Innholdsfortegnelse for 19-Apr-2023 i Shooting Times & Country

Last week, I read an article about spaniel training. The writer said that if you’re used to terriers, you’ll be amazed at how well behaved spaniels are, whereas if you’re used to labradors, you’ll be shocked at how badly behaved a spaniel pup can be. As a terrier owner and terrier fan, I very much agree with that. Having a new spaniel puppy that, at 17 weeks, will sit and stay and go to her bed when I tell her to, is quite a revelation. That said, I’m not throwing caution to the wind. I’ve always believed that it’s only worth having a dog if it behaves and works to a reasonable standard. A tearaway animal doesn’t just take the fun out of your shooting, but it takes the fun…

It is generally believed that breeding ospreys were once widespread across Ireland, but they had been exterminated as breeding birds by the start of the 18th century. Today, migrant ospreys are recorded regularly in Ireland in spring and autumn, but there have been no known nesting attempts. For some years there has been debate as to whether a reintroduction attempt should be made, and now the Irish National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has revealed that it is planning a reintroduction this summer, with Norway supplying the chicks. They will be released in the southeast of Ireland. Osprey reintroductions have been successful not only in England but also in several European countries, so there seems no good reason why an Irish project shouldn’t work equally well. Young birds will usually…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Marksmanship I am catching up on a backlog of ST issues and was interested to read the reply from Mark Ripley to the question from the lady struggling with recoil on a .308 (Sporting Answers, 1 February 2023). I agree with his answer but, having spent a lifetime shooting with different rifles, I suspect a large part of the problem will be that she is not being fitted to the rifle and therefore not being able to apply the marksmanship principles. In my early days, I developed a huge flinch from recoil, but no one ever suggested to me that as a 5ft 4in lass, the heavy rifle with a long stock, low cheekpiece and enormous palm swell might not have been ideal for helping. Chaps…

Lindsay Waddell is a former chairman of the NGO and a retired gamekeeper Setting aside the rather depressing politics regarding fieldsports in Wales and Scotland, in spring there is room for optimism. I find it hard to understand why those in politics go against their own advisers when it comes to country pursuits, unless it is simply to further their own individual prejudices. That said, Mother Nature is oblivious to such things and is pressing on with what she does best: producing more of everything. The sycamore keys from the couple of wind-stunted trees beside my house are pushing through the ground at an impressive rate. I’m not a fan, unlike my bees, who will make the most of the blossom once it appears, making more keys for me to…

Gundogs Millie, my cocker spaniel, has been with me long enough now that we know each other pretty well and I trust her completely. Having spent the early part of her life travelling around in the back of the car, confined to a dog crate, she is very relaxed while on the move. But the transportation of dogs is something that varies greatly from owner to owner and from dog to dog. The type of journey, the type of dog, its behaviour and how much time it is to spend in the vehicle are merely some of the many factors that have to be taken in to consideration when putting a dog in the car. I had Millie as a puppy when I was a lowly graduate rural surveyor and…

Game cookery The Field Kitchen: squirrel tacos Leon Challis-Davies is a chef who loves to cook with wild ingredients in the open air While spring hasn’t quite yet sprung as I write this, you can smell it in the air. The odd sunny day and the scent of freshly cut grass signals the start of the season, and the snowdrops and crocuses have made way for the primroses and daffodils. But the more consistent cold and wet conditions mean the trees remain bare, making it very easy to see squirrel dreys. Ever since being introduced to our countryside in the 1870s, the grey squirrel has wreaked havoc on British habitats, causing problems to forests and native wildlife, devastating songbird and ground-nesting bird populations and being a nightmare to gamekeepers. So…

NEWS BOOK We are delighted that the Shooting Times Woodcock Club dinner, which raises money for woodcock conservation, will be held this year on 1 June at the Savile Club. Email steditorials@futurenet.com to book tickets. This year, we have Will Garfit who will be joining us to talk about his life as a sporting artist and Andrew Hoodless from the GWCT, who is coming along to update the club on woodcock conservation. The auction lots are also looking stellar. JOIN If you do a fair bit of shooting but you want to get even more involved, or if you just fancy a bit of a change, why not have a scout around for a new syndicate? We always think there’s nothing better than a DIY syndicate, where all the members…

The market will see challenges ahead This will be my last Ahead of the Game column. After three years at the helm of British Game Assurance, I am moving on. This provides a moment of distance and clarity from which to assess the current state of the game meat market. The sellout popularity of game over Christmas highlights both the progress made and the challenges ahead. The demand from the public is growing, but the supply chain is not ready to service that growth. The processing sector “There is a desperate need for disruption” has ossified into a collection and distribution network, rather than an innovative business, removing the incentive from shoots to go lead-free and assured. There is a desperate need for disruption, to ensure that the shoots that…

Davy Thomas is a professional deerstalker and estate manager in the Highlands Alone hound cries, lost in the forest beneath me. I lay upon a sunlit crag overlooking a large area in case the fox breaks out. I know a fox was already shot humanely with a rifle as it made for the hill at the far end. I look back down towards the lambing parks at the bottom of the glen, satisfied that they stand a chance. However, the dark clouds that gather on the horizon make the future uncertain, not just for the huntsman but for the lambs in the crofter’s park also. I look down at the sea loch with my binoculars, and I see a fisherman in a small boat lifting his creels for langoustine. I…

Gundogs WHILE THE MUCH- loved labrador retriever is still Britain’s most popular pedigree dog, in recent years it’s been involved in something of a statistical battle with the French bulldog. The labrador has managed to keep ahead by a wet nose at 44,311 Kennel Club (KC) registrations in 2022, but the French bulldog is closing the gap with no fewer than 42,538 registrations. The rise of the Frenchie seems unstoppable. Just 10 years ago only 6,990 were registered, but nearly every year since has seen increasing numbers, despite it being one of unhealthiest breeds around. The French bulldog is a member of the KC’s utility group, a wide-ranging and varied lot of dogs that ranges from the poodles (miniature, standard and toy) to the Japanese spitz and the bulldog. The…

Some of you may have read about my first-ever boar hunt in the Czech Republic, using Google Translate to help me communicate with my guide (European stalking with added spice, 11 January). For those of you who didn’t, let’s just say it did not go as I had expected and we ended up jumping out of the way of a group of startled pigs that rushed us. In February I returned to the Czech Republic and, again, I chose to get out stalking boar and mouflon. I wanted to stalk on foot but after the first two outings, seeing plenty of animals but not being able to get anywhere near them, my host told me I was making it difficult for myself and I should take up residence in one…

I have long thought that guns and cars don’t mix. How many shotgun barrels bear the scars of having been clonked on a door pillar, despite having been encased in a slip? And then there are the guns that have been placed on a car roof, only to be forgotten as the hapless driver sets off. I can even recall a case where a police firearms office found himself in hot water after losing the magazine of a sub-machine gun that he had left on top of his armed response vehicle. Across the pond, the days of American pickup trucks with gun in a rack on display in the back window may be coming to an end. A recent news item in the Daily Telegraph was titled: “Thieves prey on…

The data-crunching that followed Holts’ recent £2m sale of sporting guns and rifles tells us something that might not have been apparent. While the gossip in the gun trade is about low demand and low prices for British sporting guns and any deals being dominated by overseas buyers, Holts says different. The March two-day auction delivered 87% of lots sold by the end of day two, with the figures for day two itself being a massive 91%. That is quite interesting, and suggests there is an appetite for sporting guns after all, but the people buying the guns tells another story. UK buyers accounted for 60% of sales; the remaining 40% was evenly distributed between the US and the rest of the world. That means UK buyers are out-buying the…

Deadly Nightshade A border terrier called Nightshade has become an unlikely hero in New Zealand for his work in eradicating hedgehogs. The dog is employed by Pest Free Banks Peninsula (PFBP) to track the animals on the spit of Kaitōrete, home to a range of native plants and animals. “The more we know about hedgehogs, the more we find out the devastating impacts they have, not just on invertebrates, but eggs, chicks and adult manu (birds),” said Tim Sjoberg of PFBP. SF Avian influenza restrictions lifted Mandatory housing measures for poultry and captive birds, which were introduced across England and Wales to help stop the spread of bird flu, will be lifted from 18 April 2023. This change means that poultry and other captive birds can be kept outside unless…

Curlew have returned to their breeding grounds for the spring, but each year there are fewer on the fields below my house. It’s widely understood that curlew are dying out because they’re not able to produce enough young birds to replace those lost through natural mortality each year, and productivity is the driver of their decline across the UK. The curlew on my farm do badly, and there are a number of reasons why they’ve been failing over the past two decades. There has been an expansion of forestry on neighbouring land and the birds also have to contend with a never-ending rise in badger numbers. Predation is a key cause of decline, but habitat is an often-overlooked part of the story. Throughout the course of my 40 years, nothing…

Driving across the New Forest earlier today, I spotted a curlew in its bubbling display flight. Not so long ago I would have just carried on my way, but these days there are many fewer breeding in the Forest, so I pulled into a lay-by and jumped out to enjoy the wonderful song. Almost inevitably this led me to reminisce over the days when they were still legal quarry and therefore a significant part of my sport and my diet. Running a shabby ex-Post Office Morris Minor van was a big stretch to my postgraduate student budget, and the cost of petrol to get to the marsh was only justified if I managed to harvest some meat while I was there. Ducks were the key interest, but for a few…

There are many disqualifying faults for a gundog in competition. These faults are not just things that are undesirable to see, they are also detrimental to the job the dog can do. For example, a dog that runs in is a danger to itself and a Gun who could easily trip, but it also means they may miss picking a wounded bird because they have run in on a dead bird. One of the most frustrating and possibly common faults I see is noise. This can be anything from a small whine to a full bark. Either way, this habit is mightily frustrating and irritating to the handler and anyone else within the vicinity. Not only this, but anyone who has worked around game will know how impossible it is…

Gundog training I have a range of experiences in terms of dogs and training, so my sessions vary greatly. However, I was reminded how important it is that, for even the most seasoned dog, we must keep it simple. I have started competing again and, while it is accepted that the dogs are perhaps a bit rough round the edges at this time of year, my experienced bitch Briar showed me something else. The difficult retrieves presented to us she completed with relative ease. It was an unbelievably simple retrieve on the first day that tripped us up. Absurd We spend a lot of time teaching our dogs to run difficult lines, to fight the topography of the ground and to smash through cover. So when we were presented with…

The Americans call their canine shooting companions bird dogs, though if you Google the term you will find “it’s a bodyweight move that involves getting on all fours and then simultaneously extending one arm and the opposite leg”. I suppose that there’s something of a similarity there to a pointing setter, though without the elegance the dog displays. My own definition of bird dog is somewhat different: it’s dog I can take with me when I go out looking for birds. Emma, my sprocker, is now, at the age of five, a fully fledged bird dog. This means that when I’m out birding she can come along too, as I’m confident that she will not only stay close to me but won’t go charging off after a passing deer or…

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…