt, a Clumber spaniel bobbed in and out of view. It was my first experience of a minority-breed field trial and, as somebody more accustomed to the frenetic, bustling action of dogs in a beating line or picking-up gang, I couldn’t help but note how quiet things were. Then, just as the cold wind began to bite and I wondered…

In early December last year, I was snuggled into a hedge in Norfolk — if you could describe my nest of blackthorn and bramble as snuggly. The geese — some greylags but mostly pinkfeet — had been feeding hard on the adjacent sugar beet stubble for 10 days but had pretty much cleared the lot. This was evident from my recce the previous morning, when the geese had swung wide of my patch’s operations and headed to the out-of-bounds neighbouring land, where the beet had been harvested three days before. But there was still a chance to pull in a bird or two, or so I told myself as I set out half a dozen decoys in the dark before creeping back into my hidey-hole. Out of the gloom The…

OUR VERDICT The Sako S20 has been available now for more than two years and it has become an instant success, primarily due to the clever hybrid, adjustable and changeable format that this rifle possesses. More importantly, it is just such a natural rifle to shoot, with great handling and perfect balance. Its innovative, quick-detachable stock and instant exchange of parts allows it to be reconfigured from a Hunter version (thumbhole) to a Precision (tactical) version, and it has the ability to digest ammunition and then print tiny groups with them. Sako thought, “What do hunters really need? Well not everyone’s the same size, so let’s make the stock exchangeable, adjustable for length and cheekpiece height. Scopes need to be mounted correctly, so let’s include an integrated Picatinny rail and…

Despite avian influenza causing devastating declines in some UK native and migratory bird species, some shoots have reported that the 2022-23 season may have been successful overall for the grey partridge. After favourable early nesting conditions thanks to low rainfall at the start of June, hopes had been high for strong numbers going on to overwinter. However, as Roger Draycott, director of advisory and education at the GWCT, pointed out: “The ongoing dry weather that continued into late summer led to lower insect counts in July and August. This was due to the desiccation of wildflowers, which resulted in declining larvae numbers — essential food for chick development. This somewhat dashed our early expectations of a good year for broods.” Despite this, a number of shoots, particularly in eastern and…

The shooting community has expressed its anger over the crimes of a gamekeeper who was convicted for poisons, firearms and wildlife offences. Paul Allen, 64, pleaded guilty to multiple charges at Weymouth Magistrates court on 4 January. A search of his home and surrounding outbuildings found six dead buzzards. The remains of a nearby bonfire were also found to contain traces of another three buzzards. The search team found the pesticides strychnine, bendiocarb and Cymag, all of which are banned due to their extremely toxic and hazardous nature. Allen also pleaded guilty to breaches of his shotgun and firearm certificate conditions. The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) issued a statement saying it had revoked Allen’s membership and that further steps would be taken. A spokesperson said: “The NGO disciplinary subcommittee will…

Rabbiting When I was young, bank holidays represented the ultimate chance of freedom. It always felt like an unexpected bonus — a day when school was out and there was no obligation to do anything in particular. From dawn until dusk, a whole day was ours to do with what we wanted. Whatever the activity was to be, my siblings and I would approach it with great gusto. By the time the seriousness of A levels came around, however, bank holidays were more often than not surrendered to revision and slowly came to be seen as a bind, rather than a freedom. Then through university, when all the days blurred into one, bank holidays became a rather forgotten entity; simply another innocuous day among three years of (perhaps) not enough…

Hare provides the best meat of any furred game to roam the earth and is a quarry that excites debate and great interest. It was off the quarry list for many and for a long time with good reason, for the brown hare was in decline in many parts of the UK during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Even now, in some places it has struggled to make a comeback. The brown hare, Lepus europaeus, is not England’s native hare — that is L timidus, known variously as the blue, mountain, white, snow, arctic or alpine hare. Timidus is said to have arrived with the Romans then made itself at home, rapidly displacing the smaller and more elusive locals. The brown hare is native to Scotland. It has been hanging…

From time to time I have been asked to load for visiting Guns. This can involve a range of functions and can require a good deal of tact and discretion. If the air is likely to be filled to bursting with birds, using a pair of guns is the best way to maximise efficiency. At least it can be for a Gun who is thoroughly used to shooting with double guns. For anyone else it is more likely to result in doubling their rate of fire while, in all probability, halving the accuracy. Shooting double guns is tricky, and it is best undertaken by those who are well used to working together as a team. The safety aspects of shuffling loaded shotguns back and forth between Gun and loader are…

100 years Once a fortnight, our junior school class would be marched, and I do mean marched, to the swimming baths in Walsall. It was some 60 years ago, but as I remember there were two pools, the large gala one and a smaller warm-water brine. Every time we went, there was a small old man standing in the brine pool. I say standing, but actually he was shaking uncontrollably. His whole body shook, small arms flapping vigorously up and down, head and torso a continuous tremor of movement as he stood immersed in the water. This frail old man had shell shock, a condition he had carried since the World War I, severe tremors for more than 45 years. His was not a lost limb nor any physical scar,…

Will Pocklington speaks to some of our leading shooting instructors Perhaps Chris Hanks was always destined for a career in fieldsports. He was brought up on an estate in Herefordshire where his father was the headkeeper for 40 years. He studied conservation and habitat management at Hartpury College; a stint keepering on the Badminton Estate followed, then Chris enrolled on a game and wildlife management course at Newton Rigg in Cumbria. It was while at university that he swapped his regular place in the beating line on local shoots for one in the line of Guns and began doing more loading. It was then, he says, that an interest in teaching people really took a hold. Since the age of 18, Chris has racked up more than 1,000 days on…

The British are abandoning their trusty boxlocks and sidelocks in favour of continental over-and-unders, capable of digesting any manner of steel shot cartridge, but there is still a ready market in America. As prices drop to historic lows, savvy Americans are taking advantage of the weak pound to hoover them up at auctions. Holt’s recent sales saw US dealers and enthusiasts dominate the boxlock section, with 80 out of 82 boxlocks sold on the day. They have dropped in value to the point that not buying them appears foolish. Auctioneer Gavin Gardiner commented that boxlocks are cheaper now than they were 20 years ago, but British buyers do not seem to appreciate the value they represent. Given that Americans have to add the cost of export to any purchase, UK…

With 104,000 votes and counting, the Wild Justice petition to shorten the woodcock shooting season has reached the 100,000 threshold needed to trigger a parliamentary debate. At the time of writing, no date has been fixed, but Westminster must now consider whether it is right to delay the start of the woodcock season to 1 December, reducing it to just two months each winter. The idea of not shooting woodcock before the end of November is not new; the GWCT began to suggest this in areas where there are breeding woodcock as a voluntary measure about five years ago. While there is no evidence that shooting is a problem, our home-breeding woodcock are in decline, so delaying the start until most of the migrants arrive seems a sensible precaution to…

While chatting to a very close friend recently, we discussed how her Christmas plans had changed due to the loss of her oldest labrador. This dog was extremely special, with an incredible working career and a massively enviable trialling career, whether it was beating, competing, picking up or sitting on peg. Once home, he was content to walk around the house, offering everyone the chance to throw him his toy pheasant. His owner explained how he had begun to lose control of his back end and would sometimes fall. He was over 14 years of age, and as he grew weaker it became apparent that the time had come to say goodbye. This horrendous decision is something all experienced dog owners will have had to deal with at some point.…

Rural myths Ghosts undoubtedly exist… Here in Essex, the belief in ghosts is widespread in villages and on the lonely marshlands of the long, indented coastline. That is to be expected.” I was scouring the shelves of an ancient shop in Colchester. A tiny book, more like a pamphlet, was squeezed into a local interest section and these were some of the opening sentences. “Ghosts may be seen when least expected… by people who are certainly not looking for them.” This claim set me wondering. Do we indeed encounter the supernatural as we pursue our sport in lonely places? Most of my shooting takes place on the Stour Estuary, scanning for ducks from Manningtree in the west to Harwich and Felixstowe in the east. It’s an area full of echoes…

Mark Hanbury Beaufoy famously wrote: “Keep your place and silent be; Game can hear and game can see” in his poem A Father’s Advice. And he was spot on. January pheasants and partridges are sharp and streetwise. They have come to recognise shoot day noises, know the difference between a farmer’s quad bike and a shoot day UTV and are on their toes the moment they hear the banging of car doors, unfamiliar voices and dog whistles. Fieldcraft is often seen as the preserve of wildfowlers, pigeon shooters and rough shooters but, in actual fact, most of us use it when we are running and organising driven shoots. Fieldcraft on driven days may be a bit different to the fieldcraft used on the foreshore, but it is no less important.…

CELEBRATING OUR BEST WRITERSVintage Times I recently wrote about a shooting day on which the fog cleared. Now I’ll write about one on which it didn’t. On the first occasion I had left home in total murk but, by the time I had covered 10 miles down the M3 towards Basingstoke, a beautiful, frost-laden day had opened up all around. This time, on a keenly anticipated day in Wiltshire, the reverse held true. At Walton-on-Thames, all was sweetness and light. Ten miles down the M3 a cloying darkness had begun to set in. Our Wiltshire shoot is 600ft above sea level, a height at which you have every right to expect low-lying fog to relent. As my companion and I groped our way down the motorway, we reasoned that once…

THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELD William Price died on 18 January 1893. A Welshman, Price was a doctor, nudist, anti-vivisectionist and a Chartist. He was a believer in Welsh independence and paganism, and set himself up as the archdruid of all Wales. The uniform Price adopted for this role raised many Victorian eyebrows. He shunned cutting his hair and beard, clad himself in emerald green and sported a fox fur hat topped with a badger mask. Price grew increasingly erratic, at one point claiming that all works by Ancient Greeks were in fact penned by Welsh bards, concluding Homer hailed from outside Caerphilly. For all of Price’s foibles, owners of crematoria have much to thank this eccentric for. Following the death of his five-month-old son, Price — who believed burial polluted…