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29 JUNE 2016

IMPROVE YOUR HIT RATE

GUNDOGS WHY CITY DOGS CAN MAKE GREAT WORKERS

Cartridges on review Award-winning shooting ground Six of the best clay traps

PIGEON DECOYING How to put more woodies in the bag on laid crops

COUNTRY CR AF TS

TOP LEATHER WORK AT AN EXMOOR SADDLERY

WILDLIFE

SECRET WORLD OF BRITISH BATS

29.06.16 Issue 5,990

A great opportunity for positive change It will take time for the far-reaching implications of the referendum result to become clear, but there is no doubt that the countryside will see huge change in the coming years. So much of our legislation relating to wildlife came from Brussels and in filling the gap it is hoped that both government and non-governmental organisations seize the opportunity to create sensible home-grown laws that recognise the value of shooting. There is a great opportunity to shape policy for the good of shooting, the environment and the rural community, which will in turn benefit society as a whole. Back on the ground, we are excited to have the first barn owl chicks on our little roughshoot. We saw an adult in the box in the second year it was put up and this year I’m delighted that they have bred successfully and are hunting continually in the long grass margins on the farm. Another beautiful sight on the shoot was a fallow fawn discovered in the long grass, all evidence of wildlife thriving on a small shoot. This week has a clayshooting theme. Lewis Potter reviews his favourite cartridges in a range of gauges (p.32), Robin Scott visits the award-winning Coniston ground (p.34) and Graham Downing reports from Walking With the Wounded’s charity day (p.16), plus six of the best clay traps (p.25). Also in this issue Liam Bell advises on how to care for your covercrops to get the best out of them, and we look back at the gundogs of yesterday (p.20). Good shooting!

Contents 16

Shooting with heroes Walking With the Wounded charity day

Great dogs of yesterday Setter success in the shooting field

Caring for your cover Looking after your gamecrops

Crafting leather together A family-run Devon saddlery business

Cartridges for clays What the best makes have to offer

The secret world of bats All about the mysterious flying mammal

Joe Dimbleby, Editor

Contents / Regulars NEWS & OPINION

REGULARS

04 NEWS 10 LETTERS

13 COUNTRY DIARY 15 GAMEKEEPER

FEATURES 16 CHARITY SHOOT 26 PIGEON SHOOTING 30 RURAL BUSINESS 32 CLAYSHOOTING 34 CLAYSHOOTING 38 WILDLIFE

20 22 25 42 46

VINTAGE TIMES ON YOUR SHOOT PRODUCTS GUNDOGS SPORTING ANSWERS 51 CROSSWORD 53 FISHING 58 SHARPSHOOTER

‘‘The wildlife of today is not ours to dispose of as we please. We have it in trust. We must account for it to those who come after.’’ King George VI SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

29 JUNE 2016 • 3

Get in touch / shootinguk.co.uk twitter.com/shootingtimes facebook.com/shootingtimesuk mark.layton@timeinc.com Rural communities should now have a greater say in the decisions that affect them, says the CLA

Rural groups highlight scope for new opportunities after EU vote The UK vote to leave the European Union should reduce red tape and present new markets but fresh arrangements need to be in place urgently, say countryside groups

S. JAUNCEY, P. QUAGLIANA, NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

ural businesses must work together to stay profitable and create opportunity as the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU), say country groups. Around 52 per cent of voters opted to leave the EU in last Thursday’s referendum, prompting David Cameron to announce he will step down as Prime Minister before October. Rural groups have now said no time should be wasted to ensure the Government constructs new arrangements to benefit the industry. BASC chairman Peter Glenser said: “BASC will carry out the hard work that is needed to ensure that the legal framework in which we operate is fit for purpose and benefits shooting and the countryside.” Commenting on Mr Cameron’s resignation, Mr Glenser added: “David Cameron has been a good friend of shooting and the countryside. “As Prime Minister he has intervened on several occasions to

4 • 29 JUNE 2016

ensure that the Government acted to benefit shooting sports.” CLA president Ross Murray signalled his confidence in the ability of farmers and rural businesses to create opportunities outside the EU, He commented: “There will be a significant amount of change in the weeks, months and years ahead. This will bring challenges but also significant opportunities.

turn these desires into a reality.” The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) said the UK should grasp this “fantastic opportunity” and lead by example for conservation and farming. A spokesman said: “The UK has a proud tradition of leading by example. Today it has the chance to do just this for farming and the environment. “Few are expecting the wholesale

“The UK has a tradition of leading by example. It now has the chance to do just this for the environment” “Millions of people have voted for a new and different future for the UK. They have seen the opportunity to exploit new global markets, to reduce the red tape that stiﬂes their ability to run their farm or business and to have a greater say in decisions that affect them and their rural communities. “The CLA will be working to ensure that existing and future governments

removal of existing UK legislation passed in support of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives but the biggest threat to the farmed environment could now come from the wish of all parties to phase out the farm Basic Payment Scheme. “The impact on smaller farms and those farming in more marginal areas could be profound. The GWCT urges

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

the Government to design and fund new agri-environment schemes that are more ﬂexible and free from the red tape that came from Europe.” National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Meurig Raymond added: “The vote to leave the EU will inevitably lead to a period of uncertainty in a number of areas that are of vital importance to Britain’s farmers. “The NFU will engage fully and constructively with the British Government to construct new arrangements. This needs to happen as soon as possible. “Our members will rightly want to know the impact on their businesses as a matter of urgency. We understand that the negotiations will take some time to deliver but it is vital that there is early commitment by the Government to ensure British farming is not disadvantaged.” TimBonner,CEOofthe CountrysideAlliance,said:“Wewill bemakingsurethatthevoice of the countryside is heard.”

The NFU has said the delays in the “Roundup” reauthorisation have set a dangerous precedent for the 41 active ingredients up for renewal between now and Cereals 2017. The NFU said there is a need for new thinking as to how the industry as a whole lobbies on plant protection products, involving extra effort from lobbyists and farmers alike.

They said what?

“This opportunity to see ﬁrst-hand the work being done in the uplands is vital to ensuring that the conservation debate features representation from those out there doing the work, and we are avid supporters of the Moorland Groups and all the work that they do.” Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner highlights how social media can help promote moorland management.

New BASC chairman and vice-chairman elected Peter Glenser was elected chairman of BASC at the association’s Annual General Meeting in Chester on Saturday, 18 June. John Thornley was elected vice-chairman and Oliver McCullough was elected chairman of the executive and ﬁnance committee. All were elected unanimously. The results of this year’s BASC Council election were announced at the AGM. Four candidates stood for the national seat, with Cara Richardson taking the majority. The election for the English national seat was uncontested

and therefore Robin MarshallBall was elected unopposed. New Council chairman Peter Glenser said: “I would like to

Peter Glenser was unanimously elected the new BASC chairman

thank all of the members who took the time to attend this year’s AGM and again congratulate all of our award winners. “All of us on Council would like to welcome our new members. Cara and Robin bring with them a wealth of expertise and we are delighted to have them on board. “I would like to thank my fellow members of council for electing me chairman. I look forward to getting stuck in to my new role.” The BASC Council election results were as follows: Kevin Byrne, 180 votes Michael Alldis, 600 votes Allen Musselwhite, 732 votes Cara Richardson, 1,227 votes

Strong demand in Scotland for gamekeeping recruits Interest in gamekeeping as a vocation is ﬂying high, according to Scotland’s rural colleges. Lecturers at North Highland College (UHI), SRUC Elmwood Campus (Cupar) and Borders College say gamekeeping and wildlife management courses are attracting strong demand from sporting estates for recently qualiﬁed gamekeepers and modern apprenticeships. “Scotland’s rural industry is ever changing and to keep abreast of new legislation, conservation measures as well as best practice out on the moors,

Students gain work experience as well as a national qualiﬁcation

combining tutor-led learning with extensive practical placements is paramount,” said David Olds, lecturer at UHI. “Our modern apprenticeship course is a great springboard for those keen to get into the industry, offering a combination of work-based and college training. Students have the dual beneﬁt of gaining a recognised qualiﬁcation and work experience during placements on an estate. “We have worked tirelessly on promoting a better understanding of the role modern keepers play and feedback from estate owners is that the skills obtained by our students on the modern apprenticeship, HNC and NC courses are an essential part of equipping the next generation of gamekeepers to manage our countryside.” Jim Goodlad, gamekeeping and wildlife management

lecturer at SRUC Elmwood, added: “It is imperative that the modern gamekeeper is a highly trained professional possessing an accomplished skill set combining theory with hands-on experience. Demand for our gamekeeping NC course is extremely high and, having received more than 70 applications for 20 places, we are fully subscribed for the new term. “This year we had nine students gaining full-time jobs across a variety of gamekeeping disciplines including grouse, pheasant, deer and wildlife conservation, as well as many attaining seasonal placements – a great success rate given that many of the remaining students are going on to further education.” Grouse shooting plays a major part in the £200million that is generated for the economy by shooting and stalking every year.

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

To do this week Do you have any frozen

E A T duck left? Now that fennel

and raspberries are in season, why not put them to good use in a duck breast salad? The recipe is a great way to eat game in the summer sun, as it combines duck with asparagus, sweet potato and pickled fennel and is rounded off with a raspberry vinaigrette, which makes this dish taste as good as it looks. For the full recipe and all the ingredients, visit Shooting UK at http://po.st/ DuckSalad. Several countryside

R E A D books have made the

Wainwright Prize longlist. The prize is back to celebrate the best books on the outdoors, nature and UK travel. A shortlist of six books will be announced on Thursday, 30 June. The winner will then be revealed at the Countryﬁle Live! event at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, on Friday, 5 August. To view the longlist, visit www.wainwrightprize.com. BASC requires

V O L U N T E E R volunteers to

assist with the BASC Chudleys Scurry (below) league event at the Kent County Show from 8 to 10 July. If you would like to help, contact BASC South East regional director Dan Reynolds, tel 07787 888541 or email dan.reynolds@basc.co.uk.

Seek Thermal has revealed

B U Y its ﬁrst affordable

professional grade infrared thermal imaging camera for the smartphone. The Seek CompactPRO weighs less than 0.5oz and plugs directly into an iOS or Android smartphone device for instant connect-anddetect convenience. For more information, visit www.thermal.com.

29 JUNE 2016 • 5

NEWS

Email your stories / mark.layton@timeinc.com

BASC says LACS’s video was a conscious attempt to mislead the public

EVENTS DIARY 2- 3 J U LY COTSWOLD SHOW & FOOD FESTIVAL Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire Tel 01285 652007 5 J U LY OXFORDSHIRE SHOOT WALK Heythrop, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire Tel 07785 308282 7 J U LY SHOTGUN SAFETY OFFICER COURSE DBC Leisure, Trowgreen Farm, Trowgreen, Lydney, Gloucestershire Tel 01244 573018

Charity Commission to press LACS over snaring video The Charity Commission is to seek a response from LACS following a complaint by BASC that its anti-snaring video misrepresented snaring 9 -1 0 J U LY KNEBWORTH COUNTRY SHOW Knebworth House, Knebworth, Hertfordshire Tel 01438 812661 1 2-1 4 J U LY

P. QUAGLIANA / A. HOOK / P THOMPSON

GREAT YORKSHIRE SHOW Showground, Harrogate, North Yorkshire Tel 01423 541000 1 9 J U LY FREE NGO RIFLE RANGE TEST DAY Euston Estate, Euston, Suffolk Tel 01833 660869

6 • 29 JUNE 2016

The Charity Commission has conﬁrmed it will seek a response from the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) to BASC’s complaint about its latest extremist video. The video depicted a jogger being killed by a snare, comparing his suffering to that of snared animals, with no reference to the fact modern snares are designed to restrain, not to kill. Earlier this month, BASC labelled the ﬁlm as a travesty of what happens in reality, stating that LACS consciously misrepresented legal snaring, where snares are set to catch and restrain. (News, 1 June). Other countryside organisations united in their condemnation of the video. Liam Stokes, Countryside Alliance head of shooting, said it is assumed that the video is deliberate rather than simple ignorance on the part of LACS, while a National

Gamekeepers’ Organisation spokesman described the video as “nonsense”, saying it presented a ﬁctional smoke-and-mirrors account of snaring. BASC wrote to the Charity Commission to accuse LACS

“LACSdeliberately misrepresented the reality of snaring to suit their agenda” of abusing its charity status by breaching campaign guidance rules with the anti-snaring ﬁlm. The Commission has now instructed its Permissions and Compliance Team to consider the

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

issues raised by BASC. In a letter to the association, Barbara Westhead said: “Having considered the points raised, and taken further advice, we have decided to contact the charity regarding this matter. “We believe the concerns you have raised need to be brought to the attention of the charity. Our job as regulator is to ensure that charities are accountable, well run and meet their legal obligations.” Tim Russell, BASC’s director of conservation, said: “LACS deliberately misrepresented the reality of snaring to suit its extremist agenda. It was a conscious attempt to mislead the public. It was scaremongering and propaganda. “It is wholly appropriate that the Charity Commission should use its legal powers to bring into line the League Against Cruel Sports.”

NEWS

Visit us online / shootinguk.co.uk

New moth threat to covercrops Gamekeepershavebeenwarned thatcovercropscouldbeunder threatfromanunusuallyhigh inﬂuxofdiamondbackmoths carriedbywindsintotheUK frommainlandEurope. TheGame&Wildlife ConservationTrust(GWCT)is remindinggamekeepersand landownerstokeepacloseeye ongamecovercropsandwildlife seedmixesinordertominimise anypotentialdamage. PeterThompson,biodiversity adviserattheGWCT,said:“Under theCountrysideStewardship Scheme’swildbirdseedmixture option,itisworthremembering thattherequiredseedmixof aminimumofthreeplantspecies isquitelikelytohaveincluded atleastonebrassica.Thefood plantofdiamondbackmoth larvaeisbrassicasofallsorts, and if this element of the mix is

destroyedbythecaterpillars youmaywellbeinbreachofthe Scheme’srequirements. “Iwouldthereforerecommend employingtheservicesofa qualiﬁedagronomist,whowill assessanylikelydamageand potentiallyrecommendaspray tocontrolthepest.Onlywiththis professionaladvicecanspraying beundertaken,withnoextraneed tohavethepermissionof Natural England,”headded. “Despitetheirminutesize,in largenumbersthesemothscan create havoc, so I would suggest

Diamondback moths have been carried by winds into the UK

anyonewhoisconcerned should seekadvice.” ArthurBarraclough, gamecoveradviserwithcrop specialistBrightSeeds,added: “Thediamondbackmoth producescopiouslarvaethatprey onfoliartissueandarecapable ofdestroyingallbuttheleafveins oftheplant.Wehavereportsof 260mothscaughtinasingle pheromonetrapinoneday,so gamekeepersneedtobealert. Whereaprevalenceofthemothis evident,atwo-sprayinsecticide programmewillnormallyrectify theproblembutitisimportant thatthoseresponsibleforthe covercropactquickly.” Themothsnormallystart toarriveinJune,butnoton thehugescalethatisbeing witnessedthisyear.Oncehere, theycanhaveseveralbroods during the summer.

NEWS IN BRIEF

UK Game Fair cancelled four weeks before launch The UK Game Fair has been cancelled by organisers Blaze Publishing just four weeks before its planned inaugural launch. Blaze called off the event, to be held at Stoneleigh Park, last Thursday, 23 June saying it believed it was the best way forward for the industry. Wes Stanton, organiser of the UK Game Fair, said: “While I’m massively disappointed, I realise that this is the right decision. It is already a packed summer event calendar and having worked in this market for over 20 years I believe this is the best way forward for everyone.”

Farmers need to see returns improving

Auction open to support NGO The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) has launched its 2016 sporting auction to support its work in defending and promoting keepers and keepering. From driven grouse shooting to a ton of maize, the catalogue’s 24 sport-packed pages boast a wealth of eye-grabbing lots, with guide prices ranging from £58 to £2,000. The auction is a major source of revenue for the NGO, with gameshooting and almost every other kind of shooting available, from hares to the chance of a woodcock. Stalkers — both on foot and in the high seat — are catered for, as are ﬁshermen with lots in rainbow trout, brown trout, sea trout, salmon, grayling, tench and barbel ﬁshing. There are also miscellaneous lots to grab the attention, including private tuition and lunch with Olympic Double Trap gold medallist Richard Faulds, as well as deer dog and gundog training lessons.

Brian Mitchell, NGO national vice-chairman, said: “The 2016 NGO Sporting Auction Catalogue has something for you whatever your sporting interest.” He added: “It is crammed with quality lots, some of which can’t be had from anywhere else for love nor money. Please get hold ofacatalogueandbid generously. The funds raised go on defending and promoting keepers and keepering. “There are some real treats for the lucky bidders in the auction, especially as the generous people who donate lots always go that extra mile to make

these days really special. I would like to thank them for their great kindness. The auction is a major source of revenue for the NGO, so please bid — and on as many lots as possible!” All bids must be received at the NGO national ofﬁce by midnight on Friday, 30 September 2016. To get your copy of the NGO 2016 Sporting Auction Catalogue, contact the NGO National Ofﬁce, tel 01833 660869 or email info@ nationalgamekeepers.org.uk. Alternatively write to: The NGO, PO Box 246, Darlington DL1 9FZ.

It is critical that dairy farmers see money going back to the farm gate quickly and not stuck in the supply chain, says National Farmers’ Union (NFU) dairy board chairman Michael Oakes. Following a global supply and demand imbalance that has sent dairy commodity prices, and the price farmers are paid for their milk, plummeting, there is hope that the bottom of the trough has been reached. “It’s been the longest and deepest crisis anyone in the dairy sector can remember and clearly current farmgate prices are not sustainable,” said Mr Oakes. “It’s still early days but it’s looking like things could be on the cusp of improving. However, we must remain cautious. It’s important to stress that many farmers are receiving a low price for their milk, so despite any small increases, they will still be extremely low. So there is still a long way to go.”

The auction’s 24-page catalogue boasts a wealth of eye-grabbing lots

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

29 JUNE 2016 • 7

NEWS TWEET OF THE WEEK “All conservationists & landowners agree deer culling is vital for biodiversity & welfare. Animal rightist disagrees” Countryside Alliance chief exec Tim Bonner

Hits & Misses Ups and downs of the week

The British Deer Society’s recent online auction raised a record £42,000. Generous donors offered a total of 164 money-can’t-buy lots not usually available to the public, including private deerstalking, shooting and ﬁshing, sporting goods, luxury holiday lets and special dining experiences. Thewinner ofBASC’s latestphoto competitionhas beenannounced. Peoplewere invitedtoshow offtheirsnaps onsocialmedia bytweeting@BASCnewsonTwitterusing #BASCPhotoShoot.Thewinningentry (above)wassubmittedbyKirstyFenwick and features Betty, her English springer.

P. QUAGLIANA / A. HOOK / WWW.TIMEINCUKCONTENT.COM

A South African Labrador is ﬁghting for her life after she was rescued from the ocean by a ﬁshing vessel. Two-year-old Xena jumped into the ocean off Cape Town and it is thought she was caught in a strong rip current before being saved. Xena is in hospital, but is thought to be doing better.

Email your stories / mark.layton@timeinc.com

CLA calls on the Government to fix barriers to tree planting TheCLAhascalledonthe Governmenttoaddressthe barrierspreventingfarmersand landownersfromcreating more woodlandareas. Itsaidthatdisappointinglylow figuresontreeplantingacross EnglandandWales,published bytheForestryCommissionon 16June,provedthatthescheme intendedtoboostwoodlands was simplynotworking. CLApresidentRossMurray said:“Wearedisappointedbut unsurprisedatthelowfiguresfor treeplantingsincetheinception oftheCountrysideStewardship Schemeforwoodlandcreation. “Wehaveconsistentlytoldthe ForestryCommissionthatthe schemewasineffectiveforfarmers andlandowners,eventothose who wanttocreatewoodland. “Theserecentfiguresprove thattobethecase,withonly13 per cent of new woodland areas

createdinEnglandandjustthree percentacrossWales.Though mostofthenewplantingtook placeonprivateland,manyland managersarediscouragedfrom creatingwoodlandduetooverregulationoftheforestrysector, concernsoverEnvironmental ImpactAssessmentsandthe effect on land values. A lack of

Despite incentives, ﬁgures for planting new woodland are disappointing

Mink control has benefited the water vole in Wales, says BASC BASChasdiscoveredmoresigns ofwatervolesontheLlynPeninsula duringsurveysthissummer. Feedingpilesandburrowshave beenfoundalongquieterstretches oftheGeirchriver,whichsupports the belief that control of the non-

nativeNorthAmericanminkis havingapositiveimpact on water volepopulations. AudreyWatson,BASC’sGreen ShootsWalesofﬁcer,said:“We conductedsurveyslastmonth with Natural Resources Wales

Anew study says wood-burning stoves used to cook pizzas churn out dangerous emissions that may be polluting some built-up urban areas.The study, by environment experts from seven different countries including the University of Surrey, looked into the emissions from wood-burning ovens in busy urban areas. There are good signs that water voles have returned to the Llyn Peninsula

8 • 29 JUNE 2016

long-termincentivestocompete withagriculturealsoaddstothe manybarriers,whichalreadymake anunattractivechoiceinland use changeevenmoreso.” MrMurrayaddedthatthe CLAhadmadeitsconcernsknown toministersandwaskeento continueworkingwith DEFRA to ﬁnd a solution.

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

(NRW),GwyneddCountyCouncil andvolunteers,whichrevealed evidenceofwatervolesfeeding andlivingmainlyinsideditchesand drains,offthemainriverchannel. “Thissuggeststhattheyare stillhangingon,thoughperhaps beingpushedintorefugeareas wherethehabitatismore suitableortoescapepredators, particularlymink.ThealienNorth Americanminkhasbeenamajor factorinthedeclineofwatervole populationsduetotheirabilityto getdownburrowsand wipe out entirefamilies. “Wehavebeencarryingouta co-ordinatedprogrammeofmink controlintheregionsince2011and, fortunately,wehavenotfoundany signsofminksofarthisyear.Infact, ourtrappershavetrappedmany feweroverthelastfewyears,sowe hope we are having an impact.”

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LETTERS

Email your letters / STletters@timeinc.com

LET TER OF THE WEEK ISSN: 0037-4164 Shooting Times, Time Inc (UK) Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF. Tel 020 3148 4741 Fax 020 3148 8179

For editorial enquiries email: STEditorial@timeinc.com For picture enquiries email: max.tremlett@timeinc.com For subscriptions enquiries: 0330 333 1113 To subscribe: 0330 333 1113 Editor Joe Dimbleby Content/Managing editor Sarah Hart 01252 555205 sarah.hart@timeinc.com Editor’s PA Leeanne Wright 01252 555213 Design director Dean Usher Junior designer Ben Harris Picture editor Max Tremlett Chief sub-editor Trevor Cooper trevor.cooper@timeinc.com Sub-editor Nicola Jane Swinney nicola.swinney@timeinc.com News editor Mark Layton mark.layton@timeinc.com Publisher Fiona Mercer Managing director Hazel Eccles Editor at large Robin Scott Editor in chief Mark Hedges Group managing director Oswin Grady Classified advertising 020 3148 2872 Fax 020 3148 2519 Display advertising 020 3148 4212 Group advertisement manager Rosemary Archer Advertising manager Tim Hanson 01252 555325 Sales executives Mike Coombes 01252 555329 michael.coombes@timeinc.com Advertisement production Andy Durrant 020 3148 2667 Head of marketing Regina Tumbridge-Harringer 01252 555121 regina.tumbridge-harringer@timeinc.com Innovator (for loose and bound-in inserts) 020 3148 3710 Can’t find ST? 020 3148 3300 Back issues 01733 385170

Shooting Times is the official weekly journal of BASC and the CPSA BASC Marford Mill, Rossett LL12 0HL Tel 01244 573000 CPSA PO Box 750, Woking, GU24 0YU Tel 01483 485400

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This week’s cover was captured by Paul Quagliana

10 • 29 JUNE 2016

A great event, set fair for next year I went with my family, including our cocker spaniel, on the Saturday of the Field & Country Fair. It was quite wonderful to attend a fair that was so true to country hobbies and it was thoroughly enjoyed by us all, dog included. It was noticeable that stallholders and those doing the displays, as well as those working on the site, were full of enthusiasm and more than happy to engage in conversation. Nothing seemed rushed and over-commercialised. The fair certainly wasn’t too crowded and it was delightful to have space to walk around and take in the great mix of country crafts that were actively being displayed, as diverse as taxidermy and hedge laying. Being a lover of working dogs, seeing so

many well-behaved breeds being walked, displayed in the pavilion and worked at the various trials was also a great pleasure. Again the handlers were all ready to share stories and educate on their breeds, even though they were probably asked the same questions over and over again. My 17-year-old son, Thomas, had a shooting lesson on the BASC coaching stand and had a fantastic experience with an impressive coach, who very quickly spotted that he was left eye dominant. While he has been roughshooting for the last couple of years and is a reasonable Shot, the few tweaks made a signiﬁcant difference to his success rate on the clays. I really hope that the fair continues to get the commercial

backing required to become a regular ﬁxture in what was a lovely location, and I look forward to visiting again next year. A. Allen, by email

Thomas Allen, 17, enjoys a shooting lesson at the Field & Country Fair

IN ASSOCIATION WITH FUR FEATHER & FIN: FOR ALL YOUR SHOOTING TIMES The winner of this week’s Letter of the Week will receive an AntiCorrosive Gun Sleeve, exclusively available from Fur Feather & Fin. For more information, visit www.furfeatherandfin.com or tel 01243 811844.

SNP AGENDA Though I agree with the idea that any object used maliciously can be deadly (including a devolved Parliament), I couldn’t disagree more with some of the responses to the current political climate in Scotland. The idea of allowing the fieldsports sector in Scotland to shrink, or moving away from the country altogether, will only give the Government more freedom to carry out its agenda. Some of our most precious sporting assets are in Scotland, and we’d be hard hit across the UK if we lost them. The rest of the UK should be in no doubt; the death of Scottish fieldsports would be used as a springboard by the antis to target England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The answer? Get stronger, shoot more, and involve more people. Become more vocal, become too big to trample on. Prove the Scottish National Party to be as wrong as we know they are. We shouldn’t allow this foolish Government to define, control

or steal our beautiful country and countryside. W. Cameron, North Lanarkshire

SIGN OF THE TIMES The review of a book about Frederick Selous (Reading List, 11 May) brought to mind my late father-in-law’s award for progress at school — a book written by Hesketh Prichard with a foreword written by Frederick Selous. This was in 1924 and my father-in-law was

CHARACTER REFERENCE Perhaps we should remind the Travelodge chain (Letters, 15 June) of the fact that Mr C. Edwards had a shotgun/ﬁrearm certiﬁcate, which was a character reference. Therefore he would be highly unlikely to be brawling in the bar, or anything else. Has there ever been an incident involving legally

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aged 10. He attended Blackstock School in Islington and the book was titled Hunting Camps in Wood and Wilderness. Imagine the furore in the popular press if something similar were to be awarded today at an inner London school! R. Rowles, Essex

TOP TAILORING Last week Charles Gale visited our estate for the last time, because he is held guns in hotel premises? I doubt it! But I wonder how many drugs are dealt or trafﬁcked or other illegal activities are carried out, undeclared of course, in hotels. If a sniffer dog were on reception, management might ﬁnd themselves rejecting a surprising percentage of guests. But shooters would not be among them. A. Scullion, by email

LETTERS

Write to Shooting Times, Pinehurst 2, Farnborough Business Park, Hants GU14 7BF

The title of the In The Country feature, Summer equinox/15 June (Sporting Answers, 15 June) is wrong on two counts. The longest day is the summer solstice and this year it fell on 20 June, rather than the more usual 21 June. The equinoxes come in March and September when day and night are both 12 hours long. Apart from this it was an informative little piece with a beautiful illustration that reminded me that, when I moved from the south of England to Northern Ireland, I gained about an hour’s daylight in the middle of the summer but lost it in the winter — good for ﬁshing, bad for shooting. E. Oxlade, Belfast

BIG CATS IN LOTHIAN? After reading about big cat sightings (Letters, 8 and 22 June), I have to share my own experience. My regular shooting buddy and I were doing some vermin control in East Lothian, travelling between ﬁelds just on “grey dark”, when we had an encounter that we cannot fully explain. As we were driving along on the country road,

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I. Gadsby’s support for the socalled tradition of spring shooting in Malta (Letters, 15 June) has to be challenged. Shooting migrant birds as they ﬂy north to breed is totally unacceptable: Malta is the only country in Europe that still does so, despite the fact that spring hunting is prohibited under the EU’s Birds Directive. It is true that Malta has controversial derogations from this law, but only if the conservation status of the birds being hunted is taken into account, which it clearly hasn’t been. The fact that the EU’s

current environment minister, Karmenu Vella, is Maltese might explain why the EU has failed to take action to enforce its own laws. This spring the Maltese Government allowed its 10,000 hunters to shoot 5,000 turtle doves and 5,000 quail. This is despite the fact that both species are declining in Europe, and the turtle dove is now on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of species at risk. The turtle dove has suffered a 91 per cent UK population decline since 1995 and a 78 per cent decline across Europe since 1980. T. Howard, Suffolk

• THURS 2016 22N LY D JU SE 16 • R 20 BE EM PT

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retiring after 35 years of excellent service to gamekeepers and estates. As a young keeper I aspired to having a made-to-measure suit and Charles was, in my view, the best in the business. Eventually I moved to an estate where I was permitted a tailoring budget and wore that ﬁrst Charles Gale suit, and every one since, proudly. Charles never let me down on quality or service and I’m sure other keepers tell the same story so on behalf of those keepers and myself, I would like to say thank you, old friend, and have a happy retirement — you’ve certainly earned it! B. Walker, Dorset

1-DAY COURSE ONLY £125 In spring, 5,000 turtle doves were shot in Malta, though the bird is red-listed

we picked up movement about 100 yards in front in the long grass. On the roadside the car lights illuminated red eyes at around the height that an adult roe deer would be, then a large black cat stepped into the road, then turned and went back to where it had come from. We looked at each other in complete shock and disbelief. We had a long discussion about the size, length and thickness of the tail, colour and red eyes and so on. We are both experienced shooters and have been lamping foxes for more than 25 years. We are used to seeing the different animals’ eye shine in the

lights and being able to judge their size and heights. We only saw this animal for a couple of seconds so we could not be totally certain of what we saw. After checking the verge where we saw the animal, the area was ﬂat, and the height of the grass gave us a good indication of the height of the eye-shine. The animal’s size would be that of a large Labrador. There is also some video footage of a large cat from January 2015 at Ormiston East Lothian, which is between eight to 10 miles as the crow ﬂies from our encounter. Name and address supplied

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29 JUNE 2016 • 11

Country Diary

Perdix

While a howling wolf or bugling elk might be surplus to requirements, a caller made for the US market is proving invaluable for luring foxes to the high seat

egular readers of this column might recall that a couple of months ago I bought an electronic predator caller for fox control. Speciﬁcally, I wanted a remote-controlled device to draw adult foxes from thick cover and tall crops to places where they could be easily seen and shot from high seats. Hand or mouth-held callers are great, but there’s always the risk of a fox sneaking up behind you and rumbling you, while you remain oblivious to its presence. So long as you are mindful of wind direction, and the caller is set away from you, this shouldn’t happen with a remote-controlled device. There are many different brands of digital caller available, most manufactured for the US market. I opted for a Western Rivers Pursuit caller, costing around £180. Aside from its middle-of-theroad price, I liked the fact that this model comes with 200 pre-loaded calls that can be remotely activated from up to 250 yards away. You can download extra calls from an online sound library, and upload your own sound recordings in either WAV or MP3 ﬁle format. As an optional extra, I also bought the Western Rivers moving rabbit decoy, which links to the caller via a short cable and is activated using the same remote handset. The decoy is little more than a furry bunny glove puppet, with a brightwhite bushy tail. It perches atop a motorised crooked wire that rotates, bringing the puppet “to life”. It isn’t at all realistic, but I doubt that it needs to be. It’s the slight movement of something that resembles dinner that’s likely to reassure Charlie.

Bellowing moose

PERDIX

As you might expect from a caller made for the US game and predator calling market, most of the pre-loaded sounds are of little use for fox control. While it’s probably wrong of me to dismiss them completely without ﬁrst trying them, I don’t expect sound recordings of bugling elk, bellowing moose, crying coyotes or howling wolves to appeal to the inherently nervous and sharp-witted adult foxes that I’m accustomed to dealing with, though life’s full of surprises. However, the caller includes plenty of sound recordings that I expected to appeal to foxes, such as distressed chickens, a ﬁeld mouse, squealing rodents and an assortment of different shrieking “jackrabbits”. There are several species of jackrabbit in the US, including the black-tailed, white-tailed and antelope jackrabbit. I have no idea which of these feature on the caller, but the important thing to grasp is that jackrabbits aren’t

The combination of “ﬂuffy bunny glove puppet” and the remote caller has proved irresistible to adult foxes

rabbits, they’re hares, and the cry of one hare species is likely to be a good imitation of another. I know for a fact that on our little shoot, where brown hares abound, the sound of a hare in distress is extremely attractive to adult foxes. On several occasions, I’ve watched foxes legging it towards hares that have managed to get themselves caught in fox snares. It was no surprise to ﬁnd that the recording of a “juvenile jackrabbit in distress” is proving somewhat irresistible. Some examples for you: I was sitting up a high seat overlooking our lapwing plot, where

“Where brown hares abound, the sound of a hare in distress is extremely attractive to adult foxes” I’d set my caller. Along our eastern boundary, close to a public footpath, a black-and-white lurcher suddenly appeared. It was quartering the surrounding ﬁeld of spring barley, searching for hares, I assumed. I was agitated to say the least, but even more so when I realised that the hound was coursing a fox. A fox that had probably been on its way to my caller! The hound chased the fox back over the boundary. I let the dust settle, persevered with the caller, and 10 minutes later the fox reappeared. From 400

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yards, I watched it tearing down a tramline towards the caller. As it approached the lapwing plot, I turned the caller off, to slow the fox. I gave the ﬂuffy bunny a few tweaks, and in she came, in stalking mode, so that was the end of her. On another balmy evening in early June, I set the caller 80 yards from a high seat overlooking a spring-sown brood-rearing cover, adjacent to a block of rape. This part of the farm is particularly busy with hare trafﬁc: they love the sweet young cereals, brassicas and broad-leaved weeds that grow in our brood-rearing mixes. I settled into the seat, turned the caller on and let it sing for about a minute or so before turning it off again. I kid you not — less than a minute later, a vixen snuck out the rape, and stood on the edge of the plot, her ears cocked. Down she went. A cock grey partridge wandered into view and began strutting and calling. He was still holding a territory, and his hen would surely be sitting close by. Twenty minutes later, after another sequence of calling, a second fox appeared and she followed suit. I’m still learning how to get the best from my caller, but after removing two hunting vixens in the space of an hour, when our precious grey partridge hens were sitting tight, I surmised that it had been a very good buy. Perdix is an ecologist who helps run a roughshoot in Wiltshire. Next week: Country Diary comes from Turnstone.

29 JUNE 2016 • 13

Jamie Osborne keepers on a 2,000-acre Bedfordshire pheasant shoot with a mix of family and syndicate days. His passion is wild grey partridge conservation

Gamekeeper

It’s a busy time of year, when keepers run themselves almost giddy doing the rounds of checking pens and traplines, but good planning now will pay off later

here are a lot of jobs to juggle at this time of the year. Vermin control is still key, so keep at it because predator management continues to protect vulnerable broods of young chicks and leverets. It is proof positive of a job well done when you see all this new life out on the shoot. It is tremendous to hear the skylark. These little birds have become another of the estate’s conservation success stories. They tend to favour our spring crops and recently drilled gamecovers, especially when the winter-sown acreage has grown away. In many ways, the estate is akin to a grouse moor. Like well-managed heather moorland, we have a mosaic of crops at all sorts of different heights and stages of maturity, from dense oilseed rape to the more open ground found in gamecovers and linseed. It makes a lovely balance of habitat for wildlife and helps to provide food insects for chicks. The English partridge might have been the primary motivation for our conservation work, but I am pleased to report that a host of other species has also benefited. It is easy for a busy keeper to drop the ball in mid-summer. There are endless covercrops to check for flea beetle, aphids and slugs — it is imperative to keep a close eye on these tender plants — not forgetting the seemingly constant shifting of Larsen and ladder traps. There is also the small matter of making sure my release pens are trim. Release pens are vital to the success of a pheasant shoot and must be in tip-top condition. It is amazing quite how quickly an uncared for pen becomes shambolic, with tree branches slumping across mangled wire fencing and so forth. Everything must be shipshape, given that newly released pheasant poults are designed to test the patience and fortitude of any keeper. There are times when I think that my birds are hell-bent on self-destruction, but it is sobering to remember that every bird that dies at this stage is one less to fly over the Guns. My annual bag return percentage inevitably starts to drop from now on. There’s been plenty written about how to create the perfect pen. But one of the most essential — though often overlooked — tasks is to ensure the perimeter is up to snuff. For my part, I become

Skylarks love the spring crops and recently drilled gamecovers that are available on a well-managed estate

almost giddy doing lap after lap of the release pens, checking for holes in the netting and peering for vermin runs. That said, no keeper should ever underestimate a poult’s desire to ﬂap out of a pen. So pop-holes that work are vital. But I’m also concerned about what else might get in, so I ﬁt anti-fox grids and run electric fence wire. Two strands, one at about 15cm and the other at 30cm in height sited between 40cm and 50cm out from the side of the pen

“There are times when I think that my birds are hell-bent on self-destruction” work for me, touch wood. Good cover makes an important contribution to any pen, but I am a ﬁrm believer in making sure my birds also have plenty of open space to sun and to dust themselves. Attention to drinkers and feeders is crucial, too. It goes almost without saying that both must be in excellent nick, but there are various views on the best way to feed and water poults. I like to put about half of my pheasant food in hoppers, with the other 50 per cent going out on the ground. I think this lets me get the maximum amount of

food possible into the birds. The sooner the poults put on weight, the less prone they are to stress and disease problems. A clean and plentiful water supply is a must for every release pen. I am spoilt, however, as mine have mains water. The piping was dug in years ago, and has paid for itself many times over — not having to lug water frees up valuable time. My drinkers are on a ballcock system, and I place them here, there and everywhere within the pen. So, too, with my hoppers. The sheer abundance of both undoubtedly helps my birds to drink and feed at will. By the same token, I am forever moving them on to fresh, clean ground, as release pen hygiene is paramount. At this time of year, planning is all. I will always remember what one old timer told me when I first started: proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance. His advice has served me well. For instance, when you are talking to the gamefarm to confirm delivery dates, remember to ensure that there is flexibility in when the birds arrive because, as Charles II nicely put it, an English summer is three days and a thunderstorm. It is attention to the little things that genuinely separates success from failure: even down to ensuring you have a good vet on call and enough grower pellets on order — with the proviso, of course, there’s somewhere clean and dry to store the bags!

This column is in association with the NGO and the SGA

R. KENNEDY

For more information contact: The National Gamekeepers' Organisation www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk 01833 660 869

For more information contact: The Scottish Gamekeepers Association www.scottishgamekeepers.co.uk 01738 587515

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29 JUNE 2016 • 15

Charity shoot

Shooting with the wounded Graham Downing joined the 23 teams of Guns who attended a simulated shooting day to raise funds for the charity Walking With the Wounded

ix Mile Bottom is a name synonymous with top-quality partridge shooting. This gently undulating ground to the west of Newmarket in Cambridgeshire has, for decades, shown partridges that are nothing short of legendary. But walked-up snipe? Driven grouse? I joke not. One of the lesser-known facts about Richard Clarke’s famous Six Mile Bottom shoot is that, throughout the close season, he provides some 150 days of simulated gameshooting, eight of which are offered each year to charities. At the end of May, I had the pleasure of joining 23 teams of Guns in support of Walking With the Wounded (WWTW).

Flawless finishes

G. DOWNING / WWTW

One of the features about simulated game days at Six Mile Bottom is that the clays are presented on essentially the same ground as that which is occupied by the gameshoot. You can stand on precisely the same spot as a guest on a driven day and break clays that mimic almost exactly the pheasants and partridges you’ll see

there in winter. And with every stand presented in the form of a four-man flush, the resemblance to a driven gameshoot is almost complete. The teams had gathered on this perfect spring day, with some coming from as far as Herefordshire, Lincolnshire and the south coast for a 50-bird day shot over six stands. First up were the most obvious: English partridges and driven pheasants. The former flew in tight little coveys from behind rising ground, swinging to both right and left, just as the redlegs do during the season off the same drive. The latter were thrown as a 100-bird flush of midis from a couple of high towers located inside a hilltop spinney, and were a serious test for the best high pheasant shot. A short ride away in one of the many buggies that were ferrying guests about the

Matt Fisher (centre) had his foot amputated after a gunshot wound. He is now a team member of WWTW

Ed Solomons of the Hull Hotshots at driven grouse 16 • 29 JUNE 2016

ground, I found the 80-bird driven grouse flush. Richard shows his grouse over what must be some of the best grouse butts in Cambridgeshire; authentically built, immaculately manicured and guaranteed to set the pulse racing once the clays start zipping forward. The layout comprises nine butts in total, so is capable of giving a fair representation of a genuine grouse drive to any team of Guns wishing to warm up in readiness for the journey north. On this occasion, however, only butts one to four were used for the flush. Somewhat more offbeat was the neighbouring “walked-up snipe” flush. To shoot this, the Guns stood aloft on a platform below which was a bank of traps

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Charity shoot that launched a dizzying sequence of 80 going-away blaze-green midis. It was a challenging flush that was not for the fainthearted, but I watched the Fenland Tigers perform creditably, as well they might. Fen shooters are, after all, more familiar than most of us with snipe. But shooting a team flush requires more than just individual accuracy and rapid reloading: there has to be total coordination between each member so that a perfect economy of kills-to-cartridges is maintained. It is no good two Guns going for the same birds, only to leave the next pair passing unsaluted over empty barrels. On the decoyed pigeon flush I saw an almost immaculate performance from

“Shooting a team flush requires total co-ordination between each member of the team” the Hull Hotshots. Perhaps that was no surprise, given that three team members — Cheryl Hall, Jack Lovick and Ed Solomons — are all former World FITASC Sporting champions, but it was truly impressive to see only four birds dropped out of 80. But even the Hull team, sponsored by Hull Cartridge, which generously supplied all the day’s ammunition, were eclipsed by the Landmark Dusters, whom I watched performing on the 80-bird vermin flush. This was a particularly delightful stand, contained within a wooded glade over which came crossers from right and left, with a single bird down the middle. The Dusters — Mark Cobbold, Jo Smith, Aaron

The Clay Conservationists at decoyed pigeon, eventually ﬁnishing in second place on a total of 405 points

Harvey and David Sheldrake — did what their name implies and powdered pretty much everything in sight.

Everest and the Poles Though there were some seriously accurate teams, there were plenty who were simply out to support this incredibly worthwhile charity, and it was good to see a number of military teams competing, such as the Westminster Dragoons and the WWTW HQ team. The charity is perhaps best known for its expeditions to Everest and to the North and South Poles, supported by Prince Harry. Duncan Slater, who works with WWTW’s headquarters fund-raising team, and who lost both legs in an IED strike in Afghanistan, was shooting with the HQ team and told me about the South Pole trip

Prince Harry is a great supporter of Walking With the Wounded, having trekked with it to the South Pole SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Support for services Based in Norfolk, WWTW was established in 2010 and raises funds to retrain wounded veterans and help them into long-term employment. Prince Harry has been patron of all of WWTF’s inspirational expeditions to extreme parts of the world. The expeditions are sponsored by corporate partners and include teams of wounded servicemen and women . that took place in 2013. “It was an amazing expedition. There were three teams of injured ex-service people, and we were skiing nine hours a day,” he explained. “Prince Harry joined us and we made the Pole in two weeks, but it took a year of training, including trips to Iceland and Norway. It takes time to build up the required strength and fitness.” Support for injured ex-servicemen is a cause that deserves wholehearted support, but are there not rather a lot of military charities? I asked chief executive Ed Parker whether there was a role for WWTW that was not covered by any other organisation. “I used to be a soldier. My brother is a soldier and so is my nephew, Harry Parker,” he said. “He was wounded in 2009. It galvanised me to want to do something to raise awareness of who these men and women are, and to show that despite injury, these guys can still achieve extraordinary things. “Where we work is with those who have fallen the farthest since they have left the military, the most needy who are not 29 JUNE 2016 • 17

Charity shoot getting support. We are the last link in the chain: we don’t do physical rehabilitation, recovery or welfare — we provide help to men and women who are homeless, who are in the criminal justice system or have significant mental health problems. We are helping them with employment, finding them somewhere to live, trying to get them back on their feet.” Last year, WWTW helped 660 vulnerable and disadvantaged exservicemen and women and this year it expects to help in excess of 800 as the charity continues to grow.

“WWTW took the proceeds of the day, £15,000, and a huge fund of goodwill” “It’s been a hugely successful day for us,” said WWTW’s head of fund-raising Andrew Cook, as we gathered in the marquee after the shoot for a delicious lunch followed by an auction and prizegiving. “The support that has been given to us today by Richard Clarke and his team, plus all the sponsors who have donated clays, cartridges, the lunch, the auction lots, the prizes and the marquee has been very humbling. We normally do one shoot a year, but next year we will plan to do a

Top left: The winning team, Landmark Dusters (L-R): Aaron Harvey, David Sheldrake, Mark Cobbold and Jo Smith. Left: The Hull Hotshots Above: The Braxted Park team at driven grouse

couple — one here again in May and maybe one in Lincolnshire in August. We have had five or six teams from that area and it would be nice to do something there for them in 2017.” One team that will be competing again at Six Mile Bottom will be the Landmark Dusters. With the outstanding score of 453 out of 500, they took first prize and received a case of whisky and a free entry to next year’s shoot to defend their title. WWTW took the proceeds from the shoot, and £5,825 from the auction, amounting to

£15,000, as well as a huge fund of goodwill from all those who attended. Winners were the Landmark Dusters with 453. As major sponsors, the Hull Hotshots with a score of 418 sportingly conceded second place to the Clay Conservationists on 405. Third was Team AFV with 390. The next Clay Pigeon Day will take place on 19 May 2017 at Six Mile Bottom Shoot in Cambridgeshire. For more details, or to make a donation, visit http:// walkingwiththewounded.org.uk. Duncan Slater training for the South Pole trek

18 • 29 JUNE 2016

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EBR CEL

ATING OUR BEST WRITE

Great dogs of yesterday Labradors and spaniels may be in the ascendant as far as working dogs go, but this was not always the case. At one point the setter was popular in the field, too

here were mighty men before Agamemnon, and there were great dogs before those that are famous today. It is both interesting and instructive to remind ourselves of the fact, for it is as true in dogdom, as in many other matters, that the present day has monopoly of greatness. It is interesting to compare the great dogs of other days with the types that win favour today. The first illustration shows an English setter, Alderman Wiseacre, which was the property of R. Bird Wagner, of Cork. At Cork Show this dog was awarded first by Mr L. P. C. Astley in 1888. After being shown at Cork his owner brought him to England and won prizes with him at Cleveland and Penzance. In appearance

he was a good-sized dog with heavy bone, his colour being ticked and splashed with orange and white. The illustration (above right) was in the Stock-Keeper of December 1888, and he was also pictured in La Gazette Des Sports of February 1889, as a type of English setter. He was a magnificent worker, equally good on all types of game, and steady as a rock when he found his bird.

Four capital victories Our second illustration (below) shows the same owner’s field spaniel, FTCh Matford Blossom, born in April 1909, the winner of 130 prizes, including championships at Dublin, Birmingham and Darlington. In one year she was first at each of the four

FTCh Matford Blossom won 130 prizes, including championships, and was “a most beautiful spaniel bitch”

20 • 29 JUNE 2016

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capitals: London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Cardiff. Her colour was blue roan and tan. When she was shown at Plymouth in 1911, Mr L. P. C. Astley wrote of her in the Illustrated Kennel News: “Any variety brought out that most beautiful spaniel bitch, Matford Blossom. She was in A1 form, and can beat nearly any sporting dog living in her present form. We hardly know a more perfect specimen of any breed.” The photograph does not do her justice, as it was taken on a hot July afternoon, when Blossom was fagged and would not stand up to form as she usually did. She was bred by Mr H. Trimble of Exeter and was “jockeyed” to her championship by Dr R. B. Wagner’s old friend, Mr H. S. Lloyd. Blossom’s principal wins were at Southampton, Birmingham, Earl’s Court, Irish Kennel Club, LKA, Botanic Gardens, Cardiff, and Edinburgh among others. In connection with the English setter, it is interesting to note that Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, is supposed to have been the first person to train setting dogs in the manner that has been commonly adopted by his successors. His lordship lived in the middle of the 16th century, and was therefore a contemporary of Dr Caius, who may have been indebted to the Earl for information when, in his work on “English Dogges”, he wrote of the setter: “Another sort of Dogges be there, serviceable for fowling, making no noise either with foote or with tounge, whiles they follow game. These attend diligently upon their Master and frame their conditions to such beckes, motions, and gestures, as it shall please him to exhibit and make, either going

forward, drawing backe ward, inclining to the right hand, or yealding toward the left (in making mencion of fowles my meaning is of the Partridge and the Quaile), when he hath found the byrde, he keepeth sure and fast silence, he stayeth his steppes and wil proceeded no further, and with a close couert watching eye, layeth his belly to the grounde and so creepeth forthward like a worme. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When he approacheth neere to the place where the birde is, he lays him downe, and with a marcke of his pawes, betrayeth the place of the byrdes last abode, whereby it is supposed that this kinde of dogge is called Index, Setter, being indeede the name most consonant and agreeable to his quality.â&#x20AC;? Writing of the setter in Cassellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New Book of the Dog, F.C. Hignett said:

R. Bird Wagnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alderman Wiseacre, an English setter with plenty of bone, won ďŹ rst prize at Cork Show in 1888

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hardly know a more perfect specimen of any breedâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Though setters are divided into three distinct varieties, there can be no doubt that all have a common origin, though it is scarcely probable, in view of their dissimilarity, that the same individual ancestors can be supposed to be their original progenitors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nearly all authorities agree that the spaniel family is accountable on one side, and this contention is borne out to a considerable extent by old illustrations of setters at work, in which they are invariably depicted as being very much like the old liver and white spaniel, though of different colours. Doubt exists as to the other side of their heredity, but it does not necessarily follow that all those who first bred them used the same means.â&#x20AC;? This piece was first published in the 5 April 1963 issue of Shooting Times.

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On your shoot

Caring for your cover Gamecover will pay dividends when the shooting season starts, but it needs looking after now, says Liam Bell

KINGS COVERCROPS / P. QUAGLIANA / A. HOOK / L. CAMPBELL / M. TREMLETT

lanting gamecrops is one thing. Getting them to grow to their full potential is another. We nurture ours through the first few important weeks after planting and, providing the weather is on our side, most of them will ripen and stay standing until the end of January. The better the crop, the more birds it will hold and the easier it will be to drive it on shoot days. A weak crop with lots of gaps will hold fewer birds and the ones it does hold will probably all flush in one go. Impressive but not great for filling the bag or spreading the shooting across the Gun line. Our crops, like most, are planted in the same place every year. They are sited where they are to provide either feeding or holding cover, flushing cover on shoot days or a combination of all three. Planting the same thing on the same site year on year can lead to problems with weeds and make it more likely that the ground will become deficient in nutrients and trace elements. The longer the ground has been used for gamecrops, the harder it is to establish the next one. Farmers rotate their crops for this reason and it is why new crops on fresh ground grow so well. Moving the crops when the ground gets stale isn’t an option for us, nor is it always possible for us to rotate the crop itself, so we have to do the 22 • 29 JUNE 2016

best we can with what we’ve got and try to make sure that whatever has been planted reaches its full potential. The following are the main problems associated with older sites.

Weed competition When we were allowed to use Atrazine on maize, the ground was as clean as a whistle and we only had to spray once. Now it is becoming harder to keep crops weedfree, not just the maize that is actually a bit easier to keep clean than the rest, but brassica crops and cereal mixes as well.

The problem is that there is no herbicide, either pre-emergent or postemergent, that will kill every type of weed. This is why you tend to get a build-up of the ones that are difficult to control. Planting something different as a break crop every few years helps, as does keeping a diary (in addition to the spray records) of what has been sprayed on which crops and for what. I make a note of the weeds we’ve had problems with so that I can plan the spraying round them the following year. If your crops become particularly weedy and what you’ve planted struggles

It is increasingly difﬁcult to keep gamecrops completely weed-free because no herbicide kills every type SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

On your shoot to get away, but a traditional break crop is too difficult to grow because of the height of the plot above sea level or because of high rainfall or soil types, you might have to plant something that doesn’t stand as well but that you can at least keep clean. We’ve planted a cereal mix on a couple of our patches for this reason. They aren’t as good as a kale crop or a block of maize, but they clean up the ground and usually provide the birds with both food and cover until after Christmas.

A lack of nutrients A lack of nutrients or trace elements is fairly easy to spot. Weak plants and pale leaves are classic signs. The difficult part is finding out what they are actually short of. Soil testing works and is really best done before planting. If the fertiliser was applied at the recommended rates, the nutrient levels shouldn’t be too far off, though you may need to top-dress the crop with some more fertiliser or spray it with a foliar feed at a later date. If you think you have put enough fertiliser on and the plants still seem to be struggling it is worth getting them sap tested. Sap tests are exactly that; the sap is taken from the stems of a few plants and tested for deficiencies in trace elements. If there is a deficiency and it is a recurring problem you will probably only need to get the plant’s sap tested the first

If your crops show signs of nutrient deﬁciency, it might be worth getting them sap tested

The tiny ﬂea beetle can do enormous amounts of damage, particularly to brassica crops next to oilseed rape

year. If you make a note of what you are putting on, you can spray the next crop if it shows similar signs with the same stuff the following year.

Attacks by pests Pest attacks on gamecrops can have a real effect and in some cases render the crop unviable. Slugs can eat off huge parts of a crop if left unchecked. They are especially bad when the newly planted crop is following second-year kale or anything that has been left in the ground for more than 12 months. Kale and brassicas need checking for flea beetle. Flea beetles appear to be on the increase now that some seed dressings have been banned. Brassica crops next to fields of oilseed rape are particularly at risk. Look out for small flea-like beetles moving around on hot sunny days. Check for “shot-holes” in the leaves and spray for them the moment they appear. The

Slugs can eat off huge areas and are especially bad after anything has been left in for over 12 months

crop may need re-spraying at 10 to 14-day intervals until it is well established. Fruit-fly larvae will destroy maize seedlings and need looking out for. The larvae of turnip flies, which look like tiny maggots, will eat away the roots of brassica crops such as kale.

Diseases and fungal problems

A strong gamecrop will hold more birds and, on shoot days, those birds are less likely to ﬂush in one go SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Diseases and fungal problems are becoming more common and, because there are so many of them, harder to identify. If our crops look sick, the colour changes or anything appears on the leaves, I call our agronomist or send a photo to his mobile. He can often identify it from the photograph; if not he pops out and has a proper look. Some of the more common problems such as eye-spot in maize can spread quite rapidly. While they don’t look like much of a problem to start with, they need sorting as soon as they are spotted or the plants will weaken and won’t last the winter. 29 JUNE 2016 • 23

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Trappings of success Whether you’re clayshooting for fun or for practice, we select some top traps

AUTO-SPORTER SUPER CHAMPION

PROMATIC

A great all-round sporting machine, the Super Champion is designed to give maximum versatility with an additional looping base, which comes as standard so the machine can throw both teal and looping targets. It can hold midi and mini clays by adding an insert into the carousel. The entire range of Auto-Sporter clay trap machines are designed, manufactured, built and used onsite at High Lodge Leisure Ltd.

Promatic Grouse has been created for those wanting to perfect grouse shooting out of season, particularly those who are looking to improve double or triple gunning. It can throw repeatable flushes — from one up to six targets at any one time — with up to a total of 200 birds per flush. The Grouse comes with a grouse radio that controls and can programme the flushes. ] Price: on application ] www.promatic.co.uk

] Price: £999 plus VAT ] www.highlodge.co.uk

GDK BLACK WING

LAPORTE PRO

GDK’s Black Wing clay pigeon trap is the perfect starter machine for one or two people to shoot from at one time, and is a great trap to learn or instruct beginners on. The clay trap can be upgraded with accessories as the shooter becomes more experienced. It has a target capacity of 50 standard clays, with a throwing distance of 65m to 75m. It can be converted from standard to midis and weighs 24kg.

Laporte’s Pro series boasts a worldwide reputation for outstanding performance, reliability and durability — the choice for the Olympics past and present. The latest range of traps is said to have the world’s fastest release system, with unmatched precision and trajectories, launching accurately and consistently time after time. It offers an impressive 700-clay capacity and is fully adjustable for those more challenging target layouts. It is available in sporting and trench configurations.

] Price: £319.99 ] www.gdktrading.co.uk

] Price: £1,645 plus VAT ] http://uk.laporte.biz

ACORN RAPIDFIRE

BOWMAN MINI GAME TRAILER

Acorn’s new RapidFire range was designed to be a multi-purpose, costeffective club trap that is equally viable as a personal or coaching trap. The new Acorn RapidFire 90 weighs just 15kg and comes with a foot-operated switch, making it simple to release clays without using your hands. The trap has been factory set for standard clays, but is easily adjusted for midis. Worked without a hitch, it cycles fast for a smaller trap and the switch can be held down to keep the clays coming.

The Bowman Single Stack Mini Game Trailer fills a niche between a single trap and a full game trailer. It consists of two Supermatch One traps, which can be operated in a stationary position, or can oscillate in unison left and right. Each individual trap can throw either standard or midi clays, and can elevate from horizontal up to springing teal. With a fast re-cocking time of 0.9 seconds, the Mini Game Trailer can have up to 12 clays in the air at any one time. It comes with a 50m cable release as standard.

] Price: £445 plus VAT ] www.acorntraps.co.uk

] Price: £1,905 plus VAT ] www.bowmantraps.co.uk

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

29 JUNE 2016 • 25

Laid crops present superb pigeon shooting opportunities

Laid crops: the low-down Crops flattened by summer storms and downpours can yield some great pigeon shooting. Tom Payne reveals how to go flat out in the field

P. QUAGLIANA / R. BRIGHAM

t’s been a mixed few weeks. There has been no spring rape this year which is no surprise because the cost of production compared to what it yields makes no financial sense for the farmer. Peas started well. Little was shot over them drilled, but I had good results as the crop got going, especially when the weather started to warm up. Mustard also provided some fantastic late evening outings. The harvest is not far off now, and the weather in my area has been consistently wet, with heavy localised thunderstorms: the ideal conditions to flatten crops. I have been paying careful attention to the ripening barley and wheat and have spoken to many farmers. They all agree that the barley is doing well, though the heads are taking time to bulk up. My attention is now very much focused on shooting the first-laid crop. I have walked many fields using the tramlines to assess the state of the crop. The ripening grain is milky and perfect for any hungry pigeon. At present, and luckily for the 26 • 29 JUNE 2016

farmer, there are few if any laid areas, those flattened by the wind and the rain. Shooting over a true laid crop is a rarity these days. Of course, this is good news for the farmer, but not for the pigeon shooter. Modern farming techniques have significantly improved the strength of crops. Years ago you would see huge areas laid flat after heavy thunderstorms and windy weather or where nitrogen had been applied in excess, causing the plant to grow very quickly, taller and weaker in the stem. New strains of barely with shorter, stronger stems have enabled it to withstand the elements and support the important ear of the plant. GPS spraying systems now allow farmers to apply the exact amount of fertiliser required on each part of a field. Science is combating the problem of laid crops. However, barley straw is fetching a very good price at present so you may find some farmers growing longer-stemmed varieties to improve the yield of straw, especially in livestock areas. SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

WAT C H T H E W E AT H E R Pigeon are survivors that adapt and change their behaviour, especially when a rich food source is available. It is not uncommon to see pigeon falling into standing crops, both barley and wheat. You will see them knocking the crop down with the weight of their body and wings to get at the milky grain. From a shooting point of view you can shoot big bags in this situation, but your responsibility is also to protect crops. If more damage is done picking birds in standing crops then, unfortunately, unless the pigeon are a huge problem, the crop should be left. After a heavy storm, be on the lookout. Once barley goes ﬂat it will not take long for pigeon to ﬁnd it, especially with the grain in its milky state.

Pigeon love barley, especially its milky grain

Pigeon shooting S H O O T I N G O V E R L A I D C R O P S : T H E B AT T L E P L A N RECONNAISSANCE Recon is key. It is important to keep in touch with your farmers and landowners regarding the state of play. If the ground you are shooting has barley, keep a constant eye on it. The current conditions are making recon very tricky. Most areas are experiencing localised rain and storms at the moment and consequently birds’ feeding patterns will vary too. Temperatures are inconsistent and this has an effect on pigeon. If parts of the crop do end up laid, pigeon interest will increase. You will need an element of luck with regard to discovering the location of any laid crop, but I tend to ﬁnd they are usually laid

“When shooting over laid crops, it is imperative that you minimise any damage to standing crops” around the margins of ﬁelds or up against spinneys. I am not sure why this is, but from my observations over the years, my guess is that it could be to do with increased nitrogen around the margins. It could also be increased intensity with wind and rain not being allowed to pass through the crop due, for example, to a belt of trees acting as a stop. Once you have found an area of laid crop, the chosen spot for the pigeon and where to situate your hide will be obvious.

Crops damaged by bad weather, such as a summer thunderstorm, are very attractive to feeding pigeon

HOW BEST TO DECOY You can decoy over small laid areas but it is easier over a large one, because you can see both incoming pigeon trafﬁc and dead birds. When shooting over laid crops, it is imperative that you minimise any damage to standing crops and that you are able to pick all your birds, with wounded ones being the priority. Height and movement is key when thinking about the picture you are going to present. During your recon you will witness ﬂashes of wing bars as the arriving pigeon disappear into the laid area. This is what you need to try to replicate.

If you set up your decoys over a large area in a laid crop, you will be able to see incoming pigeon trafﬁc

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Flappers and magnets really do come into their own over laid or tall crops. I tend to use shorter arms on my pigeon magnet over laid crops because I think they replicate a more realistic movement over the crop. You will also reduce damage to any standing crop with the higher, shorter arms. Use a matt tape around the arms to prevent any glint from the sun reﬂecting from them, which will alert any arriving birds that something is up. With ﬂappers, I use bamboo canes to raise them to the level of the crop. They work brilliantly. As usual, I only use dead birds and place cradles in the top of the bamboo canes to

Bamboo canes with cradles on the top work brilliantly in raising ﬂappers above a taller crop

29 JUNE 2016 • 27

Pigeon shooting S H O O T I N G O V E R L A I D C R O P S (C O N T.) add height. Don’t go overboard. Normally flappers or a magnet decoy will do the trick, with possibly a floater added in, but you can overdo it. The rest of my dead birds will be placed in cradles on the laid area. Numbers will vary depending on the size of the decoyable patch. Pigeon do tend to feed in close proximity to each other over laid crops. LAID CROP ETIQUETTE When shooting over laid crops it is important that a damage limitation attitude is taken. The size of laid areas will vary and below are some of the main priorities that you should bear in mind before you start shooting: 1. My first concern will always be towards the wounded bird. Unfortunately, there will always be the odd one and I will make sure that my shooting situation allows me, or my dog, to retrieve the bird as soon as possible to despatch it cleanly. 2. Can I pick-up all of my birds? If I am unable to pick-up my birds at the end of the day, I won’t shoot. To help me in assessing this, I will be looking to see if the laid area is big enough to cater for any shot birds. If my risk of damaging the crop is greater than the pigeon damage, I won’t shoot. This is how I would assess a situation without a dog. 3. When shooting over laid crops, if you own a dog then having it with you really is essential. A dog will help to reduce damage to the crop and make picking-up so much easier. 4. Your route in and out of your hide should be the same and not change, again being mindful of limiting crop damage. A dog can ensure that you pick-up any wounded birds so that they can be quickly despatched

A GREAT START FOR THE FIELD & COUNTRY FAIR It was great to see so many Shooting Times readers at the Field & Country Fair at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire over the weekend of 10 to 12 June. It is a privilege to write for this magazine and it was really good to meet so many keen pigeon shooters who follow Sporting Gun’s Peter Theobald and Shooting Gazette’s Will Garfit pages as well as my pieces, and who came over to meet us. Though it is not yet a big show, it is early days and this was its first year. Many of the exhibitors enjoyed great success in a fantastic atmosphere, surrounded by keen like-minded fieldsports enthusiasts. 28 • 29 JUNE 2016

It really demonstrated how far the CLA Game Fair had moved from its roots. Game fairs are not about buying hot tubs or nice garden furniture — they are about celebrating and acknowledging the custodians of the countryside. Fieldsports do not always receive the best press. As an industry we spend too much time defending ourselves rather than promoting what we do. But one of the best ways to do this is through our celebrated country shows. I have no doubt that the Field & Country Fair will be here to stay as the new force of game fairs. SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Shooting Gazette’s Will Garﬁt (left) chats to visitors at the ﬁrst Field & Country Fair earlier this month

Frank Edwards with leather worker Carol Luxton (right), his sister Alison Ford (left) and son James

Crafting leather together A family-run saddlery in Devon specialises in making the finest leather accessories for the shooting and hunting communities. Tony Jackson calls in

P. QUAGLIANA

an I venture to suggest that the West Country provides some of the very finest and most soughtafter shooting and hunting countrywide, not to mention angling, sea-fishing and, of course, stalking? Indeed, when one thinks of shooting in this far-flung corner of the UK, Exmoor and its surrounds immediately come to mind, for here in the deep valleys and rolling hills of Somerset and Devon lie some of the most testing and, to a moderate Gun, aweinspiring driven shoots. The birds, be they pheasants or partridges, are devilishly high and fast, the shooting consistent and the demands on both Gun and loader can be formidable. So much quality sport demands the services of an outstanding company that can supply the finest shooting accessories, from cartridge bags to gunslips and much more besides. Step forward Frank Edwards, owner of Acorn Saddlery sited conveniently in South Molton, the small township set close to the A361 and just to the south of Exmoor Forest. 30 • 29 JUNE 2016

The shop is quite simply a Mecca for the shooting and hunting man. Brought up on a farm at nearby Chittlehampton, Frank has always ridden and enjoys hunting with the Dulverton Farmers, the Eggesford and, of course, the Devon & Somerset Staghounds. His elder brother is a farrier and when Frank was at school he helped him out part-time, but decided that farriery was not for him. “A farrier’s work is very hard on your hands and back, so I decided to take the

Alison Ford and Carol Luxton at work in the shop SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

soft option and undertook a five-year apprenticeship as a saddler,” he explained. “I have been a Master Saddler for 35 years.”

A world of leather Shortly after Frank married in 1984, he and his wife, Susan, decided to open a small shop in South Molton, dealing initially in saddlery and horse tack. However, the business rapidly expanded into the shooting world and Acorn Saddlery is now situated in its third location in the town. Frank’s son, James, 28, was appointed managing director two years ago and since then has been responsible for the website, customer liaison and managing the shop as a whole. Prior to his appointment James had been a qualified electrician for nine years, but when he was offered the chance to enter the family business he did not hesitate. The company specialises in servicing both the hunting and shooting world. James told me that its Exmoor Shooting Range offers a full range of shooting accessories including cartridge bags,

Rural business is almost no limit to what we can make in terms of equipment for shooting.” The business is still very much a family-run concern. Frank undertakes the preparation work, James deals with marketing and shop management, while Frank’s sister Alison Ford is a specialist machinist and handles detailed orders. In addition, Susan is responsible for accounts and administration of the business, and is also a qualified Master Saddler. As well as fulfilling new orders there is, too, a constant demand for repairs to leather shooting equipment, often items that have been handed down from father to son. This is where highly skilled leather worker Carol Luxton has an important role to play, in addition to assisting in the smooth-running of the shop.

Building saddles Frank shows off some of the cartridge bags, which include the Exmoor beast bag that can hold 250 cartridges

loaders’ bags and, indeed, any leather accessories a shooter may require. Acorn Saddlery most definitely caters for the big shoots on Exmoor and the surrounding areas and also specialises in equipment for loaders. The largest cartridge bag is known as the “Exmoor beast bag”, because it holds 250 cartridges. This bag, like all the shooting equipment, is made from the finest hand-selected hides. “It needs a strong young man to carry it but provides a great capacity on a big day,” said James. In addition, there is a fast-loading apron holding 30 cartridges that can be clipped on to a waist belt or attached to the front of the beast bag to increase the overall cartridge capacity to 280. Obviously, designed for double days, the basic price is £200 and despite the weight and strain on a loader’s shoulders, there has, James assured me, been a high demand for this bag combination. There is also, though, a medium-sized bag that holds 150 cartridges, in addition to traditional leather cartridge bags and a cartridge magazine, which holds nine boxes of cartridges (225) and has solid brass fittings. James also showed me a range of leather gunslips for both single and double guns. These are built with fully waxed leather on the outside and are lined with sheepskin in a range of colours. There is also a heavier gunslip with additional protections for the gun, and a double slip that holds two guns in a padded division. You can also choose to have double gunslips buckled together. Prices range from £250. Today, Acorn Saddlery is renowned for the quality of its shooting and hunting equipment, and supplies not only customers from local areas with its high-

quality leatherwork, but also in all parts of the world. Every item is made on site and, if required, can be made to a customer’s specification, while logos or initials can be embossed on the leatherwork.

“Every item is made on site and can be made to a customer’s specification with logos or initials” “We try to meet all the requirements and demands of our customers,” said James. “We have a leather ear-defender pouch, cartridge belts and game carriers with broad leather straps. In fact, there

Apart from shooting, the riding world is also well catered for. Frank often builds around three saddles a year and said that, barring interruptions, he can usually complete a saddle in four or five days. Acorn Saddlery makes and sells saddle flasks too, as well as hunting horn cases, hunting crops, whip thongs, sandwich boxes, hound couples and, indeed, any leather equipment required for horse, hound or man. All this, in addition to holding a wide range of clothing, breeches and accessories. No small achievement! If you’d like to know more about Acorn Saddlery and its Exmoor Shooting Range of equipment, contact Frank or James Edwards at 76 South Street, South Molton, Devon EX36 4AG, tel 01769 573847, email info@acornsaddlery.com or visit www. acornsaddlery.co.uk.

Frank’s sister Alison lengthening a gunslip — alterations and repairs are a big part of the saddlery business SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

29 JUNE 2016 • 31

Clayshooting

Cartridges for clays Whether you are shooting clays for practice or fun, there is a huge array of cartridges. Lewis Potter gives his verdict on some of the leading makes

lay pigeon or competition cartridges are a manufacturer’s delight because they are the big seller, more so than dedicated pigeon or game cartridges. They can represent, on average, as much as 60 per cent of total production because, unlike gameshooting, clays can be shot all year round. Just think of the number of cartridges you can get through on a morning at the local club. I would not mind betting that even a few practice sessions mean a potential consumption of cartridges often greater than that expended by a shooter in the season on a small knockabout mixed gameshoot.

Clayshooting today is big business, reﬂected in the huge range of cartridges on the market

A wide variety Forty or so years ago, when clayshooting was really starting to catch on, we used whatever cartridges were to hand. Due to the amount of shooting, price was always a factor because at least with pigeon shooting we could get money back from sales to the local gamedealer. Some of the old hands — who, it was rumoured, would even shoot sitting game — never quite got used to the idea that for all that shooting, there was nothing to eat. They resented any extravagant expenditure, so there was always a determined search for the best deal on ammunition.

P. QUAGLIANA

Dedicated cartridges Spoilt for choice is a phrase that hardly does credit to the range of dedicated clayshooting cartridges now available. Who would have believed that, all those years ago when we first set up an old manual trap behind a couple of bales and a rusty piece of corrugated steel, today dedicated competition cartridges would be available for not only 12-bore but also 20-bore, .410 and even 28-bore? Not only that but, as well as generalpurpose clay cartridges, others designed for specific disciplines like trap and skeet would become fairly straightforward to obtain. The cartridges I have selected here are nearly all those I have had some experience of using, mainly on test at the pattern plate and also at clays, usually driven bird. 32 • 29 JUNE 2016

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Clayshooting

ELEY HAWK

FIOCCHI

HULL CARTRIDGE

Eley Hawk produces an extensive range of competition cartridges covering all bases, from traditional lead shot to steel, a choice of subsonic and in sizes 12, 20 and .410. I have always had good results with the VIP range and the more economically priced 1st Select. This cartridge is suitable for 2½in (65mm) chambered guns and is produced with 21, 24 and 28g loads in shot sizes 7½, 8 and 9, with plastic or ﬁbre wad.

Fiocchi is well known on the clay circuit and when you see competition cartridges listed for running boar, it is an indication of this company’s continental heritage. The choice is extensive, with copper-coated lead shot as one option, as well as steel and conventional lead. Even practical shotgun shooting — frantic fun, I thought, when I tried it — is catered for in Fiocchi’s range with both slug and buckshot loads.

PERFORMANCE RATING The Eley Hush Power subsonic cartridge which I tested in a sound-moderated 20-bore was impressive for its quietness; the strike of shot on the pattern plate was more audible than the report from the gun. While not the greatest fan of the .410 shotgun, Eley’s little trap cartridge has unfailingly produced good patterns on test. Available in 2½in (65mm) and 3in 75mm) lengths, hot loads are 4g and 19g, izes 7½, 8 nd 9 with plastic wad. www.eley.co.uk

PERFORMANCE RATING The cartridge I am familiar with is the F3, a 2¾in (70mm) cartridge loaded with 28g No.6 shot and a plastic wad. While advertised for sporting clays, it is potentially a good all-rounder. A Fiocchi cartridge listed that I have not used, and something I must remedy, is the F28, a 2¾in 28-bore cartridge carrying a load of 24g No.7½ shot. Like the F3 it is advertised for sporting clays, thoug I suspect, it could be another cartridge wit a number of uses. www.ﬁocchiuk.com

The Hull Cartridge Company is rightly proud of the extensive testing of its products. At my last count it lists 17 different competition cartridges. This is a company with something for every occasion and a reputation for consistently good performance. There are the Sovereign and Pro series ranges, high-velocity, also soft recoiling subsonic and steel shot loads, though most of my testing has been carried out with the CompX and ProTwenty.

GAMEBORE

LYALVALE EXPRESS

Gamebore markets an interesting range and using colourful packaging with often memorable descriptions. How about Black Gold-Dark Storm? That apart, the company has a good reputation where it matters: performance. Gamebore’s clay cartridges cover 12-bore lead and steel shot and subsonic, also 20-bore and .410.

With its full range of cartridges, Lyalvale seems to have something for almost every use and for most pockets. It produced the Excel used by Richard Faulds to win gold in the Sydney Olympics, now packaged as the Excel Olympian. It favours its own biodegradable wad but also produces cartridges with plastic wads.

PERFORMANCE RATING I have used Black Gold and have always been pleased with the results. This cartridge is for 2¾in chambers and is loaded with 28g of shot sizes 6½, 7½, 8 and 9 with a choice of plastic or ﬁbre wad. The other used on test has been the Super Competition 20, which comes in 2½in and 2¾in with, once again, a choice of plastic or ﬁbre wadding. Shot loads and s 9.

PERFORMANCE RATING It markets a range under the Power Gold Competition banner and for the smaller-bore clay enthusiasts there is the Supreme 20 Competition and Supreme .410 ﬁbre. I use the Pro Comp and Super Comp. Both are 2¾in with a choice of ﬁbre or plastic wad and shot sizes of 7½, 8 and 9. For patterning I have used the 28g in both but the Super Comp with plastic wad and 24g shot load is growing in popularity. www.lyalvale express.com

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SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

PERFORMANCE RATING The CompX is a 12-bore, 2½in cartridge with 21g or 28g loads of No.7½ or 9 shot and a ﬁbre or plastic wad. At muzzle velocity of 1,425fps for the 21g, faster still is its Superfast with 27g at 1,500fps. It is a sizzling performance, but the ProTwenty, with 21g, 24g and 28g loads of No.6½, 7½ and 8 shot and ﬁbre or plastic wad is a good all-rounder for a 20-bore. www.hull cartridge.co.uk

“Who’d have believed all those years ago that today 12-bore, 20-bore, .410 and even 28-bore cartridges would be available?” CONCLUSION As ever, when you are deciding which cartridge to go for, it is always a case of choosing what suits your own gun. One thing to bear in mind is that shotguns with extra-long forcing cones or taper bored barrels may perform better with plastic wad cartridges. It obviously makes sense to use a cartridge made to match the shooting discipline. With trap and skeet this is probably more important than for general sporting shooting. There may also be limitations on what may be used on a particular clay ground, but the choice of cartridges is so extensive that it should never be a problem ﬁnding a cartridge that suits the gun and the place of use.

29 JUNE 2016 • 33

Clayshooting

Grounds for

celebration

The clayshooting ground at Coniston is an award-winning success

Robin Scott meets the owners of Coniston Shooting Ground to find out what it takes to turn a business into an award-winning destination

P. WHITCOMB / @2016 GOOGLE

ameshooter Peter Manley happily admits he didn’t know the slightest thing about clayshooting when he took on the job of managing Coniston Shooting Ground. Because of Peter’s management skills, Coniston estate owner Michael Bannister offered him the job of developing a thriving little club started onsite by Keith Whitwell. But Peter, semi-retired from the textile industry, declined a full-time post. “I told Michael that I would only take the job on a three-day-a-week basis, give it six months and if things didn’t work out we’d 34 • 29 JUNE 2016

crack open a bottle of champagne in the estate’s hotel bar, shake hands, and walk away with no hard feelings,” he said. Six months later the two met up in the Smoke Hole saloon in the hotel alongside the ground, Peter popped the bottle as promised, and Michael promptly offered him a partnership. That was 14 years ago. Last week the club, near Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales, won the highest accolade of all — a Shooting Industry Award from Shooting Times, Sporting Gun and Shooting Gazette for best ground in Britain. However, the transition from being a popular local club to a nationally SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

AWARDWINNING TEAM

Peter Manley and Coniston owner Michael Bannister with the Shooting Industry Award

Clayshooting important venue with CPSA Premier Ground status has been a long process, and is still ongoing. It began in the early 1970s when Michael Bannister, also with a background in the textile industry, bought the 1,400-acre Coniston estate and, with his wife, Ethne, turned the house into a hotel. When he took it on, the entire place was in a rundown state with only one employee on site, a handyman. “In its heyday the estate, with its silk mill, employed 150 people and today, by coincidence, it is back to the same number. We are quietly pleased with that,” said Michael.

A burgeoning business The hotel has grown from 40 bedrooms to 70 with a state-of-the-art spa the latest facility to be added to the list of attractions. Michael and his team have also restored a neglected grouse moor on the estate and created a pheasant shoot for family days. Michael and Peter make

Michael Bannister has put in considerable investment to the shooting ground, increasing the number of sporting stands on offer to more than 30. Below: Instruction is available for novice shooters and beginners

“A sure sign that Coniston is offering shooters what they want is the number of people taking out an annual membership”

draw clay and gameshooters from a wide swathe of northern England for practice and competitions. Peter joined the team in 2003 and the first major improvement to oversee was the construction of a stunning, substantial, log shooting lodge with open fire, deep sofas, a large dining area and a superb café serving home-cooked food. Equally important, from a shooting point of view, was the creation of a gunshop selling a wide selection of guns, cartridges, clothing and accessories. At the same time he set about expanding the number of sporting stands on offer as well as skeet and down-theline ranges, which now number four of each. And the investment continues. Latest addition is a layout costing

no bones about the fact the driving force behind the continual programme of sporting development across the estate is corporate leisure. The many attractions include archery, a falconry centre, trout fishing, a 4x4 driving course, an air rifle range and, most important of all, clayshooting. The ranges and facilities now

The Coniston Shooting Ground includes a log shooting lodge with open ﬁre, a cafe and a gunshop

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29 JUNE 2016 • 35

Left: There are four down-the-line ranges. Top: The 1,400-acre estate offers varied shooting. Above: The gunshop sells guns, cartridges, clothing and accessories. Below: All types of shooting are available

£35,000 to cater for people wanting to shoot automatic ball trap, double trap or universal trench. And for game and sporting shooters, the big new draw is a Promatic Huntsman trailer complete with six automatic traps. “We’ve set it up to create a really exciting sequence to simulate driven partridge and grouse. It’s proved a real hit,” said Peter. A sure sign that Coniston is getting it right for shooters and offering them what they want is the number of people now taking out an annual membership to the club — 500 at the last count and still rising. However, Peter admits that in the early days he made mistakes, and learned by them. “For instance, I took my eye off the ball when it came to balancing the needs of competition shooters and those just looking for practice and tuition,” he said. “In particular corporate guests trying their hand at clayshooting for the first time.” The main problem came with novices and experienced shooters sharing the

same stands. Not only was there an issue with queuing, presenting targets that appealed to all abilities also proved a difficult balancing act. “Novices found the targets intimidating whereas regulars found things too easy,” recalled Peter. The only answer was to create more sporting stands. Today there are more than 30 to keep experienced shooters happy, but the real masterstroke was setting up a dozen or so tuition and practice stands for the sole use of beginners and first-time shooters.

More information

Success at the stand Peter and his large team of qualified instructors work to a simple formula where tuition and beginners are concerned — they make absolutely sure that they walk away having hit at least 50 per cent of the targets. “It’s essential that people don’t get demoralised but leave here with a smile on their face and feeling good about the

“It’s essential that people don’t get demoralised but leave here with a smile on their face” 36 • 29 JUNE 2016

day. Only then will they want to come back again and, who knows, get really involved and eventually buy their own gun.” Judging by the many new shooters you see on the ground each day of the week, it’s an approach that is working a treat.

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Coniston Shooting Ground is situated just off the A65 between Skipton and Kendal in the glorious Yorkshire Dales. Tel 01756 748586 or 07831 399860 for details and opening times, or email info@conistonshootingground.co.uk.

Wildlife

The secret world of bats

After a group of noisy bats arrived in the attic above his bedroom, David Tomlinson decided to find out more about the mysterious flying mammals

H. CLARK / L. CAMPBELL

at time at my home in the Suffolk Brecks is fast approaching, for one of the events of high summer is the sudden arrival of a colony of soprano pipistrelles in the vaulted roof above my bedroom; I live in a converted barn that is a couple of hundred years old. For such tiny animals they are remarkably noisy, and their squeaks and twittering go on all night without a break. I’d assumed that there was about 20 or 30 of them until I went out at dusk armed with my clicker, usually used for counting shots on shoot days. I clicked 94 exiting the tiny hole under my roof before it was too dark to see them. Living in such close proximity to a bat colony prompted me to find out as much as I could about my noisy neighbours. Such summer colonies, I discovered, are maternity roosts, populated by females nursing young. The latter, incidentally, are somewhat surprisingly known as pups. These roosts can number up to 1,000 individuals, so my colony is a relatively small one. I presume that the bats congregate in my roof space to give birth, for they only stay about three weeks, the length of time it takes the young to fly. One night they are as noisy as ever, the next they have all gone. Where they come from and where they go to remains a mystery, 38 • 29 JUNE 2016

a distinct species from the common pipistrelle, for the two are virtually identical in appearance, though the common is slightly bigger. The only certain way to tell the two apart is by using a bat detector, as the common pipistrelle’s calls register at 45kHz, while those of the soprano are significantly higher at 55kHz. Both soprano and common pipistrelles are widespread throughout the British Isles, reaching as far north as Orkney but not Shetland. They can be found in the same locations, even using the same

Brown long-eared bats roosting: their call is quiet, so they may have been unrecorded in the survey

for though I see bats around the house in all but the winter months, I never see them in any numbers.

Bat detection in action The word “mystery” is one that invariably creeps into any discussion about bats, for despite increasingly detailed studies, there is still much we don’t know about them. It is only 13 years ago that the soprano pipistrelle was officially recognised as SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

“Despite increasingly detailed studies, there is still much we don’t know about bats” complex of buildings, but not mixing or inter-breeding. In some areas, such as Yorkshire, common pipistrelles are more numerous, but there is still much to learn about their distribution and habitat preferences. Recognition of the soprano pipistrelle boosted the number of breeding bat species we have in Britain from 16 to 17, which isn’t many compared with the

Wildlife

The whiskered bat is one of 13 species found in the British Isles. Below: The common pipistrelle in ﬂight

1,300 species found worldwide, but still represents a quarter of our mammal species. Encouraged by the presence of my bat colony, I borrowed a sophisticated bat detector from the Norfolk Bat Survey (I live near Norfolk, and the survey includes my area). I used the detector on three nights, moving it to a different location each day. Intriguingly, it recorded the presence of five, possibly six species of bats around my house. Some bats call on such similar frequencies that it is difficult to separate them. That is almost a third of the bats on the British list. However, a friend who lives on the other side of the Brecks has recorded an even more impressive 11 species. The Norfolk Bat Survey has now analysed more than a million bat recordings, producing some fascinating discoveries. For example, the survey has found nearly 1,000 records of Nathusius’ pipistrelle, a little-known species in Britain that may not be as rare as was once thought. Thirteen species have been recorded in all, but there is still much to be discovered about bats belonging to the family Myotis (whiskered, Bradt’s and Daubenton’s) because their calls are so similar, while brown long-eared and barbastrelles are so quiet that they may well be under-recorded. What all British bats have in common is that they are insect eaters, finding their prey chiefly by echolocation — they make calls as they fly and listen to the returning echoes to build up a sonic map of their surroundings. They differ in where, when and how they feed. The noctule, for

example, is the largest and highest-flying bat, and almost always the first to appear silhouetted against the evening sky. It flies purposefully, with deep, powerful wingbeats. In contrast, Daubenton’s bat likes to hunt low over water, often catching its prey with its feet, and the serotine pursues its quarry close to the canopy of trees, though sometimes around street lights. Frustratingly, identifying bats by sight alone is tricky. With practice there are a number of species, like the noctule, that you can safely name, but there are always others that prove far more difficult. There are, however, a variety of bat detectors available that help with detection. Prices range from not much

Top: A bat box — all bats are protected in Britain Above: The soprano pipistrelle was recognised as a separate species to the common one 13 years ago

more than £50 to well over £1,000. As far as I know none actually tell you the name of the species you are recording, but they give a digital read-out of the frequency of the echolocation, from which it is quite straightforward to identify all but the more tricky species.

What bats tell us Monitoring bats is important, because they are accurate indicators of the health of our environment. They are highly sensitive to pollution and anything that affects their insect prey, such as pesticides, drainage and changes in land use. Climate change is also thought likely to affect bat populations, with fluctuations to their hibernation cycles — all our bats hibernate — and breeding patterns.

BAT FOLKLORE Bats have long been objects of fear and disgust. Early Christians believed that the devil could turn himself into a bat. For centuries bats were regarded as birds, not mammals, while The Bible lists the bat as an unclean creature that the faithful should never eat. Early Christian art often depicts the devil with bat wings, while the Spanish artist Goya used bats as symbols of threat. Bat bodies or bat parts are a frequent ingredient of the medicines of primitive doctors in both Europe and Africa, while one 13th-century work even suggested that rubbing your face with the blood of a bat would enhance night vision.

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In Central America, bats played an important part in Mayan religion. But in contrast to the mistrust displayed in many parts of the world, bats are a symbol of happiness in China and Japan. Bats in buildings have long been seen as an omen of death, while it was long thought to be extremely bad luck for a bat to ﬂy in a church during a wedding ceremony. Perhaps the most persistent myth is that a bat trapped in a house is likely to get trapped or tangled in a woman’s hair. Bats are extremely good at navigating in total darkness, and the last thing they are likely to do is get trapped in such a way.

29 JUNE 2016 • 39

Wildlife

Fascinating facts about bats The saying “blind as a bat” is misleading as they have excellent eyesight. A common pipistrelle weighs between 3.5g and 8.5g, or just less than a wren. Bats use a highly developed form of sonar to locate prey. The greater horseshoe bat uses its nose as a megaphone to broadcast pulsed sounds, while a Daubenton’s bat opens its mouth to emit clicks.

Ten years ago the National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP) was established to monitor population changes in our resident bat species. Today, volunteers collect data from more than 2,500 sites around the UK, making it a world-leading citizen-science programme. It is run by the Bat Conservation Trust and produces an annual report on the status of our bats. Encouragingly, the latest report for 2015, published last month, shows that all the bat species monitored are considered to have been stable or to have increased since 1999. The report does note that “current legislation and conservation action to protect and conserve bats are having a positive impact, and it is vitally important

“All the bat species monitored have been stable or have increased since 1999”

The greater horseshoe bat uses its nose as a megaphone to broadcast pulsed sounds

Britain’s bats are largely resident, but pipistrelles in eastern Europe may migrate many hundreds of miles to warmer wintering grounds. Bats usually hibernate in damp caves, old buildings or holes in trees, often huddling together to conserve heat. Britain’s rarest bat is the greater mouse-eared: occasional individuals are recorded in roosts here, but they may be migrants from the continent.

that this continues”. All bats and their roosts are protected by domestic and European legislation, while the UK is a signatory to the EUROBATs agreement, set up under the Convention on Migratory Species. Information on bat trends is required for UK obligations under the EC Habitats Directive; seven of the UK’s bat species are also Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority species.

Bats in the belfry Bat protection is often controversial. It is not unusual to hear of vicars protesting about having to share their churches with unwelcome colonies about which they

can legally do nothing. The trouble is that ancient buildings, such as churches, are favoured by bats as safe roosts. Though some members of the clergy may dislike bats with good reason, it is worth pointing out that in the UK, no known harmful bacteria, viruses or fungi are present in bat droppings or urine. Bats are clean animals, though that’s no compensation for those who have to clear up the accumulations of bat droppings under the roost.

Bats, for their size, are the longestliving mammals. Many live to at least 10, some to 20, while a few survive until they are 40. The world’s biggest bat is the greater ﬂying fox from south-east Asia; it has a wingspan as big as an osprey. Bat reproduction is slow, as females have only one pup a year. The world’s biggest bat roost is thought to be Bracken Cave in Texas: it holds up to 20million Mexican freetailed bats. Vampire bats feed exclusively on blood: there are three different species, and all are restricted to Central and South America. 40 • 29 JUNE 2016

Above: The entrance to limestone caves below deciduous woodland is a perfect roost for hibernating bats Above right: The noctule, Europe’s largest species of bat, will catch and eat small birds that migrate at night SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Above: A bat trapping and handling demonstration of soprano pipistrelles at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire; Left: Bat droppings give away the location of a roost

Some species of birds, including peregrines and hobbies, regularly catch bats, but recent research in Spain has revealed that sometimes the roles are reversed, and that bats catch birds. The greater noctule â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the largest species in Europe â&#x20AC;&#x201D; catches small passerine birds that are migrating at night. The greater noctule is a rare and little-known bat that has not, as yet, been recorded in Britain. The discovery that it was a frequent birdkiller astonished the scientific world, though no one has yet seen a noctule capture a bird. Discoveries such as this are another reminder of how much we still have to learn about bats. However, my favourite bat statistic is well known. In a single night, a pipistrelle will consume up to 3,000 flying insects. That means my colony is munching up 300,000 insects a night. Astonishing.

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Gundogs

Trainer Howard Kirby and his rehomed German longhaired pointer, Tashi

Can you give a dog a home?

D. TOMLINSON

Most of us aren’t bothered about buying a pedigree, we just want a good worker that can do the job. Why not get a rescue dog, asks David Tomlinson MICHAEL HORNE’S Letter of the Week (Letters, 8 June) was a reminder of the fact that if you are looking for a gundog, there’s an alternative to the usual purchase of a pedigree puppy. Instead of buying a puppy, get a rescue dog, because there are hundreds of gundogs out there in need of a good home. It wasn’t only Michael’s letter that reminded me of this, as the day before reading it I’d received the following email: “Due to the passing away of a family member we have a male springer spaniel that is looking for a home. Monty is black and white, six years old and has been trained as a working dog so is extremely well behaved. He is a very affectionate, happy dog with full inoculations/ microchip/vet history. He is great with kids and is very gentle but he does need a lot of exercise.” Monty sounded ideal for someone looking for a working gundog as a pet and shooting companion. Replacing a much42 • 29 JUNE 2016

loved dog is always difficult. For most of us the usual route is to buy a puppy, but if you haven’t had one for perhaps 12 or 13 years it’s easy to forget how active and lively they are, and how demanding. Many are highly destructive, too, while training a puppy

takes many months. Even if you buy a puppy now it’s unlikely to be ready to enter the shooting field until the season after next, and even that may be too soon for a slow developer.

Remarkably adaptable

Spaniel puppies are appealing, but they grow up to be boisterous dogs needing attention and exercise SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Over the years I’ve met a number of rehomed working dogs that have happily made the transition from working for one master to another. Dogs are remarkably adaptable animals, and have an amazing ability to adjust to a new environment. Perhaps the most successful rehomed dog I’ve met is Howard Kirby’s German longhaired pointer, Tashi (FTCh Wamilanghaar Tash), which Howard handled to win the 2014 Hunt, Point, Retrieve Championship. Tashi wasn’t a rescue dog, but his original owner lived in London and realised that a dog with such obvious ability wasn’t best suited to being a pet. As a result Howard took him on, and enabled Tashi to fulfil his obvious

G DAVID’S VIEWPOINT

IN CEAUSESCU’S FOOTSTEPS Watching wild bears — and huge sheepdogs — in Romania

ne of the problems in life is that you can’t be in two places at the same time. Last summer I planned a bear-watching trip to Transylvania, and this unfortunately coincided with the Field & Country Fair at Cornbury Park. By all accounts this was a great success, and I look forward to going next year. I like the fact that the Fair will return to the same site, which clearly is a great setting for an event of this kind. It’s also about as central as you can get in England. I’m delighted to report that my bear watching was equally successful: I saw 10 different wild bears. The European brown bear, Ursus arctos, is the same species as the grizzly bear, though not as big. However, it’s still a mighty impressive animal. The biggest male

I saw, a 15-year-old known as Obama, weighed an estimated 400kg. Romania, of which Transylvania is a part, has the biggest bear population of any European country. There is still some bear hunting, but if it’s from a hide I can’t think that it’s challenging or satisfying. The Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, was an enthusiastic bear hunter, shooting 400 during his lifetime. He had a palace built in prime bear country, where the bears were baited within shot of his dining table, so that he didn’t even have to venture into the forest to shoot one. Ceausescu came to a sticky end: he was executed by firing squad on Christmas Day 1989. Today Transylvania appears surprisingly prosperous, though you still see many horsedrawn carts and shepherds with their flocks guarded by the biggest sheepdogs I’ve seen anywhere. I only saw a single gundog during my week in the country: a German shorthaired pointer. There were, I’m pleased to say, notably fewer stray dogs than during my last visit 16 years ago.

True, the chances of winning a trial, let alone a championship, with a rehomed or rescued dog may be remote, but the story of Howard and Tashi shows it can be done. Not many of us aspire to trialling our dogs anyway, and most of us want little more than a steady and reliable companion for our shooting outings. For

During one picnic in the forest, four huge and hungry sheepdogs joined us. They were all remarkably well behaved, but keen for any crust. Intriguingly, each one wore a collar from which a short length of metal piping was hung. This, I was told, doesn’t interfere with their sheep-guarding duties, but discourages them from chasing any small game, such as hares, that they might encounter. Email David: stgundog@btinternet.com

are all run by dedicated volunteers who undertake the work for no other reward than the satisfaction of finding a dog a new home. The Internet has made this much easier because, with a few clicks of the mouse, you can not only read about the dogs that need rehoming, but also see pictures of them. The Kennel Club also lists contact information for all the major rescue organisations.

potential. Howard is a professional gundog trainer, but until Tashi he had never owned an HPR before, so both dog and handler were on a steep learning curve. It wasn’t easy, either. Howard said that when he first sent Tashi to retrieve a partridge, he did so with speed and style. However, instead of bringing the bird back to hand, he ate it. Despite such an inauspicious start, Tashi eventually grasped what he was being asked to do. He won his first-ever trial, an encouraging start, followed by certificates of merit at his next three trials, and finished his first competitive season by winning an all-aged stake. The following November he won the Kennel Club’s HPR Championship, the most prestigious prize in HPR trialling.

“When sent to retrieve a partridge, instead of bringing the bird back to hand, Tashi ate it”

A Transylvanian brown bear is “mighty impressive”

Nine rules for rehoming

many of us there’s no need for a pedigree dog with papers, and it doesn’t matter too much whether it’s a cross-breed, either. Michael Horne’s dog Darcey is a cross between a springer and a Border collie, and she clearly has plenty of the springer’s natural working ability. If you would rather adopt a pure-bred dog, you will find plenty of specialist rescue sites on the Internet, covering virtually all of our gundog breeds. They

Rehoming is taken seriously. Springer Spaniel Rescue, for example, lists nine strict rules that apply to anyone who wants to rehome a spaniel. These range from previous experience or knowledge of the breed to having the financial security to pay for veterinary treatment. The rules are so sensible that if they applied to everyone taking on a springer puppy in the first place, there would be far fewer dogs in need of rehoming. The problem, of course, is that there is no creature more appealing than a spaniel puppy, with the result that many people buy them with no thought of the boisterous dog they will grow up to be. We all know the saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. It’s not true, and I’ve met a number of mature animals that have made good gundogs, despite not having had any training as a puppy. So if you are after a new gundog, why not consider rehoming? By the way, I’m pleased to report that Monty has found a suitable shooting home.

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29 JUNE 2016 • 43

Many springer spaniels end up in rescue centres because their owners cannot cope with them

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Sporting Answers Expert tips & advice

The experts THE ULTIMATE SHOOTING QUIZ TEAM BILL HARRIMAN

BASC’s head of ﬁrearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING

Airgunner and journalist from the West Country BRUCE POTTS

Shooting Times riﬂe reviewer and stalker DAVID TOMLINSON

Highly regarded writer and ornithologist LIAM BELL

Shropshire gamekeeper and keen wildfowler GRAHAM DOWNING

Shooting consultant and sporting author PAUL RAWLINGS

Gundog expert and A-panel spaniel judge CHRIS DE CANI

Riverkeeper, with specialist knowledge of chalkstreams

D. KJAER / P. QUAGLIANA / J. MACTAVISH / ALAMY / P. HOBSON / L. CAMPBELL / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY / M. MANNING

TONY BUCKWELL

Veterinary surgeon with a special interest in gundogs TONY JACKSON

A game Shot, keen stalker and former editor of Shooting Times TOM PAYNE

Professional shooting instructor and avid pigeon shooter SIMON WHITEHEAD

Author, professional ferreter and rabbit controller IAIN WATSON

Keen stalker and senior CIC international trophy judge

Contact the team

Email: stanswers@timeinc.com By post: Shooting Times, Pinehurst 2, Farnborough Business Park, Hants GU14 7BF

46 • 29 JUNE 2016

Though the oystercatcher is in decline in Scotland, the population has increased in England by 48 per cent

Expanding oystercatchers BIRDLIFE

I have always associated oystercatchers with the seashore, but in recent years we have been enjoying an increasing number of visits from these handsome birds on our Norfolk shoot. It is more than 40 miles from the coast. Last year a pair even nested for the first time. Is this unusual? Oystercatchers have been moving inland as breeding birds in East Anglia in the past 30 years, following the example of birds in Scotland and the north of England. In Norfolk the current breeding range closely follows

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the county’s major rivers, but with many pairs also nesting in Broadland and in the unforested parts of Breckland. Recent studies have shown the Scottish population to have fallen by 29 per cent in recent years, in contrast with a 48 per cent increase in England. There are no satisfactory explanations for these changes. Inland-nesting oystercatchers do seem to like nesting in fields growing onions and carrots, but they avoid wintersown cereals. Though these birds may nest inland, by the end of July most have moved to their favoured wintering grounds on the coast. They will return in late February or early March. DT

Your queries answered

Decoying woodpigeon AIRGUNNING

I’ve been trying to use decoys to encourage woodpigeon to land within range of my air rifle, but without success. Though several passing birds have veered towards my pattern, none has committed to land among the imitation flock. What am I doing wrong? Decoying woodpigeon to land close enough to pick them off with an air rifle is never easy, but it can be done and it’s extremely satisfying when it works. Decoys will not magically attract pigeon to barren fields. The most important thing is to set up under a busy incoming flightline on feeding grounds that are receiving a lot of attention. Also, rather than trying to persuade pigeon to land among the decoys, set up your fake flock and your hide close to a large, open tree — birds are usually more willing to land in sitty trees than to commit to landing on the ground, where they feel much more

vulnerable. Your hide also needs to be effective, so dress your net with vegetation to help it to blend in, rather than just relying on its camouflage print. MM

Decoys will not magically attract pigeon to barren ﬁelds, so set up under a busy incoming ﬂightline

Temporary permit FIREARMS

The renewal of my shotgun certificate is delayed. My old certificate is about to expire and the police are offering me a temporary permit. Will this allow me to use my gun as well as simply keeping it in my cabinet? And what would I do about the purchase of ammunition? A temporary permit issued under Section 7 of the 1968 Firearms Act is often issued by the police in cases where, through no fault of the applicant, a certificate renewal is delayed. The holder of such a permit may continue to possess firearms and ammunition, and since the Courts have determined that possession equates with use, it is lawful to continue shooting.

You may also buy shotgun cartridges, but you cannot buy Section 1 ammunition because this has to be recorded on a firearm certificate. Expanding ammunition, which is covered by Section 5 of the Act, may not be held on a temporary permit. GD

Many wildfowlers, birdwatchers and countryside enthusiasts will already be familiar with the term “pinion”, which refers to the outer part of a bird’s wing including the ﬂight feathers. The origin of the word is late middle English and derives from the old French pignon meaning “feather”, itself based on the Latin pinna or penna. What may be less well known is the term “pin”. This refers to the tiny pin feather, one of which is found at the base of the ﬁrst primary feather of each of a bird’s wing. All birds have them, though they are particularly associated with the woodcock. Four woodcock pin feathers on a green background form the insignia of the Shooting Times Woodcock Club. With a white, pointed tip, the woodcock pin feather was a valued possession of watercolour artists who used them to paint with. This little-known tradition continues. British artist Colin Woolf, for example, uses the woodcock pin feather to paint woodcock themselves (www.wildart.co.uk). The woodcock pin feather was also used for drawing the gold strip down the side of a Rolls-Royce.

The pin feathers are removed from a woodcock: these pin feathers form the logo of the Shooting Times Woodcock Club You may buy shotgun cartridges on a temporary permit, but you cannot buy Section 1 ammunition

Ensure your gundog is adequately insured! No age restriction

Did you know?

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29 JUNE 2016 • 47

Your queries answered

Lubricated for success RIFLING

Is it worth lubricating airgun pellets for more consistent accuracy and velocity? I shoot a lot of pellets as a pest controller so any benefit would be helpful. There are several ways to increase the accuracy of airgun pellets. Most people open a tin and start shooting, but if you sort out the pellets you will notice a difference in performance. There are several ways to improve pellets: wash them, resize them, sort them by weight or lubricate them. Often pellets can become dried out or oxidised. This oxidisation to the outer surface can cause more friction when travelling down an air rifle’s bore, so a little lubrication can help. It is best to use ready-made lubricants for airgun pellets rather than oil from the garage. Napier’s Pellet Lube is very good, as are SPL or Daystate aerosol. Place the pellets into a small plastic bag, a couple of hundred at a time, and apply the recommended drops of lubrication, then gently shake the bag. Less is more but you can always add more. Tip them back into their tin. They should have an even gleam across their entire surface. Handle carefully so as not to remove it. You should notice that the velocity has become more consistent and this should also improve accuracy. BP

Lubricating airgun pellets will improve accuracy

FISHING

I have been left a split cane fly-rod. It is quite old, but is it okay to use? Old cane rods can lose their action and become floppy. If it droops when held horizontally its best days are probably gone. If it’s in reasonable condition, don’t overgun the line weight. Each flyfishing rod is designed to cast a specific weight of line: “overgun” describes the use of a line that is a heavier weight than the one recommended. Slow down your casting action and enjoy the experience of using a different type of rod. Split cane fly-rods are usually a much slower action than rods constructed from carbon and though generally a little heavier, they can be a joy to use.

Some old cane rods can be of some value and if there is a maker’s name and serial number on the butt section it may be worth undertaking a little research. I have a Bannister 7ft super-fast cane rod that is the equal of any carbon rod when presenting a dry fly on a stream. CDC

Though heavier, split cane ﬂy-rods can be a joy to use

Be prepared for puppies DOG BREEDING

My Labrador bitch has had a successful mating and the resulting whelping will be a first time both for her and me. I want to make sure that she has a suitable whelping bed and that I am in a position to offer any assistance if required. Can you recommend any publication that offers practical advice? I have no wish to interfere in what is a natural process but would like to be aware of my duties in the case of complications. You are wise to make sure you are prepared for any eventualities when your bitch is whelping. In the majority of cases, the dog simply gets on with the task of delivering her puppies without any help, but there is always the possibility that a bitch giving birth to her first litter may, perhaps, fail to understand how to remove the first puppy from the amniotic

sac and this is where the owner must be aware of what action to take. With regard to a publication, you could not do better than buy a copy of Book of the Bitch sub-titled A complete guide to understanding and caring for bitches. Written by J. M. Evans and Kay White and published by Ringpress (ISBN 978-186054-023-3), this is an invaluable book for the dog owner and breeder, covering every aspect of breeding, care and health. TJ

A bitch giving birth to her ﬁrst litter may need a little help, but most simply get on with the job at hand

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Your queries answered

Look out for babesiosis VETERINARY CARE

I live in Essex. Could you tell me more about canine babesiosis, and are there any precautions I can take to prevent my dogs picking up the infection? Babesiosis is transmitted by blood-sucking ticks and caused by a protozoan parasite; a single-celled organism that spends part of its life cycle in its host’s red blood cells. The dog’s immune system will recognise the infected cells, mount a defence and, in the process, destroy its own red cells. The clinical signs include fever, weakness, lethargy, pale gums and sometimes orange or red urine. The signs and severity of babesiosis will vary; some dogs show mild or no sign of infection but in others it can be fatal if left untreated. There is no therapeutic product licensed in the UK to treat canine babesiosis but vets can use imidocarb dipropionate, which is available for the treatment of cattle. The ticks that spread canine babesiosis (called Dermacentor reticulatus) were not found in the UK until recently but, associated with climate change, the tick is now known to be established in Wales, the southwest and south-east of England. Scientists estimate that it takes 24 to 48 hours for the tick to attach and transmit the disease so if you live in these areas check your dog daily. Examine especially the ears, between the feet, in the groin and around its anal and genital regions. Carefully remove any ticks using one of the special products available for this purpose. There are products to prevent tick infestation. These are typically applied or given monthly. Unfortunately, some will not kill any attached ticks within the time taken to transmit infection, so check and be advised by your vet. If you find any ticks, look carefully. Most UK tick species are uniform, often brown, in colour. The Dermacentor reticulatus tick has pale and dark stripes from front to back. If you find such ticks they can be submitted to Bristol University where scientists are conducting a review. Visit www. bigtickproject.co.uk. TB

Right time for a gundog? GUNDOGS

I have recently married and want a gundog of my own. I was thinking of a springer, but we both work and are away for at least six or seven hours during weekdays. It would be in a kennel but I have been advised that spaniels will not settle well. Should I get a different breed or can I make this work for us? I know of many dogs that do spend long periods isolated from human contact and come to no harm. However, the situation obviously is not ideal and can lead to many issues. A bored and lonely dog can easily develop behavioural problems associated with being isolated. Chewing and barking are two of the commonest symptoms that manifest due to the dog suffering from stress. This in turn can have serious effects on the dog’s mental and physical state. Being in a locked kennel and run outside does mean that the dog is secure but you will have no idea what he is getting up to until the neighbours complain about the noise or the inside of the kennel is wrecked. An unhappy dog does not accept training readily and, even though he will probably rush out to greet you with his tail wagging furiously after each long period

Bird of the week As the summer breeding season draws to a close, young grey wagtails start to disperse, turning up almost anywhere, even in gardens. There are three wagtail species in the UK, with breeding grey wagtails most closely associated with running water. They are typically seen searching for insects at the water’s edge on hill streams but they can also be found along rivers in towns and major cities. Some birds’ names are rather misleading and the grey wagtail deﬁnitely comes into this category. Adult grey wagtails may

of isolation, that does not mean he has been settled and happy all day. The services of a friend, willing neighbour or a professional dog walker could avoid him being shut up and he could be enjoying a good walk at lunchtime. I only took on my first gundog puppy once my first child was born and my wife was at home to look after all the family, both human and canine. Perhaps you would be better to wait until your circumstances have changed. PR

Gundogs will be happier if they are not left alone

by Graham Appleton

have grey backs but the first impression, as a bird is disturbed from the banks of a fast-flowing river, is a flash of yellow and the wag of a tail. As there was already a yellow wagtail, a migrant

GREY WAGTAIL species that returns each spring from Africa to breed in pastures and arable ﬁelds, its cousin ended up with the title “grey” – which seems just a little sad.

The grey wagtail can be identiﬁed by its beautiful yellow underside

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29 JUNE 2016 • 49

Your queries answered

Can red stags be called? STALKING

I’ve read quite a lot about hunters using calls to attract deer, mostly roe, but can you tell me if it is possible to call red stags and, if so, when is best and what do you use to do this? Generally, deer are most susceptible to being called during the rutting season when hormones and interest in the opposite sex are at a peak. Roe as woodland dwellers are generally not as visible as red deer, which are more associated with open ground, so calls are often used to locate roebucks in addition to being used to attract them. Red deer can be called but, unlike roe, during the rutting period they will also frequently call to attract attention to themselves and assert their position. Stags roar and bellow in a manner not dissimilar to cattle, and often the bigger the stag the deeper the roar he gives. So if you want to try to call up stags, during the rut is the time to do it. Stalkers use a variety of methods: while some rely on their cupped hand, others use a piece of rolled-up cardboard or the tube from a

toilet roll or kitchen roll is also popular. Commercial calls are available and are blown to replicate the bellowing noise. As most stags are stalked on the hill, stalkers will usually locate the animal and attempt to call it towards them, rather than randomly roaring to see if anything turns up or responds. A word of caution, however: if you try to call a stag to you, have a strategy at hand to stop him before he runs into you, and keep your wits about you. You wouldn’t be the first stalker who has found two stags responding from different directions at the same time! IW

Stags bellow like cattle during the rut, so this is the time to call them, but do keep your wits about you

In the country

Large blues need little reds / 29 June No butterﬂy has a more fascinating lifestyle than the large blue, but because it wasn’t properly understood, our native large blue died out in 1979. Conservationists had mistakenly fenced off the last known colony from rabbits, but the butterﬂies depend on a species of red ant for their complicated life cycle, and that red ant, Myrmica sabuleti, favours shortcropped turf. The female large blue lays her eggs on wild thyme, but the emerging caterpillars depend on the ants to adopt them, and take them into their underground nests. Here

50 • 29 JUNE 2016

the caterpillar feasts on the ant grubs before pupating, eventually emerging as an adult butterﬂy the following June. Today the large blue has been successfully re-established, using

Swedish stock, on a number of southern nature reserves. The ﬂight period is brief — late June and early July. The best site to see this beautiful butterﬂy is Collard Hill in Somerset.

The large blue has a short ﬂight period in late June and early July

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Do not try this at home FIREARMS

Foxing is my main form of shooting and I use a .223 with a lamp on it. Can I use Army surplus ammunition, but cut the nose off the bullet to make it a soft point? I read this in an American book about a man who had been making hunting ammo like this in Burma during World War II. This would save a lot of money, as bullets are expensive. Under no circumstances should you do this, as it is extremely dangerous. If you cut the tip off the jacket, there is the real possibility that the core might be blown out on firing, leaving the jacket stuck in the barrel. This would cause a serious bulge if you fired another round into it. Always use proper hunting ammunition for shooting live quarry. Ex-military ammunition is great for practising with and you want to fire at least 20 practice shots for every shot you take at a fox. However, be aware that military surplus ammunition can cause problems in sporting rifles. Often, military cartridges have very hard primers and can be “hot” loads, developing high pressures. They are often designed for use in machine-guns. Also, the rifling twists are different in military rifles and this might mean that these cartridges will not perform accurately in sporting rifles, because the bullets will not stabilise properly. Buy a few boxes and try them on the range before you commit to buying a case. BH

You should ﬁre 20 practice shots for every shot at a fox, so military surplus cartridges are good for this

Your queries answered

Goshawk behaviour GAMEKEEPING

I am finding the bodies of adult pheasants with their heads off on an almost daily basis. We have skinned them to have a look and haven’t found any bite marks anywhere on the bodies. Any ideas? I suspect they are being killed by a goshawk. Goshawks are more than capable of killing adult pheasants and they don’t always eat what they kill. They will often kill more than one bird at a time (more commonly in release pens), eat only part of one of them. They return the following day not to eat one that they had killed the day before but to kill some more and eat a fresh one. If the bird has been hit on the back of the head from behind and decapitated there may be no marks on the body. LB

Goshawks are capable of killing adult pheasants

New dog on our terrier’s patch GUNDOGS

My friend is giving up shooting and moving into town. He has offered me his five-year-old fully trained Labrador gundog. I spent many days watching her work and she is a delight. She has always lived in a kennel but now will be in our house and therefore must be house-trained. We already have a terrier, who is a bit of a terror. How can I get them introduced and living together without any falling out? Her introduction to your terrier should take place in a neutral environment, in gradual stages to prevent any house-guarding issues arising. Begin out in the open on neutral ground and let them get used to each other’s presence at gradually decreasing distances while on the lead. Do not make this first contact confrontational through being too direct but let familiarity slowly develop — if necessary over several outings — before taking her home with you. Let her have a place of her own in the house to relax at first away from where the terrier sleeps. Over time, they should become good friends and be able to spend all day together. On the subject of getting your new dog to be clean in the house I have found that many older dogs that have always lived in kennels adapt easily to

living in the family home, especially if they have been taught to remain clean in the kennel with regular exercise outside. However, just to make sure, undertake the house-training routine just like you would if the new dog was a puppy. Allocate a place in the garden where she can do her business and make frequent visits there, especially after meals and before bed, to encourage and be able to reward the right behaviour. PR

By introducing them to each other gradually, a terrier will learn to accept a new Labrador in its home

Crossword / Compiled by Eric Linden / 1257 Across

Solution 1255 / 15 June Across: 6. Presentation 7. Chamber 8. Grebe 11. Ivo 12. Japanese 14. Goshawks 15. CLA 17. Prime 19. Martini 20. Condensation Down: 1. Renato 2. Derby 3. Star 4. Microns 5. Knob 6. Picking up 9. Elevation 10. HPRs 12. Jaws 13. Shimano 15. Clinic 16. Croak 18. Rock 19. Mink WINNER: F. KHAN, WORCS. PRIZE WORD: REGION

1 Cook this way to steal the game (5) 4 Sort of teasing information out of sporting co-ordinators (6) 7 The gun part is revealed on foot (4) 8 Books one’s place at conservation sites (8) 9 & 20 down The tanned informer is a common pest (5,3) 10 Wire-haired breed of vulture? (7) 13 An air riﬂe on the tyre (9) 16 Tube lit up unusually by a colourful bird (4,3) 17 On the street beside our river (5) 19 A fetching accomplishment in the ﬁeld (8) 21 Like a gun rag on both sides, ordinarily (4) 22 A warbler sees tickets circulating without the headkeeper (6) 23 The family return on encountering a scope brand (5)

Down

1 Some magpie trouble involving Mr Beretta (6) 2 Spending money provided for a forward-thinking consideration in clayshooting (9) 3 What grows on the head, so to speak, of a game creature? (4) 4 Perhaps Sinatra took in the union chief to give scope ﬁrm Kahles national recognition (8) 5 It’s in search of shooting defenders (3) 6 Poker fund that cook-minded hunters may be shooting for? (3,3) 11 The lighter component is a key device on a centuries-old gun (9) 12 Trade name for a group of ferrets? (8) 14 Swindle somebody out of a gilet (6) 15 William Cavanagh’s Irish base is a new build up North (6) 18 Bird seen during the afternoon (4) 20 See 9 across

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Howtoenter

To enter our crossword competition, identify the word in the shaded squares and you could win a pair of Pro 9 Noise Cancelling Hearing Protectors, worth £26, from Napier of London. Cut out this coupon and send to: Shooting Times Crossword No 1257, Shooting Times, Pinehurst 2, Farnborough Business Park, Hants GU14 7BF Mystery word: Name: Address:

Postcode: Tel no: Rules: Entries must be received by 6 July 2016.All usual conditions apply. Solution and winner will appear in the 13 July 2016 issue. Photocopies accepted.

29 JUNE 2016 • 51

Riverkeeper

Chris de Cani

An invitation to fish the river Carron is a stark reminder that the water quality in England’s chalkstreams is less than adequate, but there are signs of improvement

or some years, I have kept a diary regarding life and work on the river. My wife insists that it is my only means of remembering what it is that I am supposed to be doing from one day to the next, but it also serves as a useful bellwether for life in the river valley, and a reminder as to the state of play in previous years. Twelve months ago, I was again invited to Sutherland to fish the river Carron for salmon. This was quite a surprise, as I am sure I let myself down during previous visits — conditions were almost perfect yet few fish were caught. This year I was kindly invited to return to the Carron. The river was low, hopes were not high yet, on my third cast, a salmon was hooked and landed. The pool may have benefited from being rested on the Sunday, as fish showed throughout my stay but no more were landed. Last year, after a fishless few days, I returned home and was disturbed about the water quality in the Dever, writing at length about foam and cloudiness in my log and kicking up a fuss in a few quarters. This time on my return the river retained the sparkle expected at this time of the year. Something had changed during the past 12 months and whatever was going on upstream from here in 2015 had thankfully stopped. The river’s water quality and discharge is measured on a regular basis by two large electromagnetic coils set in the bed of the river under a road bridge at the bottom of this beat. They cost a little more than £1million in the mid-1990s and were deemed obsolete after 16 years and replaced by an ultrasound system that struggles with weed. The cost of the two coils alone is the equivalent of paying somebody a wage that attracts the highest level of income tax to visit daily for 25 years and take the measurements manually. I’d have done it myself for significantly less, but coils and ultrasound were considered the future.

Suspended solids

C DE CANI

Eager to get to the bottom of the dirty water in 2015, I made a Freedom of Information request to the Environment Agency for the turbidity (cloudiness) readings for this river for the past 20 years. They demonstrated that the river had carried a higher level of suspended solids throughout 2015. Information was also supplied from the monthly samples taken for a variety of water-quality parameters that require the sampler to describe the appearance of the river water. Throughout 2015 it was noted as “normal”. There are anglers who ﬁsh this river approaching their

A glorious stretch of the river Carron in Sutherland, which provides plentiful salmon or, in their absence, trout

10th decade, with the eyesight associated with such venerability, who would attest that the water clarity throughout 2015 was not “normal”. It is a shame it wasn’t recorded as such. Or has the bar for what’s considered “normal” for a chalkstream now been lowered? I don’t know what has changed upstream from here in 2016. I have my suspicions and won’t name the operation that seems to be going about its business a little differently in 2016. Fingers crossed it stays that way. There are many who trumpet that our rivers have never been cleaner, but 83 per cent fails to

“On an afternoon free of salmon, trout fed hard on one of the heaviest hatches of blue-winged olives” meet the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The Salmon and Trout Association conducted a riverﬂy census during 2015. Aquatic invertebrates are an accurate indicator of a river’s health because the more abundant particular species are, the healthier the river is. The census found only 14 out of 120 sites sampled on a regular basis in 2015 were unaffected by phosphate enrichment, sedimentation or reduced ﬂow. The Environment Agency budget has been cut to the extent that there are serious concerns

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over whether it can fulﬁl its remit with regard to the aquatic environment. Some would question government desire for an effective and adequately funded Environment Agency with a long-term economic plan to implement, particularly in this crowded corner of England.

Tri-tailed wonders This brings me back to the Carron and nine miles up a single-track road in sparsely populated Sutherland, where, on an afternoon free of salmon, trout fed hard on one of the heaviest hatches of blue-winged olives I have seen for some years, probably 1995 if my diary is to be trusted. These tri-tailed wonders once formed a significant part of the staple diet for a summerfeeding chalkstream trout, and are an indicator species to look out for in an invertebrate sample. Numbers in many southern rivers have plummeted in the past few decades, but this decline wasn’t picked up by £1million coils in riverbeds or regular sampling by Environment Agency operatives. Riverfly invertebrate sampling identified the decline and it is all too apparent that the rivers of England and Wales are increasingly reliant on citizen-led initiatives for protection against nutrient enrichment, diffuse pollution and reduced flow. Invertebrate sampling is not difficult and flags up any impact on the aquatic environment. Details of how to carry one out can be found at www. riverflies.org. Details of the Riverfly census for 2015 can be found at www.salmon-trout.org, but it doesn’t make for happy reading.

29 JUNE 2016 • 53

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29 JUNE 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ 57

Alasdair Mitchell

Sharpshooter There will always be problems that the shooting world needs to overcome, but just occasionally we should step back from the fray and be glad of what we have

e shooters have a great deal to be thankful for. The UK shooting community is in fine fettle and in a better position to defend and promote our sport than at any time I can recall. No, I am not joking. I am not saying we should fall into the trap of relaxing our guard, but sometimes — just occasionally — we need to stand back and appreciate when our glass is half full, rather than half empty. Things could be worse, they really could. I remember, in the dim, misty recesses of my mind, that I was once a university student. Ah, those were the days… Anyway, there I was, looking forward to some pterodactyl flighting before the start of the mammoth-stalking season, and I was worrying myself sick about the future of shooting. I had to write a dissertation for my politics degree, and the subject I chose was “The politics of shooting sports”. At the time, the news media was littered with dismal anti-fieldsports stories. There was a Labour leader called Foot, who wore a donkey jacket to a service at the Cenotaph and was promising to ban hunting. The antis were in full cry. The future looked grim. And today? Why, we are still hunting (within the law, naturally) and as for shooting, many of us have never had it so good, to pinch a political slogan from a bygone age. I am not going to pretend that the forces of darkness have gone away. They most certainly

have not and we need to remain vigilant, as always. But somehow we now seem more sure-footed at dealing with those who would do us down. Moreover, good-quality shooting of all types has never been more accessible, to a greater variety of people, from all walks of life. Perhaps we should pause to remind ourselves of this. A surfeit of gloom and doom is dispiriting and off-putting. It is depressing and nobody wants to be depressed, do they? Moaning is not attractive. Why would anybody wish to join a club of miserable, negative people with a siege mentality?

“Good-quality shooting has never been more accessible to a great variety of people” If we wish to attract new entrants to shooting, we need to reach out to them with positive messages, rather than hiding behind ramparts of sandbags and ﬁring the odd defensive volley. We need to be on the front foot, rather than always reacting. Genuine enthusiasm is uplifting. It is also infectious and spreads like a benevolent virus. Speaking of which, I am delighted to see that Duncan Thomas, who worked for me when I was northern regional director at BASC until I resigned

last year, has been appointed to my former role. This is great news. Duncan is just about the most enthusiastic exponent of shooting sports that I have ever met. He has a unique ability to motivate youngsters, in particular. I recall our time working together as being characterised by gales of laughter in the ofﬁce, with a rash of practical jokes and general merriment. Happy times.

Grit and expertise Having bumped into Duncan and other BASC staff at the organisation’s recent AGM, I can only conclude that the future of shooting is in good hands. Morale seems high and the newly forged BASC Council (see News, p.5) appears to be made of the right stuff, with plenty of grit and expertise. There were excellent speeches from the acting chief executive, Christopher Grafﬁus, and the new chairman, Peter Glenser. It was heartening to see so many volunteers whom I know personally walking up to get their much-deserved awards. The atmosphere was purposeful and conﬁdent — very different to some of the AGMs that I have attended in the past. There will always be problems to overcome for shooting. It was ever thus; there is no room for complacency. We should remember to make some room for optimism. So, be happy — that’s an order! (Alasdair will be back to his usual self next week, when normal service will be resumed).

DOG BY KEITH REYNOLDS

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58 • 29 JUNE 2016

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

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