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ON TEST Bettinsoli’s bargain all-rounder

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BY SHOOTERS, FOR SHOOTERS

10-PAGE CHRISTMA GIFT GUIDES

WALK THE LINE

DECEMBER 2016

£3.80

Fun, affordable, inclusive sport... why we love rough shooting

4fabulous pheasant dishes COOKING:

PLUS

PIGEONS:

Making the most of autumn’s bounty

CROW CONTROL

HINTS & TIPS GUNDOGS:

Correction vs reward: which is best?

TECHNIQUE: How to be a better loader

First Words

Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 2EG EDITORIAL Editor Rebecca Green 0118 974 2508 rebecca.green@archant.co.uk Editor-in-chief Dom Holtam 0118 974 2504 dom.holtam@archant.co.uk Senior Sub-Editor Laura Paton 0118 974 2506 laura.paton@archant.co.uk Staff Writer Emily Damment 0118 974 2521 emily.damment@archant.co.uk Art Editor Trevor Ince

ADVERTISING Sporting Shooter, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 2EG Group Sales Manager Dan Chart 0118 974 2503 dan.chart@archant.co.uk Advertising Sales Manager Sharon Blick 0118 974 2533 sharon.blick@archant.co.uk Sales Executive Mark Roach 0118 974 2525 mark.roach@archant.co.uk Account Executive Tom Richardson 0118 974 2514 tom.richardson@archant.co.uk Office Manager Sharon Wells 0118 974 2524 sharon.wells@archant.co.uk

PUBLISHING Commercial Director (Specialist) Peter Timperley Content Director Bob Crawley Publishing Consultant Derek Barnes

Pheasants are in at last and social media is awash with photos of long-awaited first days out. For some, it’s getting back to the beating line, with pictures of the gundog that made its owner proud; for others, a day on the peg – and all the variants in between. And that is one of the best things about our sport: it offers something for every taste and budget. This month I joined a syndicate for a day’s rough shooting in the Cotswolds. A day like this offers value for money, memorable shooting and a chance to work and shoot over your dog – for many people, it doesn’t get much better than that. You can read all about how the Rough Rovers do things on page 17.

With pheasants back on the menu – literally – you may be looking for some inspiration in the kitchen, especially if, like me, you are still eating your way through last year’s! This month our foodie sub-editor Laura has not one, not two, but four new pheasant dishes for you to try (p78). Simple recipes that will add a little variety to your repertoire – I can’t wait to try them.

While it may be all about the pheasants for some people, for others pigeons and crows are still very much a priority. Andy Crow has some advice to help pigeon shooters make the most of the autumnal conditions (p24), while Eric Prior shares his tips if you need to tackle a crow problem (p66).

In the meantime, however much you might want to pretend it isn’t happening (because then there’s only a month of the season left, right?), it’s inevitable that thoughts are turning to Christmas. To help you get a head start on your Christmas shopping (or wish list) we have brought our gift guide forward a month. So starting on page 40, we have 10 pages packed full of ideas for everyone – from pigeon shooters to foxing fantatics, gundog lovers and game shooters and everyone else in between. We hope it helps you to give – or receive – something that will be truly appreciated and not left forgotten in a cupboard somewhere.

Happy shopping. Oh, and shooting of course!

REBECCA GREEN Editor

SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription queries? Tel 01858 438840 Overseas +44 1858 438840 Online www.sportingshooter.co.uk Email sportingshooter@subscription.co.uk Write to Sporting Shooter, Tower House, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, Leics LE16 9EF

PRINTING/DISTRIBUTION News distribution Seymour, 86 Newman Street, London W1T 3EX. Tel 020 7396 8000 kate.scofield@seymour.co.uk Printed in England ISSN 1741-1939 Printing William Gibbons

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS We welcome contributions from readers and advertisers. Photos, stories and information should be sent by email to dom.holtam@archant.co.uk.

By submitting unsolicited material, you agree that Archant may publish it without payment, in Sporting Shooter and elsewhere, in its original or edited form, with or without crediting the source.

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Published monthly © Archant Specialist 2013.

Archant Specialist is part of Archant Ltd First Words image: Rebecca Green Cover image: Rebecca Green

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3

ON TEST Bettinsoli’s bargain all-rounder

JUST

£795

BY SHOOTERS, FOR SHOOTERS

10-PAGE CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

WALK THE LINE

DECEMBER 2016

£3.80

Fun, affordable, inclusive sport... why we love rough shooting

4fabulous pheasant dishes COOKING:

PLUS

PIGEONS:

Making the most of autumn’s bounty

CROW CONTROL

HINTS & TIPS GUNDOGS:

Correction vs reward: which is best?

How to be a better loader

WALK THE LINE PIGEONS CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE BETTINSOLI’S ALL-ROUNDER CROW CONTROL COOKING TECHNIQUE GUNDOGS

COLUMNS 03 60 65 75 76 89

FIRST WORDS BASC UPDATE COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE COMMENT HIGHLAND DIARY SHOOTING IN WALES NOTES FROM IRELAND

REGULARS 06 NEWS 24 PIGEONS: Andy makes the most of 26 28

4

73 CLASSIC GUNS: A gun with a story 78 ONE FOR THE POT: Four easy and delicious pheasant recipes

81 CROCKETT’S COUNTRY WAYS:

TECHNIQUE:

ON THE COVER 17 24 40 58 66 78 86 98

Contents

autumn’s opportunities LETTERS ASK THE EXPERTS: A selection of questions and problems for our shooting gurus to ponder

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

83

Game bag blunders

86 FURRIER: A guide to loading 114 FIND SHOOTING

MARKETPLACE 40 CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE: From gifts

56 58

for gundog enthusiasts to presents for pigeon fanatics – look no further than our 10-page guide for ideas this festive season CARTRIDGES: Loads for the long-awaited pheasant season GUN TEST: Mike puts the Bettinsoli X-Trail through its paces

PEST CONTROL 66 CROWS: Eric Prior is out with his 70

Hushpower to crack down on those troublesome corvids FOXING: Deano’s latest mission has the whole town talking, as he catches up with a local celebrity

GAME SHOOTING 17 WALKED-UP: A day spent with the Rough Rovers proves why rough shooting can be so accessible

GAMEKEEPING 20 KEEPERING WITH THE NGO: Tim Weston examines the RSPB’s State

of Nature report and discovers some disappointing omissions KEEPER’S COUNTRY: Refreshments and dining areas can vary greatly between shoots for both beaters and Guns, as Adam recalls

WILDFOWLING 92 Why the pintail is Alan’s favourite foreshore quarry

CLAY SHOOTING 34 CLAY NEWS 116 CLAY GROUNDS

COMPETITIONS 13 26 27 28 109

Win binos Win Seeland Bolton Fleece Win decoys Win Cogswell & Harrison gun oil Win Chudleys dog food

GUNDOGS 98 GUNDOG TRAINING: Correction vs 102 106 109 111

reward – Howard gives his view on this thorny topic GUNDOG FOCUS: Ryan provides an insight into our most misunderstood gundog subgroup GUNDOG CALENDAR: The last round-up of entries before the big reveal next month!

GUNDOG EXPERTS GUNDOG VET: Vaccines – should we be concerned?

Issue 158

DECEMBER 2016

WALKED-UP 17

Owning and working – your essential guide!

p

KEEPERING 20

97

GUNDOG FOCUS 102

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Wildfowling: Why less is more when it comes to decoys

Cooking:

Top tips for decoying on winter rape

Too many birds? Tim Maddams has the cure

CONSERVATION: Why keepers are a curlew’s best friend

MARCH 2016

GUN TEST: B

Yi A 12 WIN ld -b ! iz Sp ore or te r

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Keepering: How to get more from your cover crops

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Wildfowling: Why less is more when it comes to decoys

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SHOOTING

NEWS

For the very latest news visit www.sportingshooter.co.uk

NEWS

Ban on tail docking in Scotland to be lifted for working breeds with 62% of participants in the survey saying that the current total ban has had a negative impact on commercial dog breeding in Scotland.

Colin Shedden, BASC Scotland director, said: “Following 10 years of campaigning we are delighted that this important welfare issue for working HPR and spaniel breeds in Scotland is finally being addressed.

This is a simple, minor procedure soon after birth that will help to prevent a lifetime of misery and serious veterinary interventions. Working gundogs are an essential part of shooting sports and their welfare is a paramount concern to their owners and handlers.

“BASC members in Scotland were an integral part of this process through their tireless campaigning, documenting of evidence and providing about 80% of the responses for the Glasgow University research studies.”

Working dogs with undocked tails are at risk of serious injury

PICTURE: REBECCA GREEN

Almost 10 years after the initial ban was enforced, the Scottish government has announced its plan to change existing legislation, and will permit tail docking of spaniel and hunt, point retrieve (HPR) puppies, where a vet believes they are likely to be used as a working breed and so risk serious injury to tails later on in life; docking will have to be carried out by an approved vet.

The ban was brought into effect in 2007 as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Act (Scotland) 2006, but following a government survey in which 92% of those who took part supported docking of these breeds, the government intends to change the legislation, though no date has yet been set.

Along with expensive veterinary bills for tail injuries incurred while working, the ban in Scotland has also affected those who breed working dogs,

No certificate? No sale of rodenticide from 1 October As of 1 October 2016, gamekeepers, pest controllers and their employees will need to show either an approved certificate of competence, or a document confirming membership of an approved farm assurance scheme, if they wish to purchase professional rodenticide packs for outdoor use.

Without the aforementioned documents, all sellers (including those selling online) will be prohibited from completing the sale under the conditions of

the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime.

Remaining stock with pre-stewardship labels were still available throughout September, but have now been replaced by stewardship-authorised rodenticides carrying legally binding requirements from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) specifying user certification, and compliance with the conditions of use, on the product labels.

The Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) reports to HSE for implementation of

the Stewardship Regime. In addition to new conditions of sale, CRRU UK chairman Dr Alan Buckle commented: “For many years it was thought best practice to set out bait points on farms, shooting estates and around rural premises, then keep them permanently topped up with rodenticide.

“We now believe this practice is responsible, at least in part, for the contamination of wildlife that we now see so widely in the UK.” The CRUU UK Code of Best Practice is available to download via this link: http://www. thinkwildlife.org/crru-code/

NGO speaks about the cost of poaching at police seminar PICTURES: JACK SCRIVENER / BRIAN BOUCHERON, HTTP://BIT.LY/1GZ2EOO (INSET)

Members of the rural community joined representatives from the British Deer Society (BDS), Dorset Police Rural Crime Team, Trading Standards, the South West Crown Prosecution Service and the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) for a police seminar on the cost of poaching.

The event, organised by Terry Cooper of the Wessex Branch of the BDS, provided an opportunity for members of the rural community who have or could be affected by poaching to express their concerns and hear how the response to poaching crimes is moving forwards.

The NGO’s Tim Weston gave a presentation on ‘The Cost of Poaching’, discussing the significant economic impact it has on rural livelihoods and the misconception that poaching incidents have little consequences for landowners.

He said: “Poaching can be seen as a victimless crime – it is not. Aside from the financial damage, gamekeepers and farmers are regularly faced with intimidation and threats of violence on their own land when confronting poachers.

“There can be a romanticised view of poachers, taking small amounts of stock with little overall impact to landowners; the reality is that poaching is often violent and sinister.”

The event was chaired by deputy police and crime commissioner Colin Pipe, who said: “The more input we have, the more we can address the issues facing our rural communities. This seminar was one way to share the work currently under way and to consult the public on what they would like to see in the future.”

6

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

NEWS

Congratulations to Hartpury student for winning NGO award An 18-year-old student from Hartpury College has won the Musto-sponsored National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) Frank Jenkins Memorial Trophy, which goes to the best full- or part-time gamekeeping student of the year.

The late Frank Jenkins was a well-known gamekeeper whose career spanned 60 years, and the award is judged annually by senior members of the NGO. The winner of this year’s trophy, the “outstanding gamekeeping student” Cormac Thompson, completed his full-time Gamekeeping and Countryside Management course at Hartpury

in Gloucester this summer, and now runs the college’s commercial game shoot.

Cormac was presented with the industryleading award by the Chairman of the NGO, Liam Bell, on the NGO stand at the Midland Game Fair, held from 17-18 September at Weston Park in Shropshire. He also received a voucher for a new Musto Highland Ultra Light Jacket, courtesy of the trophy’s sponsors.

Speaking about his success, Cormac said: “I am delighted to have won the Frank Jenkins. It is a great honour and I’d like to thank the NGO and Musto.

“I think qualifications are essential for anyone starting out in keepering.

It is the way the world is going. I want to thank the college, especially my course lecturers Robbie Nicolle, Andy James and Ralph Tallis. A big thank you also to Robert Mitchell at North Molton in Devon, the shoot where I did my pre-college placement and learned such a lot.”

BASC trains NI firearms officers in bid to improve licensing service BASC has given training to 26 members of staff from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) who are involved in the firearms licensing service, in a bid to enhance their appreciation of firearms licensing from the shooter’s perspective.

The training was given to firearms enquiry officers (FEOs), senior firearms licensing managers (SFLMs) and a number of other senior firearms and explosives branch (FEB) staff members.

The three-day training course covered shooting seasons, quarry species, and the need for sound moderators, culminating in a practical day spent on a rifle range.

Michaela Fox, PSNI senior explosives liaison officer, commented: “BASC provided some very informative training in an informal setting which facilitated a lot of discussion about our different perspectives. I hope this is the beginning of a more collaborative working relationship going forwards.”

Oliver McCullough, a member of BASC Council and chairman of the BASC Northern Ireland Advisory Committee, added: “Cooperation is based on relationships and a shared understanding of respective viewpoints. I welcome this joint approach.”

GWCT calls on field sports community to help conserve grey partridge

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) is calling on farmers, landowners and the field sports community to count the number of wild grey partridge present on their shoots, and to take steps to ensure they survive the coming winter.

Findings from the annual GWCT Partridge Count Scheme, of which the autumn counts are now well under way, have caused concern with the lowest chick survival rate seen since 2012, which was the worst summer for grey partridge chicks this century.

The two key messages are to assess the partridge population before shooting commences and to set the bag limit at a sustainable level to safeguard the partridges breeding on their ground; and to maintain overwinter cover crops and tussocky grass margins, or to avoid cutting or ploughing them until next spring, providing food and escape from predators.

In addition, they have advised not shooting wild grey partridges if there are fewer than 20 birds per 250 acres (100 hectares) in the autumn; to stop shooting them once the aforementioned threshold has been reached; to avoid shooting them after the end of December, allowing them to pair up for future breeding; never to shoot pairs; to take special precautions to ensure they are not accidentally shot at the same time as pheasant or red-legged partridge; and to not shoot them at all if you do not take steps to conserve them.

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

9

NEWS

Buy the new Benelli Colombo and win a trip to Italy!

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Pigeon shooters choosing to upgrade their To see the full gun to the new semi-auto Benelli Colombo technical specifications this season could be in with a chance of and to purchase the new winning an all-expenses paid trip to Benelli Colombo, follow this Italy, courtesy of the famed Italian link: www.gmk.co.uk/ gunmaker; there are spaces available for product/colombo/235 10 lucky couples.

The competition prize comprises six days and five nights in total. The trip starts with three days in a four-star hotel in Rome with a private guided tour of the city and the Vatican, before continuing to Urbino for two days for a tour of the historic city and the Benelli Armi factory.

The competition, which is free to enter online, is open to anyone who purchases the new Benelli Colombo. Once you’ve made your purchase, simply follow this link and complete the competition entry form: www.benelli.it/en/ColomboRome

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Sparsholt student wins Zeiss scope A student at Sparsholt College has won an award, sponsored by optics brand Zeiss Sports Optics, to

recognise his achievement of scoring the highest marks in this year’s Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1 (DSC1).

Jordan Boobyer, a Level 3 Game and Wildlife Management student at Sparsholt, was presented with the prize of a Zeiss Conquest riflescope and a pair of Conquest binoculars by Jamie Cordery of The Deer Initiative.

The presentation took place at a BASC event held at Sparsholt College on 13 September. Zeiss Sports Optics does an admirable job of supporting the college and its courses with a range of binoculars and full-bore riflescopes.

Sporting Shooter would like to congratulate Jordan on his hard work and this fantastic achievement.

The Countryside Alliance (CA) has made a formal complaint to the BBC after the ‘face’ of the campaign to stop the badger cull, well-known activist Jay Tiernan, was featured in a documentary on Inside Out South West on 3 October, and again on 5 October on Radio 4’s Farming Today.

Mr Tiernan’s campaigning has landed him with a criminal record for harassing and intimidating farmers involved in the cull trials, having been arrested a number of times for offences including aggravated trespass, criminal damage and fraud.

The Countryside Alliance says Mr Tiernan was given a “positive platform�, despite receiving a six-month suspended sentence for nine breaches

PICTURE: PETER TRIMMING HTTP://BIT.LY/1GZ2EOO

CA makes formal complaint to BBC for featuring criminal activist

of an injunction order for his part in attempts to sabotage the government’s badger culling trials, and admitting to the BBC that he still owes the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) £120,000 in legal costs.

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

11

NEWS

A finale of gundog excellence at the Midland The Midland Game Fair, held at Weston Park in Shropshire from 17-18 September, saw the culmination of several gundog competitions that had been running throughout the summer.

Having qualified in a heat at Lowther Show, Lancastrian plumber Lee Barlow and his five-year-old springer spaniel, Tilly, beat 38 hopefuls to win the hotly contested Chudleys Gundog Championship.

A delighted Lee, who made the semi-finals last year but missed out on having a stab at the top spot, took home a rosette, an engraved trophy, and a cheque for £2,000.

Also to be presented with a generous prize from Chudleys at the Midland Game Fair was ex serving soldier Jason Reynolds, who won a Jeep Renegade in the on-pack promotional competition, which ran in celebration of the brand’s 40th anniversary; Jason was randomly selected from the entries.

The competition, beginning in June this year, offered Chudleys customers the chance to win 40 prizes over 40 days, with the Jeep Renegade Hatchback 1.6 E-torQ Sport, from Nottinghamshire-based Jeep dealership Chris Variava, serving as the ultimate 40th prize.

Jason trained his two Labradors as a gundog and an assistance dog, after developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his 10 years’ service in Northern Ireland, and works closely with a charity that trains assistance dogs to help sufferers of PTSD, even donating a puppy he bred to the charity. He was absolutely thrilled to win the Jeep.

The inaugural Independent Schools Association (ISA) Gundog Challenge also chose the Midland Game Fair to showcase its final. Hosted by The Gundog Company, the event is designed for beginners to raise awareness of the handling and

training of gundogs, and is open to all primary school children aged from three to 12 years of age.

Nine-year-old Zoe Blackburn, a student at Coopersdale Hall in Essex, impressed the judges with her natural aptitude for gundog handling, and took the win against a total of 54 children from 27 schools nationwide.

Zoe, who doesn’t have her own dogs at home, won £2,000 worth of playground equipment for her school, courtesy of sponsors Red Monkey Play, plus a trophy, gundog accessories from Sporting Saint, and dog food from Chudleys.

Lee Barlow can’t stop smiling after winning the Chudleys Gundog Championship

PICTURE: TSI PHOTOGRAPHY

Zoe Blackburn won the ISA Gundog Challenge despite not having her own dogs to practise on!

PICTURE: TSI PHOTOGRAPHY

PICTURE: STEVE DAVIS COUNTRY SHOTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Ex serving soldier Jason Reynolds (centre) was thrilled to recieve his Jeep

WIN

BINOCULARS

Find the creature hiding in this issue and you could win a terrific pair of binoculars. Everyone who finds him goes into the draw for a pair of 8x21 binoculars, but if you want to receive one of our badges, send us a self-addressed, standard-sized envelope (22 x 11cm) with 64p of stamps. Send us the page number, your name, telephone number and address by email to: ispy@sportingshooter.co.uk By post to: Derek Donkey, Sporting Shooter, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2EG CLOSING DATE: 1 December

CAN YOU FIND: DEREK DONKEY? These compact Tasco Essential 8x21 binoculars are perfect to keep handy in the glove box for on-the-go scoping, and are also ideal to travel with, weighing in at less than half a pound and taking up next to no space in your luggage.

They feature black rubber armour and fold-down eyecups, water-resistant housing, and come with a carry case with a belt loop, so you can keep them with you hands-free.

Plus, with a 128m field of view at 1,000yds, they are powerful, yet fit in your pocket; keep them with you and enjoy spotting wildlife and scenery you might have otherwise missed.

See www.bisley-uk.com for other models in the range.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Roger Reed who found Barry Bat on p85 of the October issue.

See p114 for a list of other successful creature finders.

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

13

WITH REBECCA GREEN

// WALKED-UP

THE FFUNDAMENTALS UN OF SHOOTING A good day’s walked-up shooting can be hard to beat. Rebecca Green joins the Rough Rovers to discover what makes this syndicate so successful

Robbo and Major taking up a hedgerow

I

t goes without saying that most game shooters want to enjoy their sport, but the definition of what constitutes a good day can vary greatly. At one end of the spectrum you have those who want a lavish day with hundreds of birds, lunch in a castle and ‘all the trimmings’; at the other, you get the man and his dog who simply wish to amble along a hedgerow, shooting ‘for the pot’. Somewhere between the two you get the Rough Rovers – a syndicate offering exciting but sensibly priced walked-up and ‘mini driven’ shooting. I joined a small team of Guns in Warwickshire to find out more about this very accessible form of game shooting.

It is mid October. The venue for the day is the Compton Scorpion shoot on the

Warwickshire/Gloucestershire border. The traditional rolling ground of the 2,000-acre estate offers some exciting partridge shooting, while its steep, scrubby banks present some high-quality pheasants. It’s an impressive venue, and not what I would have expected for a walked-up day with an expected bag of around 40 birds. As the team gathers in the yard for sausage baps and coffee, Rough Rovers’ founder Phil Moorsom explains the ethos of the syndicate and how it all started.

“About four years ago I went on a walked-up day over pointers, near Marlborough. I absolutely loved it and was keen to do something similar back home, but had real trouble finding anything like it, so I decided to

PICTURES: REBECCA GREEN

Walked-up days often offer a mixture of terrains

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

17

WALKED-UP // WITH REBECCA GREEN have a go myself. I set up the syndicate with just a few other like-minded people, with the aim of finding some of the best, well-priced walked-up shooting in the area, and things have just grown from there.”

Phil was fortunate to have a few good contacts to begin with and over the years the syndicate has earned itself a good reputation, allowing Phil to build up trust with shoot owners and keepers all over the South West, the Midlands and Wales and thus gain access to the sorts of high-quality estates a lot of shooters would only ever dream of.

“It takes time to build up trust like that,” says Phil, “and it wouldn’t work if the syndicate members didn’t completely buy into the concept of working as a team, so we all help to ensure new or inexperienced members are safe, aren’t greedy and generally enter into the spirit of things. I make sure that everybody knows the form and has the right expectations. Overall, our focus is very much on the enjoyment of the day for the whole team, including those beating and picking-up, and people that come along seem to enjoy our days.”

Today the team of six Guns, who have been involved pretty much from the start, are on a ‘mini driven’/walked-up day. The first mini drive of the day sees four Guns standing while a small team of beaters, laid on by the estate, pushes through a wood on the boundary of the estate. Part of the appeal of these days is that they give those who want to work their dogs a chance to do so in a

The day is as much about the dogs as the Guns

18

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

Walked-up days benefit the estate too, says headkeeper Dan (second from left)

genuinely stress-free environment. Members are welcome to work their dogs and beat, rather than shoot, and dog training days, where Guns can shoot over their own dogs with some expert instruction, are also available. So, on this drive the two other Guns, Mark (Robbo) and another Mark work their dogs up a hedgerow. This gives Robbo his first bird of the season – taken with his first shot – which is retrieved by his Lab, Major. You can’t ask for more than that!

There follows another mini drive, then a walk-up around a lake and through a wood – again, all on the boundaries of the estate. It is a pleasure to watch the dogs working so well and I’m certain the relaxed atmosphere benefits them, too – there is a distinct lack of the usual shouting and furious whistle-blowing that accompanies so many shoot days.

Elevenses, provided by the estate and the syndicate, is far more elaborate than I had expected. Yes, it’s taken outside, but that

WITH REBECCA GREEN

Rough Rovers founder Phil and his faithful terrier Fig

doesn’t stop the Guns from ‘going to town’, with homemade cakes, sloegasm cocktails and even canapĂŠs of home-smoked salmon topped with a wasabi and sesame foam!

Chatting to the Guns, I get a real sense of the welcoming feel of the syndicate; there are people from all walks of life and of all shooting abilities. As Phil’s wife, Kate, puts it, “Our aim is to be inclusive, not exclusive,� a sentiment echoed by everyone I chat to. Odie (now of wasabi-foam fame), came to the syndicate as a clay shooter with no experience of game. He says: “This is a great way to get into game shooting. It’s genuinely friendly and you don’t feel intimidated. It’s flexible and you get to meet an interesting mix of people, who are all happy to help any newcomers.�

All of which makes it a popular choice for younger Guns, adds Phil. “People often struggle when they are starting out game shooting: it can be difficult to get onto a syndicate and many younger people starting out in their careers find that, although they have a bit of money, it’s not enough to afford a season of driven days. This way, your money goes a bit further.�

Phil organises around 60 Rough Rovers days a season across a variety of carefully selected estates. A few driven days are offered for those that want them and this

season a walked-up grouse day was included, for a very reasonable price of ÂŁ500. Walkedup days are normally around ÂŁ200, but this varies from shoot to shoot, as Phil explains: “We organised a walked-up day in Derbyshire for six Guns last season at ÂŁ150 each, with grouse, partridge, pheasant and snipe going in the bag. At the other end, for around ÂŁ300, we had a 100-bird driven day in January in Staffordshire. We ended up with 27 pheasant, 41 partridge, 69 mallard and four tufties in the bag.â€?

So it’s cost-effective for the shooters, but what about the estates? As Compton Scorpion’s headkeeper Dan Cook tells me, these walked-up days benefit all parties: “The birds we are shooting today would likely be lost otherwise, as they are right on our boundaries. When you balance out all the shoot’s costs (a few beaters, bird feed, etc.), a few of these days during the season can be quite profitable for the shoot, yet there is less pressure, the Guns are happy and they haven’t had to pay a fortune.�

There may be less pressure on the keeper and his team today, but that doesn’t mean they don’t try their best, and when it’s clear that the morning’s walkabout hasn’t produced the birds Dan would have expected, he takes the Guns to a different part of the estate.

Here, the team is treated to a very productive session, taking in a long hedgerow that’s brimming with birds, followed by a mini drive at the end. It’s satisfying work for both dogs and Guns, with plenty of those ultimate ‘flush, shoot, retrieve’ combinations that make this sort of shooting so enjoyable.

Rather sportingly, Phil leaves himself out of the action for this drive, ensuring the rest of the team get to enjoy the best sport. In the same vein, Guns who know they’ve

// WALKED-UP

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By the end of the afternoon the bag has been reached and everyone’s happy. One of the Guns, David, hasn’t been very lucky, but he’s philosophical about it and knows that his turn will come another day – and he’s enjoyed himself nonetheless. Otherwise, everyone has had some shooting; not an endless stream of birds pouring over their heads, one shot merging into the next, but moments to add to the memory bank.

Some people might assume that syndicates like this, where you don’t always know everyone you are shooting with, would be impersonal, but that’s not the case with the Rough Rovers. Our day truly was characterised by a sense of camaraderie and sportsmanship; it was fun and relaxed, with the emphasis firmly on a good day’s shooting, rather than the size of the bag. Which is what it’s all about, really. â–

The rough with the smooth: elevenses was gourmet!

‘Elevenses is taken outside, but that doesn’t stop the Guns from going to town, with homemade cakes, sloegasm cocktails and canapĂŠs’ www.sportingshooter.co.uk

19

KEEPERING

Tim is Development Officer for the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO)

WITH TIM WESTON

The real state of nature

A recent report looks at the role of conservation in preserving wildlife, yet makes no mention of keepers and the vital work they do; Tim Weston asks why, and points out the report’s other failings addressing the factors that are currently limiting its Farmland falsehoods? numbers and distribution. This needs to be followed The State of Nature report calls on all of us – by action at an appropriate scale. The needs of conservationists, landowners, businesses, some species may be met by delivering broad organisations and government – to work together habitat management actions, but tailored action will to help stem what they see as a massive decline often be essential for some of the species most in ‘our’ nature. The report says that the best way vulnerable to extinction. The range of specific to help promote and protect the UK’s nature is to actions required varies from species to species but improve habitats, protect special places and includes combating non-native invasive species; create new wildlife sites. The report says about reintroduction or translocation; targeted habitat farming and farmland: “Our review of the factors management or restoration; and combating wildlife driving changes to the UK’s wildlife found that the crime or unsustainable harvesting. Protecting the intensive management of agricultural land had by best places for nature is a key part of our far the largest negative impact on nature, across conservation response, and designated sites, such all habitats and species. In one sense, it is no as Special Protection Areas, currently cover 8% of surprise that changes to our farmed environment England. However, this total falls well short of the have had more impact than any other, simply global target of at least 17% of land area managed because the habitat covers so much of the UK. for nature. It is also important to note that a However, we know that government farming protected area designation does not mean that a site policies led to dramatic changes in farming is safe from pressures, or that it is being managed practices, almost doubling wheat and milk yields effectively.” This to me sounds very familiar; isn’t since the 1970s, whilst simultaneously having this exactly what gamekeepers and those wide-reaching consequences for of us who run little shoots all over the wildlife. This increase in agricultural UK do every day? productivity has been achieved To read the full State of Nature 2016 report go to: www.

The subject of controlling foxes and other predators – an essential part of wildlife management – is neglected by the report’s authors rspb.org.uk/forprofessionals/ science/research/ projects/363867-the-state-ofnature-report

R

PICTURE: DAN RUSHTON

ecently the RSPB and other partners launched the State of Nature 2016 report. Working side by side, over 50 wildlife organisations have compiled a stocktake of our native wildlife. But where were the working conservationists? The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) were not asked to participate… why?

According to the report, 56% of the species studied have declined over recent decades. More than one in 10 of all the species assessed are under threat of disappearing from our shores altogether. However, the report illustrates that targeted conservation has produced inspiring success stories and, with sufficient determination, resources and public support, the fortunes of our wildlife can be turned around. What the report doesn’t say is much about the good work of farmers and gamekeepers in habitat management and predator control, and the fact that many of the species in question are thriving on shooting estates and grouse moors.

The State of Nature report says: “A key step in helping a species to recover is identifying and

20

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KEEPERING through changes such as a switch from spring to autumn sowing of crops; the production of silage, rather than hay, in our pastoral farmland; and the increased use of chemicals over the long term. In addition, many marginal habitats, such as hedgerows and farm ponds, have been lost, to the detriment of wildlife.”

It is no secret among knowledgeable conservationists that gamekeeping is uniquely placed to offset the intensive management of much agricultural land. It is able to help wildlife in the farmland environment to a greater extent than almost any other type of land management. In fact, much of the conservation work the report calls to be implemented is routinely carried out by gamekeepers every day of their working lives. The incentive provided by game retains hedgerows, ponds and marginal land. It also ensures that woods are planted and managed with wildlife in mind, some of the areas where the report precisely urges action to be taken. The report does not in any way congratulate keepers and shoot owners for their continued work to help stop the decline of wildlife in our countryside.

Whether by accident or design, the positive environmental work that is being carried out daily by gamekeepers is missing from the State of Nature 2016 report. The report proudly states that volunteers from conservation charities spend 1.5 million hours each year doing conservation work – but compare that to gamekeepers and shooting people who spend 3.9 million days working to improve our natural environment. Again, the report fails to acknowledge the huge amount of work that keepers and shooting people put into the countryside and its flora and fauna for all to enjoy.

Upland untruths It is also interesting to read the report’s take on upland management. They start off by saying “We know less about what is affecting upland nature than we do about many other habitats.” A cynically minded person might suggest that the report doesn’t want to acknowledge what is good about upland management because it mainly revolves around grouse moors. The best place to see many of our wading birds is on these moors that are managed for grouse shooting. The habitat management and predator control is an essential part of getting healthy breeding populations of birds back and this is not mentioned at all in the State of Nature report.

The report’s authors do take an underhand swipe at grouse shooting: “A large proportion of the UK’s uplands are managed intensively for food production, and are heavily grazed by sheep and deer, which converts them to grassland. This is compounded by the impacts of drainage. In large areas, uplands are also subject to frequent burning rotations as part of grouse moor management.

This can result in heather dominating blanket bogs

The report says that intensive farming has the largest negative impact on nature

and has greatly reduced the condition of internationally important upland sites”. When the report says, “The UK population of heather moorland-loving hen harriers is extremely low, and in some areas close to extinction, due to illegal persecution associated with grouse moor management”, it presents to its readership a hypothesis as a hard fact. Of course, where the law is broken it must stop, which the NGO has always been clear on. From where I stand it looks to me like the people who do the most good for upland conservation are being blamed for the reported declines in biodiversity, even though RSPB upland reserves are, in the opinion of many moorland experts, hardly shining examples of wildlife richness when compared with properly keepered grouse moors. The report also, regrettably, does not spotlight the important collaborative work being done to boost harrier numbers, namely the

Hen Harrier Joint Recovery Plan, which perhaps should not come as a surprise, given that the RSPB, one of the authors of State of Nature, recently walked away from the project.

Woodland U-turn One aspect I find particularly hard to stomach is the section on woodlands. The report says that our woodland is not in a good state because of a lack of management. One of the major buzzwords over the last few years within the conservation world has been ‘natural regeneration’. In other words, we shouldn’t manage our woodlands and should let them sort themselves out – something that gamekeepers and deer stalkers have been objecting to for years. Now all of a sudden it seems that this policy wasn’t a great one after all!

For years ‘conservation’ bodies have wanted natural regeneration, meaning that deciduous Gamekeepers have been preserving biodiversity and putting wildlife conservation into action for years

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

21

PICTURES: LAURIE CAMPBELL / LEE BEEL (BELOW)

What about keepering?

KEEPERING woodlands are all top-heavy canopy with little or no ground cover, and they wonder why woodland birds and mammals (apart from grey squirrels) are not thriving – it really is quite incredible. Keepers have been making woodlands attractive to all manner of species for years by selective coppicing and ride clearing, but again there is absolutely no mention of that in the report.

The report goes further and suggests that by reintroducing the pine marten to many woodlands, starting in Wales, the red squirrel can be saved: “The Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) felt that the time was right for the first native carnivore release in the UK. Working with several partners and funders, VWT released 20 pine martens at carefully selected sites during the autumn of 2015, with plans to release a further 20 animals in 2016. The hope is that these 40 pine martens will not only create a self-sustaining population in the immediate area, but that over time their numbers will increase sufficiently to spread to other forests in Wales and across the border into England. Such a high-profile project will help to ensure the longevity and protection of the woodland that will become the pine martens’ home. It is also hoped that boosting a native carnivore population will have wider implications for the ecosystem. Anecdotal evidence from Ireland suggests that increasing pine marten numbers might be reducing numbers of grey squirrels, to the benefit of our native red squirrels. If bringing back the pine marten helps to

restore diversity in woodland ecology, the positive outcomes of the project will be much greater than simply benefiting one iconic species.” The key word to pick out there about the Irish project is that it is anecdotal evidence, something that the protectionists never allow us, the shooting world, to use when presenting a report.

Predators? What predators?

The other part of the report – or lack of it – that astounded me when I read it was that there is hardly a mention of predator control to protect these 8,000 or so endangered species that are clinging onto their very existence in the UK. The report does briefly touch on the need to control non-native invasive species and cites the American mink as a case in point. It waxes lyrical about how the landscape control (in other words, trapping and killing) of American mink has saved the water vole population. As an ex river keeper I can attest to the fact that joined-up working of the private estates along the river I worked, paid for by the landowner for no benefit other than that of conservation, did work and we managed to eradicate the American mink problem. The voles were there – just – but they came back quickly and there is now a very healthy population.

However, we know that foxes kill a large number of lapwing chicks and other birds of conservation concern but the report doesn’t mention this at all. It also doesn’t touch on the fact

PICTURES: LAURIE CAMPBELL

Pine marten have been introduced into areas of the UK in a bid to reduce the numbers of grey squirrels

22

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The report fails to mention that foxes and other predators kill a large number of lapwing chicks

that birds of prey have never been so numerous in our skies and they all need to feed on something.

To not make more of the importance of predator control to conservation is a mistake. It is a serious gap in the authority of the report and shows to us that its authors simply do not understand the finer points of wildlife management. Remember, gamekeepers are the original champions of biodiversity, and we were successfully employing wildlife conservation long before others followed our lead.

In his foreword, Sir David Attenborough talks of the importance of cooperative working to successful conservation. The NGO feels, however, that this generosity of partnership is not extended to the keepering community by many of the conservation bodies involved in the report. Whether by accident or design, the positive environmental work being carried out by keepers is missing from this review of wildlife. The report is undoubtedly a lost opportunity to bring all parties together for a common cause to help struggling nature.

It is, in the NGO’s view, a narrow-minded approach and a sad indictment of the way in which many of these organisations go about promoting conservation. It is as if they see wildlife as theirs rather than a resource to be nurtured by all and for all. What is certain is that if gamekeepers ceased to manage the countryside tomorrow, its state of nature would deteriorate further – and rapidly.

No one should have a monopoly on conservation, though many of the organisations involved in producing this report seem to me to act constantly as if they think that they do, which, to my mind, is shameful. It is concerted action, not empty words, which are needed to restore the health of our countryside. Gamekeepers are doing just that, every day, working for wildlife and hence for the public good. I call on the many authors of the report to open their eyes and to take a long, hard look at the wildlife honeypots on our small island. They will see that where there is biodiversity in abundance, there is game shooting and game management. I ask them to please follow our lead and to work with us for the sake of wildlife. ■

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PIGEONS

WITH ANDY CROW

Hedging your bets There is plenty of potential at this time of year for the eagle-eyed pigeon shooter.

Andy Crow talks us through the top options

A

utumn is a time of bounty in the woods and hedgerows of Britain. While the farmer’s harvest is over, nature supplements the offerings in the fields and allows the pigeons to pile on some fat stores before the hard weather arrives.

There are nuts and berries, acorns and beech nuts, and of course, a few rich stubbles left over from a few weeks earlier. But what are the best options for the pigeon shooter and how should you tackle them? Andy Crow gives his take on it.

PICTURES: DOM HOLTAM

Berries are always attractive

24

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Hawthorn berries “Fruits are always a draw for birds and it looks like another exceptional year for berries. I reckon hawthorn and ivy are the top choices for pigeons, and at this time of the year, hawthorns are definitely on the menu. During this time, it can be great fun to sit in the cover of the hedgerow with an air rifle or shotgun to pot a couple of birds for your supper, but that doesn’t mean you can’t secure a big-bag day.

“A few years ago, near Caterham, some friends and I shot an old quarry that had hundreds of hawthorn trees over maybe eight to 10 acres. It was like a red sea! And between us we shot well over 100 birds in just a few hours.”

Beech nuts and acorns “We are lucky in the South East to have plenty of trees and woodland and that delivers some bumper deposits of acorns and beech mast. Not every year, mind you. Some years there is barely an acorn to be seen, but other years the ground is carpeted with them and the pigeons love them.”

Beech nuts will be the first to be targeted – and they are a bit more digestible for the birds. By late October there will be plenty of acorns on the

‘I reckon hawthorn and ivy are the top choices for pigeons, and at this time of the year, hawthorns are definitely on the menu’

PIGEONS ground, and around this time we will have an influx of migratory birds from elsewhere, so I often have some bumper days on the acorns.

Now, obviously an acorn is a large lump of food for a pigeon so they don’t need to spend hours feeding, which means that you might not see thousands of birds on the ground. But a bit of observation will tell you how much air traffic is using the area.

“It always amazes me how selective the birds appear to be, walking past thousands before selecting a particular one. Is it a certain size or just random? I like to set up on the edge of the field and try to work out which sitty trees they will make for. I normally have a couple of lumps of decoys: one each side and quite sparse. Pigeons don’t crowd together when feeding on acorns.

“In good years, I can get birds over acorns right through the winter, and this year looks like it’s going to be a decent one.”

Barley stubbles Although many farmers turn their stubbles around very quickly, some are left to overwinter as part of stewardship schemes. And the ones to watch are the barley stubbles. “Although not as popular as wheat or rape stubbles at harvest, barley takes a lot, lot longer to germinate even after weeks of laying wet,” explains Andy. “That means there is still a good cereal feed to be had well into the autumn.

And it isn’t just the pigeons that find this attractive – geese and ducks also like to use the barley stubbles, so keep your eyes and ears peeled early in the day if you have a barley stubble near you.”

A crop full of acorns

where I’m going to shoot and then peel a few hundred cobs to make them as visible as possible from the air.”

morning, you won’t easily forget the sight. And the sound of several thousand birds turning a wing in unison is unbelievable!” ■

Migrating birds

‘Some years there is barely an acorn to be seen, but other years the ground is carpeted with them and the pigeons love them’

“I know this seems to be a contentious subject for some, but I know what I witness in terms of birds moving into and through the area, and in early to mid November we will have a big influx of birds and start seeing large flocks moving through.

“At the moment we hardly have any birds (something confirmed by my local game dealer whose weekly pigeon count has plummeted) but in a week or two, I am confident they will be back with a vengeance. If you see the enormous flocks moving through at altitude on a cold, clear

Bean stubbles “Beans and lupins will be the last crops I harvest, and although I will drill the fields relatively quickly, often I will use minimal cultivation and pretty much direct drill. Because I am not disturbing the top of the field, the beans that are lost during harvest will remain and the pigeons will be keen to cash in.

There are usually a lot of beans left on top as the pods are brittle and break easily when the combine comes through.

“Once they germinate, after a decent spell of wet weather, they will be less attractive to the birds, but in the meantime, these large, highprotein foodstuffs will be a good puller. Mind you, I find that the pigeons can be a bit funny when it comes to decoying over beans. One day they will be positively suicidal, other days nothing wants to come in to the deeks.”

Maize This crop is increasingly popular – not just for grain maize but also as a ‘power’ crop for use in the burgeoning number of anaerobic digesters.

Eye-catching and packed with energy, the big, durable cobs will survive the winter weather well and attract both pigeons and crows in big numbers. “If birds are using the fields and there are plenty of cobs on the ground, I like to identify

A decent day on the acorns

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25

READERS’

I thought Sporting Shooter readers might be interested in seeing this photo. It’s of two ravens found locked together, both exhausted from fighting – apparently to the death! One was very bloodied.

I had to pick them up to separate them, and one flew off shakily, while the other was too exhausted and could only flap away and sit in the grass a short distance from me. I hope he made a full recovery.

This photo was taken in Mortimer Forest, just outside Ludlow, last month.

Diggory Hadoke (our classic guns guru)

WIN

Disappointed of Derbyshire I don’t suppose any of us in the shooting world were really that surprised at the findings – or rather, lack of them – of the BBC Trust’s investigation into Chris Packham; however, it really is very disappointing.

For the Trust has claimed that Chris Packham isn’t really a presenter after all. Or rather, he isn’t a regular presenter. Funny that, as he seems to be on our screens and airwaves fairly regularly to me.

To me, it just smacks of a protectionist approach, showing little regard for the

SNAP SHOTS

Grouse moors were recently described

by Chris Packham as ‘dark, satanic places’

26

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LETTER OF THE MONTH

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impartiality that the BBC is supposed to stand for.

I’ve yet to speak to a single person in the shooting community who isn’t thoroughly sick and tired of Packham and the tirade of abuse he hurls at our way of life.

Not impressed BBC. Not impressed.

Jennifer Hargreaves, Derbyshire The editor replies: You can read more about this issue in the Countryside Alliance’s column on page 65.

PICTURE: JAMES MARCHINGTON

A dual to the death!

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FOLD UP DECOYS WORTH £52

Prior replies…

Eric Prior responds to Alan Russell’s letter asking for information about Eric’s gliders, and tackles a second query regarding his decoying techniques:

Thanks Eric! Read more about Eric’s use of lofting poles for crows on page 66.

Clarifying lead laws I would like to raise a serious issue with the ‘Goose-getters’ article (p48) that was published in the November issue of Sporting Shooter.

The first sentence of the introduction read: ‘Non-toxic loads are a legal requirement when shooting over wetlands,’ and many may think that this is the only time that non-toxic loads are required. It should have read: ‘Non-toxic loads are a legal requirement when shooting any wildfowl.’

The main problem that wildfowlers have is the inland shoots: shooting ducks flushed from ponds to make up the numbers on driven days. I have beaten on several of these and know for a fact that Guns have not been asked to use non-toxic loads, and the wording in your article does not help the matter.

Also, I am surprised that Gamebore did not get a mention as they do several loads of steel or tungsten. I use their Silver Steel fibre-wadded steel cartridge for inland duck, as the landowner does not want plastic When shooting duck on a driven day, non-toxic loads should wads left in the area. be used Ralph Stimson, via email The editor replies: You are, of course, correct that non-toxic loads are also a legal requirement when shooting wildfowl inland in England. We certainly didn’t intend to cause confusion.

The Fold Up Decoy (FUD) range is effective, functional and practical. The FUDs boast a variety of features that have quickly proven popular since their launch last year. They are 3D and life size, with a movable head to recreate multiple postures. They are compact and lightweight, yet strong and long lasting and can be deployed in water using the detachable anchor or staked in the ground.

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QQUESUTIIZON

Q

APPROACHING ANTHEM is an anagram of which tool used by gunsmiths and mentioned

by Diggory this month?

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO THIS MONTH’S QUESTION TO: Win Decoys (December), Sporting Shooter, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2EG, or email your answer to competitions@sportingshooter.co.uk OCTOBER ISSUE WINNER Congratulations to Brian Mathews from County Down, N. Ireland.

The answer was LOWLAND HEDGEROW. RULES: Closing date is 1 December.

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PICTURE: DON BRUNT

PICTURE: ERIC PRIOR

The glider is in fact a pigeon cradle which, when in situ, stands higher than a normal cradle and has a wing bar attachment. The dead or imitation bird imitates a corvid or pigeon gliding into the killing area.

I use five or six on the inner side of the pattern; standing higher than the normal cradle, they tend to move in the breeze for extra effect. You will find them very effective on both pigeons and crows on all high or low crops.

In my book, one of these gadgets does the job of three or four closed-wing statics and, at the price of only a few quid, are a very good investment. As far as I know there is only one retailer stocking them: www.thepigeonshooter.com On a separate note, another reader queried why I do not use lofting poles or mention them in my articles…

I no longer use lofting poles when decoying pigeons for three main reasons: firstly, they take up a lot of space in the 4x4; secondly, they take so much valuable time to set up and take down; and finally, I think that with pigeons they are not necessary when you are already using rotaries and flappers.

On the other hand, if you have them, and are not in a rush, by all means set them up.

On crows, especially when protecting animal feed areas, they definitely have a place, and are near essential when there is little space or a problem setting up your pattern.

I wire the bottom pole to the side of the pallet hide, or against a fence, then slot in the other three or four. The two crow decoys are glued onto their pegs and then onto the upright on the cross bar.

ASK THE

A name to be reckoned with DOM HOLTAM STALKER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dom is an experienced stalker and deer warden

DON BRUNT CLAY SHOOTING Don is a keen clay shooter and follows the country’s top shots on the circuit

ANDY CROW PIGEONS Crowman has forgotten more about pigeons than most of us will ever know

DIGGORY HADOKE CLASSIC GUNS Diggory Hadoke is an authority on old guns and buying at auction

JONNY CROCKETT COUNTRYSIDE Jonny Crockett teaches survival courses and other backwoods skills

WILL EDWARDS SHOOTING Will Edwards is an APSI-qualified shooting coach

LIAM STOKES SPORTING ISSUES Liam is Head of Shooting Campaigns at the Countryside Alliance

SPARSHOLT COLLEGE GAMEKEEPING An expert team of lecturers run Sparsholt College’s full and part-time gamekeeping courses

Is there a question you want resolved?

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO: Ask the Experts Sporting Shooter, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 2EG OR EMAIL: news@sportingshooter.co.uk

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Problems with ported barrels

Q A

I have been told I cannot use my gun in competitions because it has ported barrels. Can you tell me why? Also, can you use ported chokes in competition?

DON BRUNT replies: Simply put, yes and yes… Ported barrels/chokes have been allowed for the domestic disciplines of Skeet, Sporting and Sportrap, DTL and ABT, though barrel porting is something of a rarity these days and has never caught on here in the way that it did in America. Up until 2014/15 ‘ventilated barrel attachments’, i.e. ported or ‘wad stripping’ chokes, were not allowed to be used for DTL (and its subsidiary disciplines) and ABT, but they are now legal.

If you wish to shoot any of the ISSF disciplines (Olympic Skeet, Double Trap, Olympic Trap), then the rules regarding barrels and chokes are as follows: 9.4.- 2.7: Ported Barrels and Ported Interchangeable Chokes a) Ported barrels are permitted, provided they do not extend back further than 20cm as measured from the end of the muzzle; and

Each month's winner will receive a can of Cogswell & Harrison gun oil

b) Ported interchangeable chokes are permitted, provided their porting plus any barrel porting does not exceed 20cm as measured from the muzzle end of the interchangeable fitted choke.

The FITASC rule book doesn’t even mention ported barrels or chokes so there is no restriction on their use in any way.

D200300 ported chokes for DTL and ABT are a relatively new addition to the rule book.

Distance dilemma

Q

Do you have any tips on judging distance when shooting driven game? Other people seem to instinctively know whether a bird is 30 yards or 40 yards up, but I really struggle with this.

A

WILL EDWARDS replies: Don’t panic. Trust me, there are plenty of others out there who struggle to judge the height of a bird’s flight, and most would never admit it.

Now, it’s easy enough to pace out various distances on foot – one good stride is about a yard – but that’s on the horizontal; what about the vertical? It's a bit tricky unless you happen to be Spider-Man, but fear not! I have a couple of great ways to overcome this.

If you have a friend that owns a laser rangefinder then you can use it to tell you the distance of objects. I’ve borrowed one for the same reason.

I’ve stood below and locked it onto my local church spire (42 yards), our farm’s grain storage hopper (28 yards), the high towers at various shooting grounds, etc. It’s great at helping you to mentally build up a picture library of distances.

You can use the internet to find out the height of buildings in your locality – for example, Nelson's column is 56 yards. I’m sure you get my drift…

PICTURES: DON BRUNT / NICK RIDLEY (BELOW)

EXPERTS

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

EXPERTS

For the very latest news visit www.sportingshooter.co.uk A name to be reckoned with

Prove the proverb!

Q A

What’s the science behind the expression ‘Swallows high, fine and dry. Swallows low, wind will blow’?

JONNY CROCKETT replies: Swallows feed on the wing, i.e. they swoop on flying insects.

The insects are very sensitive to barometric pressure. They need to be because the only place they have to

Back to school?

shelter in the event of rain is under leaves and branches. If the barometric pressure is high then there will be good weather as a high-pressure area passes over. This means that they can fly higher and so the swallows fly higher to feed. If a low-pressure area approaches it indicates that wind and poor weather is due. The insects fly nearer to shelter, and the swallows follow them, flying low.

PICTURE: KATSURA MIYAMOTO, HTTP://BIT.LY/1GZ2EOO

Q A

I would like to put myself on the local call-out list for deer collisions – do I need any qualifications?

DOM HOLTAM replies: I worked as a volunteer deer warden in East Sussex and the local authority provided some training advice and safety equipment. If you are a competent, experienced stalker you might be happy enough to do it without guidance, but having recently attended a Humane Animal Dispatch course with Jelen Deer Services (which comes with a Lantra certificate of training), I would heartily recommend something similar to anybody wishing to work as a deer warden and attend road traffic collisions. For more information, visit www.jelendeer.com

Steel for pigeons ANDY CROW replies: Not at all. I get asked this more and more. I have shot pigeons with steel for a friend who has birds of prey and doesn’t want the birds consuming lead shot. As long as your gun is proofed correctly (look for the fleur-de-lys mark), and most modern guns are, and as long as you don’t use too restrictive a choke (no more than half), you won’t harm your gun. I like to go at least one shot size larger as well, as each shot is lighter than a corresponding lead load. Something like a 32g no.5 would be suitable. Steel can be choke-sensitive in terms of pattern, so it’s well worth a few shots on the pattern plate to find what works well and what your effective range is.

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PICTURES: DOM HOLTAM

Q A

Is there any reason why I shouldn’t use steel shot for pigeon shooting?

EXPERTS

For the very latest news visit www.sportingshooter.co.uk

Career change

Q

Having the lucky opportunity to be able to change career, what sort of additional qualifications would be beneficial for getting employment within the gamekeeping industry?

A

Keep it clean

Q A

I slipped in the mud while out stalking and blocked my barrel with a lump of gooey muck and that was the end of my outing. I was so annoyed, but a mate told me I could have blown the barrel clear and just carried on. Is that true?

DOM HOLTAM replies: I wouldn’t have risked that. Firstly, you’d have to blow from the breech end (which isn’t very easy!) and even then, would you have definitely got all the moisture and grit from the rifling? Far better to keep a compact cleaning kit in your rifle bag or truck so at least you can return to your vehicle and clean the gun properly and then continue your outing.

The risk of not fully clearing the obstruction is at best damaging your barrel, at worst serious personal injury. Better to be safe than sorry.

PICTURES: MIKE DICKINSON / JACK SCRIVENER (LEFT)

SPARSHOLT COLLEGE replies: The following would be very beneficial: Chainsaw CS30 & 31, All Terrain Vehicles and the Brushcutter & Strimmer qualification, as well as the Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1, the National Gamekeepers' Organisation’s Loaders Ticket, and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Snaring Award.

Here at Sparsholt College, and it’s very likely to be similar further North at Newton Rigg, we offer all of the above alongside our two-year Level 3 Game and Wildlife Management qualification.

A name to be reckoned with

The etiquette of restraint REBECCA GREEN replies: There is no definitive answer to this, but the first thing you must do is establish what the expected bag size is with whoever is running the day. This will give you a rough idea of how many birds, hypothetically speaking, your ‘share’ would be. Normally, if the team is fairly small and the day informal, you will have a fairly good idea of who’s shot what as you walk along and will be able to excercise judgement accordingly. You shouldn’t feel guilty if you find yourself in a hotspot, but if this is the case you can try and select the most sporting birds or simply stop shooting if you are worried that carrying on will probably tip the group over the bag limit.

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PICTURE: REBECCA GREEN

Q A

On a walked-up day, how do I know when I will be deemed to have shot my share of the bag?

CLAY NEWS

WITH DON BRUNT

Annual Gamebore weekend The annual Gamebore weekend, incorporating the final of the White Gold challenge and the Gold Cup, effectively marks the end of the summer competitive calendar. The 50 shooters who had made the cut were invited to Westfield to test their mettle against the very best in their respective categories: Gold (AA and A Class) and Silver (B and C Class).

The quarter-final saw Richard King, Ollie Bradshaw, Josh Bridges and Jon Kendall fight it out for the Gold semi-final places, while in Silver

it was Richard Formosa, Josh Hufton, Charlie Cardon and Harry Lovatt. Each of the competitors had their ups and downs but, in the end, it was Bridges and Bradshaw who progressed in Gold, while Formosa went through in Silver alongside Lovatt, who used his home ground advantage to the full.

The semi-finals saw Josh Bridges triumph in Gold 14 to 11, while in Silver both Formosa and Lovatt shot 11 ex 20, meaning a shoot-off was required to decide who would go through to the Josh Bridges took the win at the White Gold Challenge

final. It was the former who got the job done, setting himself up for a shot at the overall title against Josh. Both men had a tough start but Josh managed to regroup and took the win by 14 to 11.

The Gold Cup saw 298 competitors take to the 150-bird course over two days. It was a mixture of conventional Sporting stands and some ‘feature’ stands that were a little different to the norm. For example, stand 1 saw three teal launched in various combinations including all three at once, which caused confusion for some, while stand 2 saw a trio of targets in the air simultaneously with any two to count, although some who had fortune on their side managed to break all three with two shots.

Richard King took an early lead on 134, which was impressive in its own right, however Adam Cork and Stuart Rudling improved on that with scores of 135 and 137, respectively. Dave Kempley raised the bar further with a 139, but Ben Husthwaite’s 141 on Sunday morning looked like it might be enough, and indeed for most of the day it was; however, Gamebore teammate Mark Winser had other ideas, and finished up on a phenomenal 142 as the day was drawing to a close.

In Ladies, Jennie Cartwright took the win ahead of J Herbert and R Tuckey, while in Juniors Josh Bridges’ 133 gave him a margin of seven over Josh Brown, with Aaron Harvey third on 124. Brody Woollard’s 128 gave him Colts ahead of J Bennion and A Eccleston, and Vets went to G Moore, with D Whyte second alongside D Woodbridge.

A Class went to Brody Woollard, B Class went to D Scullion, and C Class to O Finnigan.

Full results can be viewed at www. theclayshootingcompany.com

PICTURES: DON BRUNT

Mark Winser won the Gold Cup with an incredible score of 142

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CLAY NEWS

50th Home International Sporting Seven nations were represented at this year’s Home International Sporting event held at Westfield Shooting Ground, with more than 160 shooters taking part over a 100-bird course, split into two sessions of 50 targets.

England has dominated the event for decades, and the Senior team hasn’t lost the event since the 70s, but team manager Richard Hunter must have felt a little nervous at the lunch break at this year’s event!

Although Phil Easeman of England had shot a phenomenal 49 ex 50 in the morning session, three of the Welsh team had posted 48s, which had helped the team to a six-point lead over England.

Although Phil continued to shoot well in the afternoon, he slipped down the order a little, and Rob Claybrook of Wales emerged victorious in the individual standings with a 95, earning himself the prestigious High Gun trophy.

England managed to turn a six-target deficit into a six-target lead

Martin Doughty took the runner-up spot jointly with Josh Keeble of Wales, on 93. Easeman shared third place with two English teammates and a Northern Irish shooter, and having that many competitors in the top spots ensured that England managed to swing the scales in their favour, turning a six-target deficit into a six-target lead by the end of the day.

Arnie Palmer had to shoot off for the Captains’ Cup against Paul Heywood of Wales, but once again it went England’s way, as did the rest of the team events.

Individual wins for England in Seniors, Vets and Juniors didn’t quite equate to a clean sweep, thanks to Janine White’s 86 taking the Ladies win for Wales.

A good day for Team England

ABT Home International The 42nd Home International ABT headed to the Somerset Levels and Brook Bank Shooting Ground near Cheddar.

England fielded a raft of new caps for the event, which included Graham Andrews, Taylor Richards, Jack Culliford, Matthew Panter, Marvin Houghton, Philip Sanders, Robert Agar, Christian Clark, Marcus Iddon and Abbey Ling.

Brook Bank is the home of Trap shooting in the south-west, and owner Wesley Hann was a member of the England team, so it was no surprise that the targets were spot on, even if

the sun did cause a few issues in the early morning rounds on Saturday.

It didn’t seem to unduly affect the scores, though, with Mark Shaw taking the individual High Gun with 193 ex 200; the England Senior team followed his lead and took the win over Scotland by a comfortable 59 points.

Ireland won the Juniors with England taking the runner-up spot, while the host nation also triumphed in Ladies and Vets. Scotland’s Super Vets proved to be the class of the field, though, relegating England to second place by just two targets.

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THE MARKETPLACE Your one-stop shop for shooting gear

W

elcome to the Marketplace. In this section you will find everything you need to know about the kit you need to go shooting with – from product tests and reviews to in-depth features.

Whatever you want to know about or buy, we’ve got it covered. And if we’ve missed something that you’d like to see tested, drop us a line by post, telephone or email at the usual addresses.

INSIDE THE MARKETPLACE THIS MONTH...

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Christmas gift ideas – We’ve taken all the hassle out of finding the perfect presents for your loved ones this Christmas – whatever their area of interest, we’ve got it covered!

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Cartridges – Successfully fill your bag with Vic’s guide to some of the best pheasant loads the market has to offer

58

Gun test – Never judge a gun by its price tag – especially when it’s a Bettinsoli X-Trail

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www.sportingshooter.co.uk

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XMAS PRODUCTS Condor LCX boots

Bury fleece-lined shirt from Alan Paine

from Le Chameau

The Bury fleece-lined shirt from Alan Paine makes achieving smartness and comfort a doddle on shoot days and negates the need for too many bulky layers. Made from a soft, minimal-iron fabric in a classic check pattern, the shirt is lined in cosy fleece so that while it appears like any other country shirt, only the toasty soul inside will know its snugly secret! In a shape made specifically for shooting to offer freedom of movement, and a longer length to avoid any ‘untucking’ issues when reaching for those high birds, this makes the ideal gift for any gentleman shooter, or indeed beaters, pickers-up, gamekeepers, shoot captains… you get the idea!

We cover a lot of ground going about our various outdoor activities, and having a great pair of boots that are built for the job can mean the difference between a fun-filled day in the field, and a miserable mope back to the car.

The Condor LCX boots from French brand Le Chameau – master bootmaker since 1927 – feature five technical layers of waterproof but breathable materials; a premium oiled nubuck outer; great ankle support with

RRP: £59.99 www.alanpaine.co.uk

Compton extended peak cap from Alan Paine A classic tweed cap tops off all outdoor clothing perfectly, and a decent one will provide its wearer with many years of service. The Compton extended peak cap from Alan Paine is one of the good ones – it’s fully lined for comfort and warmth, and the outer is made of pure wool, which is both waterproof and breathable. Available in sage, peat, lovat, forest green and landscape tweeds, and in sizes S-3XL. RRP: £34.99 www.alanpaine.co.uk

flexible heels; a 360° rubber band above the sole for enhanced protection; and a seriously light, ‘deep forest’ performance sole.

Give someone the gift of warm, dry feet and many miles of happy hiking.

RRP: £280 www.lechameau.com

Country Christmas cards from GWCT With the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) beautiful countrythemed Christmas cards, you can feel doubly good about yourself: not only will you be making someone’s day by sending them a lovely card, but all proceeds go towards supporting the important work that the Trust does. There are some gorgeous bird and wildlife designs, but our favourites are the woodcock (In Winter Shadows, by Owen Williams), the grouse (Black Game in Snow, by Jason Lowes), and the amusing gundog cartoon (And that’s the truth, by Loon).

RRP: from £5.50 www.gwctshop.org.uk

Apollo and Artemis ‘his and hers’ shotguns from Sauer German gunmaker JP Sauer und Sohn has teamed up with Italian gunmaker Fausti Stephano to develop two new over-and-under game guns – the Sauer Apollo and the Sauer Artemis. Answering the call of the rising number of female shooters, the guns are somewhat of a ‘his and hers’ offering, with the Apollo and the

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Artemis designed for the male and female shooter respectively. The Apollo features 28 or 30" multi-choke barrels, weighs 7.59lbs, has a 37.5cm length of pull, and a black rubber recoil pad. Its sister, the Artemis, is lighter at 7.26lbs with a shorter length of pull – 34.5cm – and has 28" barrels. It has a Monte Carlo stock and a red

rubber recoil pad. Both guns come in 12-bore and feature a modestly engraved black frame, a golden Sauer logo on the hinge pin, and beautiful laser-lined dark walnut stocks. Step out in European style with your other half this season.

RRP: £1,775 each www.sauer.de

GAME SHOOTING Canvas boot bag from Teales Transporting your muddy boots can make a right mess of your car, and we’ve all experienced the frustration of trying to coax a tall pair of wellies into a flimsy plastic bag. Why not treat someone who deserves an easier To life to this lovely boot bag from Teales? Sporting Shooter readers receive a 20% discount, making the claim your 20% already reasonable price of £74.99 even more affordable. A sense of country heritage is achieved discount use the code through a combination of thick, durable cotton canvas on the body, oiled leather piping at the seams, ‘sportingshooter20’ when and an oiled leather base; the latter two help protect the bag from wear. It has a waterproof leather ordering from 2 November lining, an easy-pull double zip, and a shoulder strap to make lugging your boots around an easier task.

2016 to January 1 2017.

RRP: £74.99 www.teales.co.uk

Shooting socks from Jack Pyke Game carriers

Kensington jacket

Shooting socks are like shooting coats: you can never have too many. New from Jack Pyke, these full-length socks feature an attractive variety of chequered top designs and come in a wide range of colours. They are made from a blend of 30% wool and 70% acrylic and come with matching garter. Available in one size (fits shoe size 8-11), and in stores from December.

New from trusted brand Seeland is the classic Kensington jacket. This all-round shooting jacket is designed for all types of shooting where elegant dress is de rigueur. The jacket has capacious pockets with a quick-load function to provide easy access to cartridges; a game pocket with nylon lining; and a waterproof and windproof Seetex membrane. At £150 it represents excellent value for money. Available in sizes 48-60.

RRP: £19.95 www.jackpyke.co.uk

These nifty contraptions are fantastic no-brainer presents for game shooting enthusiasts, striking the ‘perfect present’ balance between usefulness, prettiness, and affordability. Made with rich and supple English leather, they sit just above other carriers on the ‘scale of specialness’, and the neoprene back that stops the carrier slipping when it’s crammed full of birds (hopefully!) shows they were designed with functionality in mind.

Plus – and it’s a big plus – at this time of year the price is more than right, at £14.95 for the single carrier and £18.95 for the double carrier.

RRPs: Single carrier £14.95; double £18.95 www.sportingsaint.co.uk

RRP: £149.99 www.seeland.com for stockists

Crieff gaiters from Seeland Gaiters are an absolute essential for most beaters and pickers-up, protecting legs from brambles and keeping water and dirt out of boots. This pair from Seeland are well made and built to last.

Easy to get in and out of, thanks to the sturdy YKK front zipper, they can be whipped off in seconds when the time comes to head home, and the zip is protected by a Velcro closure to stop dirt getting stuck between the teeth. They are made from tough Oxford nylon with a polyurethane coating, making them durable and

weatherproof, and the fit is adjustable by way of a buckled under-boot strap and a toggle around the top of the calf.

People often have a habit of wearing their gaiters until they literally fall apart.

If you know a culprit, surprise them this Christmas with a brand new pair; they’ll make a very welcome gift.

RRP: £35 www.seeland.com

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LADIES Polar Lady trousers The British winter can be pretty chilly, especially if your Christmas plans include a trip up north, maybe to the Scottish Highlands to stalk red hinds! A good pair of waterproof, insulating trousers is the sensible way to ensure cosy calves. Seeland has a new pair on sale, designed especially for women, and they feature a built-in body ‘bit’ with shoulder straps to keep them up, eliminating the risk of drafts sneaking under hemlines. With a Thinsulate lining and a waterproof and windproof Seetex membrane, the Polar Lady trousers effectively keep out the cold, wind and rain, meaning the woman inside can enjoy toasty bliss, no matter what the weather is doing!

They have a couple of zip side pockets, and have the added benefit of being silent and non-reflective, making them ideal for stalking situations and covert hunting missions.

Matching items available.

Somerset shirt from Schoffel Multi-purpose items of clothing are a godsend for busy countrywomen, and this gorgeous shirt from Schoffel works well both on and off the field. In a pretty, but not overly so, navy paisley print, it is well made with 97% cotton, and has a nice feminine cut to flatter the figure. Designed with rural lifestyles in mind, the shirt

RRP: £59.95 www.schoffel.co.uk

Rutland wax and tweed jacket from Alan Paine This beautiful jacket from Alan Paine manages to look both traditional enough to wear to a shoot day, and yet subtly modern. Perhaps it’s the hint of pink and orange woven into the classic tweed, or the waxed sleeves and side panels; either way, it makes an absolutely gorgeous Christmas present for ladies who shoot. Practical as well as Available in lichen, light moss and brown tweeds.

RRP: £150 www.seeland.com for stockists

Minnie clutch from Catherine Aitken Finding a sensibly sized clutch bag – i.e. one with the capacity to hold more than just a phone, yet not so large as to resemble a grain sack – is far from a simple task. Finding one that complements country attire is even harder. We’ve done the hard work for you (or rather, the talented Catherine Aitken has!) in bringing you this stunning clutch made from true Harris Tweed.

With dimensions of 18cm x 14cm x 4cm, there is more than enough room for cash, cards, phone and keys. The Minnie clutch comes in four beautiful tweed-y colours and features a black drill cotton lining, a strong brass zip, and a leather puller; the ideal addition to any countrywoman’s wardrobe and an absolute steal at just £25. Plus, this brand is a conscientious one, and all the products are made in the UK using locally sourced materials of the highest quality. Available in hunting Macleod, blue herringbone, brown herringbone, and classic grey herringbone.

RRP: £25 www.catherineaitken.com

washes fantastically and, being Schoffel, you can count on it lasting for many happy seasons to come. This shirt makes a beautiful gift for any lady, but especially those who love their field sports. Available in sizes 8-20.

pretty, the jacket features two large cartridge pockets with drainage holes; two hand-warmer pockets; a single back vent to aid ease of movement; and has a luxurious quilted lining to keep whoever’s inside warm on those chilly days spent out in the field. A feminine fit completes the look. This fabulous and functional jacket is sure to bring a smile to the face of the lucky lady who receives it on Christmas Day. Available in sizes 8-20.

RRP: £179.99 www.alanpaine.co.uk

Pro Shooter gloves Gloves are essential to keep trigger fingers mobile when the temperatures drop, and this gorgeous pair from Härkila are designed specifically for shooters. The palms are made from real leather, providing a good grip to keep that gun stable, plus natural warmth, durability, windproofing and breathability. The backs are made from a windproof, breathable Windstopper fleece, which keeps hands cosy, and they feature high knitted cuffs, warming the wrists and ensuring joints stay mobile. They have a sleek air of the ‘luxe’ about them that makes them a really nice present for the lady shooter who deserves a treat. Available in sizes S-4XL. RRP: £45.99 www.harkila.com

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XMAS PRODUCTS

STALKING/FOXING

New Seek Compact Pro from Scott Country True to form, the thermal imaging brand Seek (which seems to develop new products with more regularity than most change their socks) has once again tweaked an already knockout gadget to make it even better. The Seek Compact Pro is an evolved version of the Seek Compact, and is the most advanced thermal imaging camera designed for your smartphone, offering immense capability at a comparatively budget price.

The new Pro model offers a larger 320 x 240 thermal with high sensitivity and a wider,

32° field of view; a 550m detection range; a >15Hz fast frame rate, displaying smoother footage for moving objects; and a choice of nine colour palettes to suit specific needs. It’s equipped with a powerful built-in LED flashlight with programmable brightness control; has a new improved interface with a start-up time of less than three seconds; and can be used day and night with no adjustment to settings. Phew! If you know a foxer who’s been particularly good this year, you know what to get them! For the full list of tech specs, visit www.scottcountry.co.uk and search for ‘Seek Pro’.

RRP: £453.95 ww.scottcountry.co.uk

Garberg knife from Morakniv

Scope cover from John Rigby & Co

Treat an outdoors fanatic to a fabulous yet functional gift this season: the Garberg knife from Swedish company Morakniv. There are so many knives on the market, some with very specific uses, so getting one as a gift may seem like an absolute minefield. This one is not only built to last with a hardened, stainless steel 3.2mm blade running the entire length of the knife (full tang), but will perform an array of tasks from meat processing, gralloching and skinning game, to splitting kindling and even 4" hardwood logs! Its Scandi-grind profile means it is easy to keep sharp, and the handle itself is almost indestructible thanks to an extrarugged polyamide ingredient used during the moulding process. You can be sure that the lucky hunter who receives the Garberg knife this Christmas will be prepared for every eventuality.

This beautiful scope cover from John Rigby & Co makes such a great present for a foxing or stalking enthusiast. It is a million miles away from the bog-standard plastic ones that do the job admirably, but look about as exciting as this year’s Great British Bake Off. A present should be a little bit special, and this scope cover is exactly that. Made in South Africa from an incredibly supple – almost buttery! – cinnamon-hued leather, and stitched in bold yellow thread, it is sure to attract admiration from fellow hunters. The covers at either end are embossed with the instantly recognisable Rigby ‘double R’, and the whole thing is handcrafted, which somehow adds to the luxury and is a hard thing to find nowadays! It does a great job of keeping scopes dry and dust free, and of looking absolutely stunning while doing so.

RRP: £100 www.morakniv.se/en

RRP: £59 www.johnrigbyandco.com

Stag’s head lamp from Good Gracious Longer, darker, chillier evenings are just around the corner. It’s time to embrace those cosy nights in by the fire, eating steaming hot comfort food and thinking about what Christmas and the New Year will bring. Why not add to the ambience and deliver a touch of modern, on-trend style with this stag’s head lamp from the (very cool) brand Good Gracious? Although a commonplace sight for country folk, the stag’s head has unexplainably become the epitome of stylish interior design – well, it suits us! We can stay true to our country roots while impressing with our trend knowledge. This one is made from fibreglass resin and exudes a beautifully warm glow.

At 53cm tall by 52cm wide, it is an impressive yet functional statement piece to take pride of place on the wall.

RRP: £125 www.goodgracious.co.uk

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PIGEONS Benelli Colombo Benelli shotguns are world-renowned for their reliability and quality. And the new Colombo semi-auto is specifically developed for pigeon shooting. It comes with either a 26" barrel and ‘extra wide choke’ or a 28" barrel and ‘extra long choke’ for shots out to 60m. It also benefits from Progressive Comfort recoil reduction and Wood FX finish, which enhances the grain of the wood. Plus, if you order one before the end of the year you can enter a free See p11 for competition to win a holiday to Rome! competition details and how RRP: £1,550 to enter. www.gmk.co.uk

Licence wallet When you are out and about shooting, it is always wise to have access to your documents, and what better way to keep them safe than with one of these licence wallets from The Pigeon Shooter? Available in black, navy, burgundy or green, it has room inside for your ‘ticket’ as well as permission letters, etc. It could also be used for insurance documents, driving licence, etc. £13.95 (including P&P) www.thepigeonshooter.com

Pigeon starter-kit A great gift for any budding pigeon shooter, or indeed anybody looking to replace tired gear.

The pigeon starter-kit contains four premium twistlock hide poles, a high-definition camo net in a pattern of your choice, a British-made hide pole bag and 10x Sillosock decoys.

It might not guarantee Andy Crow-style abilities, but everybody’s got to start somewhere!

RRP: £99 www.ukshootwarehouse.com

Havalon Piranta-Z pocketknife Every pigeon shooter needs a good knife to help with hide building and bird prep. The Havalon Piranta-Z pocket scalpel knife boasts a longer and wider handle made from military-grade polymer for the larger-handed user. There are 12 additional stainless steel #60A surgical blades, ambidextrous thumb studs, liner lock construction, and a heavy-duty nylon belt pouch. A superb option for breasting out those birds.

Enforcer Pro decoys The amazing realism and perfect feather detailing of the new Enforcer decoys from DJ Decoys is lifelike enough to have everyone fooled if you put them under the tree this Christmas!

The unique paint finish is made to bond not just to the decoy, but into it as well – so no more chipped, peeling or black decoys – while the MatteBlock technology means no more shine either. It stays bright but matte, with added UV stabilisers to help draw the birds like a magnet.

Made from a special plastic composite, the decoys are extremely tough and durable, whatever the weather, and are 10% larger than life-size for added pulling power.

RRP: £69.99 for a box of 10 www.djdecoys.com

RRP: £36.95 www.sportingcutlery.co.uk Tel: 01492 640664

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XMAS PRODUCTS Kitchen bed from The Big Dog Bed Company If your gundog lives indoors it’s likely that you’ll have an array of beds around the house for him or her (or is that just us?). Sometimes, finding one to fit conveniently into the kitchen, without getting in the way, can be tricky.

The Big Dog Bed Company has the solution. At 60cm deep, its kitchen beds will fit neatly alongside kitchen or utility room units. They feature the company’s 10cm-deep memory foam sandwich cushion (as found in their foam beds). The beds come in two standard sizes to reflect the sizing of kitchen units at 90 x 60cm and 120 x 60cm. Alternatively, you can opt for a bespoke size to fit a specific space. The kitchen bed is also available with a castellated Active Recovery pressure relief foam, or CoolComfort castellated foam for those that feel the heat. A wide range of colours are available to suit your kitchen’s colour scheme!

Gundog coat racks At the Midland Game Fair we came across a gem of a store called Bonario by design. The company is owned by Peter and Kim Parris, the world’s biggest Braco Italiano fans, and every product is lovingly handcrafted from the best local materials they can get their hands on. They have an extensive range, but we love these gundog and cartridge coat racks. Rather than the usual flimsy plywood, these are made from good, sturdy English sweet chestnut. The cartridges can be colour coordinated to suit your decor, and there are a range of breeds to choose from; they can even be engraved with family names. Check out the full range on the website – it’s a Christmas prezzie goldmine!

RRP: Five-peg coat rack, 56 x 19cm, £55 www.bonariobydesign.com

RRPs: K90 (90 x 60cm), £119 K120 (120 x 60cm), £139 www.bigdogbedcompany.co.uk

The ‘go anywhere’ dog mat Training pack from Sporting Saint

The Hooligan mat is machine washable.

Durable, waterproof and comfortable: what every owner needs for their dog’s bed. The Hooligan waterproof dog mat provides your dog with warmth and comfort. Filled with 1.5" of soft polyfibre no dog would turn this down. The bed can be taken anywhere – to the kennel, hide, car or home – and can simply be shoved in the washing machine or hosed down for a spruce up.

Size: 29" x 19" (73cm x 48cm).

RRP: £25 www.ukshootwarehouse.com

Mystique Profi dummy vest from Muntjac Trading Serious trainers need serious dummy vests.

This one is not only designed to hold everything needed for a training session, but has withstood ‘the terrible things’ inflicted upon it during its trial. Perfect for the worsening weather, the vest is handmade from a waxed cotton material originally used for the navy, which protects from wind and rain and is easy to wipe clean. It features a huge back pocket that holds eight to 10 dummies; net side pockets for soggy dummies; large front pockets with hand-

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The foam and memory foam sandwich construction offers long-lasting support.

warmers; a competitor number ring; and a pocket to keep the whistle off the chest.

There are also removable orange pockets and a back panel (which can be embroidered), both with reflective safety strips. Could anyone ask for more in a dummy vest? Make a gundog fanatic’s day this Christmas by presenting them with the Profi vest. Available in brown waxed, sizes XS-XL. RRP: £90 www.muntjac-trading.myshopify.com

If you know someone who has recently got into gundog training, and has yet to acquire the mountain of kit that goes with the pastime, then this Best of British multipack from Sporting Saint makes a fab Christmas present (especially if they have a patriotic streak in them!). It contains a good mix of different sized dummies for both throwing and launching, bird dummies, and a 1.5m slip rope. The Union Jack design symbolises the company’s dedication to sourcing and making their products here in the UK, so as well as knowing you’ve made someone’s day with a great present, you can feel good about supporting a truly British company too!

RRP: £55 www.sportingsaint.co.uk

GUNDOGS Premium raised dog bed from Berkeley Dog Beds This incredibly versatile and practical bedding solution for both pet and working dogs represents great value for money; why not treat your furry friend this Christmas? Made in Britain from a sturdy zinc-plated steel frame fitted with a waterproof washable fabric cover, the beds are super-comfy, durable and easy to clean. They can be used on their own or with Berkeley’s non-slip polar fleece pad, non-slip 30% wool vet bedding, or XL sheepskin fleece for extra warmth and comfort so your beloved gets a great night’s sleep. Well, you want them to be sound asleep when you hang their stocking, don’t you?!

Available in blue, green, red and brown, in sizes small/medium, large and extra large.

Brilliant bowl Keeping your canine companion hydrated while on the move is now much easier with this collapsible dog bowl. Made from tough laminated PVC, and equipped with a carry handle, this bowl is practical, simple and has the capacity to hold up to five litres of water.

Perfect for a hot summer’s day walk or any time your gundog is thirsty out in the shooting field.

RRP: £5.95 www.ukshootwarehouse.com

RRP: From £50 www.berkeleydogbeds.co.uk

Deluxe braided leather lanyard from Sporting Saint Any gundog handler will find a lanyard a useful addition to their kit bag, and this one from Sporting Saint is a little bit special, making it a great Christmas present idea too. It is handmade in Wales using excellent-quality braided kangaroo leather, and lies flat against the chest, making it more than smart enough for competitions and training events. It is available in seven different colour combinations so it can be coordinated with other kit. There are many lanyards out there, but this one exudes classic style and quality.

RRP: £32.50 www.sportingsaint.co.uk

Mendota slip lead from Paws for Thought Sometimes simplicity is the key to success.

This Mendota lead from Paws for Thought is a perfect example. A lead and collar all in one, it has a toggle stopper to prevent it choking the dog, and is soft on hands and pliable enough to fit easily into pockets. Ideal for training and field use, the lead comes in a variety of colours to suit preferences, so, depending on who you’re buying for, you can go for a nice conservative brown or a shockingly bright pink with a whole rainbow of choices in between. Comes in two widths and two lengths. A simple, effective lead that makes a simple, effective present for any gundog lover!

RRP: ½" x 6ft, £14.50; ½" x 4ft, £12.60; 3/8" x 6ft, £10; 3/8" x 4ft, £9.80 www.dogtrainingsupplies.co.uk

Thermal sleeping Lab mug A great gift for any dog lover you know, a sleeping Labrador adorns this insulated mug, making it the perfect travel companion during the winter months. Not just for the Labrador lovers, other designs include pheasants, a Jack Russell, and hounds and their master. The material is stainless steel, with an accessible screw lid.

RRP: £9.99 www.furfeatherandfin.com

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XMAS PRODUCTS Range cooker roller towels from the Mole Hole This British-made, woven, 100% cotton towel is absorbent, hard-wearing and colour fast. It simply fastens over the cooker rail and is available in a range of attractive designs and colours. A practical yet pretty treat!

RRP: £23 + £1.50 P&P www.themolehole.co.uk Tel: 01989 730376

Lifesystems reusable handwarmers

Electric boot dryer from Seeland

from Life Systems

This electric shoe and boot dryer from Seeland is ideal for anyone who spends a lot of time outside getting their footwear nice and soggy! With an extra long cable for ease of use, the electric dryers fit all shoes and boots – ideal for drying out overnight, ready for use the next day. They also help to prevent smelly boots and can prolong the life of footwear. Plus, they can be popped inside your boots prior to use on a chilly day to warm them up ready for your feet. Bliss!

For a mere £3.99 you can make someone’s hands a little bit happier this Christmas, by popping some of these reusable handwarmers in their stocking. Each handwarmer offers up to 90 minutes of warmth and is easily activated by clicking the metal disc inside.

Once home, all that’s needed is a short soak in warm water until the contents turn transparent, and they’re good to go again. A simple little gift that can make someone’s day in the field a bit more comfortable.

RRP: £3.99 www.lifesystems.co.uk

These little nuggets can emit heat of up to 54° celcius.

RRP: £21 www.seeland.com

Field sports mugs from Sally Mitchell Fine Arts Just like socks, a quality mug will always be a useful and well-received Christmas present.

These ones from Sally Mitchell Fine Arts Ltd are made from a good, solid, 11oz of dishwasher-safe ceramic, making them a sturdy and hard-wearing addition to any shooting enthusiast’s desk. The printing process used gives a beautifully rich,

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full-colour reproduction of the stunning artwork that wraps around the full mug. There are tons of gorgeous designs to choose from, but we love the grouse moor scene depicted on this one.

RRP: £7.99 www.sallymitchell.com

STOCKING FILLERS Coleman Divide+ 350 BatteryLock torch from Coleman Pop this BatteryLock torch in someone’s stocking this Christmas and watch their face light up. Small enough to fit in a pocket, yet providing mighty illumination with its 350m beam, the torch features a sturdy, weather-resistant construction to withstand rain, knocks and drops and has a weighty, substantial feel. Its real selling point, however, is the patented Coleman BatteryLock technology, which disconnects the battery from the circuit with a simple twist, rendering residual battery drain a problem of the past.

RRP: £34.99 www.coleman.eu

‘I’d rather be shooting’ cufflinks from Bell Gift Group Fini choke wrench from Viking Arms If your Christmas Eve is spent packing the stocking of a game, clay or pigeon shooter, the Fini choke wrench from Real Avid will make a nice change from the usual knick-knacks. The folding wrench is pocket sized and completely universal for all brands of shotgun, and it can be attached to a belt loop, bag or keys with a keyring fitting. The wrench can quickly change the chokes on guns ranging from .410s to 10-bores.

Manufactured from tough stainless steel, it is capable of releasing the most stubborn chokes. Can also be used to adjust windage and elevation on riflescopes.

RRP: £12 www.vikingarms.com

These smart cufflinks make a great little stocking filler for anyone who’d rather be out shooting than doing anything else… which we’d imagine applies to most readers of this magazine! They are fun, quirky, and an absolute steal at £14.99. If you know a man who uses cufflinks, but would rather be out in his wellies than his dress shirt, put a smile on his face by popping these in his stocking.

Shooting and gundog calendars from Countryside Greetings There are few people whose lives do not descend into chaos in the absence of a calendar – especially when you add shoot days, training sessions, and beating/ picking-up forays into the mix! Countryside Greetings has launched a new range of wall calendars featuring the work of British photographers, cartoonists and artists, so keeping track of your life can provide a little visual entertainment, too. The three we love feature shooting snaps, working dog snaps, and canine cartoons. A useful gift that keeps giving for a whole year. Buy this for the man/ woman who has everything, along with a good pair of socks, and know that you’re supporting the work of British ‘creatives’.

RRP: £19.99 www.countrysidegreetings.co.uk

RRP: £14.99 www.bellgiftgroup.com

Coin purse from Walker Slater If a man must carry a purse, let that purse be made from beautifully rugged Shetland Tweed, so that both his coins and his masculinity may remain in place. This little cracker from Walker Slater makes an ideal stocking filler for the shooting gentleman, and has an air of the ‘special’ about it without the correspondingly high price tag. Simply designed to hold those spare coins that usually rattle around in various pockets, it features a single zip and compartment, with one face of the purse plain leather with a stamped ‘Walker Slater’ logo, and the other side a fusion of half leather, half tweed. Expect high-quality materials and a good finish.

RRP: £24 www.walkerslater.com

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XMAS PRODUCTS

BOOKS

REVIEWS BY CHARLOTTE WELLS

Between the Coverts – The Shooter’s Bedside Book Hammer Guns – in theory and practice

Every keen shooter will relish this book as a gift for Christmas. Charles Smith-Jones, a lifelong countryman, has compiled a wonderful book full of fascinating facts, advice and classic shooting stories.

Whatever the shooter’s chosen quarry, within this book he or she will find accurate descriptions, tips on improving techniques and some unusual facts, interspersed with beautiful vignettes by sporting artist Will Garfit.

READER The author provides a OFFER! careful and researched Sporting Shooter readers can historical perspective buy Between the Coverts at a special on the shooting discounted price of £18, with free P&P sport. With facts (saving a further £3.50) until the end of explained and myths exploded, and doses of wit and December. Go to www.quillerpublishing. humour throughout, this is a read not to be missed. com and enter the code ‘bedside’ at the checkout, or call 01939 RRP: £20 261616 and quote the code. www.quillerpublishing.com

The Gamekeeper’s Dog by John Cowan Gundogs are to shooters what cartridges are to guns… without them, we are but empty vessels, lacking in purpose and function.

Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but we all know someone whose general happiness rests heavily on their furry friends, and this beautiful hard-backed book makes the perfect Christmas present for such fanatics. Written by John Cowan, a gamekeeper of 40 years who has worked closely with a huge variety of gundog breeds, The Gamekeeper’s Dog presents a comprehensive guide to all the gundog breeds British gamekeepers are likely to encounter. The book contains advice on everything from characteristics to training tips, breed history to health issues. A fictional tone makes light-reading of the hard facts, and fascinating tales from ‘back in the day’ of gundogs known and loved colour the book with a lovely personal touch.

RRP: £20 www.merlinunwin.co.uk

BASC: Law and Licensing In this latest addition of the BASC handbook series, Bill Harriman explores the current firearms legislation in a definitive and practical guide – ideal for anyone about to apply for their shotgun or firearms certificate.

Bill examines common myths and misconceptions around what shooters have to do to comply with the laws.

Frequently asked questions are addressed in the book, with READER examples of Harriman’s own OFFER! experiences and real case Sporting Shooter readers can studies helping to buy Law and Licensing at a special illuminate some obscure aspects of the legal discounted price of £12, with free P&P ownership of firearms. (saving a further £3.50) until the end of December. Go to www.quillerpublishing.

RRP: £14.95 com and enter the code ‘firearms’ at www.quillerpublishing.com the checkout, or call 01939 261616 and quote the code.

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Diggory Hadoke, gun dealer and regular Sporting Shooter columnist, has compiled an authorative and practical guide to the hammer gun – an underrated firearm which he claims is ‘the finest sporting gun available today’.

Inside, the reader will discover all that is worth knowing about the subject, from how the guns were devised and crafted to how they work. Subjects such as suitable ammunition and customising will prove invaluable to anyone taking a hammer gun into the field.

More than just a reference book, it is a clearly-written guide for owners and collectors of the hammer gun.

RRP: £30 www.merlinunwin.co.uk

Stalking Fallow READER John Thornley OBE has OFFER! produced a definitive Sporting Shooter readers can guide on the buy Stalking Fallow at a special management and discounted price of £20, with free P&P techniques of (saving a further £3.50) until the end of stalking fallow deer.

December. Go to www.quillerpublishing.

Anyone involved com and enter the code ‘antlers’ at the with the checkout, or call 01939 261616 management of and quote the code. fallow deer would be happy to find this stylish guide under the tree.

It has been written with novice and experienced stalkers in mind along with deer managers and landowners, providing unique insights into woodland and open-ground stalking.

There is emphasis on best practice, personal and public safety, as well as information on natural history and antlers. Photos detail a variety of methods and techniques, complemented by wildlife artist Ian MacGillivray’s beautiful illustrations.

RRP: £25 www.quillerpublishing.com

UK’S TRADE AND CONSUMER SHOOTING PRODUCTS SPECIALISTS Visit our website at: www.gdkoutdoors.co.uk T: 01582 879 588 E: sales@gdkoutdoors.co.uk Norrington End Farm, Redding Lane, Redbourn, Hertfordshire, AL3 7PU 6 GUN VAULT LOCKING CABINET INNER AMMO SAFE Standard key 145K5

6 GUN CABINET Suitable for 6 scoped rifles.

Internal key locking ammunition safe, memory foam gun rack divider.

• Internal ammunition safe • Foam gun divider • 5 rotary vault locking pins operated by the chome handle • Anti crowbar door system

Dimensions: Height: 1450mm Width: 350mm Depth: 300mm

Dimensions: Height: 1450mm Width: 350mm Depth: 300mm

£159.99*

£189.99* GUARDIAN LEATHER SLIP WITH STAND Available in dark brown or tanned guardian leather

£37.99*

£34.99*

THROWING ARM SYSTEM ¾ self cocking system Mounting system Seated frame with 2 throwing arms Delivery next day 1 Year Parts Guarantee

£319.99*

50 TARGET BLACK WING CLAY TRAP • Perfect for 1-2 guns shooting at one time • 50 standard target capacity • 65-75m throwing distance • 4 seconds re-cocking time • Elevation from 0-45 degrees • 12 months parts warranty • Powered by a 12V battery • Perfect trap for private individuals • Heavy duty steel frame • Comes with a cabled foot pedal release as standard • Weight - 26kgs

£124.99*

Our guardian leather cartridge bag has a speed loader flap for fast easy access to your shells. The bag will hold from 100-125 cartridges depending on the cartridge size.

CARTRIDGE BELT Available in dark brown only.

Suitable for 32-42” waist. Suitable for 12-28ga cartridges

£224.99*

£239.99*

Dimensions: Height: 1300mm Width: 245mm Depth: 205mm

£64.99*

£119.99*

£89.99*

DIGITAL VAULT LOCKING 3 GUN CABINET Digital key pad with key override

DARK BROWN & TANNED GUARDIAN LEATHER CARTRIDGE BAGS

50” & 54” sizes available

GDK 179 GUARDIAN SHOTGUN SLIP Available in dark brown & tanned.

2 sizes available Standard 28-30” barrels 130cm Long 32-34” barrels 140cm

10 GUN CABINET Suitable for 8 scoped rifles or 10 shotguns with extra space. Internal ammunition safe, memory foam gun rack divider Dimensions: Height: 1450mm Width: 420mm Depth: 360mm

£39.99*

GREEN MP3 & ELECTRONIC EAR DEFENDERS Model- EE-MP3-1 2 Mics to amplify sounds by 5 times size adjustable, 1 size fits all. 4 x AAA batteries required.

(MP3 cable not included)

4 MIC ELECTRONIC EAR DEFENDERS 4 Mics to amplify sounds by 6 times. Size adjustable for kids and adults

BLACK PHEASANT PACKAGE DEAL Package includes: • 260 Black pheasant pro clay trap • Large ABT wobbler kit • 2 wheel trolley with battery compartment • 88ah leisure battery Package deal includes

£929.99*

• 260 Black Pheasant clay trap • 2 wheel trolley • Large wobbler kit • 300 metre wireless foot pedal • 1000 standard clay targets

CLAY TRAP ACCESSORIES

WIRELESS SYSTEM 70m wireless hand remote

£59.99* SMALL WOBBLER KIT Black Wing clay trap, aerial assault clay trap, black quail clay trap or any other brander clay trap under 50kgs. The samll wobbler kit has 2 settings, DTL & ABT (down the line, and automatic ball trap).

£189.99* 300m RADIO FOOT PEDAL SYSTEM The best wireless foot pedal currently available. With the 300m radio foot pedal, you will be guaranteed 100m range even with high/low ground and obstructions between the foot pedal and the receiver.

£104.99*

*ALL PRICES ARE INCLUSIVE OF VAT

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55

CARTRIDGES

WITH VIC HARKER

No time like the pheasant!

There’s nothing quite like the pheasant season, and it is now well and truly upon us!

Vic advises on the best cartridges to help you fill the bag

P

hasianus colchicus – the pheasant – was probably introduced to Great Britain by the Romans. By the 15th century a population was well established and pheasants were a ubiquitous feature of the British countryside. In the middle of the 20th century, with the grey partridge in decline, the pheasant became increasingly important to shooting estates. Today, as a result of a vast increase in the rearing of the bird, an estimated 55 million pheasants are released every year, and the annual bag is around 15 million.

Pheasants, properly presented, can provide a real challenge to the most accomplished game shot, and this month’s cartridge selection from the very best manufacturers will play a significant part in helping them to meet it.

GAMEBORE 1. REGAL GAME

PICTURE: DOM HOLTAM

Introduced in 2015 with a 65mm case length, this

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cartridge is a high performer for the traditional game shot using a shorter chambered gun. The maker’s Diamond shot, developed in their own facility, makes it a hard hitter too. A new blend of F2 powder provides the 30g shot load with a muzzle velocity which, combined with a well-distributed pattern, ensures consistent knockdown power at game ranges.

Available in fibre wad, 28g, 30g and 32g 5 and 6, £295-£320 per 1,000.

2. SUPER GAME This is a game load with all of the maker’s expertise behind it, presented at an extraordinarily competitive price, with plastic or fibre wad and a genuine 65mm case length, which will utilise the ballistic characteristics of well-bored English guns to their best advantage. It is hard hitting, but with modest recoil, and the price is equally so.

Available in fibre wad 28g, 30g and 32g 5, 6 and 7, £239-£260 per 1,000.

LYALVALE EXPRESS 3. SUPREME GAME This British manufacturer, whose ammunition has won an Olympic gold medal, incorporates the same expertise, quality components and performance into their game loads. The Supreme Game load is the perfect example of this: shot-after-shot consistency is equally essential for gamebirds as Olympic targets, and this cartridge is a superb bag filler. For the discerning game shooter, just like the target shooter who is not prepared to settle for second best, Supreme Game is the natural choice.

Available in fibre and plastic wad, 28g, 30g, 32g and 34g 4, 5, 6 and 7, £261-£324 per 1,000.

4. SPECIAL GAME An excellent traditional game cartridge for 65mm chambered guns, this is a load that really is special, incorporating – at a specialist lead shot

CARTRIDGES 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

manufacturing facility – a fast-burning Vectan powder from France, with a lead-shot load to Express’s own specifications. It’s easy on the shoulder, but packs consistent punches.

Available in fibre wad, 25g, 28g, 30g and 32g 5, 6 and 7, £235-£275 per 1,000.

ELEY

accounted for more English pheasants than any other cartridge. It did, however, enjoy a head start on the competition and was named after the Paris Grand Prix won by the Eley brothers in 1903. This, we can be sure, was shot over pigeons, but Grand Prix’s excellent reputation as a cartridge for pheasants is beyond question.

Available in fibre wad 30g 5, 6 and 7, £283 per 1,000.

5. ZENITH With a shot load that’s electro copper plated, deformation of lead pellets in the barrel is not a problem, and you can be certain every single pellet that reaches the bird does so with maximum efficiency. With the pellets remaining completely spherical from the gun to the bird, effective range is also increased. This game cartridge is available in 12-gauge and 20-gauge; and in a 70mm case length, Eley Zenith is for the pheasant shot who takes no prisoners.

Available in 20-gauge fibre wad 28g 5 and 6, £340 per 1,000; available in 12-gauge fibre wad 30g, 32g and 36g 4, 5, 6 and 7, £320-£380 per 1,000.

6. GRAND PRIX It must surely be the case that Eley Grand Prix has

HULL CARTRIDGE

8. IMPERIAL GAME 28-GAUGE The small-gauge shotgun for serious game shooting continues to grow in popularity; the 20-bore is now as often seen in the hands of men as it is in those of boys and young women. Perhaps it’s now the turn of the 28-bore and, if so, Hull Cartridge’s new Imperial Game load in 28-gauge with 16g of shot is right on time (as is the triplebarrelled 28-bore from Turkey, made by Akkar, which I have in my possession – watch this space!).

Available in fibre wad 26g, 28g and 30g 5, 6 and 7, £267-£279 per 1,000.

7. HIGH PHEASANT Another legendary game load developed by the Bontoft family, proprietors of Hull Cartridge Company. Their High Pheasant loads are the result of combining their manufacturing expertise with vast practical experience as avid game shooters.

An early-season outing with some fibrewadded 30g loads reminded me of just how consistently excellent this ammunition really is.

Impressive on the pattern plate and even more so in the field, in a range of specifications, these game loads never disappoint.

Available in fibre wad 30g and 32g 4, 5 and 6, £285-£291.50 per 1,000.

FIOCCHI 9. F3 GAME Anyone who knows anything about Italy and Italians will know many of them are avid hunters.

During the hunting season the hills are alive with the sound of gunfire, and making their contribution to the noise are Fiocchi cartridges.

They do much more than that, however – highquality components and a super-fast powder combine to create class-leading game loads, and their F3 cartridge is no exception.

Available in fibre wad 30g and 32g 5 and 6, £239-£244 per 1,000. ■

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

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GUN TEST

WITH MIKE YARDLEY

RRP

X-treme value

£795

We aren't all able to spend thousands on a new gun, and this month’s test gun has been selected primarily for its reasonable price tag. Let’s see how it got on…

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PICTURES: MIKE YARDLEY

eing conscious that a lot of readers work to a tight budget, it is good to test guns here that are sensibly priced when we can, as well as the more deluxe models.

For the record, I have never found price to be that great a predictor of how a gun will perform. Some of my own favourite sporting weapons are worth no more than a few hundred pounds. I have quite frequently tested guns costing tens of thousands of pounds that were not as good to shoot as others costing less than a thousand. Price isn’t everything. For me, beauty is as beauty does. As an American once wrote, “The only interesting rifles are accurate rifles,” and much the same applies to shotguns; I’m only interested in the ones that work.

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With this in mind, I sought out something less expensive this month, something well under the key £1,000 price point. I found it while looking in the well-stocked EJ Churchill gun room – a Bettinsoli X-Trail. It’s a 30", single-selective trigger over-and-under with multi-chokes (five supplied). It weighs in at 7lbs 7oz and has an RRP of £795 (the test gun was, however, on special offer). Although the silver-polished and sparsely machine-engraved action did not float my boat aesthetically, it still looked quite good, though my preference would have been plain black or ersatz colour case hardening (which Bettinsoli do sometimes offer).

This is a plainly finished workhorse. Close scrutiny does not

reveal any unpleasant surprises.

Indeed, if anything, putting the gun under the magnifier shows it to be better made than similar guns of a generation ago. CNC and lasers have improved the production process considerably. Finish is generally excellent with good bluing and better than expected wood-to-

and metalwork closely with enhanced magnification, one notes few flaws.

Bring the X-Trail to shoulder and you will note a slightly muzzle-heavy balance as is typical of a 30" multi-choked gun. The fairly narrow rib with a brass bead at the muzzles suited my eye. The stock shapes do

‘Some of my own favourite sporting weapons are worth no more than a few hundred pounds’ metal fit. The wood shows slight figure and is well chequered (by laser). The engineering is sound in all departments. The gun is well jointed and all the metal parts fit tightly. Even looking at the engraving

the job and provide adequate purchase. Generally, the gun shows just how much can be achieved at reasonable cost with the new production methods. Overall, it may not be a Beretta or Perazzi, but it feels okay. The basic specification is sound.

The 30" barrels fitted are the only option with this model. Happily, I tend to advise 30" as the best all-round length – useful for both game and clays. As long as barrels are not too heavy, I usually prefer the 30" ones for game shooting rather than the traditional 28 or 32. 28s don’t point as well, while 32" guns can be a bridge too far, especially in cheaper grades where they tend to be too heavy. Movement is one of the keys to good, consistent shooting, so the bottom line is that the gun or barrels must never be so heavy that they impede good movement in the mount and swing of the individual in question.

This Bettinsoli’s barrels are monobloc. They have 76mm (3") chambers and Italian proof marks.

Both bores of the test gun have an

BETTINSOLI X-TRAIL UP CLOSE internal diameter of 18.3mm, which is quite tight. I harbour a prejudice in favour of slightly wider bores; I would say 18.5mm would be ideal for a game gun where fibre wad cartridges may be employed, and 18.7mm for clays. The bores of the test gun were well presented, however, with neatly machined chambers and forcing cones a little bit longer than average. The flush-fit chokes are well machined, too. One would imagine that few who buy an X-Trail will look for aftermarket chokes (though my normal preference is for extended chokes – or fixed chokes – in working guns as they are easier to clean).

The action of the test gun is common to the Bettinsoli range and well proven. There is a single central cocking bar, similar to a Perazzi.

Hinging is accomplished by the usual studs near the knuckle.

Semi-circular recesses on the engine-turned monobloc mate with the pins near the action knuckle (as in a Beretta or Perazzi). There is a long slot bite beneath the bottom chamber, which is engaged by a full-width bolt that emerges from the bottom of the action face (as seen in Brownings, Rizzinis and Guerinis, amongst others). This results in a slightly deeper action than one that employs a Woodward- or Boss-style bolting system, but in this case, Bettinsoli have managed to make their action look pretty trim.

The action employs coil springs throughout and incorporates a nicely shaped top lever and a barrel-selector-cum-safety of Browning-style positioned on the top strap. Machining is neat – the product of CNC, as noted. The fit of barrel shoulders to action was impeccable, ditto the fit of the fore-end iron to the action knuckle. I can remember earlier Bettinsolis that were not as good.

What about the woodwork? The stock – attached by the usual stock bolt – is made from reasonable walnut and is well finished. The standard dimensions were pretty good. Length is 14¾" with the

standard pad (about 20mm deep).

Drop is a standard 11/8" to 21/8".

There is a little cast for a righthander. The schnabel fore-end is inoffensive (though I would dispense with the lip). The form and size of the grip was good. There was no palm swell in evidence. ■

SHOOTING IMPRESSIONS I put the X-Trail through its paces at the splendid shooting grounds of EJ Churchill, near West Wycombe off the M40. It performed as one might have predicted. No issues arose. There were no malfunctions of any kind whatsoever.

Everything worked as it should. Recoil was not excessive. The pointing characteristics were adequate. Trigger pulls lacked refinement, but it still broke the birds! This wouldn’t be ideal for all applications, but it is still a lot of new gun for the money. It is ideal for the odd game day, club clays, a day on the marsh or in a pigeon hide. It comes with a three-year warranty and is packed in a basic but useful ABS case. There is also a 20-bore version on offer (I’d like to try ■ The xxxxxxxxxx it), not to mention the slightly more ■ The xxxxxxxxxx upmarket Diamond Line (RRP £1,095) ■ The xxxxxxxxxx with more engraving and better figured ■ The xxxxxxxxxx wood, and the side-plated Diamond Line Deluxe (RRP £1,285).

WE LIKE ■ ■

The price The fit and finish

WE DISLIKE ■

The trigger pulls

Engraving is simple yet well finished

The fit of the barrel shoulders to the action is impeccable

-

/

Trigger pulls lack refinement, but got the job done out on the range

TECH SPECS ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Make: Bettinsoli (imported by RUAG Ammotec UK Ltd) Model: X-Trail Bore: 12 (20-bore option available) Barrels: 30" (only length available) Chamber: 3" (76mm) Rib: 6mm Multi-chokes: Five supplied Weight: 7lbs 7oz RRP: £795 Supplier: RUAG Ammotec Ltd

Engineering is sound in all departments

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

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WITH BASC’S CONOR O’GORMAN

SHOOTING VOICE

On the front foot From government inquiries to party conferences, BASC is working hard to ensure shooting’s voice is heard so that we may continue to enjoy our sport and the countryside it helps maintain

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representation from BASC, these ‘reference areas’ were dropped from the first tranche of MCZs designated around the English coast.

Also in 2012, we campaigned successfully to remove clauses that would have allowed future bans on shooting from the draft marine bill in Northern Ireland. And in 2013 we campaigned successfully for the Welsh government to withdraw proposals for highly protected marine conservation zones that would have banned wildfowling by default.

So, when the EFRA Committee launched an inquiry into marine protected areas in July, we made sure to share our feedback on the lessons learned from earlier misguided proposals, and on the need for effective marine conservation measures to take account of local traditional and cultural activities which are a sustainable use of natural resources.

The EFRA Committee is also looking into the government’s role in supporting a thriving woodland economy and environment as part of its forestry inquiry. BASC’s submission in October recommended more use of recreational stalkers to control deer in the public forest estate, and that BASC deer stalking schemes provide an excellent example of best practice management that should be adopted more widely.

We also recommended that the Forestry Commission should allow individuals to control grey squirrels in a coordinated way in the public forest estate, as already happens on the majority of

private land. Woodlands used for game shooting are more likely to use traditional, labour-intensive techniques, such as coppicing, which are beneficial to birds and other wildlife. We explained that shooting provides a key driver to the creation and management of woodlands, and that grants to help create and manage woodlands need to continue to be available post Brexit to help make this happen.

In August we hosted a joint rural reception with the Angling Trust at the Labour Conference in Liverpool. We told MPs and peers about the value of shooting to the economy and, in particular, the economic, conservation and social benefits of grouse shooting.

In October we travelled to Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference where Andrea Leadsom, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs reiterated the government’s support for shooting. We also gave MPs attending the Conference an opportunity to try our state-of-the-art shooting simulator.

Last but not least, we briefed MEPs on the value of grouse shooting at a conference held by the European Parliament’s Intergroup on biodiversity, hunting and countryside, with BASC’s Kate Ives giving a keynote speech.

Looking ahead to 2017, there will be much discussion on environmental and land management policies, and we will continue to stay on the front foot as we work for a strong future for shooting in the UK. ■

PICTURE: NIGEL HOUSDEN, PINSHARP PHOTOGRAPHY

he last few months have seen a flurry of government inquiries of particular interest to shooting. At the time of writing this column, we are still awaiting word on a timetable for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s inquiry into the role of tourism in supporting rural growth in England. Our submission in August drew on national research and 11 case studies showing how shooting tourism helps rural businesses and communities.

The House of Commons Petitions Committee launched a grouse shooting inquiry in September, in response to a petition to ban driven grouse shooting.

In response, we provided detailed evidence that proves the positive social, environmental and economic impact of grouse shooting in helping to create a sustainable future for the uplands.

Since August we have been encouraging people to lobby their MPs using a specially created website, and the hashtag #NoMoorMyths, to help circulate short films about grouse shooting. As individual shooters, we each have a hugely important part to play in protecting the future of shooting by getting involved with campaigns like these.

Wildfowlers will remember the furore in 2012 over proposals to ban wildfowling within some marine conservation zones (MCZ). Following

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Hearing protection explained Ever wondered what all those important-sounding compliance numbers and letters mean when you buy a set of ear defenders? And more to the point, why they matter? The makers of CENS have the answers...

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earing protection is an essential requirement for shooters of shotguns, rifles and handguns. Even centrefire rifles fitted with moderators can produce sound levels capable of damaging hearing.

Equipment worn for protection against the harmful effects of noise is known as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). For over 20 years it has been a legal requirement throughout Europe for manufacturers of PPE to ensure their products comply fully with Directive 89/686/EU (PPE). The Directive defines the Essential Health & Safety Requirements for PPE and the steps manufacturers must take to ensure conformity, enabling them to apply the ‘CE’ mark before legally placing the product on the market. Typically, part of this process is for manufacturers to provide evidence of product testing to regulated ‘harmonised’ standards.

For earplugs and earmuffs, the relevant standards are published in a range referred to as EN352 according to product type. For example,

traditional earplugs are covered by EN252-2 alone, whereas electronic earplugs (level dependent) require additional testing to EN352-7. Due to the complexity of equipment and level of expertise required to perform such testing, it is usual for this work to be carried out by specialist testing laboratories approved to national standards. Test results, along with other technical documentation, must then be assessed by an accredited Notified Body before an EC test certificate is issued to the manufacturer.

Results of testing to EN352 are used to provide attenuation data for the end user so they can assess suitability of PPE for the intended use. Attenuation data, along with details of where the product was tested and approved and instructions for use, must be provided with the PPE. Attenuation data

GEORGE DIGWEED’S VIEW CENS is used by thousands of shooters worldwide, including many who are highly renowned and recognised. CENS Brand Ambassador George Digweed MBE (26-time world champion clay shooter) says: “I have been using my CENS since 2012, and would not be without them in the field. Not only do my CENS ProFlex digitals provide excellent noise suppression and the ability to hear ambient noise such as wing beats, they still allow you to have a normal conversation without the need to remove them. This makes them an invaluable part of my game shooting equipment.”

must be expressed in the HML and SNR formats. HML provides the assumed attenuations in the individual High, Medium and Low frequency ranges; SNR is the Single Number Rating giving an overall assumed attenuation rating for the complete frequency range.

Different standards In the US, different methods of testing and result calculations are used for noise protection equipment. The US attenuation results are quoted as NRR (Noise Reduction Rating), there is no direct correlation with EU SNR results and products should not be compared across these formats.

Hearing protection with only NRR attenuation data cannot be legally placed on the market within the EU. There is, however, an additional US test procedure with no EU equivalent that is highly relevant to gunshot noise (high impulse noise). IPIL or Impulse Peak Insertion Loss testing to ANSI S12.42-2010 provides attenuation data at impulse peak levels.

These results can then be used to calculate the number of allowable exposures per day to different levels of impulse noise.

Beware misleading claims Following the correct procedures to legally place hearing protection devices on the market requires considerable time and financial investment by the manufacturer. It would appear that many companies fall short of their legal obligations and fail to have their hearing protection products tested and certified. Very often these products will have misleading or ambiguous information with no reference to origin. Phrases such as ‘attenuation UPTO’ and ‘Maximum Attenuation’ will be used. These products should be avoided.

Some products may only show data for a third-party filter used within the product, misleading the end user to believe the complete product is compliant. If your product does not carry the SNR rating, CE and EN352 marks, then you will most probably be purchasing a cheap imported product that has not even been tested, and as such there will be no guarantee that they will provide safe protection, or any protection at all.

Many cheap or fake devices fail to provide adequate instructions for use – this is often the

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Gamekeeper Geoff Garrod says his custom-made earplugs are so comfortable that he forgets he is wearing them

way to spot non-certified products.

If in doubt, ask to see the manufacturer’s EC Declaration of Conformity to PPE Directive 89/686 and EC Type-Examination Certificate.

These legal documents should be freely available; validity can easily be checked with the Notified Body identified on them.

The responsibility for ensuring that the Directive is adhered to falls upon the manufacturer. The Directive is enforced in the UK by the local authority Trading Standards Service. Failure to comply can lead to up to three months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000. Furthermore, manufacturers can be required to recall and replace any equipment found to be faulty.

CENS products and compliance All CENS devices are tested to EN352 and are certified as PPE; they are also IPIL tested to ANSI S12.42-2010.

The PPE Directive is currently being upgraded to the more legally binding PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425, reflecting new technology, enhancing consumer safety and ensuring fair completion between manufacturers. It is of note that hearing protection PPE is re-classified from intermediate Category II to complex risk Category III. The Regulation was adopted throughout all EU member states in April 2016 and will come into full force in 2018.

Custom-made CENS devices are manufactured to exactly match the contours of the ear to provide extremely comfortable hearing protection. By effectively blocking the outer ear and ear canal, these devices prevent high air-conduction sound pressure levels from reaching the eardrum. This prevents acoustic trauma, thus injury, to the hearing mechanism in the inner ear due to very loud noise.

As CENS earpieces are custom-made to be a perfect match to your ear, they provide highly effective noise reduction, helping to protect your vital hearing.

than 15 minutes per day will start to cause permanent damage to your hearing.

The louder the sound, the sooner the chance of permanent hearing damage. Symptoms such as continued ringing in the ears or temporary hearing loss are signs that you should be using hearing protection.

Without some form of hearing protection, the sound of a gunshot at close range will irreversibly damage your hearing for life, and that’s a fact!

CENS custom-made earpieces provide amazing noise reduction, effectively reducing gunshot noise to a safer level.

Olympic Skeet shooter Amber Hill is an advocate of CENS hearing protection

CENS electronic hearing protection These incorporate an electronic sound reproduction system. At low levels of noise the sound detected by a microphone on the outside of the device is relayed to a loudspeaker. At higher levels of impulse noise the electronic circuit cuts out, leaving the inherent attenuation of the device/ear-moulding to provide the protection.

CENS devices are digitally programmed and optimised for various shooting styles and disciplines. The digital algorithm which is implemented in the devices has been researched and developed after many years of field studies by technical personnel and shooters at Puretone Ltd (the designers and manufacturers of CENS). The result is an unparalleled range of devices to suit most budgets.

CENS is proud of its commitment to protecting people’s hearing all over the world, and the reputation that it has developed as a result of professionally testing and marketing its devices.

Contact: www.censdigital.com www.puretone.net

Damage limitation Gunshot noise is around 120dB to 180dB, depending on gun and ammunition, and even being exposed to 100dB sounds for longer

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

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NEW FROM

V3 SPORTING

The new V3 series from Rizzini offers great reliability and is available in 12 – 20 – 28 and .410 calibre, as well as with junior stocks and Monte Carlo combs, making it the most versatile sporting gun in its category.

PRICE FROM £1,650

www.a-s-i.co.uk

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01728 688555

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info@a-s-i.co.uk

CAMPAIGNING FOR THE COUNTRYSIDE

Tim Bonner is Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance

WITH TIM BONNER

GET IN TOUCH...

Web: countryside-alliance.org.uk/join Telephone: 020 7840 9300

Trust issues

The BBC Trust has released its ‘findings’ after an investigation into Chris Packham’s potential breach of editorial guidelines. Tim discusses the disappointing but laughably predictable result

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ver a year ago I wrote about an article Chris Packham wrote for BBC Wildlife magazine in which, amongst other things, he branded everyone involved in hunting, shooting and wildlife management ‘the nasty brigade’. He had a record for this sort of behaviour, having previously described farmers involved in the government’s badger cull trials as “brutalist thugs, liars and frauds”. In the article, I argued that Chris Packham, described by himself and everyone else as a ‘BBC presenter’, was abusing the position given to him by the state broadcaster and was clearly in breach of the BBC editorial guidelines.

However, I also warned that once we had filed the complaint to the BBC, there would be the usual excuses about contracted employees, and how Chris Packham was not presenting ‘at the moment’.

The BBC went one step further by rejecting the complaint before it was even made by stating in the media that Mr Packham was “entitled” to express views outside of his employment on BBC natural history programmes. After both the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and

ourselves lodged appeals on the BBC’s rejection, it was left to the BBC Trust to issue a response, which they diligently did at the end of September.

The BBC Trust’s ‘finding’ is extraordinary only in that it is such a blatant whitewash as to be risible. It ruled that “the amount of time contracted and the amount of time on air did not make Mr Packham a ‘regular’ BBC Presenter”, even though he worked on BBC programmes for a registered 119 days, or well over half the working year, in 2015. This, apparently, means he is a ‘recurrent’ BBC Presenter not a ‘regular’ one.

Furthermore, the Trust decided that Mr Packham was not “associated with public policy broadcasting” anyway because an interview with campaigner George Monbiot about the future of farming in the uplands and rewilding, for example, was an “academic”, not a “policy” discussion. So it seems that, as Mr Packham is not a BBC Presenter at all, let alone one associated with public policy, he is free to take the BBC’s money and use their publicity, while abusing whoever he likes, which mostly seems to be the shooting community.

PICTURE: DAN RUSHTON

Farmers involved in the government’s badger cull trials were described as “brutalist thugs, liars and frauds” by Chris Packham

I have often mentioned the fact that we are lucky to live in a liberal democracy where people are able to hold any number of bizarre views.

There is no issue with people voicing such opinions, but using the position granted by a public service broadcaster to promote an ever more extreme agenda is a different thing entirely.

Either the BBC has rules and applies them, or has

‘So it seems that, as Mr Packham is not a BBC presenter at all, he is free to use the BBC’s publicity while abusing whoever he likes’ no rules at all. What is entirely unacceptable is a perverse interpretation of those rules to protect its ‘talent’.

The Countryside Alliance (CA) feels strongly that the BBC should provide a fair and impartial service for all its customers, for we understand it is an issue close to the heart of many of our members. For this reason we held a debate on the fairness of the BBC at the recent Conservative Conference in Birmingham. It was a heavily attended debate with strong views being pressed by the panel, which included the MP for North Devon, Peter Heaton-Jones, and Mark Hedges, editor of Country Life magazine. Throughout the debate it was judged that the BBC is overly “squeamish” about nature and is “underserving” the countryside. Throughout the event there was a continual urge for the BBC to properly represent the rural community, something that the CA continues to lobby for.

Sadly, the findings from the debate, and the Chris Packham debacle, shows that the BBC Trust has comprehensively failed to address the concerns raised two years ago in its own review into rural coverage, which found that the BBC has a “metropolitan bias”. The government has now announced plans, which we welcome, to abolish the BBC Trust and move its regulatory role to Ofcom, and last week in a debate about the renewal of the BBC Charter, culture minister Matthew Hancock also said the government’s plans “made it clear that impartiality and accuracy are absolutely central to the future role of the BBC”. We will hold him, and the BBC, to that commitment. ■

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

65

CROWS

WITH ERIC PRIOR

Back to black

Once again, Eric Prior is cracking down on those pesky corvids, as they return from the stubbles to assault the silage and dairy buildings

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ost of our woodies have moved off the stubbles, so it’s now time to follow the mixed corvids back into the silos on the dairy units, and to protect the feed in the piggeries.

They had returned to cause havoc, not only in the silage, but also inside the dairy buildings. The farmers are constantly troubled, not just by the amount of feed being consumed, but equally by the risk of contamination.

PICTURES: ERIC PRIOR

Eric’s new flapper with integral speed and timer control

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There is no point in trying to intercept them on incoming flight lines as they enter the area from so many directions. This is the reason for using Hushpower over-and-under moderated guns, which we find outstanding for such a task. As I have said before, they are very quiet, so much so that incoming crows continue decoying, probably thinking that the shot birds have dropped in to land among the static decoys. Another advantage is that we can position the hides, if necessary, within a few yards of the 600-plus herd without disturbance. The farm staff often comment that they only know that we are there when they see the crows falling out of the sky.

The guns, unlike many other moderated or partly moderated weapons, are not heavy (7.25lbs) and move smoothly, comfortably and easily onto the target. The reason being that the sight plane is low, where you would expect it to be on a conventional over-and-under. There are now three of us in our team of six using the Hushpower 20s, fed with Gamebore Hushpower

30g no.5s, which in my opinion is a perfect combination for all vermin.

On this particular dairy unit we have two main ambush locations; both must be manned at the same time to keep them moving. The first is at the front of the silos where the birds constantly land in large numbers to feed and foul on the open feed areas.

On the upside there are two dying oak trees we can knock them out of as they land on the dead branches. Unfortunately, on the downside, there’s a narrow, hard track which is used by all types of farm vehicles, preventing the use of ground decoys. When it’s my turn here, I make good use of my lofting poles, secured to a farm implement that I know will not be used on the day. For this job, I have glued a pair of full-bodied decoys onto their pegs in the usual slots on the decoys, and then glued and secured with tape to the cross bar.

This has always proved successful, especially where space is limited and your decoys need to be visible from a long distance.

CROWS The second ambush location is on the opposite side, in front of the open-fronted cow units, with two oaks in good condition, and another dying with all the leaves missing from the top. Pallet hides, supported by our usual camouflage poles, and nets are used to good effect. Here, there are two permanent positions – one right next to the sitty trees and the second further out. This one is used mainly when the silage is freshly cut, attracting them away from the buildings. Here, again, I make good use of the lofting pole set-up.

In addition, I now use a new flapper sent to me

by The Pigeon Shooter (paul@thepigeonshooter. com). I have, in the past, steered well away from using flappers for crow shooting as I found that the birds often flared away before coming into

Part of the decoy pattern

‘During the time that I was busy setting up the pattern, the crows constantly called and decoyed over the hide to my lofted poles’ range, probably due to the flapping being too fast and frequent. However, this one operates on a remote control from within the hide, complete with a built-in speed control and timer. A major plus is that it retails at a very reasonable price, and includes a carrying case. Reliability appears not to be a problem as I’ve used this one extensively for the past nine months, on corvids and woodies, without any kind of a flicker.

Another new item to join my list of useful tools is the Crosman .22 calibre gas-operated air pistol, complete with shoulder holster. I know that there are many quick and effective methods of dispatching a wounded corvid, but this little tool can be drawn to finish the job without getting scratched, pecked or covered in blood. A shot in the top of the head or back saves a lot of time, fuss and fumbling – especially if they reach the cover of undergrowth, particularly brambles or stinging nettles.

On the day of this visit, Alan and I met at 9am at the usual parking area at the farm entrance. From there we would be able to clearly see the crows approaching the dairy from all directions, as well as any that may be foraging on the surrounding fields. After a short chat, Alan decided that he would cover the silos, which left me to keep them moving at the front. I chose the pallet hide away from the buildings. From that position I could take them from the sitty trees, and at the same time decoy others using the field.

I stationed a hide pole at each corner, for the two nets to conceal my presence from all four sides, and two more halfway across, with one at

Lofted crows really draw the birds

each side to hide me from high incomers (also, to protect me from the glaring sun). The right-hand pallet had been positioned at an angle to allow easy entry and exit. Next, I secured one of the lofting poles to the back pallet with garden wire, to extend the other three into position. The next task was to place the full-bodied flocked decoys out in two flocks, and finally, the two gliders and my new flapper at the front. Defrosted crows were fixed to both gliders, and the flapper was left ready but not in use, as I wanted to see the difference it would make on this particular visit, if any. During the time that I was busy setting up the pattern, the crows constantly called and decoyed over the hide to my lofted birds.

Ten mixed corvids, mainly jackdaws, were downed in the first half hour. I’d noticed that a fair number had decided not to venture within

sensible range. I then went out to set up the dead on sticks, and fitted the flapper with the best carrion crow. On returning to the hide I adjusted the speed to imitate a landing corvid. This immediately altered the situation with them coming in far more confidently. It was down to a combination of the dead birds and the movement of the flapper. The pattern was reinforced from time to time, which again increased the pulling power. The bag gradually climbed to a total of 42, plus two woodies. Alan radioed in and reported that he had counted his right-hand empties pile, which gave him a total of 47. Although he was positioned only some 400 yards away, behind a silo, I only recall hearing about six shots fired.

If you have not attempted to shoot crows around livestock, try it – it will earn you a good reputation with your farmers. ■

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

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FOXING

WITH DEAN HARRISON

Big trouble in little Wiltshire A chance tip-off leads Deano into the path of a rather large customer… Could he have unwittingly caught up with a local ‘terrorist’?

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he shoot I control the foxes on consists of two farms joined together. One is home to the big pig production, which I have written about previously, and half of the game shoot. This farm gets my full attention all year round, protecting the

It’s all in a night’s work for Deano

PICTURES: REBECCA GREEN / EDWARD BARTLETT (TOP)

A low wall provides Deano with a stable shooting position

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sat up before, I knew I needed to go and have a young piglets and then the birds. On the other look and work out the best place to sit. I met the farm, I am busy protecting the gamebirds from farmer the following Saturday and from the harvest time right up until the crops get away the bottom of his garden he pointed out where he had following year. seen the fox a couple of times recently. We also One night at the end of September I was passing have a river running through the two farms and the building of the second farm on my way home the farmer lives right down near the water from work, when I spotted the farmer walking to his meadows. It is perfect for foxes, with loads of car. I hadn’t spoken to him for a couple of weeks thorns and brambles running all along the river. so I pulled into the yard for a chat and asked if he’d From our viewpoint, looking down across the seen any foxes around. He said he hadn’t, and that meadows, I could see a clearing of about 40m in it’d been very quiet. Then his expression changed between the long grass and a thick hedgerow, and he added: “Actually, I have seen one down by with some trees in the middle hindering my view a the house a couple of times. I meant to ring you…” bit further down. The fox had been seen further Well, of course, this had my interest straight away down, but I made my mind up that I would stay – not just because I am always keen to keep on top where I was; the wind direction wasn’t too bad of the fox population, but also because a fox was and there was a small wall that would be the spotted very close to this area, coming out of a perfect height for me to shoot off. Looking at the crop when they were cutting it, and I had lamped it ground, it was clear that it wouldn’t be safe for me and sat up on the stubble quite a few times with no to shoot lying down. luck. What’s more, this area is very close to a It gets dark just before 8pm at this time of year, couple of big drives on the shoot – you know, large so on the night I was going to sit out for him I cover strips of maize next to hedgerows – perfect arrived about 6.30pm, as I wanted to set the for him to cause havoc in. electronic caller up and try my luck for Because the area he’d been A about 20 minutes. I had young Edward spotted in is not somewhere I’ve self-confessed ‘traditionalist’, Deano has now gone over to ‘the dark side’ and bought a night vision scope, seen here on his new .243. Find out how he’s getting on with it in the next issue of Sporting Shooter.

FOXING

‘Even the keeper thinks this is the one he has been after for a few years that wouldn’t go into a snare – too wise and so on’

Could this be the big dog fox that the locals have been trying to catch up with for years?

wasn’t time for anything else; I took the shot and, to my relief, watched him go down.

I have gone back to using a .243 again, with 75gr ballistic tips, and I can tell you, I was very pleased with the shot. The famer came out of his house with a can of beer in his hand (not for me though!) and we set off down the meadow to retrieve the fox. We were nearly at the end of the meadow but still hadn’t found the fox, and I have to admit that I was starting to think something was amiss, when Edward spotted him. I was pleased to find him because you do start to doubt yourself when they aren’t where you think they are going to be. I did get that occasionally with the .308 as the bullet would pencil and not expand, therefore they would sometimes do a ‘death run’.

Well, what a cracker this fox was: a big dog fox, and one that looked like he had been around for a few years. The farmer was very pleased – he has chickens and his father, who lives very close,

has loads of geese and had lost quite a few in recent weeks.

I think this fox could have taken just about whatever he wanted to, but it just shows that you can’t speak to the people on the ground enough; they are a great source of information. Mind you, once again luck was with me as I got him on the first night, but I will take that.

But the story doesn’t end there. It might surprise you to learn that I do frequent the local pub (!) and the locals like to tell me about any foxes they see. Well, I’ve heard all their stories about the one that’s as big as a German shepherd and how it’s been terrorising their livestock…

Even the keeper thinks this is the one he has been after for a few years that wouldn’t go into a snare – too wise and so on. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just another one dealt with and time to move on to the next one. But I think the locals probably do all owe me a pint. ■

Deano has returned to using a .243 with 75gr ballistic tips

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PICTURES: REBECCA GREEN

with me so I directed him out into the meadows and he placed the call down near the thorn bushes. We let things settle for 10 minutes or so before we started it up.

It was cloudy and quite a cool night compared to the hot weather we had been having, but as always I had a good feeling about it, and started to use the call. One thing I’ve noticed is that you get an instant reaction to the call if there are any crows around! Edward was getting excited at the thought of setting up the call and shooting them!

That will be something for next year.

At about 7.10pm I turned the call off and decided to just sit it out. I never find this boring as the closer it gets to darkness the more your chances increase. It was getting close to 7.45pm and we were just sitting there, glassing all around, when suddenly there he was! Right down at the very end of the meadow.

I quickly swapped my binos for my rifle and found him in the scope. He was moving fast and was about to go out of sight. Not only that, but he was a long way off – it wouldn’t be an easy shot. I whistled as loud as I could and he stopped. There

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WITH DIGGORY HADOKE

CLASSIC GUNS

Rabbit damage Diggory finds himself in posession of an old William Powell sidelock with an interesting story

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PICTURES: DIGGORY HADOKE

uns that come with a little family history are always entertaining. So, when an elderly local gentleman turned up with a gun made for his grandmother and asked me to dispose of it for him, I was interested in some of the backstory.

As so often is the case, nobody in the family shoots a side-by-side any longer and the gun in question had stood unused in a cabinet for some years. The reason for its original retirement is comical and surprisingly common. Some years ago, so the story went, the owner was out rough shooting. Out ran a rabbit, which he shot but it needed dispatching and he decided the best plan was to club it with the butt of the shotgun. ‘Crack’ – and then it was in two pieces. Instant regret but a difficult problem to fix.

Quite why anyone would try to bash a bunny with a nice English sidelock is beyond me, but it happens. In this case, when the owner decided he’d offload the gun on me, I found I had a pretty gun and something of a conundrum. Having agreed a small sum for the remains, I took the gun apart for a closer inspection.

The gun is a William Powell 16-bore, made in 1902 as one of a pair. It has 28" Damascus barrels, which have been blacked at some point.

Blacking Damascus was quite common when the old brown tubes looked decidedly dated in the company of modern steel barrels.

The mechanism is a first-class bar-action sidelock with a snap under-lever operation, fine rose and scroll engraving and a doll’s head extension without a third grip. The fore-end had become detached from its finial sometime in the past and a replacement made and fitted.

The work is good but remains un-engraved.

The fore-end houses Deeley patent ejectors and is

The rabbit bashing has done fatal damage to the stock

This old William Powell 16-bore was a first-rate gun in 1902 and the barrels measure as new

glued and screwed inexpertly as a ‘working repair’. It was never satisfactory and the crack still gapes. I tried hard to see how we may be able to repair it but re-stocking looks like the only sensible option. The crack goes right through the inletting and a satisfactory repair looks impossible.

Unfortunately, even with a good stock and a restoration undertaken, the value of the gun would only be about £3,500. Re-stocking a sidelock today costs a ball-park figure of £5,000 by the time you have bought a good blank, made the new pins necessary, chequered and oil finished it.

I made a few phone calls to see if any of my trade colleagues could offer a budget job that would restore the gun to functionality while achieving decent aesthetics. The lowest I could shave it down to was just under £3,000. Still too much to make any money off the project.

My final avenue was to seek the services of a workshop with a pantograph machine, to mechanically replicate the stock, get all the inletting done to match and then get a written a number of craftsman to perform the final shaping and books on classic guns. finishing. Pantograph stock copying is the To find out more, go norm for military rifles and many foreign to: www.vintageguns. over-and-under guns. However, getting it to co.uk/company/ work on the more complex and delicate diggory-hadoke shapes of a good English sidelock is less than straightforward.

The machine works fast and it can happen that as the wood is stripped of layers, it twists and the grain moves, altering the shape that was intended.

This can mean that carefully inlet sections won’t accept the metalwork for locks, trigger plate or action, or that comb and hand move out of the dimensions desired.

My intention now is to have a pantograph tackle the rough shaping and half-inletting but then have a traditional stocker take over and finish the job. Will I be able to bring the Powell back to a semblance of her former glory? I’ll let you know in three or four months’ time. ■

cracked at the base, where the wood meets the fore-end iron. The boxes for the ejector springs and tumblers require a great deal of hollowing out of the fore-end wood and it is the thickness of a cereal packet in the offending area.

William Powell, one of Birmingham’s longestlived and finest gunmakers, produced some beautiful-quality shotguns, and the turn of the 20th century was a period of excellence.

Gunmakers were generally long-serving and specialist, and society was yet to be rocked by the ravages of WW1, the expansion of the automobile or the Wall Street Crash. Gunmaking was in its heyday.

Upon measuring the barrels, I found they still measured .669" in the bores, exactly as they were made, with a uniform minimum of 22 thou in each tube. It is very unusual to find barrels of this age in such good condition. So, the working parts looked good, but what of the stock? It had been broken right Diggory has through the hand and

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Keeping you up to date on the latest goings-on in the North

WITH ROBIN MACDONALD

HIGHLAND DIARY

A good start Robin discovers some ‘old reliables’ in the gun room; the reared ducks are flying strongly; and he helps his son out of a sticky situation using some old tricks. It’s a good start to the season

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was showing its age was an understatement, for utumn is well on the way up here, for the the chequering barely existed and the barrels had rowans are daily changing their dark hues lost any vestige of bluing. to brilliant red, awaiting the onslaught of the The local flight ponds now have their Viking thrushes and the ‘green’ wigeon complement of reared birds on them and from across the North Sea. most of them, by now, are flying Notwithstanding, we seem to be strongly. However, I prefer to getting less curlew. In the past, Robin leaves the give them time for the the stubbles below our ducks to colour up drakes to colour up house would be host to before he goes out for before having an quite large flocks of this an evening’s sport evening’s sport there. rather tasty bird. My As I pen these old friend Arthur words we have yet to Cadman, the have a half-decent wildfowling scribe, frost to encourage and I would enjoy one the stags off the high or two memorable tops and start the flights before the frosts age-old roaring among of winter took over the the corries. stubbles. Sadly, these As each season comes flights were three or four round, more and more acres are decades ago. towered over by huge windmills Nevertheless, I have lasting whirring away on the hills. A recent visit to memories of old Arthur marching out to a Caithness made me think, when will it all end? suitable ambush, clutching his well-used The sheer numbers of whirring propellers amazed 26"-barrelled Purdey. This weapon had fired me. Surely if many more are planted the whole countless shots, so much so that to remark that it

country will take off! They must be anchored by solid gold!

The other day I decided to give my gun room a tidy up before the season really starts. To my delight I came across my old hill boots – you know, the real ones with the turned-up toes, or to be correct, a ‘sprung last’. Goodness knows how long they have been out of sight, yet to my bliss they were quite useable – not like their owner!

These ones had ‘Commando’ soles with plenty of life in them. Some hillmen preferred the ones studded with triple studs; they must have weighed a tonne. Nevertheless, I remember that, once you got them going, they took some stopping! There was no pretence of total waterproofing qualities, but a good regular coating of Mars or Neatsfoot oil would keep the Ardnamurchan rain at bay.

One day last week gave me a degree of satisfaction, for my son and heir got the Argo stuck. Mind you, it is over 30 years old, but nevertheless in remarkable condition. He got the old girl well and truly stuck at a very embarrassing angle. However, over the years I’ve learned a few things, so with a good length of rope and the Land Rover at the correct angle, out it came! ■

PICTURES: LEWS CASTLE UHI, HTTP://BIT.LY/1GZ2EOO/ DAVID MASON (TOP)

‘As each season comes round, more and more acres are towered over by huge windmills whirring away on the hills’

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SHOOTING IN WALES

News and views from across the River Severn

WITH HELENA VENABLES

Small victories

Helena reports from the BASC .410 Championships and offers details of new wildfowling opportunities

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PICTURE: HELENA VENABLES

he 2016 BASC .410 World Championships took place at Mid Wales Shooting Centre near Caersws in Powys on Saturday 10 September.

The popular competition, sponsored by Gamebore and open to both members and non-members of BASC, saw over 100 entrants compete over a testing 50-bird Sporting layout, which included loopers, over-heads and rabbits, created by Arthur and Jonathan Williams and their team.

Shooting using a .410 shotgun, the smallest gauge of shotgun shell commonly available, is growing in popularity thanks to their ease of handling, low recoil and modest cost. These shotguns are also extremely challenging to shoot thanks to the small load and tight pattern which makes hitting clays tricky.

Interestingly, the winner of this year’s competition, Andrew Thompson, is the father of Jack Thompson who was crowned winner in 2012; perhaps shooting prowess really does pass down the generations. Andrew won the event by scoring 48 ex 50, with Petri Kokkonen from Finland coming a close second with 47 ex 50.

Mr Thompson, whose entry was sponsored by Swillington Shooting Supplies, based near Leeds, commented: “I had to win it to prove I’m as good as Jack, although I’m in my 60s and he’s in his

76

20s. Forty-eight is one of the higher scores it’s been won with and in the end I managed to get the same score on both tries, which I’m pretty happy with.”

Meurig Rees from BASC Wales added: “The event seems to get better year on year. The standard was set very high with a lot of scores in the mid to high 30s. Andrew’s performance in particular was absolutely fantastic.”

‘Shooting using a .410 shotgun is growing in popularity thanks to their ease of handling, low recoil and modest cost’ Wildfowlers wanted Anglesey Wildfowling Club has vacancies for new members. The club – which enjoys shooting rights on the Alaw Estuary, the Strait of Holy Island (which also goes by the names of the Inland Sea, Y Lasinwen and Cymyran Strait) and the Traeth Dulas inlet – offers a wide range of membership options including full, junior, associate, probationary and social membership.

Hearteningly, the latter includes many non-shooters, ornithologists, naturalists and

(L-R) Petri Kokkonen of Finland, second place; Meurig Rees, BASC Wales; and Andrew Thompson, first place

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

wildlife photographers, proving that shooters and non-shooters can enjoy the same countryside spaces and work effectively together on the same conservation aims.

Other than wildfowling, the club also offers activities including rough shooting, gundog training, clay pigeon shooting and pest and predator control. It is also actively involved in conservation and is currently working on several

projects, including the management of five flight ponds and four small marshes.

Also on the wildfowling front, the very proactive Dyfi, Mawddach and Dysynni Wildfowlers’ Association has been granted a £28,000 loan by the Wildlife Habitat Trust (WHT) to help it buy land at the bottom of the Cletwr, alongside the Dyfi National Nature Reserve near Machynlleth.

The WHT was set up by BASC at the request of members to provide financial support for shooting and conservation. Such funding allows clubs to purchase land in order to protect existing wildlife habitat, create new wildlife habitat and protect shooting for the future. Since it was set up in 1986 the WHT has provided loans and grants valued at over £1.5 million to support 79 successful land acquisitions and projects by shooting and conservation groups. This has allowed over 4,000 acres of land to be purchased by clubs and amounts to over £2.8 million in land value.

The land purchase by the Dyfi, Mawddach and Dysynni Wildfowlers’ Association will mean the club can ensure effective ongoing management of the area and continue its valuable work conserving Greenland white-fronted geese around the Dyfi Estuary.

Tim Russell, WHT secretary and also director of conservation at BASC, commented that the loan “provides an exciting opportunity for the club to not only strengthen its influence in the area by owning land, but also help with the vital conservation work needed to conserve Greenland white-fronted geese.”

The species was recently left on the quarry list after a Welsh government consultation decided that the voluntary moratorium on shooting them gave enough protection and that conservation work was highly effective. Win win win! ■

ONE FOR THE POT

4

ways with

OVEN-BA KED RISO PHEASAN TTO WITH T, PEA AN D PANCE TTA ✦ 4 skinless pheasant b reasts, cut into strips ✦ 2 tbsp o live oil ✦ 250g arb orio rice ✦ 1 onion, finely chop ✦ 1 garlic c ped love, finely chopped ✦ 200g fro zen peas, d efrosted ✦ 220g sm oked panc etta lardon s ✦ 750ml ho t chicken st ✦ 35g parm ock esan, finely grated 1. Preheat oven to 180 °C. Place a large casser ole dish in 2 Heat 1 tb the oven to sp oil in a la preheat. rge frying p 3. Fry phea an over a m sant strips edium heat. until golden and cooke d through.

4. Add pan Remove fro cetta and fr m pan. y until crisp . Remove an d drain on 5. Fry onio kitchen pap n and garlic er.

6. Return p for 5 minute ancetta to s or until so p an along w ft. well combin ith rice and ed. Cook fo stir until r 1-2 minute s, stirring re 7. Pour in st gularly.

8. Tip rice ock and brin mixture into g to the bo pre-heated il. for 15 minu dish. Cove tes, then ad r and bake d pheasant and peas an uncovered d bake for a further 3-4 minute 9. Stir in par s. mesan and season.

IP GARLIC D ERB AND H H IT W NS T GOUJO PHEASAN to strips asts, cut in easant bre h p crushed , ss le ve in lo ✦ 4 sk ✦ 1 garlic c es, (I used chiv ly chopped e int) fin m s, d n rb a e parsley of mixed h l fu d n a ice h ju ll ✦ sma of lemon ✦ squeeze iche a fr e rèm ✦ 4 tbsp c e oil liv o sp ✦ 2 tb so a ned lain flour, se ✦ 3 tbsp p tl h y beaten ✦ 2 eggs, lig adcrumbs ✦ 100g bre e. Set aside. crème fraich d an e ng pan. ic ju in large fryi s, lemon 2. Heat oil garlic, herb er h ate bowls. et g ar p to 1. Mix mbs into se u ss. cr ad re b ing off exce s and beaten egg in flour, shak egg. rip in st e t n n o sa ch 3. Put flour, ea ph ur, dip ea flo in umbs.

4. Dust each ed cr at ad in bre 5. Once co at each one co er. (You , ap tly p as L en . h 6 rain on kitc D . h g required.) u ro il g more o if cooked th in d d an ad dip. , en es ld o in batch crisp, g b and garlic d to do this ve with her t strips until n ee er n S sa . ay 8 ea h m p 7. Fry

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www.sportingshooter.co.uk

ONE FOR THE POT

pheasant

Tasty, easy-to-make pheasant recipes to add to your repertoire this season

Words and pictures by Laura Paton ST S ON TOA USHROOM M D N A T PHEASAN nt breasts ✦ 4 pheasa live oil o ✦ 2 tbsp ered r e tt u ✦b oms, quart ed mushro ✦ 400g mix e sprigs ✦ few thym gh bread of sourdou ✦ 8 slices d lv a love, h e ✦ 1 garlic c il o e liv in o ed ✦ extra virg ghly chopp arsley, rou p sp tb 4 ✦ 200°C. ovenproof the oven to f butter in an o b 1. Preheat o kn a sp oil and 2. Heat 1 tb oven e. Place in . on each sid frying pan ts om as fr re b ve t o n heasa ugh. Rem 3. Brown p cooked thro til n u r o s, te for 10 minu ip in high heat. T ep warm. pan over a pan and ke g n g yi in fr irr a st in s, sp oil w minute 4. Heat 1 tb Fry for a fe e. b ym o th kn d a s an ft. Stir in mushroom oms are so ntil mushro u , rly la u g re t slice with cu of butter. . Rub each ad slice re b ch t ea as ile, to oil. Top 5. Meanwh e with olive da zl an riz t D . as re ve b o cl pheasant f o side of garlic es ic sl ediately. oms, a few Serve imm with mushro ed parsley. p p o ch f o sprinkling

All recipes serve 4

SPANISH-S TYLE PHE ASANT ST WITH PAP EW RIKA AND OLIVES ✦ 2 whole pheasants ✦ 4 tbsp flo ur, season ed ✦ 2 tbsp o live oil ✦ 1 red on ion, chopp ed ✦ 2 carrots , chopped ✦ 2 sticks of celery, c hopped ✦ 2 garlic c loves, finely chopped ✦ 1 red pe pper, dese e ded and sl ✦ 1 tbsp sm iced oked papri ka ✦ 200ml ch icken stoc k ✦ 400g tin chopped to matoes ✦ few thym e sprigs ✦ handful pitted olive s

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C. 2. Joint ea ch pheasan t into 8 piece breasts and s: cut legs wings off in off, chop in one piece, 3. Heat oil half at knee chop in hal in large, ove ; cut f. Dust in flo nproof cass 4. Fry onio ur. erole dish. ns until soft B . ro Add carrot 5. Add gar w n p h ea sant, remo and celery lic, pepper ve from pan and fry for and paprik 6. Return p .

5 minutes. a and fry fo heasant to r 1 minute. pan. Add st 7. Bring to o the boil then ck, chopped olives and cover and p tomatoes an season. lace in ove d thyme. n for 50 min utes, or un til meat is te nder. Stir in

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79

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32/34 PARK VIEW ROAD, WELLING, KENT DA16 1RT TEL: 0208 304 9922 | TEL: 0208 303 5221 | TEL: 0208 301 0440

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NEW SERIES

WITH JONNY CROCKETT

CROCKETT’S COUNTRY WAYS

Ignorance isn’t always bliss!

Jonny recalls a memorable day when, due to a lack of knowledge, he was forced to discard a rather plentiful bounty...

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here are some days that just stick in your memory: shooting your first woodcock; your first left and right; that day when you just couldn’t miss (I’m still waiting for that one!); the perfect crisp, cold, sunny pheasant shoot; the day when the sun rises over the marshes to give you a photo that’ll win prizes…

I remember my first pigeon shoot in Devon as a teenager. It was a very warm late August day and not all went according to plan – and it was all my fault. We had identified a couple of stubble fields with a woodland backdrop. I bagged a rabbit on the way down a banked hedge and stuffed it in my game bag. A couple of camo nets and half a

‘The insulating properties of a game bag exceed that of most flasks and the rabbit was still warm. No rabbit stew that night!’

dozen hazel wands later (with which to make two hides) and we were good to go.

The pigeons circled and swooped and just wouldn’t stop coming. Now, I’m no Andy Crow, but that day I was shooting well and the pigeons kept coming. Eventually, the flocks disappeared and a lone figure walked across the field, his gun thrust over the crook of his arm…

This is when I learnt my valuable lesson. I had 30 pigeons and my rabbit – and every single one of them was unfit to put into the food chain. I had to dispose of them all. In my eagerness to increase my tally for the day, I’d made three stupid errors. In my defence, it was down to ignorance; sometimes you don’t know what you haven’t been told!

I’d seen someone hock a rabbit and thought it looked like a cool thing to do. Actually, what I’d managed to do was to put a dirty rabbit’s foot, covered in bacteria and goodness knows what else, through another part of the same rabbit.

Also, I’d failed to gut it. It was visibly bigger than when I’d shot it and I was advised to return it to the ecosystem. The third thing I’d done wrong was to put it in my game bag. The insulating properties of a game bag exceed that of most flasks and it was still warm. No rabbit stew that night!

The pigeons had to be better though, surely.

Well, actually, no. In my rush to get on and off the stubble quickly and get back to the hide, I had just piled the pigeons up. They hadn’t been given the chance to cool down and were quietly festering in the heat. Why had nobody told me before to lay them out so that they could cool quickly? They had now! Lessons learned and, despite my ignorance and no dinner to show for my efforts, a cracking day out shooting was had, and certainly a day to remember. ■ Pigeons shouldn’t be left in a pile...

... they should be laid out like this

PICTURES: JONNY CROCKETT

A hocked rabbit can be stored easily and cooled properly

Shot game needs to be cool before it can be placed in a game bag

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81

WITH ADAM SMITH

KEEPER’S COUNTRY

Beating and eating Lunch in the beaters’ hut can cover a multitude of options and Adam Smith has experienced a fair – and unfair – few…

B

ack in the early days you could have said that catering facilities on my little shoot varied from basic to non-existent – and most other similar sized set-ups in the area were much the same. We beaters generally plonked down on straw bales at the farm, or hay bales in the stable yard, to munch through whatever wives, girlfriends, or the local shop had provided. Water was on hand in both locations – from outside taps – but if you wanted a hot drink you had to bring a flask.

The farm was easiest, and obvious, because that’s where they normally met up, parking their Land Rovers and estate cars (the Range Rover and Discovery were just gleams in a designer’s eye) in the main yard, so lunch was generally enjoyed, a quartet at a time, inside a couple of the vehicles. An available and more sociable venue, the main grain store was dry, relatively warm and clean, barring wildlife, and so with a few straw bales as a base, two sheets of chipboard as a table, some lining paper as a tablecloth and bales around the perimeter as sofas, a ‘gentleman’s club’ was fashioned for their delight. Simple, yes, but they were sometimes easy to please, bless ‘em. Mostly, anyway.

It had its drawbacks. Left in situ between shoot days, the ‘table’ quickly gained quantities of pigeon droppings, feathers and, I blush to admit, rats’ poo, too, so it was imperative to scrape and sweep this away on the morning of a shoot, well before the Guns could spot it, anyway. As a more sanitary alternative, piling the bales to one side with the boards leaning on them worked well for a while, until a carelessly reversed tractor demolished the boards. So it was back to the 4x4s, at least until the Boss took over his Big At grander venues, Guns usually dine in style – but so too can the beaters

PICTURES: REBECCA GREEN

Looking after the beaters with food, drink and shelter is in everyone’s interests

This was improved by packs of pale ale and Coke, and later by a large catering tureen of soup accompanied by a basketful of chipped mugs; but while this enhanced the wellbeing of the beaters, the Guns were still poorly done by. Odd, perhaps, but true. While it’s also true they could enjoy their little haute cuisine snacks and lunchboxes from Fortnums, they didn’t enjoy quite the same level of comfort in which to munch their lunches, so the Boss asked if I could have a go at improving things.

The beaters’ benefits had come largely through venison sales, so knocking another fallow buck over easily provided a bit more dosh – but how to spend it? I needed a regular float to pay for the beer and soup, so there was no point in going over the top, but making an effort had to be worth a brownie point or two – even if only to make well-fed and watered Guns less inclined to gripe about the pegging in the afternoon.

At the time, the Big House was rented out to a businessman, of sorts, so the Guns were not able to relax in the English ambience of its courtyards, and I had to look elsewhere to house the gents ( in an eating sense) and occasional ladies (ditto).

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KEEPER’S COUNTRY House birthright, after which an outbuilding was quickly converted – probably at ludicrous cost by a ‘specialist’ – and the Guns could relax in more style. Anyway, the problem was no longer mine, so I could go back to looking after my beaters.

I got busy clearing the old ostler’s room in the stable block, filling it with old sofas and making a snug home away from home for the workforce.

That went well, too, until a missing chimney – long story, told a year or so back – choked off the comfort all too effectively, a situation saved by a portable gas fire. Still, even allowing for such management glitches – until they decided, without telling me, to demolish the whole block – my beaters enjoyed quite an upmarket sort of munching site.

Elsewhere, other shoots were catching up.

While one or two kept to the tradition of providing a can of beer and little else, others with more of an eye on the future started to realise that beaters were becoming harder to attract. Especially those that shot on Saturdays found that shopping trips and sport on the telly made a more attractive option than trudging through mud all day in the rain for about a fiver…

So, hot meals, drying rooms for wet gear, and other luxuries became more common, especially at grander venues. I found, for example, that beating at ‘The Duke’s’ passed from relative uniqueness – where the trailer parked up at the

‘At the time, the Big House was being rented, so lunch was generally enjoyed, a quartet at a time, inside a couple of the vehicles’

A good fire is a welcome addition to all beaters’ huts

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Beaters queue up for a warming cup of soup

pub named after the peer’s illustrious ancestor and we all trooped in to enjoy a pint at his expense, but food remained our own affair – to a comfortable conversion of the old stable stalls, accompanied by large portions of shepherd’s pie, bread rolls, cans of beer and a bottle of port passed round to finish. Times were definitely changing.

Back then, this sort of spread seemed lavish, and so it was, compared to what other shoots were offering, but today most shoots of any consequence know that keeping their beaters well fed and happy is as much in their own interest as the workforce, so everyone stays happy – until the neighbours offer better benefits…

On the whole, though, beaters are far better off than a few decades ago. Purpose-built or adapted trailers take them to the start of each drive – and sometimes they’ll be picked up at the end of the drive, too – and warm, dry rooms holding a large table and enough chairs to take 20 or more are to be found ever more frequently. Not all are as good, of course, but at least you won’t find many shoots where the beaters are left to sit in the open at lunchtime. Best, perhaps, are those that ‘shoot

Eating in the car doesn’t allow beaters to interact with the whole group

through’ when the day ends at around 2.30pm and there’s a hot meal ready and waiting in the beaters’ hut.

There are still a few oddities around, one in particular enjoying a special place in my heart.

There’s often an ‘us and them’ aspect to shoot lunches, and certainly if you are of a socialist persuasion, your best bet is to stay at home with the telly. On balance, though, the Guns eat happily together and the beaters eat happily together in two separate locations. It’s not snobbery or condescension, it’s just the way things are and few, if any, would make an issue of it. One or two have a really cosmopolitan attitude with Guns and beaters eating together, all sociably chatting and chomping around the same table, and all credit to them.

This one, though, was different. Guns and beaters shared the same room, and a wood stove provided some warmth, but that was the extent of the togetherness. While they sat at one end at spotless damask-covered tables with silver cutlery, glasses and napkins to enjoy their wine, rare roast beef and all the trimmings, we sat at bare boards in the cooler end of the room, chewing on crisps and the like. No soup, no beer, just the smell of good food to sharpen appetites.

Not ideal.

It was a set-up to widen the gulf between ‘us and them’ which did nothing for the sport – but I suppose that was the way they’d always done things, so who was I to gripe? Best to find somewhere else, so I did. ■

A lifetime’s shooting experience, home and abroad

FURRIER

Loads of fun

Loading is not just a way of making some cash; it can also be fantastic fun, when you know what you’re doing. Furrier takes us through some basic etiquette, and provides some handy hints to keep the Guns smiling

M

y first experience of loading was probably where my connections with European game shooting were re-established. The local Leicestershire estate where I had originally begun my gamekeeping career would annually host a day for French clients. His Lordship knew of my travels and the work I’d done abroad, and insisted that the agent involved me with helping to organise the loaders for the day, which was some responsibility for a lad in his early 20s.

When previously working in France, the head keeper, Trevor, had been ‘old school’. He wished for us to learn, and had us loading in our second season in Normandy. He would have us practising in our cottage garden, with both over-and-unders

and side-by-sides. Side-by-side shotguns are lighter and much easier to work with when double gunning. Heavy Browning-style over-and-unders are tedious and fatiguing for a full day. Trevor believed loading from a cartridge bag, held around your neck and resting high on your chest, was the fastest method. Having loaded on driven grouse, partridge and pheasant days for many years now, I believe him to be correct, but one must adjust to the speed of shooting and competence of the Gun you are loading for. We were told always to know your peg numbers and be there, ready and waiting, before the Gun arrived; we were also told never to speak unless spoken to. You could even go so far as to use your own coat to place the first

PICTURE: NICK RIDLEY

If you are going to be offering more than the odd word of advice, it can pay to get insurance, to cover you if something did go wrong

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gun on, rather than putting it on the floor, while you check the second of the pair.

Again, you must gauge how chatty you should be according to the wishes of your clients, host, and the shoot agent you are working for. There have been days, particularly with the real ‘killers’, when only a few polite words have been uttered all day. Then there’s the complete opposite, when the Gun wishes to know your whole life story, and you have to stop them talking to advise them that the birds are approaching. Some may gossip about the other Guns shooting that day, and you must never assume the lady friend with your Gun is his wife! It’s a surprisingly small world, and there have been numerous times when the Guns have known my old boss in Belgium, even when loading in northern England for grouse or in the south of England for high pheasants.

On the day, you must take control, be assertive and polite, and ensure you know the etiquette for the day and the peg numbering, along with some knowledge of the ground. Find out whether you are stuffing a single gun or double gunning; know whether the guns are being borrowed or are their own, and whether they are in good working order; make sure you have the right size and length of cartridges, along with a sufficient number, too – it has been known for someone to use over 200 cartridges on a single drive.

There have been days when the Guns don’t seem to be connecting but, when they do, the bird is absolutely poleaxed. After some questioning and a little bit of forensic investigation, the realisation is that they’ve bought, or been given, cartridges that are too long for their gun’s chamber length. The open top of the empty cartridge looks shredded, rather than smooth; this is due to it being ripped off when it opens partially into the forcing cone, as the pellets, wad and charge go past. There is also likely to be a comment about excessive recoil in the shoulder.

This is only one of many safety issues you must be willing to solve and be aware of. Some Guns don’t even know what they are shooting at, like an American lady who was mortified to see how pretty a hen pheasant was when it fell dead at her feet. She believed she’d shot it, when in fact the chaps either side of her were shooting her birds and applauding her – all very false. In these circumstances, when dealing with inexperienced Guns, be ready to grab the still-loaded gun as they begin to wave it about and jump at the joy of connecting. Remember, if you feel you are doing more than offering simple advice and are actually

FURRIER coaching, you must have that covered in your insurance, as you’d potentially be liable if there was any type of accident. A comment of ‘more lead’ or ‘keep swinging, sir’ shouldn’t get you into trouble in the courts.

The fear often comes not from the Guns, but the less competent or elderly loaders who aimlessly swing barrels through the Gun line, or have seemingly little control over the firearm as they reload and close it. Estates often promote the old and infirm to the duties of loading, when it’s a young person’s job really. You can sometimes be carrying two guns in slips, slabs of cartridges, bags, and shooting sticks; loaders shouldn’t be cluttering up gun buses or Argocats on the way to the next drive.

With only a dozen shoot days a season in Europe I was privileged to load for my boss regularly. We became a team, and he could shoot a lot of birds on a drive, particularly once we were tuned into spotting the next bird with the 20-bore half mounted for him as we swapped guns.

Twenty-bores are fiddly to load due to the size of the chamber, but he could have, hopefully, 11 shots before a longer pause, which was more than enough. I would have four cartridges in the guns, six between the fingers, and one in the mouth, brass end out. The challenge for me was to keep him busy, so he couldn’t overthink the

Make sure you have the right size and length of cartridges

shot. As soon as that happened he’d begin to miss. I then wouldn’t allow him a gun until he had cleared his mind or we’d started chatting again.

His reactionary shooting was phenomenal, whereas if he had time, he was likely to miss and have a child’s strop, which I’d laugh at until he did too. It was a rare relationship, one that could only be adopted when on the peg.

If your Gun is caught by the call of nature, he may tell you to have a shot – usually it is polite to decline. However, last season another American, who had been put to shame by two young ladies he’d brought to the peg on consecutive drives, insisted that the stance and mounting of the gun was shown to him again. The partridge and hen pheasant that landed dead at his feet only added to my embarrassment, along with a little pride.

Loading should be great fun. Be polite, firm, and confident. Always have spare sunglasses, hearing protection, some mints, and enough cartridges, and you’ll be able to make yourself a pretty penny while watching some good sport. ■

PICTURES: REBECCA GREEN / NICK RIDLEY (TOP)

‘When dealing with inexperienced Guns, be ready to grab the stillloaded gun as they begin to wave it about and jump at the joy of connecting’

A Gun and his loader can work together like a very well-oiled machine

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105 Dudley Road, Brierley Hill, West Midlands DY5 1HD, England. Tel: 01384 573410. Fax: 01384 486467

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THIS IS JUST A SMALL SELECTION OF OUR SHOTGUNS IN STOCK. VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR THE FULL GUN LIST. FACTORY VISITS ARRANGED FOR ■ Beretta ■ Krieghoff ■ Perazzi

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Counter coils supplied and fitted ■ Kickeez pads supplied and fitted ■ Cast work and oil finishes

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WITH RUPERT BUTLER

NOTES FROM IRELAND

Purple haze A young Rupert takes a trip up the challenging, heather-clad Knockmealdown mountains with his father, but it’s not the usual hill-dwelling grouse that are the subject of their attentions on this particular hunt…

M

ironing, under supervision of course. Thursday evening duly arrived; my homework was completed in good time, as I kept a keen eye on Dad’s every move.

Before long he arrived in the kitchen with his gun under one arm, a box of shells firmly gripped in the other. He passed by without even a sideward glance, slipping into his wellies in the pantry before exiting by the back door. That’s the last bloody time I’m doing any chores around here, I remember thinking, as I sat crestfallen by an old pine table.

Seconds later he stuck his head round the door and asked, “Well, are you coming or not?” with a large grin creasing his features. So much for being

clever! I was as obvious as a barn door, when I think back on it.

Jumping into the car moments later, I was even more delighted to see my single 20 in close attendance. Dad had been craftier than I’d thought, but I wasn’t complaining.

Reaching our destination, finally, we started the long trek across the purple monstrosity in front of us. Some time later, just as my legs were starting to complain, we reached the wee ponds. I flopped into the heather, exhausted – I wouldn’t have been so enthusiastic if I’d known beforehand that we had two miles of knee-high heather to negotiate on route. Once my breathing returned to something akin to normality, I realised that we

‘For 10 minutes or more nobody said a word; the stillness of the place was spellbinding’

PICTURE: JOHN RONAN HTTP://BIT.LY/1GZ2EOO

any, many moons ago, when I was but a wee fellow, my dad and a colleague of his decided to try their luck at a couple of small ponds they had found way out in the depths of the Knockmealdown mountains.

The previous week they had been out in search of a grouse or two when they happened upon a few small bog holes littered with mallard feathers.

All of these bog holes (four to be exact) were within 10m of each other, with none more than 12 feet in diameter.

I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to go along with them on a school night – even asking was a severe waste of time – so I decided to play the game better than I had on previous occasions.

Thursday night had been earmarked as flight night, so from Sunday onwards I was as good as gold. Timber was chopped, plates washed, homework completed unusually early, and, if I remember correctly, I even had a go at a spot of

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IRELAND

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Retrieving mallard is no easy task!

The mallard came gliding in from all angles

PICTURES: ROBERT COUSE-BAKER HTTP://BIT.LY/1GZ2EOO / LEE BEEL (TOP)

were indeed in a very special place. The views all around were majestic; the sky was starting to turn that lovely red-gold colour as the day began to fade. An old cock grouse offered a rousing chorus before he retired for the night. For 10 minutes or more nobody said a word; the stillness of the place was spellbinding.

Just as I started to enter dreamland a smudge on the horizon caught my interest. Rising effortlessly from the valley way below, it grew larger as the seconds passed. My initial interest was not misplaced, for I soon knew exactly what it was. The first battalion was on its way. The others had also spied the source of my interest and we all instinctively crouched lower in the now waist-high heather.

It seemed to take an age for them to draw closer, but then again they did have some 10 miles or more to travel. My excitement heightened on realising that not one, but several packs were airborne, all at different stages on their journey. I placed several cartridges in the heather beside me, for it could have become fast and furious in a few minutes.

Skimming the heather a few hundred yards in front, some 15 or more mallard made a beeline for where we sat waiting. At the last second they banked to the right, disappearing behind a small hillock, before reappearing behind. A mad scramble ensued as we turned to fire. I turned so fast that I fell back on my butt, before releasing a wayward barrel into the night sky. The others had more luck as they plucked three from the fast-departing fowl.

The shots didn’t seem to frighten their colleagues, who glided in from all angles. I managed to halt a couple in between some woeful misses. For 20 minutes or more the action was fast, at times hectic, and then, like turning a tap, it was all over.

Retrieving mallard is no easy matter, a fact that Monty the springer would vouch for if he could talk. I made the mistake of trying to pick one that was lying belly up in the middle of one of the pools, quickly disappearing to my waist in clinging mud, and having to be pulled to safety.

To cap it all, some clever clod had left the torch back at the car; my brownie points, gathered so carefully during the week, were quickly disappearing.

The final tally of 21 mallard and a solitary teal were rich reward for an eventful evening. I must admit that I could not lay claim to more than a couple, for my shooting was brutal at best, an empty box of cartridges bearing testament to the fact.

The journey back to the car was horrendous, due not only to my forgetfulness, but the weight of the ducks also. We all fell on several occasions, but eventually made it down, the sight of a waning moon shining brightly on the roof of our vehicle was one of the more welcome sights I have witnessed over the years.

In the intervening years we have flighted that delightful spot on a few occasions, but to little avail. Never before or after has more than a handful of duck come to dine, as day turned to night.

That particular night is one of those occasions that is stored deep in the memory, to be called

upon periodically while sitting daydreaming by a roaring open fire.

Every now and then occasions like that will present themselves: when fowl, weather and surroundings all combine to produce something memorable. They are few and far between, but it is the possibility that will forever draw us back. â–

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Park Street Guns Est. 1987

A SMALL SELECTION OF OUR COMPETITION GUNS Beretta DT10EELL 30” Sporter with game scene engraved side-plated action and very pretty woodwork indeed. ...£7,995 Beretta Silver Pigeon 1 30” 12 bore sporters always in stock. .......................................................................£1,566 Beretta 692 30” Sporter Left Handed, in virtually unused condition. ...........................................................£2,595 Beretta 692 30” Sporter in very tidy condition throughout. .........................................................................£2,295 Beretta 690 1 30” Sporter with black and orange action, lovely woodwork. .................................................. NEW Beretta 690 III 30” Sporter with game scene engraved action. Well figured woodwork................................ NEW Beretta 682 Gold 30¾” Sporter in very tidy condition throughout. ..............................................................£1,395 Beretta 682 Super Sport 28” Sporter with multi-chokes in fair condition throughout. ...................................£895 Beretta DT10 30” Trap gun with sporting woodwork, choked at ½ & ½ and easily one of the prettiest we have ever seen!. .................................................................................................................£2,995 Beretta AL391 Teknys Stonecoat Gold 28” semi-auto in truly immaculate condition throughout!. ............£1,395 Browning B1 27.5” Skeet Gun in fair condition. A 1973 gun with only one owner from new, this would benefit from a total refurb. ..............................................................................................................£895 Browning B725 Black Edition 32” Sporter with pretty woodwork. ............................................................... NEW Browning B525 Sporter One’s in stock in both 30” & 28” multi-chokes. ....................................................... NEW Browning B525 Sporter with 30” fixed choke barrels, choked at ¼ & ¾, in lovely condition throughout. ...£1,195 Browning B525 Hunter One 30” multi-choke game gun, great woodwork for grade!................................... NEW Miroku MK38 30” Teague Sporter. A superb handling gun indeed! NEW. ..................................................£1,498 Krieghoff K-32 32” Sporter/Trap gun with adjustable comb stock in tidy condition throughout. ................£3,695 KOLAR Gold Elite 12 bore Sporter with adjustable comb, detachable trigger unit and multi chokes.

Comes complete with spare trigger unit. Rare gun in the UK, these are regarded as the “American Krieghoff”. ... £5,995 Perazzi MX8 12 bore Trap Gun with 29.5” barrels choked at 3/4 & Full. Very tidy condition. .....................£2,500 Caesar Guerini Summit Impact 32” Trap/Sporter with high rib and adjustable comb. Left Handed. ..........£2,500 Bettinsoli X-Trail 30” Sporter with colour hardened action, complete with ABS case.................................. NEW

A SELECTION OF GAME GUNS Beretta SO3 12 bore with 26.75” barrels choked at 1/4 & 1/2 with 14.5” all wood well figured stock and complete with case. Very tidy condition indeed. ...........................................................................£5,995 Beretta Silver Pigeon I Deluxe 20 bore with 32” multi-choke barrels.

A great handling, long barrelled 20 bore from Beretta. NEW. .......................................................................£2,205 Beretta 687EELL 12 bore 28” Game Gun in very tidy condition throughout................................................£3,750 Beretta Silver Pigeon 1 12 bore 28” Game Gun in very tidy condition throughout. .....................................£1,195 Browning B725 Game gun with 28” multi-choke barrels............................................................................... NEW Browning B725 UK Hunter GDIII 28” multi-choke with lovely woodwork and game scene engraved action. .................................................................................................................................... NEW Caesar Guerini Essex 20 bore 28” multi-choke with silver action, English style rose and scroll engraving. ... NEW SIDE-BY-SIDES James Purdey & Sons 12 bore sidelock ejector with 28” barrels choked at 1/4 & 1/2 and chambered at 2.75”. ..... £8,995 Stephen Grant & Sons 12 bore sidelock ejector with single trigger and sidelever opening.

30” barrels with Cylinder & 1/2 chokes..........................................................................................................£5,500 W. J. Jeffery & Co 12 bore sidelock ejector with 28” barrels choked at 1/4 & 1/2.

A beautifully engraved shotgun in lovely condition.......................................................................................£3,995 Army & Navy 12 bore sidelock ejector with 28” barrels choked at Imp. Cylinder in each barrel with 2.5” chambers. Left Handed..............................................................................£1,500

MANY MORE SIDE BY SIDES AVAILABLE IN ALL PRICE RANGES FROM £100 UPWARDS!

LOTS MORE GUNS AVAILABLE, FIND THEM NOW ON OUR NEW LOOK WEBSITE

This is just a very small selection of the guns we have in stock, there are far too many to list in one advert! Every gun listed here is in stock at the time of writing.

We do not list what we do not have, however from writing to printing guns may be sold so we may no longer have them by the time you read this list!

For an accurate, up to date listing of our guns find us on www.gunstar.co.uk, pictures available of most guns.

Find us now on facebook at www.facebook.com/parkstreetguns for up to the minute news and exclusive special offers! Also follow us now on twitter @ParkStreetGuns

PLEASE NOTE WE NO LONGER HAVE LATE NIGHT OPENING ON THURSDAYS. OUR NEW OPENING TIMES ARE 9AM - 5:30PM MONDAY TO FRIDAY AND 9AM TO 5PM SATURDAYS.

Tel: 01727 872646 | www.gunshot.co.uk 1-2 PARK STREET LANE, PARK STREET, ST. ALBANS, HERTS AL2 2NE MONDAY TO FRIDAY 9AM - 5:30PM SATURDAYS9AM TO 5PM

JOHN FORSEY GUNS Worlds best chest high waders

Upper body 5mm Neoprene, faced with nylon Tricot in max 4 camo.

Super boot in rugged rubber Neoprene lined.

Sizes 7/15 very comfy fit. £299.00 Free P & P UK mainland

Patternmaster Code Black Goose and Duck Chokes Pull off long range shots on the foreshore like never before.

Code Black Goose £108.00 Code Black Duck £92.00

Fud Decoys

Float on water.

Fold flat for easy storage.

Ducks £29.90 per 6.

Part P&P £6 extra.

Geese £59.40 per 6.

Part P&P £8 extra.

Chest High Waders

Full chest high wader with boot attached. 4mm Neoprene in Max 4 camo, Sizes 6/7, 8/9, 10/11, 12/13, Free P&P UK Mainland. £149.00

Seeland Camo Thigh Wader Good all-round thigh wader boot moulded rubber with Mudmaster Solw. Upper made from sheet rubber canvas backed. Boot lined inside with 4mm Neoprene Camo Max 4 pattern.

Sizes 7/17, £139.99

Free P&P UK Mainland.

Decoy Rucsac

Sportschief 1859 Wildfowling Coat 100% waterproof.

Almost ¾ lengh.

Overlaps hip waders, ideal wildfowling coat.

Price: £179.00 (post £5 UK mainland)

We now offer Instant Finance on all purchases over £300, excluding ammunition, thanks to the guys at Omni Capital Retail Finance. Typical APR is 19.9% with a minimum of a 10% deposit with repayments spread over anything from 12 to 48 months. Credit is subject to status.

TEL: 020 8304 9922

Ridgeline Waterproof Smock

Definitely 100% waterproof and breathable. Detachable full hood with a peak.

Waterproof zips, windproof cuffs.

Ideal for wildfowling, beach fishing, stalking.

Colour teak, brown.

Sizes Ex. sml - xxxl. £199 Post free UK mainland

Jack Pyke Hunter Jacket In stealth fabric, Marshlands fabric camo. Full length double opening zip.

2 large bellow pockets, 2 hand warmer pockets.

Fold down waterproof seat flap. Sizes Sml - xxxl £84.95 Post free UK mainland

The Mud Seat

Heavy duty woven nylon.

Will take 20 teal decoys easily. 2 side pockets for flask etc.

Price with pockets £47.95 Without pockets £34.95

Stiffened base to sit on, fold up back supported by straps with net mesh pocket at back. Carried by grip handles or use the rucsac type straps.

Sonderman 66 Duck Call

High Roller Pintail Widgeon Teal Call

Illinois River Goose Calls

All wood, lovely tone. Possibly the best Mallard call worldwide.

A must for serious wildfowlers.

It really works for all three species and will also imitate the male mallard grunt sound.

Blue Lakes Canada, Pinkfoot Goose, Grey Lag

Price: £34.00 (P&P £5)

Price: £19.90 P&P £3 extra

Price: All £34.00 (P&P £5)

£39.95 P&P extra £5

All orders & enquiries to: JOHN FORSEY GUNS 32-34 Park View Road, Welling, N.W. Kent, DA16 1RT

Teal Decoy

Self righting. Available cocks and hens £30.00 per 10

Widgeon Decoy

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Available cocks and hens. £50.00 per 10

Mallard Decoy Drake

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WILDFOWLING

Alan Jarrett is chairman of the Kent Wildfowling & Conservation Association and author of several books on wildfowling

WITH ALAN JARRETT

A pintail for your thoughts Alan waxes lyrical about his favourite duck – the pintail drake – and remembers several encounters with them over the years that have only served to increase their appeal

O

ne of the ever-present delights of wildfowling is the birds themselves. Duck of the northern hemisphere have one thing in common: the sheer unrivalled beauty of the drakes in full winter plumage. Ducks and geese found in the southern hemisphere have same-sex similarities. Each of our drakes vies for ‘top duck’ in terms of its plumage, yet for me it is the pintail drake that beats them all.

A large, sleek, elegant duck, it is graceful in flight and unmistakeable among its peers. It is truly the greyhound of the air. It also has the undoubted bonus of being a superb table bird.

It is more plentiful in some parts of the country than others, with northern estuaries such as the Dee and the Mersey formerly being famous for housing large numbers of these birds. Here in the South East they can be found in good numbers, but they can be elusive and transient.

They are birds of the open estuary, where they guzzle on such foods as macoma (large saltwater clams). They love the flooded saltmarsh where the samphire seeds lie in their countless millions.

PICTURE: REBECCA GREEN

Alan attributes many of his misses to his laziness when it comes to keeping up with his gun cleaning regime

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In my part of the world it would be like going in search of fool’s gold to set out one’s stall to shoot pintail. That is not to say that, on occasion, my luck has not been in.

It was 1968, and my first season on the shore.

That season, a number of ‘firsts’ were bagged – each celebratory in its own way – which undoubtedly ensured that a long wildfowling career lay ahead of me.

It was a bright, windless morning, and my side bag was empty as I made my way off the shore. A distant line of birds approaching caused me to slide into an adjacent gutter, in the event that they passed wide to my right, with only the opportunity for a single shot. A bird fell out of the sky and my first pintail drake was to hand; he was an absolute marvel to behold on that sunny winter’s morning.

Mostly, my pintail have been chance birds, like the two that came at last light to my hiding place in a deep gutter where the teal were flighting through. A pair came through at a reasonable

height, and it was with delight that they both proved to be drakes.

There can be few more mystical experiences than being out on the shore in the moonlight when the tide is flooding and pintail are on the move. The soft fluting whistle of the drake cuts through the night air and the wildfowler will remain on tenterhooks. At such times they can respond to gentle calling; like all duck calling,

‘A large, sleek, elegant duck, the pintail is graceful in flight and unmistakeable among its peers. It is truly the greyhound of the air’

WILDFOWLING The pintail is more plentiful in some parts of the country than others

Many years later, I was fortunate enough to be invited to an excellent duck marsh. My picker-up took me to a fleet ensconced within large beds of phragmites; he said it was a pintail hotspot.

So it was to prove, and when the bag reached double figures – mostly pintail – that was enough for me. He seemed quite put out, however, and said: “It’s your flight!” As indeed it was! ■ Pintail respond to gentle, infrequent calling

PICTURES: REBECCA GREEN / DAVID KJAER (TOP)

it is not too difficult if practised carefully and not overdone.

I have a vivid memory of one January night alone on the saltmarsh. It was bitterly cold and the tide put a couple of inches of water over the top of my island. A drake was knocked out from a pair that drifted wide of the decoys.

Later still, at about 1am, with the tide thankfully beginning to ebb, a drake called nearby. My responding calls brought him right to me.

Suddenly, he was under the moon as a great, black elongated shape and fell behind me with the most enormous splash.

One evening the wind blew mightily from the west and a grand flight ensued. A teal and a couple of wigeon were in the bag before the pintail began to flight, with two augmenting my bag. But the flight was a disaster. The gun – albeit an old weapon well passed its best – jammed repeatedly. One of the key requirements of a semi-automatic is to keep it clean at all times, otherwise sloth will eventually get its just reward!

That evening several pintail undoubtedly owed their continued existence to my laziness.

Luck can play a huge part with pintail, and never more so than one day when I was out from dawn to dusk. The wind raged and heavy squalls of rain passed through periodically. With the squalls came the pintail, with five of them featuring in a double-figure bag.

In my opinion, it is a quarry to treat with the utmost respect. Over the years there have been some fabulous bags of duck to my gun, but never with pintail. For me, those days are a reward for the hard work and persistence put into the sport.

On such occasions a decent bag does not faze me. The trick is to know when enough is enough, and on occasions the gun has been set to one side with a good bag of duck beside me.

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PART EXCHANGE WELCOME

N L IO ER IA CTSHOOT EC SERTING SP OGH IN SPO T NDY MON GUEVER

with Howard Kirby Gundog Trainer

Your one-stop-shop for shooting gear The essential guide to owning and working a gundog

INSIDE THIS MONTH...

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Present and correct

Howard tackles a subject that many gundog owners will have a strong opinion on: should you correct your gundog when they don’t demonstrate the desired behaviour, or only use reward-based training?

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Demystifying HPRs

Do you know your Weimaraner from your Large Munsterlander? Ryan looks at this often misunderstood gundog subgroup and explores the possible reasons for their lack of popularity

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Entry is now closed for our Gundog Calendar 2017 competition. Here are this month’s contenders (look out for our bumper issue next month to find out who our winners are!)

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BY SHOOTERS, FOR SHOOTERS

Na feu facidui psuscip ex ercillam do etum zzrilla oreriustrud do ex etum quatum dolor sim enissit ercidui eum velit vel dolobore

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Gundog Q&A

All of your health, behaviour and other gundog-related questions answered by our resident team of experts

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Gundog vet

This month, Vicky looks at the issue of vaccines and whether we should be worried about them being dangerous for our dogs

HOWARD’S TIP OF THE MONTH:

Keep training fun

PICTURE: HOWARD KIRBY

Try to remember that when you take your dog out training he shouldn’t be thinking of it as work; for them it’s got to be fun – particularly if the dog is sensitive. If you don’t make training positive you risk diluting his enthusiasm and drive. In short, try to keep things positive and give the dog ‘a good time’.

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GUNDOG TRAINING

with Howard Kirby

Howard Kirby runs Lains Shooting School and Mullenscote Gundogs in Hampshire

Correct me if I’m wrong…

Howard Kirby, Chudleys Brand Ambassador

Should you correct your gundog, or should you only use positive, reward-based training?

It’s a thorny subject. Howard gives his view

M

y purpose in this article is to get us all thinking about how we train our dogs: the techniques, planning and, in particular, how, where and if we should be using any form of correction during the dog’s education.

As time, science and our general understanding of the art of teaching all creatures, both humans and animals alike, improves, there is no doubt in my mind that best results are achieved in a positive learning environment. That’s hardly statement of the year, as even the ‘old school’ among us recognise the need for reward and praise, but is it possible for us to produce a dog that is able to work to the extremely high Body language can communicate displeasure with an unwanted behaviour

standards required of it in the shooting field without any corrections at all? Personally, I have yet to witness this being achieved!

Already I feel you reaching for your keyboards in an effort to ‘put me straight’ (for your information my mum gave up when I was a youngster and, believe me, she’s good). As you read this article, please stay as open-minded as possible as my objective is not to preach but for us to think, explore and, if nothing else, evaluate how we each approach our dog training.

There are endless online forums where there is huge discussion and unfortunately some really unpleasant exchanges of ideas as to what

constitutes a negative correction, ranging from the word ‘no’ to physical correction. And thank goodness, for as long as we question and discuss how we do things, the more chance we get to develop and improve. I just struggle with the nasty side of some of these so-called discussions. One thing I did learn from my mum was: “If you’ve got nothing nice or kind to say it’s probably best that you keep it to yourself.”

Reward vs reprimand Let’s get into the practical side of things and start with a list of some of the ways to reward your dog.

These can include: verbal praise, e.g. ‘good’; a smile, which would generally be accompanied by soft body language; a food reward; and a dummy/ toy/bird/retrieve/hunting session.

On the disapproving or correctional side of training, many of the recognised techniques are quite simply the opposite to the rewards, i.e. verbal chastisement, e.g. ‘no’; a cross face, which would generally be delivered with dominant body language; the withholding of a food reward or a dummy/toy/bird/retrieve or hunting session; or maybe a physical tap or poke.

The above lists are very basic. There are other techniques and many other subtleties that we can use and employ. I have chosen these as they are the time-honoured techniques and most readily available and recognised. Essentially, if you are to communicate with your dog, timing is essential; you must ask yourself, what is the dog doing or thinking right now? If I reward him while he is doing this then he is more likely to repeat this behaviour. If there is no reward or something unpleasant happens then he is less likely to repeat the behaviour.

PICTURES: REBECCA GREEN

Witholding rewards So, straight away I have listed two very different approaches to correcting an unwanted behaviour, the first being to withhold the reward. A great example of this is when we are target training

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CONSULT HOWARD ABOUT GUNDOG TRAINING TELEPHONE 01264 889467 OR EMAIL howard@lainsshootingschool.co.uk OR VISIT www.mullenscote.co.uk

‘If you are to communicate with your dog, timing is essential; you must ask yourself, what is the dog doing or thinking right now?’ using Mullenscote’s hoop system. The dog is taught that if he sits quietly in the hoop he receives a food treat; we teach handlers to use the word ‘good’ followed by the food reward. The ‘reward marker’ (the word ‘good’) is given as the dog sits with all four paws inside the hoop. If, for example, one or more of his paws are not inside the hoop, or he has not conformed to sitting on his bottom while focusing on our face, we simply withhold the reward until this is achieved. The timing of the next bit (the reward) is essential; by withholding the reward the dog has to figure out what he needs to do to get the reward. He is now trying to work out how to achieve this. The amount of quality training the dog has had will determine how difficult this problem is for him. As soon as he gets it right, we use the marker word ‘good’ followed by the food reward. The dog will quickly and accurately work out what is required.

‘Negative’ corrections So that’s one method of correcting/training: the dog has to offer us the behaviour that we’re looking for.

Let’s assume exactly the same training environment of hoop, dog and training objective. And, as an alternative for comparison, once again the dog has left a paw out or is not sitting and focusing on us.

This time he is attached to a lead; we can use the lead to ‘check’ him and firmly insist that he sets himself up properly. The moment he is in the correct position we say ‘good’ and you might choose to reinforce the ‘good’ with food. This method obviously relies on something relatively unpleasant happening until the dog gives you what you want, and might be labelled as a negative correction.

I hope these two very different styles of teaching clearly describe the differences in technique. The first relies on the dog figuring out

When the dog offers up a good behaviour...

what he needs to do and then offering the behaviour, effectively correcting himself. The second requires the handler to demonstrate to the dog what is required, using the lead to bring the dog back into position. So is there a preferred method? Is one better than the other?

During initial training I prefer to use the first

... reward with food, praise or a retrieve

technique because the dog has to use his brain and figure out for himself just how to get the reward. I believe that this ensures the dog has a clear understanding of what he, as a predator, has to do to get prey (food) in his mouth. With the second method, it could be argued that he’s offering the behaviour to avoid correction.

In some cases, you need to intervene with a correction to let the dog know the behaviour is unwanted

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GUNDOG TRAINING

Combination method Okay, so if we decide to go with the first technique, we need to cover a scenario when either the distraction away from the hoop looks more rewarding than the food reward you are offering him, or he simply gets fed up and doesn’t want to carry on. What do we do now? This is where I blend together technique one and two.

Firstly, we need to ensure that the dog fully understands what he has to do. Then, we effectively say to the dog: ‘Hey you! That “come, sit, watch me, stay” thing that we were doing, it’s

‘We can use the lead to ‘check’ him and firmly insist he sets himself up properly. The moment he is in the correct position we can then reward him’

Sometimes the use of a lead is all the correction that is required

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the law, you know; when I say, “Sit” you have to do it.’ Using your body language, possibly a tap or a poke, or the use of the lead, ensure that he neither puts his paws outside of the hoop or attempts to leave it. If we are accurate, clear and consistent then the dog will have understood what the hoop is all about and we’ll be ready to move forward with training.

Are we clear?

When living and working with a dog, what we all wish to achieve is a well-trained, obedient, and happy canine companion. I believe that to achieve this we need to establish clear rules and boundaries. During training, we must do everything possible to encourage the dog to offer and give the behaviours we need from him to ensure he is enjoyable and safe to be around.

In my opinion, if we are to train a dog using correctional techniques then these need to be thoroughly considered before use to ensure that any corrections given are ‘effective corrections’, meaning the dog thoroughly understands what it is you don’t like and subsequently offers the behaviour you require. Therefore, he can choose to avoid correction. Provided there is a clear

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understanding then the dog is able to function happy in the knowledge that as long as he keeps to the rules then he has no need to be unsure or wary of you.

In conclusion, being told what you are and are not allowed to do when living as part of a human or canine group is part of day-to-day life and essential for successful coexistence. Provided someone clearly explains to you what is expected then we and our dogs can happily choose to conform. Getting this right all of the time is difficult, but we owe it to everyone – dogs and humans – that we live with to ensure they feel confident, happy and safe around us. This then allows everyone to perform to the best of their ability.

Keeeeeep training, have fun and be nice to each other! ■

GUNDOG FOCUS

with Ryan Kay

No good or just misunderstood?

Ryan Kay is a keen trialler and trainer with a passion for working HPRs and spaniels. He runs Farlavale Gundogs in North Yorkshire. www.farlavale.co.uk

Ryan reflects on training his old Weimaraner, and highlights the ups and downs of an often misjudged gundog subgroup

I

t seems that this year we had a proper summer for a change – hot days and warm nights… even in Yorkshire! Here in York, it was generally dry and warm, and the harvesting time was pretty straightforward for the local farmers – wheat and spring barley gathered in on any day you like, as the warm late August and September weather remained. This also meant that there was plenty of stubble available for training, from early on.

PICTURE: RYAN KAY / THE VET HOSPITAL

Tash the Weimaraner with Ryan’s wife, Alison

My old Weimaraner, Tash, now well into her 14th year, is always happy to see the stubble. To her, it must signify the start of the shooting season. She has the chance to stretch her legs across the fields, where she gets her nose down on the scent of hares, and on the stubble, where the young poults now wander in search of loose seed. The old girl has taught me a lot, not only about the breed and how to train them, but also about how Weimaraners and other HPRs are often perceived by those owners who favour the more popular breeds, such as Labs and spaniels. The truth is, I trained her all wrong – I exposed her to the wrong shoots and I had unrealistic expectations of her. Like my Hungarian vizsla, she is a rescue dog, picked up

Trained properly, German shorthaired pointers are just as capable of performing well in retrieving exercises as Labradors are

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from Dogs Trust at exactly one year old. Her history was unknown and so we took a chance.

Her tail had been docked, which suggested she was from the right stock. She was, indeed, and her working instinct was extremely strong. Readily ‘pointing’, she worked for me primarily as a rough shooting dog. As for steadiness, well, the less said about that the better, but she always found what was hiding on our beat, presenting me with a chance to get a shot off. Rough shooting is where a well-trained HPR can prove its worth. They are especially good at finding those elusive oddments of game, and the sheer population of game on many of our lowland shoots simply does not suit many of them at all. And so, quite often when it comes to utilising them on a shoot, the right HPR breed can be better suited to picking-up.

Tash will still come beating this year on a small shoot, though, where all the game needs finding.

Now quite deaf, we’ll let her off the lead at the start of a drive and collect her at the end, without so much as a whistle or a word being spoken to her throughout the drive as she trots about.

Training talk and updates from the gundog world

During that time, she won’t have drifted far at all and may have even pointed a couple of birds, while waiting for my wife, Alison, to come and flush them for her with a stick. Having worked on this particular shoot every season since we got her, it is fair to say that Tash knows the ropes.

Some time back, a trainer friend of mine rang me for some advice on how to go about training a particular HPR breed he’d been asked to train for a customer of his. Normally a spaniel-only man, my friend agreed to have a go at training the exuberant dog, and was indeed looking forward to it. He mentioned that he’d also rung another very well-known trainer and asked him for his advice, to which the reply was: “Get rid of it.” Hmm, well… I tried to point him in the right direction and mentioned the key word of ‘patience’ many times over.

In actual fact, I can see why that particular trainer told him to get rid of it, and for several reasons – the main one being the perception that ‘there’s no money in them’. You see, unfortunately

‘The biggest problem is that our largest gundog subgroup is often lumped together and spoken about in generalised terms’

Due to their lack of popularity, many ‘professional’ trainers wouldn’t be able to identify a Large Munsterlander Alison works Tash in the beating line on a local shoot

for HPRs, they’re generally not seen as being lucrative enough for the majority of ‘professional’ trainers. Here is a sizeable gundog group that’s made up of sizeable dogs, which require a large amount of food and often a considerably lengthy amount of time and patience to get up to a decent standard. In fact, for some of the slower-maturing breeds it can take many years to accomplish all the elements required from a good HPR; during the same amount of time it may be possible to train, say, three spaniels.

My thoughts are that many simply can’t train them, due to the fact that all HPRs are often lumped together under one training ethos umbrella. I’ve heard it myself, when chatting to a professional trainer of nearly 30 years, who said: “I’ve given up on HPRs – I’ve tried, but I can’t get on with them!”

Trainability I can understand how a traditional trainer, who is used to bringing a biddable Labrador or springer up to speed, can become a little disillusioned when faced with a vizsla that still behaves like a puppy at two or even three years old. But this also comes from a misunderstanding of what they’re actually designed to do. I know of an excellent trainer who takes in all breeds for residential training, and purposely starts on the Labs first

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GUNDOG FOCUS HPRs can take three times as long to train than gundogs in other subgroups

POPULARITY OF GUNDOG BREEDS The following table from the Kennel Club helps to paint a picture of the popularity – or otherwise – of the gundog breeds QUARTERLY REGISTRATION STATISTICS FOR THE GUNDOG GROUP BREED

thing in the morning before moving onto the HPRs later, as this helps to, in his own words, ‘sort his head out’!

The biggest problem is that our largest gundog subgroup is often lumped together and spoken about in generalised terms. The 14 or so different breeds recognised by the Kennel Club cannot be standardised when it comes to thinking about breed characteristics, and therefore the training methods which will produce the best outcomes also need to be individually tailored. Different approaches need to be applied from breed to breed, as some of the HPR breeds just couldn’t be more different when it comes to training.

Of course, another problem for general gundog trainers is actually gaining enough experience on all of these breeds to be able to train them properly. This isn’t helped by the sheer lack of popularity (see boxout for 2015 litter registration statistics) and willing owners wanting to take on the task of training one for the shooting field. A few years back, at a game fair, I actually overheard a professional trainer asking a lady what breed of dog she had on the end of her lead.

He could not identify a Large Munsterlander! Of course, many folk can’t, but the fact that he was an established trainer confirms my belief. He’s still a good trainer, but had not been exposed to Large Munsterlanders at any point in his career.

I enjoy training HPRs and there are many others that do too. I was very impressed at an HPR retrieving day during the summer to witness a chap and his two German shorthaired pointers perform as perfectly as two top Labs during a particular retrieving element. They sat patiently, were sent by name, marked perfectly and returned swiftly.

When looking for an HPR puppy, I would strongly advise you to, firstly, research the breed,

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Bracco Italiano Braque D'Auvergne (Imp) Brittany English Setter German Longhaired Pointer German Shorthaired Pointer German Wirehaired Pointer Gordon Setter Hungarian Vizsla Hungarian Wire Haired Vizsla Irish Red & White Setter Irish Setter Italian Spinone Korthals Griffon (Imp) Lagotto Romagnolo (Imp) Large Munsterlander Pointer Portuguese Pointer (Imp) Retriever (Chesapeake Bay) Retriever (Curly Coated) Retriever (Flat Coated) Retriever (Golden) Retriever (Labrador) Retriever (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling) Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer (Imp) Small Munsterlander (Imp) Spaniel (American Cocker) Spaniel (American Water) (Imp) Spaniel (Clumber) Spaniel (Cocker) Spaniel (English Springer) Spaniel (Field) Spaniel (Irish Water) Spaniel (Sussex) Spaniel (Welsh Springer) Spanish Water Dog Weimaraner Total

1st Qtr 27

2nd Qtr 24

2015 3rd Qtr 54

4th Qtr 42

YEAR 147

1st Qtr 35

17 41 1 296 46 63 429 130 12 180 96 17 2 36 131 1 15 32 228 1,549 6,135 38 9 0 43 0 47 4,163 1,734 11 37 18 125 18 268 15,995

49 99 11 415 117 54 598 177 21 252 155 24 14 28 168 5 8 13 336 1,788 10,101 34 12 0 42 0 49 6,008 3,041 14 14 2 95 51 256 24,075

20 59 2 436 106 68 664 210 2 178 117 5 28 26 199 8 7 1 398 1,920 9,373 55 7 0 72 0 66 7,111 3,320 8 43 19 61 56 328 25,027

25 90 1 289 86 49 474 161 29 196 148 27 5 7 133 0 9 20 289 1,671 6,898 61 7 0 66 0 52 5,295 2,151 13 38 4 82 84 319 18,821

111 289 15 1,436 355 234 2,165 678 64 806 516 73 49 97 631 14 39 66 1,251 6,928 32,507 188 35 0 223 0 214 22,577 10,246 46 132 43 363 209 1,171 83,918

39 68 0 258 98 117 426 133 20 151 134 13 29 17 159 1 2 2 293 1,540 6,673 61 2 1 71 0 33 4,019 1,640 4 22 15 68 35 248 16,427

2nd Qtr 33 3 42 88 15 497 159 64 638 200 26 239 151 22 29 24 122 10 40 36 493 2,061 10,120 33 6 0 87 0 48 5,907 2,541 20 10 15 88 40 427 24,334

2016 3rd Qtr

4th Qtr

YEAR

2016 3rd Qtr

4th Qtr

YEAR

SUMMARY OF REGISTRATIONS FOR ALL GROUPS GROUP Hound Gundog Terrier Sporting Breed Total Utility Working Pastoral Toys Non-Sporting Breed Total

1st Qtr 2,939 15,995 4,485 23,419 9,319 3,243 3,223 6,464 22,249

2nd Qtr 3,772 24,075 5,140 32,987 10,654 3,849 3,810 7,181 25,494

2015 3rd Qtr 3,977 25,027 5,811 34,815 11,631 3,745 3,803 7,589 26,768

4th Qtr 3,743 18,821 5,314 27,878 12,634 3,392 3,514 6,815 26,355

YEAR 14,431 83,918 20,750 119,099 44,238 14,229 14,350 28,049 100,866

1st Qtr 3,142 16,427 4,137 23,706 10,986 3,435 3,401 6,574 24,396

2nd Qtr 3,791 24,334 5,122 33,247 12,746 3,371 3,713 6,890 26,720

Grand Total

45,668

58,481

61,583

54,233

219,965

48,102

59,967

and secondly, to buy from proven working lines. If I want a spaniel, I could practically pick out a puppy from any litter advertised and the chances are the dog will work. It may not be a potential Field Trial Champion but it will still work, given the right guidance. On the other hand, if I wanted a Hungarian vizsla, although they display duality, the chances of this working out based on the same selection process are far too hit and miss! So, proven working parentage is a must. And lastly, as I’ve said before, HPRs are not a gundog group that a novice handler should take on lightly, as the biggest thing that goes against many HPRs is their good looks. Please don’t purchase based on how lovely they look – get help from someone who understands the idiosyncrasies of that particular breed, and research how to go about training them with realistic expectations and time frames. ■

Weimaraners often look a bit lumpy and bumpy in their old age

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GUNDOG CALENDAR COMPETITION

Canines on camera

ON THE GROUSE MOOR,

BY FRAZER DAVIES

Here are this month’s entries...

W

e have teamed up with Chudleys to bring you the Sporting Shooter Readers’ Gundog Calendar 2017 – a gundog photography competition to find the best snaps, taken by our readers, for a special 2017 calendar.

Each month we will select the best gundog photos sent in by you, and print them here. The 12 best photos will be selected by our panel of judges to appear in print in the 2017 calendar, which will be sent out with the January edition of

HOT DAY OUT, BY ALAN ARNOLD

STRAIGHT TO ME, BY POLLY MAZZARELLA

Sporting Shooter magazine.

So, if you have a photo you are particularly proud of, then send it our way.

Remember to include your name and a short caption, and we’ll do the rest!

There isn’t a limit to how many Entry photographs, or how many times, is now closed for you can enter, but photos must be our gundog calendar a minimum file size of 1MB and competition. you must not be a professional Look out for next month’s bumper photographer. So what are you issue containing the 2017 gundog waiting for? Get snapping! calendar, and discover which fabulous photos made

BY ANDREW BURGE the cut!

ROSIE, BY KARL BIRD

BY MARK DAVIES

TIP OF THE MONTH #11 CHOOSE THE BEST CHUDLEYS FOOD FOR YOUR DOG’S WORK LEVEL All of the products in the Chudleys range are formulated for working dogs, whether the dog is in a low level or high level of work. For a dog that is in low levels of work (e.g. out of season) there are three different low-calorie foods: Original, Classic, and Salmon with Rice and Vegetables (Maintenance).

For a dog with an increased workload during the season, Working Crunch and Performance contain increased fat and high-quality protein to support performance.

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RETRIEVING ON THE GRO USE MOORS, BY JOHN LUP TON

10-YEAR-OLD LEVI TRAINING IN KENDAL, BY JOHN LUPTON

In association with

CONNOR WATCHING,

BY MARK DAVIES

BY SHOOTERS, FOR SHOOTERS

Sun

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* Calendar artwork is for representational purposes only

BY WARREN KEEP

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BEATING IN THE BORAGE ,

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JARVIS LOVES THE LOG BASKET,

BY RACHEL UPFIELD

PRINCE AND DUKE WA ITING FOR WOODIES,

BY ROB BRADLEY PARKER’S FIRST RABBIT,

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LOOKING OUT ACROSS THE GROUSE MOORS,

BY FRAZER DAVIES

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GUNDOG EXPERTS

GOT A GUNDOG PROBLEM?

The place for all your health, behaviour, diet, breeding and training queries

SEND QUESTIONS TO Ask the Experts, Sporting Shooter, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 2EG OR EMAIL news@ sportingshooter.co.uk

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

WIN! Chudleys dog food

Send us your gundog problems and the best one will win a £50 Chudleys dog food voucher. Chudleys makes a wide range of complete working food for dogs. Simply post or email your question to the address above. For more information, go to www.chudleys.com

Submissive peeing

A

HOWARD KIRBY replies: The symptoms you list describe a dog that is submissive in nature. She appears to be showing signs of nervousness when others approach you; this sends her into a submissive mindset which then causes the peeing. You might try changing her mindset with two different approaches.

Teaching your dog to focus on you, using rewards, food, dummies or praise, means that the more she focuses on you, the less likely she is to pay attention to others and therefore go into a submissive state. Your biggest hurdle is that this is a behaviour related to fear and, as emotions go, it is incredibly powerful and will override balanced thought. To change this

behaviour you will need to work hard and prevent people from approaching and getting close enough to upset her. Easy to write; much more difficult in practice.

We need to convince her that an approaching human will bring her nice things and nothing scary will happen to her. Firstly, you need to work out just how far away people need to be in order for her to feel comfortable. Then, in a controlled environment, get friends and family to appear from around the corner; avoid eye contact with her and lob a tasty treat or ball/dummy as close to her as possible. Assuming she moves forward in a confident manner to reach the reward, then this will start to build an association with something positive. It’s essential that the approaching human is far enough away so as not to create any fear, because if you’re not careful you risk reinforcing the fear and making things worse. If you structure this rehabilitation properly she will start to assume that approaching humans will provide nice rewards and be excited by their approach. It will take a long time and careful thought, planning and technique.

Where it is not possible to get the human to provide the reward, you will need to keep her busy and once again give her lots of reward for not showing signs of submission. If you suddenly go into a flurry of reward-based activity every time someone appears in the distance, she will slowly but surely start to see their arrival as a trigger for in association something positive. with So yes, it’s doable. A quick fix?

No. Worth all the effort? Definitely.

Over or under?

Is peanut butter poisonous?

Q A

Q A

My dog would rather go under something than jump over it. My mate says she should be made to jump.

PICTURES: NICK RIDLEY / OAKLEYORIGINALS HTTP://BIT.LY/1GZ2EOO

PICTURE: REBECCA GREEN

Q

I have an English springer spaniel bitch.

She is 18 months old and is proving to be a fantastic shooting and hunting dog and very easy to train. But when I’m out with her or at home and one of my friends comes for a chat, she seems to become very submissive around them and pees on the floor. No matter how much I try I can’t seem to stop her doing it.

Meeting new people should be a positive experience

JACKIE DRAKEFORD replies: A lurcher should be taught to jump when necessary, but tackling obstacles other ways is safer. Therefore, if we teach the ‘through’ command, we can choose which the dog does. Often, we know better than the dog whether the landing area is safe. If a dog is in pursuit of quarry, it has to make its own judgements, but we need not make it jump otherwise just because it can. Many dogs are injured from jumping onto hidden farm debris or double fencing, and every jump stresses ligaments and joints.

Lurchers that only jump when there is no alternative will have longer working lives than those made to jump to serve an imagined standard or their owners’ egos.

My Labrador is due to have orthopaedic surgery next month and will be confined to her kennel for several weeks afterwards. A trainer friend has advised me to use toys filled with dog food and peanut butter to prevent boredom, but then I saw a warning on Facebook that peanut butter is poisonous to dogs! Can you clear up my confusion?

VICKY PAYNE replies: Peanut butter is a popular treat with dog trainers as it is sticky, takes ages to lick out of feeding toys, and dogs generally love it. It should be used in moderation as it is high in fat and most brands contain added salt and sugar. You can find no added sugar versions but read the ingredients carefully! Some brands may contain xylitol as a sugar replacement and this is very toxic to dogs. I have yet to find a UK brand containing xylitol, but many American brands do (and this is where the warnings have emerged from).

Xylitol can be found in many ‘diet’ food products, and some regular products too, so always read the ingredients carefully if using human food for dogs. In the short term, xylitol causes a dog’s blood sugar to drop dangerously low and the dog will die if not kept on a glucose drip for several days. Dogs which survive the initial poisoning may succumb to liver failure a week later.

Alternative toy stuffings could include cheese spread, frozen dog food, or dog biscuits.

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Vicky is a keen shooter and qualified vet

with Vicky Payne

Vicky runs first aid courses for groups.

Email vicky@ holisticvetsussex.co.uk for further details.

Got a dog health problem?

Send questions to Gundog Vet, Sporting Shooter, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 2EG email news@sportingshooter.co.uk or submit questions on our website: www.sportingshooter.co.uk/ask-the-experts

Are vaccines killing your gundog?

Vicky sifts through the rumours and the advice to get to the bottom of the issue of vaccines, weighing up the reasons they are given against any potential risks

W

e all want to do our best to keep our working companions fit and healthy, but it can be hard to know what to do for the best when there is so much conflicting advice. Your vet sends out a booster reminder every year, but you’ve read that vaccines aren’t needed every year, and may even be dangerous... so what is the truth?

There is little doubt that vaccinations have saved many dogs’ lives. Early in my veterinary career I heard older vets and nurses describe the parvovirus outbreaks of the late 70s and early 80s, with dogs and puppies dying of a disease that shut down their immune systems and caused vomiting and diarrhoea. The outbreaks were brought under control first by the use of a vaccine for a similar virus in cats, and then by the widespread use of a vaccine for dogs. Distemper is another disease which used to be common (featuring more than once in the James Herriot books), causing a cough, joint pain, fever, fits and death; even if a dog survived, brain problems and thickening of the foot pads were common after-effects. These diseases are now much less common because a large percentage of the dog population is vaccinated, preventing their spread.

Parvovirus outbreaks do still occur, and are usually associated with puppies bred in poor conditions. Distemper was incredibly rare until recently, but cases are on the rise and believed to be linked to imported dogs from Eastern Europe.

PICTURE: REBECCA GREEN

There is little doubt that vaccines have saved many dogs’ lives

Leptospirosis remains relatively common in the UK, with cases in dogs and humans. It is found in standing water and anything contaminated with rat urine, so working gundogs and terriers are at high risk. The most common symptoms are kidney and liver failure, which may be acute or chronic.

Dogs in the UK are normally vaccinated against distemper, infectious hepatitis, parvovirus (DHP), and leptospirosis. Puppies are initially protected by the antibodies in their mother’s milk, but this fades after 8-10 weeks. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association recommends full boosters

result means he might be at risk and should be revaccinated.

Vaccines are designed to produce a response in the immune system, so are often associated with short-term, mild side effects such as muscle pain, lumps where injected, or diarrhoea. Many people also believe they can trigger autoimmune diseases, and epilepsy in dogs with a genetic susceptibility.

A study several years ago looked at whether dogs that visited a vet for vaccination had more illnesses in the three months afterwards than those that visited for other reasons, and found no difference.

‘There’s been a lot of press interest in the new leptospirosis vaccines, with some articles suggesting hundreds of dogs have been killed by them’ at a year old, then vaccination for DHP every three years. They describe leptospirosis as a non-core vaccine, as not all countries have a problem, but where it is required, it should be repeated once a year. Many dogs will be protected against DHP for much longer than three years, but we can’t know which ones just by looking. Thankfully, there are now affordable antibody titer tests (around £30) which your vet can run to assess whether your dog is protected. A positive result means your dog should be protected, but a negative

Very rarely a dog will have a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction to a vaccine. These usually occur before the dog has left the surgery and can normally be treated with adrenaline and steroids.

Anaphylactic reactions can also occur due to other drugs and to insect stings.

There has been a lot of press interest in the new leptospirosis vaccines that cover additional strains, with some articles suggesting hundreds of dogs have been killed by them. The actual reported adverse reaction figures are far less dramatic, with one vaccine having just six severe reactions reported for every 10,000 doses. In fact, this vaccine may be safer than previous leptospirosis vaccines due to improvements in its manufacture. Vaccines are only tested for use in healthy animals. Those which are at higher risk of a reaction due to their family history, breed, or an illness should only be vaccinated after a full discussion of the risks and benefits. Unvaccinated dogs need most of the dogs they come into contact with to be vaccinated to reduce the risk of disease spreading to them (herd immunity).

Other vaccines are available for rabies (required for dogs that travel abroad), Lyme disease (recommended in high-risk areas), and kennel cough. Rabies and Lyme disease vaccines may have a higher rate of reactions than the core vaccines and, again, should be given after a discussion of the risks and benefits. Kennel cough vaccine is given into the nose, and side effects are rare, other than a mild cough or snotty nose.

If you are concerned about the safety or necessity of vaccinations, it is best to book a consultation with your vet. ■

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FIND SHOOTING

Use this page to find agents offering sport around the UK and overseas

WILDFOWLING PERMITS Wildfowling clubs across the country offer day permits to BASC members.

For a copy of the latest BASC Members’ Wildfowling Permit Scheme Booklet, send an SAE to Wildfowling Management, BASC, Marford Mill, Rossett, Wrexham, LL12 0HL or email your name and address to wildfowling@basc.org.uk YORKSHIRE & N.E. CARTER’S COUNTRYWEAR North Yorkshire Tel: 01439 770688 www.carterscountrywear.co.uk Pheasant and grouse shooting

NORTH WEST SOUTH SOLWAY WILDFOWLERS www.solwaywildfowlers.co.uk MC Slater, Lancs.

Tel: 07779 934563 Pinkfoot geese, pigeons, driven duck & evening duck flights TUFTON ARMS HOTEL Appleby-in Westmorland, Cumbria. Tel: 01768 351593 www.fishing-shooting.co.uk

MIDLANDS THE BARTON ON HUMBER Gundog Club Tel: 01724 734700 www.bohgc.co.uk stephanie@bohgc.co.uk ROBERT GIBSON-BEVAN Lincs Tel: 01673 858387 KEADBY WILDFOWLING & CONSERVATION SOCIETY www.kwacs.org.uk LEICESTER WILDFOWLERS Contact: www.leicswa.org feedback@leicswa.org PESTWISE Contact Richard Tel: 01664 850287 or 07764 485726 www.pestwise.co.uk DELTA DEER SERVICES Tel: 01536 761978 or 07850 380923 www. deltadeerservices.co.uk WEST RIDING WILDFOWLERS Contact Graham Teale, Tel: 07711 555295 wildfowlers@gmail.com

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ANGLIA SPORTING Guided pigeon shooting, deer stalking; rough and driven shooting; wild duck flights.

Tel: 01728 605892 www. angliasporting.co.uk BASC NORFOLK Andrea Green, 01244 573047, andrea.green@basc.org.uk BLACKWATER WILDFOWLERS Essex. 01245 283210 www. blackwaterwildfowlers.org.uk FENLAND WILDFOWLERS www.fenlandwa.org.uk GEDNEY DROVE END Wildfowlers Cambridgeshire.

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LONDON & S.E. WILLIAM & PHILIP BEASLEY Tel: 01869 277534 for Philip, Tel: 07831 572247 for William, Tel: 07831 195736. Pigeon shooting, also deer stalking.

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Martin Myers scores a hat trick at the Midland Game Fair Martin Myers beat four other finalists at the Countryman Fairs’ Clay Shooting Festival Grand Final, which took place at the Midland Game Fair at Weston Park in Shropshire, retaining his title as champion of the competition for the third year running.

A total of over 1,700 shooters competed in the six regional heats in a bid to qualify for the final, with Pembrokeshire-based Martin qualifying at the Kelmarsh Country Show.

Martin went on to score 23 ex 25 in the final, placing him well clear of the runner-up Phillip Smith on 21 ex 25.

The competition was sponsored by Turkish gunmaker Armsan and French footwear brand Le Chameau, and the prizes up for grabs included semi-auto shotguns, a pair of Le Chameau Vierzonord boots and accessories from Premier Guns.

Martin commented: “I am delighted to have won this competition again and I will most certainly be trying for a fourth title next year!”

CREATURE FINDERS

TO CLAIM A BADGE, SEND AN ADDRESSED ENVELOPE WITH 64P OF STAMPS WHEN YOU ENTER THIS MONTH’S COMPETITION. SEE PAGE 13 FOR DETAILS.

WE FOUND BARRY BAT ON PAGE 85 OF THE OCTOBER ISSUE Brian R Hughes, Northants • Christopher Drury, Lincs • Debbie Drayton, Lincs • Gareth Cavnor, Wales • Henry Haigh, Yorks • Peter Hall, Yorks • Mel Pike, Merthyr • David Rogalski, Caithness • Gerald Hopkins, Northants • Margaret Hart, Lincs • David Pendlebury, Lancs • Desmond Reynolds, Wales • D Bond, Northumb • Pauline Bicknell, Coventry • Norman Buck, Norf • Norman Marshall, Shrops • JJA Loveridge, Cambs • Raymond Murray, Dumfries • Richard Goodacre, Lincs • Catherine Rawling, Norf • Harry Gilmour, NI • N Stevens, Warwick • R Lightowler, Yorks • Mike Slocombe, Lincs • Roger Reed, Gwent • Brian Mathews, NI • Stuart & Mary Huggard, Staffs • Ian Mottram, Derby • Richard Barroll, Monmouth • Tracey Bearham, Suff • Jim Morgan, Caithness • Robert Lyon, Angus • Malcolm Goodman, Oxon • Janice Owens, Yorks • Graeme Howe, Sunder • Muhammad Malik, Luton • Mike Lloyd, Hengoed • Cooper Hall,

Yorks • David Cameron, Warwick • John Avery, Leicester • Allen Chesterton, Heref • Helen Keeling, Wilts • Martin Smith, Somers • Steve Allen, Notts • Pete Barrie, Kent • Michael Strachan, Herts • Ken monks, Ches • Rory O’Kane, NI • Bob Cowan, Lincs • Derek Laidlaw, Oldham • Harry Wood, Wilts • Stephen Roberts, Notts • Frank Holman, Suff • Phil Hunnisett, Wilts • David Barmby, Yorks • Tom Jones, Carmarthen • Stewart Huxley, Shrops • Steve Ingram, Heref • Craig Drinkwater, Warwick • Jim Brown, Lincs • Mark Biggins, Cumbria • Michael Owens, Yorks • Lee Atherton, Mersey • Keith Swannell, Devon • Eric Jenkinson, Yorks • Colin Ashley, Staffs • Tim & Mary Leigh, Somers • David Bellward, Norf • Philip Kent, Norf • John Welstead, IOW • Rhian Owen, Anglesey • David Garbett, West Mids • Mick Shofield, Yorks • Charles O’ Connor, ROI • Liz & Brian Harper, Nor • Alan Goodwin, Suff • Ian Laycock, Yorks • Thomas Shaw, Devon • A Barrow, Northants • John Ahearn, ROI • David McLean, Surrey • Lloyd McCulloch, Moray • Melanie Hendry, Moray • Ali Thorn, Powys

AGENTS: Send any updates to Find Shooting, Sporting Shooter, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berks RG40 2EG

MARK BOULTON HORNDEAN Deer stalking in south; Boar shooting in Europe and Sussex. Tel: 02392 595925/07854 985006 markthedeerstalker@hotmail.co.uk

DORSET WILDFOWLERS www.dorsetwildfowlers.org.uk Gloucestershire

CHICHESTER HARBOUR WA www.chwa.org.uk

IAN COLEY SPORTING Tel: 01242 870391 www.iancoley.co.uk

GEORGE DIGWEED SPORTING AGENCY www.georgedigweed .com Duck & pheasants.

EMSWORTH & DISTRICT WILDFOWLERS www.wildfowling.com FROBURY FARM SPORTING CLUB nr Newbury, Berks.

Contact Paul Oldring, Tel: 01635 297122 www.frobury.co.uk HOLBOROUGH SHOOT SOUTH (KENT) Driven pheasant shoot.

01622 891940, 07774 839319, 07876 542579 info@holboroughestate.co.uk

GLOUCESTERSHIRE WILDFOWLERS www.gloucestershire wildfowlers.co.uk

MELCOMBE PARTNERS Chris Kirby Tel: (01643) 831439 SPORTING AGENT Tel: 07724 689295 www.sportingagent.com PRESCOTT SHOOTING SCHOOL Tel: 01242 673542 www. prescottshooting.com dan@prescottshooting.com TAW & TORRIDGE WILDFOWLING CLUB Barnstaple www.ttwc.org.uk THE WARRENER Box 36, Tavistock, Devon.

Tel: 01822 832990

KENT DEER SERVICES Contact Andrew Tel: 07754 272214 or 01892 680327 www.kentdeerservices.co.uk

EDWARD WATSON SHOOTING SERVICES Tel: 01884 254056 or 07767 338801 www.shootingservices.co.uk

KENT WILDFOWLING & CA Tel: 07836 771715 www.kentwildfowlers.co.uk

WESTWARD SPORTING GUN CLUB Devon. Contact: Don Williams Tel: 01752 564478 Rough, game, etc.

LANGSTONE & DISTRICT WWCA Langstone Harbour, SE Hants. www.ladwaca.com SHAVESGREEN SHOOTING 07706 395979. www.shavesgreen.com info@shavesgreen.com

TAMAR VALLEY ASS. for Shooting & Conservation Devon & Cornwall, Rough & Wildfowling Tel: 01752 703676 cyril.davys1@hotmail.co.uk

WALES

DRIVEN & WALKED-UP DAYS Trevor Robinson Tel: 01273 600683 or 077499 35864 Pigeon.

ANGLESEY SHOOTING & Fishing Tel: 01407 740652 www.presaddfed.co.uk rosemary@presaddfed.co.uk

WEST SUSSEX SPORTING Tel: 01293 851808. www.westsussexgunco.com Pheasant & partridge.

CASTELL GORFOD SYNDICATE M4 Carmarthen Contact Richard Llewelyn Tel: 01437 891433

SOUTH WEST

DRIVEN HIGH BIRD DAYS Dyfi & District WA www.dyfiwildfowlers.org.uk

ARUNDELL ARMS DEVON Tel: 01566 784666 www. arundellarms.com CORNWALL WILDFOWLERS ASSOC. Tel: 01872 864021. Mike Holmes. Weekly shoots COTSWOLD SHOOTING COMPANY Tel: 01285 657527 www.go-country.co.uk DEVONPORT GUN CLUB Rough shooting in Devon and Cornwall Tel: 01752 787824 devonportgunclub@ gmail.com DEVON WILDFOWLING & CA Tel: 01395 268837 devonwildfowlers@yahoo.co.uk

NANNAU SELECT SPORT N Wales. Contact Andrew, Tel: 01341 423427 or Jenny, Tel: 01341 423708 Driven let days, high bird shoot

SCOTLAND ALLADALE ESTATES Andy Harding Tel: 01863 755338 www.alladale.com AVOCHIE ESTATE HUNTLY Aberdeenshire. Tel: 01466 711282 www.avochie-fishings.com AVON & AIRLIE SPORTING PADDY Fetherston-Godley Tel: 01575 560292 www. avonandairliesporting.com

BASC Isle of Arran Contact Andrea Green Tel: 01244 573047 andrea. green@basc.org.uk CAPREOLUS GAME Scottish Borders Tel: 01864 502317 or 07725 943190 www.capreolus.net CASE SPORT Driven Pheasant and Partridge Shooting Contact: Andrew Case Dumfries & Galloway www.casesport.com Tel: (01644) 430469 or 07747 691447 BORDER FIELDSPORTS For quality estate stalking, high pheasants and walked up days. Contact Steve Nuttall on 07860461017 or visit www. borderfieldsports.co.uk BROWWELL SPORTING Steven Burton 01387 870351 www.browwellsporting.co.uk Duck, goose, pheasant, partridge nr Solway Firth WINSTON CHURCHILL STALKING Tel: 01369 705319 www. winstonchurchillvenison.com CKD GALBRAITH Tel: 01738 451600 www. sportinglets.co.uk DALNAGLAR CASTLE ESTATE Perthshire Tel: 01250 882232 www.dalnaglar-castle.co.uk DES COCHRANE Fife and Perthshire BASC registered goose guide www.GoShootingUk.com Tel: 07725054046 COUNTRYSPORTS STALKING Contact Michael Roberts, Tel 01786 447400 www. countrysports.co.uk COWANS LAW Ayrshire Contact Jay Steel, Tel: 01560 700666 www.cowanslaw.com COWANS SPORTING Dumfries & Galloway Contact Craig Denman, Tel: 07775 760651 or 01387 760284 www.cowanssporting.co.uk DUNMHOR SPORTING Highlands. Contact Graham, Tel: 07778 874026 or 01540 661809 DV SPORTING Scottish Borders. 07866 901019 www.dvsporting.co.uk ESTATE MANAGEMENT Tayside, Contact John Tytler Thomson, Tel: 01356 625436 www.sporting-scotland.co.uk FPD SAVILLS Contact: Roddy Willis, Tel: 01356 628600 rwillis@fpdsavills.co.uk THE GEARACH ISLE OF ISLAY Contact Mark Piper, Tel: 01496 850120 or 07786 906472 www.thegearach.co.uk

GREYLAG COUNTRY SPORTS Aberdeenshire. Contact John Lewis, Tel: 01799 476421 or 07793 025859 BASC regd goose/woodcock guide HERON FIELDSPORTS Contact Colin Chisholm, Tel: 01369 705888 or 07836 511792 Woodland stalking.

MAL KEMPSON WILDFOWLING Fife & Tayside Tel: 01592 721140 www.wildfowling.co.uk LOCHNELL ROUGH SHOOTING Argyllshire Tel: 01631 720413 www.lochnell.co.uk LAGGAN ESTATE Islay. Tel: 01496 810235 www.lagganestate.com EILEAN IARMAIN ESTATE Isle of Skye. Contact Michael Mackenzie, Tel: 01471 833266 www.eilean-iarmain.co.uk MORTLACH SPORTING Aberdeenshire Tel: 01466 720225 www.mortlachsporting.co.uk MORMONDBRAE SPORTING Aberdeenshire Tel: 07917 854368 donaldsherwood53@gmail.com Walked up, driven shooting and duck flights NORTH UIST ESTATE Tel: 01876 500329 Geese, stags & snipe PIGEONALLDAYLONG Contact Geoff Robson, Tel: 01592 621539 or 07747 050302 www.pigeonalldaylong.co.uk RJH SPORTS Isle of Lewis Contact Russell Hird, Tel: 01851 820610 or 07751 839579 www.rjhsports.co.uk GEOFF ROBSON Fife/Tayside wildfowling guide.

Tel: 01592 621539 SAFARI IN SCOTLAND Contact Andrew Richardson Tel: 07866 395975 www. safariinscotland.com hunterswind@btinternet.com SCOTSPORT Tel: 01339 889290 www.scotsportuk.com

901019 www.dvsporting.co.uk WILDFOWLING IN ABERDEENSHIRE Contact Sandy Strachan, Tel: 01779 838427 Registered goose guide. www. ansersportingservices.co.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND LOUGH FOYLE WA www.wildfowlers.com STRANGFORD LOUGH Wildfowling Club day permits to BASC members. Contact BASC HQ, Tel: 01244 573000

UK & WORLDWIDE A1 DECOY Driven Wild Boar in Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia. Monteria boar/deer and Nambian safaris Contact Mark Curtis Tel: 07860657990 www.a1decoy.co.uk AFRICAN SKY HUNTERS Contact A Williams, Tel: 01443 206333 Falconry safaris in Zimbabwe. Also big game hunts & bird shooting.

ARGENTINA WINGS www.argentinawings.com Dove & duck shooting in Argentina ARTEMIS HUNTING Contact Tomo Svetic, Tel: 07795 084055 www. artemis-hunting.com Driven boar, bear, mouflon, deer & bird shooting in Croatia.

BEAR CREEK SHOOTING PRESERVE Contact Lord Roy Thornton www.bearcreekhunts.com lordroy @aol.com Georgia, USA. Deer, hog, quail, vermin.

CHASSE DE LA BANCALIE Contact: Jean-Luc, Tel: +33 563 55 65 00 or Gary 07860 904211 Driven wild boar in S France.

CHASSE DE LA LOIRE Massif du Graffard France. Contact Michelle Hackworthy, Tel: 0033 2 41 82 32 45 www.chasseloire.com Wild boar in Loire Valley

boar in Europe & African big game.

GI COUNTRY SPORTS UK Tel: 01507 327522 or 07980 071192 pigeonwilson @ btinternet.com Dove & geese in Argentina. Driven wild boar & pheasant in CZ. GREAT NORTH COMPANY Contact Mike Rainback, Tel: 01305 853737 www.greatnorthsafaris. com Impala, warthog, blue wildebeest + more HAWKEYE SPORTING AGENCY Mike Manley, Tel: 01962 733378 www.hawkeye-sporting. co.uk UK & worldwide game, wildfowling, rough & vermin HIGHMOOR Contact Simon Dickens, Tel: (+46) 707792744 Walked-up grouse in Sweden & moose hunting LASAROTTA Tel: 01782 954710 or 07832 100524 www.lasarotta.co.uk Driven wild boar in Serbia and Croatia. Mouflon and chamois.

NATIONAL PIGEON & PEST CONTROL Contact John Shooter, Tel: 08707 572246 or 07702 012700 Pigeon shooting, rooks, crows, rabbits.

ROXTONS Pheasant & partridge shooting in the UK. Spanish partridge shooting. Dove shooting in Argentina & bird shooting in Africa Tel: 01488 683222 www.roxtons.com RIGBY SAFARIS LONDON Tel: 020 7622 1131 Wild boar/ big game worldwide SERIOUS SHOOTING LTD Contact: Robert Cuthbert, Tel: 01747 851128 www.seriousshooting.co.uk Shooting at some of Britain’s top sporting estates.

SLAV SPORTING Contact Edward Donald, Tel: 01628 851292 www.slavsporting.com Driven boar in Cz, chamois stalking in Slovenia.

SHOOTFISHINSCOTLAND Contact Paul, Tel: 07974 240738 www.shootfishinscotland.com

DELTA HUNTING Contact: Miola Giacomo, Tel: 0040 212 424372, Mob: 07979 360619, giacomo_miola@hotmail.com stalking, boar, pigeons in Romania.

SOLWAY SPORTING BREAKS Tel: 01461 700333 www. solwaysportingbreaks.co.uk

DOMAIN DE LA VALLEE DE L’ORTOLO Tel: 0033 495 7169 24. Open country boar battue in Corsica

SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE HIGHLANDS Tel: 07843 493230 www.sportingadventures.co.uk

DV SPORTING www.dvsporting.co.uk Driven wild boar in Poland.

African game shooting.

UK CUSTOM SHOP LTD Contact Andrew Banner, Tel: 01527 832549 or 07885 944469 www. wildcatrifles.co.uk for deer stalking England & Scotland

STRAHANNA STALKING Dumfries & Galloway Tel: 01644 460660

GBW SAFARIS Contact Tony Williams Tel: 01483 205090 or 07900 670660 www.gbwsafaris.net UK driven birds, driven wild

NDUNA HUNTING SAFARIS Contact David Tel: +44 (0)7866-571180 info@ kingstonedeer. com, www. kingstonedeer.com Plains game hunting in South Africa

DAVID VIRTUE Berwickshire.

Tel: 01578 740672 or 07866

SPORTING UK Tel: 01536 202779 www.sportinguk.co.uk Sport in the UK & overseas

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

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CLAY GROUNDS Find your local ground for practice, competition or instruction LONDON & S.E. BEDFORDSHIRE SPORTING TARGETS nr Riseley. 10 shooting ranges, three high towers, tuition, gun shop. Tel: (01234) 708893 www. sportingtargets.co.uk BERKSHIRE FOUR COUNTIES CTC nr Newbury. Sporting, DTL, Fitasc, tuition. Tel: (01635) 201657 www. fourcountiesctc.co.uk ROYAL BERKSHIRE SHOOTING SCHOOL Pangbourne Tel: (07000) 410410 www.rbss.co.uk BUCKINGHAMSHIRE EJ CHURCHILL SHOOTING GRND (West Wycombe SS), High Wycombe.

Sporting, high tower, Skeet, DTL, tuition, gunshop. (01494) 883227 www. ejchurchill.com www.wwsg.org.uk HORNET SHOOTING GROUND nr Long Crendon. Sporting, Fitasc.

Tel: (01494) 883715 www.adventure001.com/hornet OXFORD GUN CO GUN CLUB nr Oakley. Sporting, Skeet, have-ago days, tuition, corporate. (01844) 238308 VALLEY VIEW INTERNATIONAL Shooting Ground nr Amersham.

Sporting, Skeet, tuition, corporate.

Tel: 07860 575055 HAMPSHIRE CAVENDISH SPORTING nr Bentley Tuition. Tel: (01420) 588275 Durley Hall Farm Clay Shoot Fareham. (01489) 860292.

FAREHAM CLAY TARGET CLUB Skeet, Sporting, ABT, tuition. (01329) 315185 www.farehamctc.org.uk FROBURY FARM SPORTING CLUB nr Newbury. Sporting, Skeet, tuition, gun shop. (01635) 297122 www. frobury.co.uk LAINS SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Andover. Skeet, practice, tuition.

Tel: (01246) 889467 or 07768 632567 www.lainsshooting school.co.uk ROMSEY CLAY PIGEON CLUB Sporting. Tel: (023) 80694623 Spitfire Shoot Stockbridge. Open for practice Mon-Sat. One-to-one tuition, groups, corporate, stag/hen parties, in-field game instruction Tel: 01264 810312 Email: info@ spitfireshoot.co.uk www.spitfireshoot.co.uk TEST VALLEY CLAY PIGEON CLUB Cocksford Firs, Popham, Hants Sporting and Skeet. Every other Sunday. £35 a year membership.

Tel: 01256 771055 THREE COUNTIES NR HOOK. Sporting. Tuition. Contact Paul Beecher on 07739 556790; www. beechershooting.co.uk WALLERS ASH GUN CLUB Alresford Drove, WinchesterTel: 07710872875 email:travellingclays@btinternet. com Practice, tuition, sporting, all abilities catered for www. wallersash.co.uk HERTFORDSHIRE BROOMHILLS SHOOTING GROUND Markyate. Tuition, gunshop. Tel: (01582) 842280 www.broomhills.co.uk CODICOTE BOTTOM CLAY TARGET CLUB Codicote Bottom Farm, Kimpton road, Codicote, Herts SG4 8SR. Sporting, DTL. Alternate Sundays 10-1. Tel: 07768 714774 or 01438 814749 www.codicote-bottom.org CUPID GREEN SKEET & ABT CLUB Hemel Hempstead, Skeet & ABT Every Weds & 1st & 3rd Sat of

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month. Felt/fibre wads only Tel: 01582 849382 LEA VALLEY SHOOTING ASSN nr Hertford. Tuition, practice, have a go days. Tel: 08707 605057. www. lvsa.org.uk NUTHAMPSTEAD SG Sporting DTL, OTr, tuition, shop. Tel: (01763) 848172 www.nuthampsteadshootingground.co.uk PARK STREET & DISTRICT GC Tel: (01923) 677 294 ISLE OF WIGHT ISLE OF WIGHT GUN CLUB near Godshill. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, ABT. Tel: (01983) 567330 KENT ABBEY SHOOTING DETLING SG Skeet, Sporting. Tel: 01580 860783 / 07710 463896 GREENFIELDS SHOOTING GROUND nr Canterbury. Practice, tuition, have-a-go days. Tel: (01227) 713222 www.greenfields shooting. co.uk DARTFORD CLAY SHOOTING CLUB Sporting, Skeet, OTr, Compact. Tel: (01322) 311001 www.dartfordcsc. co.uk HIGH BROOMS GUN CLUB Meet fortnightly. Sunday morning 60-bird shoot. Pembury and Lamberhurst grounds. Visitors welcome at cost of £12. Tel: 01892 539103; email: malbow@fsmail.net INVICTA ZZ Off A21 btwn Tonbridge/ Tunbridge Wells. Helice (ZZ) only. Full Eng breakfast until cook goes to shoot.

Reg shoots only. Tel: (01580) 892542 KENT GUN CLUB near Dartford. Trap, DTL, ADT, ZZ. Free tuition to beginners. Tel: (01883) 340248 KINGSFERRY GUN CLUB Kingsferry Bridge. Skeet, Sportrap.

Non-lead shot only. Tel: (01795) 877037 MARTIN GORSE WOOD CPC nr Dover in Kent Tel: 01233 713341 web: www.martingorse.co.uk WEST KENT SHOOTING SCHOOL Paddock Wood. Sporting, Skeet and 100ft tower Tel: (01892) 834306 www.wkss.demon.co.uk LONDON A1 SHOOTING GROUND near Rowley Green. OTr, DTL, Sporting, tuition. (020) 8441 9986 www. a1sg.freeserve.co.uk WEST LONDON SHOOTING SCHOOL Northolt. 100 traps, 8 towers, tuition, restaurant, corporate. Tel: (020) 8845 1377 www.shootingschool.co.uk OXFORDSHIRE GREENFIELD ENTERTAINMENT Islip, nr Oxford. 50 Sporting, tuition. Tel: (01869) 325218 www. greenfieldentertainment.co.uk SURREY BISLEY GUN CLUB Near Brookwood.DTL. CPSA competitions held 1st & 3rd Saturday of month. Tel: (01737) 242332 www. bisleygunclub.org.uk BISLEY SHOOTING GROUND nr Brookwood, Woking. Sporting (inc towers) tuition & practice.

Open 7 days. Booking essential. Tel: (01483) 797017 www.bisleyshooting.co.uk CATERHAM CLAYS off Caterham bypass. Sporting. Tel: (01883) 622656 GATWICK CLAY SHOOTING SCHOOL Skeet, SKD, DTL, Sporting Tel:

www.sportingshooter.co.uk

Kick-start the festive season at the RBSS The Royal Berkshire Shooting School’s (RBSS) annual Turkey Shoot is a great opportunity to kick-start the festive season with a day of shooting, like-minded company, and good food.

After registration, a briefing, and a cup of tea at 9am, shooters can tackle a variety of stands set up around the grounds, with help from instructors if required. A mid-morning bowl of hot soup keeps cockles warm and bellies full until lunchtime. Once shooters have completed the course they will be welcomed back into the warmth of the lodge for a turkey dinner, courtesy of the chefs at Wild Fork, the event bar and kitchen at RBSS. 07769 701842. www.gatwickclayshootingschool.org.uk HORNE CLAY PIGEON CLUB Sporting shoots, tuition, corporate at Gatton Bottom, Markedge Lane, nr Reigate and Court Farm, Chaldon, nr Caterham on the Hill. Tel: (01342) 842986 or 07711 332097 www.clayandcountry.f2s.com NATIONAL CLAY SHOOTING CNTR Bisley. Four OTr layouts, Skeet, OS, ABT, Double Trap. T: 01483 797666 www.nsc-clays.co.uk THE STAR GUN CLUB CHESSINGTON Sporting. Tel: (020) 8898 3129 SUSSEX BLACKDOWN SHOOT Midhurst: 50 Sporting 4th Sunday of month. Fibre wads only. Also at School House Farm, Northchapel: 50 Sporting every 2nd and 5th Sunday. Tel: (01428) 707584 Mob: 07770 777679.

NORTHALL CLAY PIGEON CLUB Sporting, Compact, ABT, D/T, Skeet, tuition, corporate. Tel: (01825) 791783 OAKESFIELD SPORTING GUN CLUB Compak, Sporting, tuition and corporate Rudgwick, West Sussex Tel: 01306 740537/ 01737 222998 SOUTHDOWN SPORTING GUN CLUB nr Worthing. Sporting, Skeet, Fitasc, Sportrap, DTL, ABT, tuition. Tel: (01903) 877555 www.southdownsgc.co.uk

EAST CAMBRIDGESHIRE COUNTRY PURSUITS Chittering/Stretham. Sporting, Sportrap. Tel: (01353) 669300 FENLAND GC Washbrooke Farm, Benwick Road, Doddington. Tel: 01354 655583 GRANSDEN AIRFIELD SG Tel: (01767) 627663 www. gransdenshootingground.co.uk HADDON LODGE SHOOTING Ground nr Peterborough. Sporting incl tower, tuition.Tel: (01733) 240119 www.haddon-lodge.co.uk HIGH HARTHAY SG Tel: 07956 293390, www.hhsg.co.uk MOVING TARGETS Gt Eversden 50 ESP practice 2nd & 4th Sundays. Contact: Tel. 07811815499 or www.mobileclayshooting.co.uk ESSEX BUSH HILL CLAY CLUB nr Billericay. Sporting. Tel. (01277)

220974 CLACTON GUN CLUB Little Clacton. Esp, Skeet, DTL. Tel: (01255) 673146 COLCHESTER GARRISON Clay Pigeon Club Sporting. Tel: 01206 576 756 (Chairman), 01206 392 357 (Secretary) ESSEX SHOOTING GROUND nr Harlow. Tel: 01245 283534, www. essexshooting ground.com FENNES SHOOTING SCHOOL Braintree CM7 5PL Tel: 01376 324599 www.fennesclays.co.uk FOWES CLAY CLUB Belchamp Otten. 01787 312930 www.fowesclayclub.org.uk MAYLAND & DISTRICT GUN CLUB ESK, DTL, compact. (01268) 470 323 ORION GUN CLUB nr Brentwood Sporting, Skeet, DTL. 07000 486258 www.gunclub.co.uk PARKFORD SHOOTING CENTRE Skeet, Sporting, DTL. Tel: (01255) 820230 SOUTHEND GUN CLUB nr Rochford Tel: (01702) 219395 THREE ACRES SPORTING CLAYS Leaden Roding. Sporting, pool. Tel: 07768 742117 WALTHAM ABBEY SHOOTING GRND Sporting, tuition. Tel: 07768 742117 www.claypigeonshoot.co.uk SPELLBROOK CSC SPORTING Tuition. Tel: (01279) 419427 www. spellbrookclays.co.uk NORFOLK MID NORFOLK SHOOTING GROUND Taverham, nr Norwich. Sportig, Skeet, ABT, DTL, Airgun range 121 & Corporate. Tuition by appt. www.midnorfolkshootingschool.com SUFFOLK BADWELL ASH GC nr Bury St Edmunds. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, ABT. Tel: 01359 259547 BARROW HEATH GUN CLUB nr New- market. Sporting.Tel: (01322) 405226 HIGH LODGE SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Saxmundham. Skeet, SkD, DTL, Sporting. Tel: (01986) 784347 www. highlodge.co.uk LAKENHEATH CLAY TARGET CLUB Between Mildenhall and Brandon.

Skeet, DTL, Sportrap, gun room, tuition. Food. Tel: (01638) 533353 www.lctc.co.uk

NORTH WEST CHESHIRE SOUTH CHESHIRE CLAY CLUB

Prizes will be awarded for various categories, such as Top Team, Top Gun, Top Lady, Turkey Conservationists, and more.

RBSS recommends that shooters wear weather-appropriate attire, but also advise that there is a prize for the best dressed!

The shoot dates are 9, 15, and 16 December, and the day costs £99 per person.

To book your place call 01491 672900 or email info@rbss.co.uk Alasger Nr Crewe, 1/2 mile from junction 16 M6, Cheshire, North West ENGLISH SPORTING SHOOT tuition, refreshments, Tel: 07768570132 Catton Hall Shooting Ground nr Frodsham. Practice, tuition, corporate. (01928) 788295 CLOUDSIDE SHOOTING GROUND nr Congleton. Skeet, DTL, Compak, Sportrap, ABT, OT. Tel: 01260 226392. www.cloudside.co.uk MIDDLE FARM CLAY SHOOT Bredbury. Tel: 0161 4302492 North Wales Shooting School nr Chester.

Sporting, Skeet, OS, Fitasc, tuition, practice. Tel: (01244) 812219 www. shootingschool.net CUMBRIA PENRITH & DISTRICT GUN CLUB DTL, Sporting, ABT. 01697 342062 KENDAL & DISTRICT TARGET CLUB Kendal, Cumbria. DTL esc b trap Tel Colin Phillips 01539 560298 ISLE OF MAN AYRE CLAY PIGEON CLUB Skeet, DTL, ABT, Double-Trap, UT, OT and Sporting. Tel: 01624 880744 www.bluepointshooting.co.uk LANCASHIRE A6 CLAY TARGET CENTRE Westhoughton, nr Bolton. ABT, DTL, Skeet, Sportrap, tuition, restaurant.

Tel: 01942 843578 www.a6ctc.co.uk BLACKPOOL GUN CLUB nr Kirkham Preston. Sporting. Tel: 07730 409415 KELBROOK SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Foulridge. (01282) 861632 RUNNING HILL CLAY PIGEON CLUB Sporting clays, Saddleworth www. running-hill-cpc.co.uk WITHETS SHOOTING GROUND Nr. Carnforth Lancashire M6 J35 Sporting; ABT; DTL; Skeet; Practice; Tuition by appointment Tel 07967 194120 www.withetsclayshoot.co.uk MANCHESTER CLAY SHOOTING CLUB Sporting, Skeet, tuition, club house. Tel: 0161 653 4438 www. manchesterclayshooting.com

SOUTH WEST CORNWALL CART RIDGE SHOOTING CLUB 1⁄2m east of A38 btwn Landrake & Tideford. Sporting, tuition. Tel: 01752 851262 COUNTY GUN CLUB Tel: 01579 363301 Imerys Gun Club 01726 823895 NORTH CORNWALL GUN CLUB nr North Petherwin. DTL, tuition. Tel:

(01566) 785550 TRAX AND TRAILS ACTIVITY CNTR Tamar Valley. Tuition. Tel: (01579) 384714 www.traxandtrails.co.uk Devon ASHCOMBE SHOOTING GROUND nr Dawlish. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, high tower, tuition. Tel: (01626) 866766 www.ashcombeadventure.co.uk AXMINSTER GUN CLUB DTL tuition. Tel: (01404) 881588 Bradford Shooting Ground, Skeet, Sporting, DTL, ABT. Tel: (01409) 281341 CULM VALE GUN CLUB nr Cullompton. Sporting. Tel: (01460) 234245 CWA SHOOTING GROUND Winnards Perch, Wadebridge, Cornwall. Skeet and Sporting clays, contact Mike Holmes 01872 864021 FOUR SEASONS GUN CLUB East Hill Strips, nr Ottery St Mary.

Skeet, Sporting, Compact. Tel: (01395) 278862 NEWNHAM PARK SG nr Plymouth. Sporting, Skeet, ABT, DTL, Sportrap, tuition. Tel: (01752) 343456 www.newnham.co.uk NORTH DEVON SG nr Ilfracombe. Sporting, practice & tuition. Tel: 01271 863959 or 01271 850393 ndsg@hotmail.co.uk SHALDEN SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Shillingford. Sporting. Tel: (01398) 331021 www.shaldenshootingschool.co.uk SOUTH WEST SHOOTING SCHOOL Lynton Cross. Sporting, Compact.

Tel: 01271 862545 TAMAR SHOOTING GROUND Bradworthy. Tel (01409) 241839 www.waterland-days.co.uk DEVON NORTH DEVON FIELD SPORTS Southdown Adventure Centre Nr Barnstaple. DTL, Sporting, Sports Trap, Practice and tuition Tel: 01271 858791 www.devonfieldsports.co.uk DORSET PURBECK SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Poole. Sporting, Skeet, OS, Fitasc, Sportrap. Tel: (01929) 405101 www. shooting.uk.com SOUTHERN COUNTIES SHOOTING GROUND Sporting, Skeet, OS, Fitasc, Sportrap, DTL, ABT, tower. Tel: (01935) 83625 GLOUCESTERSHIRE CHATCOMBE ESTATE S SCHOOL nr Cheltenham. Sporting, Fitasc, OT,

GROUND OWNERS: Send any updates to Clay Ground Guide, Sporting Shooter, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berks RG40 2EG

gunshop. Tel: (01242) 870391 COTSWOLD CLAY PIGEON CLUB Fosse Way, nr Stow. Sporting, pool.

Tel: (01451) 821431 GLOUCESTER CLAY SHOOTING CLUB on the A38 between Tewkesbury & Gloucester. Skeet, OS. Tel: (01452) 739472 or 07785 508238.

IAN COLEY SHOOTING SCHOOL Nr. Cheltenham ESP & DTL Practice – Pay & Play. Tuition by Appt. Tel: 01242 870391 www.iancoley.co.uk LONGRIDGE SHOOTING GROUND Bromsberrow Heath, Ledbury Tel: (07971) 447138 MORK CLAY CLUB nr St Briavels. Sporting. Tel: (01594) 530102 PRESCOTT SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Cheltenham, Practice, Tuition, Corporate Simulated game days.

High Tower, ESP Sportrap. Tel: (01242) 673542 or 07921 951477 www.prescottshooting.com STROUD & DISTRICT CLAY SHOOTING CLUB nr Bisley. Skeet, OS, DTL. Tel: (01453) 764443 WESTFIELD SHOOTING GROUND Sporting, tuition, groups, corporate & simulated game. Tel: 0870 6091751 www.the clayshootingcompany.com SOMERSET BROOK BANK SHOOTING GROUND nr Cheddar. Sporting, Skeet, UT, DTL, ABT, tutition & corporate. Tel: 01749 871055. www.brookbankshooting.co.uk IVYTHORN SPORTING nr Street. Compact Sporting under cover. Tuition & corporate. Tel: (01458) 447120 or 07970 151321 www.ivythornsporting.co.uk MENDIP SHOOTING GROUND nr Wells. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, ABT, clubhouse, gunshop. Tel: (01749) 673471 PODIMORE SHOOTING GROUND Ilchester. Sporting, Fitasc, Sportrap. Tel: (01935) 862510 www. podimore-shooting.co.uk SHIPHAM SPORTING CLAYS nr Clevedon. Sporting, tuition, practice. Tel: (01275) 877851 VALLEY SHOOTING GROUND info@valleycalyshoot.co.uk WOODSPRING CLAY SHOOT Wick St Lawrence, nr Weston super Mare. Sporting/ 50-bird practice/ private parties. Tel: 07503 766373 WILTSHIRE BARBURY SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Swindon. Tuition, corporate, Sporting, FITASC, Compact, Skeet. Tel: 07872 666154 www. barburyshoot.com BASSETT BREAKERS GUN CLUB Flaxlands Shooting Ground, nr Swindon. Sporting. Tel: (01793) 750801 CADLEY CLAY SHOOTING GROUND nr Marlborough. Sporting, practice, tutition, corporate.Tel: (01672) 512052 www.cadleyclays.co.uk URCHFONT CLAY PIGEON CLUB nr Devizes. DTL, Sporting. Tel: (01380) 721218 WOOD FARM CLAY SHOOTING CLUB nr Warminster. Skeet, DTL, Sporting.

Tel: (01747)860471

MIDLANDS DERBYSHIRE BAKEWELL & WIRKSWORTH CPC nr Brassington. Sporting. Tel: (01629) 814395 DARLEY DALE CPSC

nr Brassington. Sporting. Tel: (01629) 733161 DOVERIDGE CLAY SHOOTING CLUB nr Doveridge. Skeet, DTL, Sporting.

Tel:(01889)565986 LOWES LANE SHOOTING GROUND nr Swadlincote. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, high tower, flush, tuition. Tel: (01332) 866800 OCKBROOK SPORTING CLAYS nr Derby. Tel: (01773) 714731 YEAVELEY ESTATE nr Ashbourne. Sporting, Tuition. Tel: (01335) 330247 HEREFORD & WORCESTER LONGRIDGE SHOOTING GROUND M50 (Jn 2) Tel: 07971 447138 SOUTH WORCESTER SG nr Upton-upon-Severn. DTL, Sporting, Practice, tuition. Tel: (01684) 310605 www.swsg.co.uk WORCESTERSHIRE GUN CLUB IIIey, W Midlands. ABT, Sporting. Tel: 07836 225580 www.w-g-c.co.uk WYRE FOREST GUNS nr Button Oak. Sporting. Tel: (01299) 403730 LEICESTERSHIRE BAGWORTH MINERS CPC nr Coalville. DTL, Sporting, ABT. (01530) 260816 GRANGE FARM SC nr Desford. Sporting, Skeet, OS, DTL, ABT. Tel: (01455) 822208 HOTON CLAY CLUB Sporting. Tel: 0116 230 2311 www. hoton-clay-club.co.uk KEGWORTH SHOOTING GROUND (YS) Sporting Tel: 07973 111 650 Long Lane, 1 1/2 miles due north of Kegworth Village, at its junction with Ratcliffe lane. Nearest Sat nav: one mile south of the ground DE74 2GA. KIBWORTH SHOOTING GROUND Off A6 Kibworth-Market Harborough Rd. Sporting Skeet, DTL, Tower, Fitasc, Sportrap, flush. Tuition. Tel: 01162 796001 rose@kibworthshootingground.co.uk MARKET HARBOROUGH & DISTRICT SC Sporting, Skeet, OS, DTL. Tel: (01858) 463698 NORMANTON SHOOTING GROUND nr Thurlaston. Sporting, ABT, DT Tel: (01455) 888210 SPA VALE SHOOTING GROUND nr Lutterworth. Tel: 0116 247 8917 www.spa-vale.co.uk LINCOLNSHIRE ANCHOLME VALLEY CLAY TARGET CLUB Kirton Lindsey Airfield. ESK, SKD, DTL, ABT, Sporting. Tel: (01777) 818362 ancholme-valley-ctc.org.uk GRIMSTHORPE ESTATE SG nr Eden-ham. Sporting. Tel: (01778) 591128 HAVEN CLAY SHOOTING CLUB Haven Bank, New York, LN4 4XR. Enquiries to Graham Fordham 07854227175. 30-bird Sporting, DTL, family days, friendly club. Visit havencpc.webs.com for shooting dates.

LINCS CLAY CLUB Church Lane, South Clifton, Nr Lincoln, Lincolnshire NG23 7AW, www.lincsclayclub.co.uk LINCOLNSHIRE SHOOTING GROUND Sutton Bridge. Sporting, Skeet, ABT, Sportrap, tower, tuition, restaurant, corporate.Tel: (01406) 359300/ (01945) 700622 www.shooting4you.co.uk PINEWOOD SHOOTING GROUND nr Gainsborough. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, OT, D/T, Compact. Tel: (01427) 628900. www. pinewood-sg.fsnet.co.uk SINCLAIRS SHOOTING GROUND

Whaplode Drove, nr Holbeach. Skeet, Sporting, Compact, ABT & DTL. Open Weds-Sun, all year. Tel: (01406) 540362.

SPA VALE SHOOTING GROUND Coventry Road (Near to Magna Park) Lutterworth, Tel No. 0116 2478917 www.spa-vale.co.uk

ABT. Tel: (01788) 573257 WEDGNOCK SHOOTING GROUND Sporting, Skeet, DTL, Sportrap.

Tel: 01926 491948 www.adventuresport. co.uk

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE A614 SHOOTING GROUND Near Nottingham, tuition. Tel: (0115) 9656144 COCKETT FARM SHOOTING GRND nr Mansfield. Sporting, Skeet, STr, White Gold, tuition. Tel: (01623) 882244 www.cockettfarm.com NOTTINGHAM & DISTRICT GC DTL, Skeet, OS. Tel: (0115) 9273492 ORSTON SHOOTING GROUND Sporting, Skeet, Sportrap, DTL, ABT, D/Rise, Trench, practice, tuition, corporate and shop. Tel: (01949) 851181 or 07831 221110 www. orston.com OXTON SHOOTING SCHOOL Sporting, Skeet, Compact, Sportrap, ABT, DTL, Fitasc, tuition, shop. Tel: (01623) 882523 STILEHOLLOW SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Mansfield. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, ABT, tower, tuition. (01623) 823930 www.stilehollow.com

CO DURHAM SPENNYMOOR & DISTRICT Clay Pigeon Club Sporting, Skeet, ABT, DTL. Tel: (0191) 3772412 www.keithbutterwick.com/ spennymoor

NORTHAMPTON NORTHAMPTON SHOOTING GRND Skeet, DTL, ABT, tuition. (01604) 642252 northamptonshootingground.co.uk SHROPSHIRE BRIDGNORTH & DISTRICT GUN CLUB nr Wolverhampton. DTL. Tel: (01562) 883092 WEST MIDLANDS SG Sporting,Skeet, ABT, Compact, Fitasc, ABT, gun room. Tel: (01939) 200644 www.wmsg.co.uk STAFFORDSHIRE CROSS GUN CLUB nr Kinver. Sporting year-round, ABT in summer. Tel: (01384) 873017 or 07973 875449 GARLANDS SHOOTING GROUND Tamworth. Sporting, OT, DTL, Skeet.

Tel: (01827) 383300 KINGSLEY MOOR SG nr Alton Towers. Sporting. Tel: (01782) 550371 LEEK & DGC Sporting. Tel: (01538) 386127 QUARNFORD SHOOTING GROUND nr Leek. Sporting. Tel: (01298) 22204 RANTON CLAY TARGET CLUB DTL, ABT, Sporting. (01782) 611775.

RODBASTON GUN CLUB Sporting & tuition, Weds eves. www. shotgun.me.uk MILLRIDE COUNTRY SPORTS Sporting, Skeet. Off junction 1 of the M54. WV11 2AZ. 01902 725 165 www.millride-country-sports.co.uk OAKEDGE SHOOTING GROUND Sporting, Fitasc Sporting, High Skeet, DTL. (01889) 881391 WERGS GUN CLUB nr Essington. Sporting, Skeet.

(01922) 476508 WARWICKSHIRE BARBY SPORTING CLUB nr Rugby. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, Compact. Tel: (01788) 891873 www.barbysporting.com EDGEHILL SHOOTING GROUND nr Banbury. Sporting, Skeet, OS, DTL, ABT, Compact. Tuition & corporate. (01295) 670100 HONESBERIE SHOOTING GROUND Sporting, tuition, corporate.Tel: (01327) 260302 www.honesberieshooting.co.uk RUGBY & DISTRICT TRAP CLUB

YORKSHIRE & N.E.

EAST YORKSHIRE EAST YORKSHIRE GUN CLUB nr Beverley. Skeet, OS, SKd, DTL, ABT, UTR, Sporting. Tel: (01964) 551134 HUMBERSIDE SHOOTING GROUND nr Beverley. Skeet, DTL, ABT, Compact, White Gold. Tel: (01964) 544357. www.pthorn.co.uk/ shootingground MONCKTON SG N. Newbald, Tel: 01430 827229. www. moncktonshoot.co.uk NORTH WOLDS GUN CLUB Sporting, DTL, tuition. Tel: (01759) 368314 PARK LODGE SHOOTING SCHOOL East Yorkshire DTL, ESK, ESP, ADT. Practice and lessons available. Tel: 07919 694587 NORTH YORKSHIRE CONISTON SHOOTING GROUND nr Skipton. Tel: 07831 399860 KNARESBOROUGH & DISTRICT GC Sporting, Skeet, DTL, ABT. Tel: (01423) 561174.

NORTH OF ENGLAND CTC nr Rufforth. Sporting, Skeet, OS, DTL, ABT. Tel: (01904) 738120.

NORTH YORKSHIRE SHOOTING School nr Thirsk. 07966 387273 northyorkshireshootingschool.com THIMBLEBY SHOOTING GROUND nr Osmotherley. Sporting, Sportrap, tuition, corporate. Tel: (01642) 351725 Mob: 07776 223609 WARREN GILL SHOOTING GROUND nr Ripon Tel: (01765) 689232 www. warrengill.co.uk NORTHUMBERLAND BYWELL SHOOTING GROUND nr Felton. Skeet, DTL, ABT, tower, shop. Tel: (01670) 787827 www. bywellshootingground.com STEVE SMITH SG nr Dinnington. Sporting, DTL, Skeet, ABT. Tel: (01661) 822444. www. stevesmiths.co.uk SOUTH YORKSHIRE FOX HOUSE CLAY SPORTS Sporting, tuition, corporate. Tel: (0114) 2663822 or 07976 5211369 SYCAMORE SHOOTING GROUNDS Sporting, DTL, D/R, tuition, corporate. Tel:(0114) 272 4602 WEST YORKSHIRE BATLEY & DISTRICT GUN CLUB nr Morley. Sporting Tel: (01484)711874 EMLEY CLAYSHOOT Sporting every 2nd Sunday. Tuition available. Mob: 07814 538927 GREYSTONE WOOD SHOOTING GRND nr Otley. Sporting. Mob: 07960 352123 HOLMFIRTH SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Huddersfield. Skeet, DTL, ABT, Tel: (01484) 685464

N. IRELAND FOYMORE LODGE off the A4 in Co Armagh (signed from Portadown & M1 j12). Sporting, instruction, club house. www. foymorelodge.com

WALES CRYNANT SHOOTING GROUND Port Talbot, South Wales. Sporting, Skeet, OS, DTL, ABT, tuition, corporate. Tel: (01639) 881185 eurotrap.co.uk DOVEY VALLEY SHOOTING GRND Llanwrin, Machynlleth, Powys.

Sporting, Skeet, DTL, sim game, practice, tuition, corporate. (01650) 511252. www.doveyvalley.co.uk GRIFFIN-LLOYD SHOOTING GRND Mid-Wales, Welsh Marches.

Sporting, ABT, OT, tuition. Tel: (01547) 550634 Nwww.griffinlloyd. co.uk FAUXDEGLA SHOOTING GROUND North Wales. DTL, ABT, Skeet. Tel: 01978 790198 MID WALES SC nr Llanidloes. DTL, ABT. Tel: (01686) 430654 NORTH WALES SS SEALAND nr Chester. DTL, OT. Tel: (01244) 812219 SOUTH WALES 2000 nr Newbridge. Sporting, Skeet, OT, ABT, DTL, tuition, clubhouse.

Tel: (01495) 201182 southwales2000. com TREETOPS SG nr Newport, 5 min from M4 j28.

Sporting, tuition. (01633) 681197 WOODLAND PARK SHOOTING GRND Brecon. Sporting, tuition, corporate. Tel: 078111 89413 www.wpshoot.co.uk

SCOTLAND AUCHTERHOUSE COUNTRY SPORTS nr Dundee. Sporting, Fitasc, Skeet, DTL. Tel: (01382) 320476 www. treemac.co.uk ARRAN GUN CLUB ISLE OF ARRAN nr Altnaharra. Tel:(01549) 411245 BRAIDWOOD SG nr Selkirk. Tel: (01835) 870280 www.braidwoodsc.co.uk BURNTKETTLE SG AULDGARTH nr Dumfries. DTL, Skeet, Sporting.

Tel: 01848 331131.

BUTE CLAY TARGET CLUB Kingarth. Tel: (01700) 500274 Cairndow Clay Target Club Argyll.

DTL. Tel:(01499) 600201 CARLISLE & DISTRICT GUN CLUB nr Wigton. Tel: (01697) 331452 CENTRAL SCOTLAND SHOOTING SCHOOL nr Falkirk. OSK, DTL, ABT. Tel: (01324) 851672 CLAY TARGET SHOOTING SCHOOL Houston, Renfrewshire. Sporting.

Tel: (01505) 873547 www.claytargetshootingschool.co.uk CLUNY CLAYS Fife. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, Compact, flush, tuition, restaurant.

Tel:(01592) 720374 www.clunyclays.com COWANS LAW MOSCOW Ayrshire. Sporting, DTL. Tel: (01560) 700666 cowanslaw.com CORTACHY GUN CLUB nr Egnomoss. DTL, practice. Tel: (01307) 860239 DALVENNAN COUNTRY SPORTS nr Kirkmichael. DTL, ABT, Sporting, Skeet, gun shop, tuition. (01292) 531134 DRUMMOND SHOOTING GROUND at Drummond Castle Estate. Tel: (01764) 681262 DUNOON & DISTRICT GUN CLUB Tel: (01369) 704362 DUNS & DISTRICT GUN CLUB nr Cockburnspath, off the A1. Sport-

ing usually last Sunday of month.

Tel: (01361) 883500 FALKIRK & DISTRICT SPORTING CC Tel: (01236) 726159 FORREST ESTATE SHOOTING GRND St John’s Town of Dalry, Dumfries and Galloway. Sporting / Sportrap / Practice / Tuition / Corporate Tel: (01644) 430469 or 07747 691447 www.forrestestateexperiences.com GARNOCK VALLEY SPORTING GC Shoots every Sunday, mainly sporting birds to simulate game.

Based Ayrshire.Tel: John Noble, 01560 482162 garnockvalleygunclub.webs.com GLENDARUEL GUN CLUB Tel: (01369) 820217 HARRIS GUN CLUB nr Urgha. Tel: 07919037588 HIGHLAND DEEPHAVEN CPC nr Evanton. Tel: (01349) 864315 Isle of Jura nr Craighouse. Tel: (01496) 820396 KINGSCLIFF SHOOTING LODGE Aberdeenshire. Sporting, Skeet, DTL, ABT, Fitasc. Tel: (01651) 806375 KIPPEN GUN CLUB nr Stirling. Tel: (01786) 465125 KIRKCUBRIGHT GUN CLUB nr Gibbhill. Tel: (01557) 330447 KNAPDALE GUN CLUB Achnamara. Tel: (01546) 606989 LINDERTIS WOODS SG 3 miles west of Kirriemuir on A926. Sporting, Fitasc, tuition. Tel: (01575) 572501 LOCH NESS GUN CLUB DTL, Skeet. Tel: (01320) 351295 Lorn Gun Club Tel:(01631) 564431 Millport Clay Pigeon Association.

Tel: (01475) 530367 MONKLANDS & DISTRICT GC nr Carmichael. Tel: (01555) 840562 MORTON CLAY TARGETS Midcalder, nr Edinburgh. Tel: 01506 884500 www.mortonclaytargets.co.uk NORTH AYRSHIRE SHOOTING GRND nr Dalry. Sporting, DTL, Skeet, tuition. Tel: (01294) 833297 ORKNEY CLAY PIGEON CLUB St Ola. Tel: (01856) 874853 PITGRUDY SHOOTING GROUND Sutherland. Compact, sporting, skeet Tel: (01862) 810291 ROTHIEMURCHUS SG apx 3 miles East of Aviemore. Sporting, DTL, tuition. Tel: (01479) 811272 SCOTTISH CLAY SHOOTING CNTR nr Leuchars, Fife. Tel: (01592) 742835 SEALS COVE SHOOTING GROUND Earnsheugh Bay, Findon, Aberdeen.

(01224) 781742. Shop: 01224 580179.

SHANDON COUNTRY PURSUITS LTD nr Helensburgh. Sporting, tuition.

Tel: (01436) 820838 SHETLAND CLAY PIGEON CLUB nr Lerwick. ABT, DTL, Skeet. Tel: (01950) 477381 Shootfish@ Bogbain Farm nr Inverness - 3 miles south on A9. Sporting. Tel: (01463) 772800 STRATHYRE GUN CLUB nr Comrie. DTL, tuition. Tel:(01764) 670013 SUNART & MOIDART CTC nr Salen. Tel: (01967) 431602 TARBERT GUN CLUB DTL, Dtl, Sporting, tuition. Tel: 01880) 820482 THORNHILL GUN CLUB Dumfriesshire. Sporting, DTL. Tel: (01556) 504124 WEST OF EDINBURGH SHOOTING CLUB Tel: 07749 503934 www.wesc. agurney.com

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