CANNABIS: HONESTLY, OFFICER, IT’S JUST A COVER CROP

6 NOVEMBER 2019 Since1882

Dawn
vs

Which is better
for wildfowling?

WHAT GUNS WANT

Why small days

are so popular

HE ATED KIT

A gimmick or
an essential?
GREY SQUIRRELS

Are pine martens

really the answer?
 START WITH A
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 DOG OF THE WEEK
In association with Orvis
For all things dog, Shooting Times recommends Orvis.co.uk
Outdoor outfitters, instructors and apparel makers since 1856.

Jäger
Fifteen-month-old Jäger will be picking-up this season. He loves anything to do with water and once ran at his
owner Lucy, forcing her to fall back into a river, whereupon he showed off his best doggy paddle around her!

Owned and photographed by Lucy Hegan

 06.11.19
Issue 6,165 £22.99
The season offers
thrilling sport and
Taste of triumph challenging birds. Follow
About a decade ago, it in Shooting Times for
I had something of a less than the cost of a
teenage tantrum — my
parents were hatching driven pheasant
plans to drain a boggy
shootingtimessubs.co.uk/AST9
bit of field and I objected because it
was a refuge for snipe. 0330 333 1113 Quote code: AST9
SAVE
In the end I won and over the Lines open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 6pm (UK time) UP TO
years it’s been a joy to watch the little
birds flit away over the rushes when
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first frost falls.

Last Friday, before breakfast,
I wandered out with a gun over my
shoulder and my Jack Russell running
on ahead. She has reached an age
when she is perfectly content to
spend her days stretched out in front
of the fire rather than going for a walk
but as soon as she hears the keys in
the cabinet lock, she becomes a
young dog again. Solitary and wild What do Guns really want?
Just as I noticed that my boots
16 Is dawn or dusk better for fowling?
20 What makes a day worth the cost
were leaking, a wisp of six snipe burst
into the cold autumn air. Closing my
gun, I brought one tumbling down
in front of me and dropped another
as it curled to the left.
That evening, in my game book,
I noted: “My first right-and-left snipe”
and then, in the margin, scribbled the
words: “A conservation triumph.”
I’ve always liked lamb, and calf’s
liver is good, but I strongly believe The British Game Alliance Turning up the heat
that meat tastes best when it comes
24 Is the BGA achieving its aims?
28 The latest kit to keep you warm
from a creature whose habitat you
have helped to protect.
Patrick Galbraith, Editor

Follow Patrick on Twitter

@paddycgalbraith

Contents
Saving red squirrels Endings and beginnings
30 Will pine martens rid us of greys?
32 The countless blessings of autumn
NEWS & OPINION REGULARS
06 NEWS 12 COUNTRY DIARY
10 LETTERS 14 GAMEKEEPER
FEATURES 32 CATLOW
16 WILDFOWLING 42 VINTAGE TIMES
20 GAME SHOOTING 44 GUNDOGS
24 BGA 46 COOKERY
28 KIT REVIEW 48 SPORTING
30 CONSERVATION ANSWERS
34 GUNDOG 54 PRODUCTS
TRAINING 58 SHARPSHOOTER A dog’s first shoot Pheasant yuk sung
34 How much to expect on a debut day
46 Elevenses for the adventurous

4 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

 NEWS
Fears as RSPB launches
review of shooting policy
Countryside organisations sound alarm bells as RSPB announces it
will be undertaking a major policy review on shooting game birds
K
evin Cox, chairman
of the RSPB
council, has
announced that
the charity will begin a formal
review of its policy on shooting
game birds. This has sparked
widespread speculation that
the RSPB will formally adopt an
anti-shooting stance.
Mr Cox said at the charity’s
AGM: “In response to the
evidence about the scale of
the environmental impact and
growing public concern,
including from our
membership, the council
has agreed to review our
policy on game bird shooting and
associated land management.
“This is an emotive and
sometimes controversial
subject but we want to use our
scientific rigour to develop
a set of conservation tests
C. WARREN / A. HOOK / S BALMAIN / ALAMY
6 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
for management practices
associated with game
bird shooting. We will use
these to guide the RSPB’s
conservation policy, practice
and communications.”
The RSPB’s royal charter,
which can only be amended by
the Privy Council, prevents it
from taking any stand on the
“This seems the final step in the RSPB’s journey
to becoming an anti-shooting organisation”
ethics of shooting. However, the
charity has increasingly been
seen as moving towards an anti-
shooting stance.
Its vice-president Chris
Packham is an outspoken critic
of shooting and several senior
officers have used blogs and
social media to criticise releasing
and shooting game birds.
Tim Bonner, chief executive
of the Countryside Alliance, said:
“Disappointingly this seems to
be the final step in the RSPB’s
long journey to becoming an anti-
shooting organisation. It displays
the charity’s bizarrely warped
priorities in the face of so many
other pressing concerns that
face the countryside.
“The environmental,
economic and social benefits
of shooting have been repeatedly
illustrated by research and
reports. The Countryside Alliance
will continue to robustly promote
and defend properly conducted
game shooting.”
BASC, however, has decided
to tackle the RSPB head on.
Caroline Bedell, BASC’s executive
director of conservation, said:
“We have already made contact
with the RSPB to ask how we can
feed into this review.
“While there will be fears from
some quarters within shooting
that this review could lead to the
RSPB creating a hard-line anti-
shooting policy, BASC believes
the RSPB will, in fact, conduct the
review in the manner expected of
an evidence-based organisation.
“That evidence will point
the review directly and clearly
towards shooting as an activity
that massively benefits the
economic and environmental
make-up of the countryside.”
Matt Cross
Shooters fear the rural
way of life is under
threat from the RSPB

‘No deal’ and dog travel
Defra has warned that the
current EU pet passport
will not be valid for travel
to continental Europe if
there is a no-deal Brexit.
Anyone wishing to take dogs,
including working animals
such as gundogs, to the EU
is advised to contact their vet
four months before travelling.
The most likely process
for taking a dog to the EU after
a no-deal Brexit was outlined
by Defra. Any dog being
taken to an EU country will
have to be microchipped and
vaccinated against rabies. It
will then have to have a blood
sample taken within 30 days
of its last rabies vaccination
and the sample will have to
be analysed in a laboratory
approved by the EU.
A three-month wait
is required between the
collection of the sample and
any travel to the EU. The vet
can then issue a copy of the
results and an animal health
Tick-borne disease hits UK
Public Health England has
confirmed that tick-borne
encephalitis has reached the
UK. Ticks carrying the virus
have been found in Thetford
Forest and on the Dorset-
Hampshire border.
Earlier this year an
unnamed European visitor
Tick-borne encephalitis has been identified in southern England
Dogs travelling to EU countries would have to undergo blood tests
certificate. Defra warned:
“You will not be able to travel
with your pet if you have not
completed these steps.”
If the blood test result is not
became ill after being
bitten by a tick in the New
Forest. While it has not been
confirmed, this is believed
to be the first and so far only
case of the disease in the UK.
Dr Nick Phin, deputy
director of the National
Infection Service, Public
Email your stories / STeditorials@ti-media.com
Weekend Twitter poll
Would you be happy to pay a 50 pence
levy on a pheasant or partridge on
a shoot day that would go to the
British Game Alliance to help them
market game?
75% Yes
25% No
follow us @shootingtimes Respondents: 310
To do this week
successful, owners will need
a repeat vaccination and With a general
another blood test taken
P O L I T I C S election
at least 30 days after the coming there is a great chance to make
repeat vaccination. the voice of shooting heard. Contact
your candidates and ask where they
stand on shooting and other
countryside issues. Take the chance
to put the case for shooting across and
show them that backing fieldsports is
Health England, said: “These a vote winner.
are early research findings
and indicate the need for Astheweather
further work. However, the
GARDEN
turnscolder
risk to the general public is andtreesenterdormancy,nowisthe
currently very low.” timetostartplantingnewones.Filling
The disease is well gapsinoldhedgerowscanhugely
established in Europe and improvetheirvalueasahabitatfor
across large areas of the gameandotherwildlifeandevenasingle
former Soviet Union. It has nativetreecansupport thousands of
two forms — a generally more other organisms.
severe form found in Asia and
a less severe European one.
The disease can cause
a fatal inflammation of
the brain, with between
one per cent and five per
cent of patients dying of the
disease. However, most cases
show no symptoms.
People involved in
shooting and stalking are at
higher risk of tick bites and
tick-borne diseases than the
general population. They are
advised to take precautions
to prevent bites and remove
ticks from dogs with care.
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 7
 NEWS
The Prime Minister
is said to be a fan of
EVENTS DIARY grouse shooting

7 NOVEMBER
EDINBURGH & SOUTH
EAST SCOTLAND
HIP FLASK CHALLENGE
Hampden & Co,
Edinburgh 01738 554822

7 NOVEMBER
GWCT ROADSHOW
Barton’s Mill, Bartons
Lane, Basingstoke
gwct.org.uk/events

14 NOVEMBER
Election spotlight
SHOOTERS’ EVENING
Garfield Hotel,
Cumbernauld Road,
Stepps, Glasgow
on country sports
basc.org.uk/events
MPs will be quizzed on attitude to shooting and
16 NOVEMBER
countryside as nation goes to polls in snap election
SHOTGUN AND
CHELSEA BUN CLUB The decision to call a general Junior environment minister Some of shooting’s staunchest
(LADIES) CLAY SHOOT election on 12 December has Zac Goldsmith recently made supporters can be found on the
Hereford & Worcester turned attention to where the a number of announcements all-party Parliamentary group
Shooting Ground parties and candidates stand that have been interpreted as on shooting and conservation.
shotgunand on shooting. anti-shooting. These include a The group’s chairman
chelseabunclub. According to a story in the commitment to block imports is Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown,
co.uk/events Evening Standard, Prime Minister of hunting trophies and a recent a Conservative MP who has been
and Conservative party leader claim that the Government a passionate and public supporter
Boris Johnson was a fan of grouse was introducing legislation of shooting.
20-21 NOV
shooting, enjoying a day out on to limit muirburn. Gavin Shuker is co-vice
TWO-DAY chairman of the group. Mr Shuker
WILDFOWLING “There has been speculation over recently left the Labour party, first
INTRODUCTION joining Change UK then becoming
Lindisfarne, the influence of Carrie Symonds” an independent member.
Northumberland The former chairman of the
P. WITCOMB / TAYLORMADE PHOTOGRAPHY / ALAMY / GWCT

07825 401126 the moors of Northumberland
basc.org.uk/events as recently as 2014.
There has been considerable
speculation, thought, about the
4 DECEMBER
potential influence of his partner
NGO CHRISTMAS Carrie Symonds, an outspoken
QUIZ NIGHT critic of trophy hunting who
Skillington Village Hall, promoted claims that British Guns
Lincs NG33 5HG were travelling to Iceland to hunt
07765 402146 puffins — claims debunked by
Shooting Times (News, 7 August).
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
has had little to say about shooting.
However, his environment
spokesman Kerry McCarthy has
roundly criticised shooting and is
a previous vice-president of the
League Against Cruel Sports. She
told BASC that she is “against all
shooting ‘sports’ where there’s
a living creature on both ends
of the gun”.
Countryside Alliance, Simon Hart,
and current chairman Nick Herbert
will be standing for re-election
as MPs, but another former CA
chairman, Labour MP Kate Hoey,
is not planning to stand again.
You can investigate your own
MP’s views on shooting via the
BASC website, visit basc.org.uk/
election2019
Matt Cross

8 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE


Wildfowling course for
beginners at Lindisfarne
The BASC Lindisfarne
wildfowling scheme is
introducing a new course
for beginners.
Lindisfarne, an
island off the coast of
Northumberland, is a
Special Protection Area
and home to internationally
important populations of
waders, geese and ducks.
The well-established scheme
allows BASC members to buy
permits to shoot ducks and
geese on the island.
The new course is
a two-day introduction to
wildfowling for those who
want to try it for the first time.
The course on 20-21
November consists of a day
in a classroom, sessions
looking at legal issues, quarry
Cannabis cover for high birds
A shoot in Somerset has
found an interesting new
cover crop, which might be
strangely familiar to the birds.
George Thomas is
cultivating Cannabis sativa,
a plant from the pheasants’
original home in central Asia.
George told Shooting
Times that the birds love the
thick cover provided by the
8ft-tall plants and feast on
the oil-rich seeds.
Medicinal cannabis is proving to be a highly popular cover crop for pheasants on a shoot in Somerset
identification and fieldcraft.
It will be followed by a lecture
covering the equipment
needed, including guns and
ammunition.
The afternoon will be
taken up with a guided tour
of the wildfowling areas of
the island. For most Shots
the highlight is likely to be the
guided evening and morning
flights, where students
BASC is offering a beginners’ wildfowling course on Lindisfarne
“The hemp is alongside
a field of maize but all the
pheasants are in the hemp,”
said George.
As well as being the
base for a pheasant shoot
that George and his father
have run for nearly 15 years,
George’s 160-acre farm is
the headquarters of Sativa
Group, the UK’s first publicly
listed CBD and medicinal
cannabis company.
Email your stories / STeditorials@ti-media.com
are accompanied by an
experienced wildfowler.
The £200 price includes
one night’s dinner, bed and
breakfast, and lunch as
required. Steel ammunition
(12b or 20b) and a season’s
permit are also included. For
more information contact
julia.birchall-mann@basc.
org.uk. Applications close
on 13 November.
The company now has 40
staff, including 10 chemists,
and three high street shops.
It is not only quality cover
that the hemp fields provide
for shooting. George’s
company Goodbody
Botanicals manufactures
CBD products on site, which
some of the Guns find helpful
in alleviating the aches and
pains acquired during a day
in the field.
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 9
NEWS IN BRIEF
Pasties are fair
game for Ginsters
Game meat could soon be reaching
places it has never been before. A
well placed source has told Shooting
Times that the British Game Alliance
has struck a deal with pasty company
Ginsters (see p.24) in which pheasant
and partridge pasties will be sold in
petrol station forecourts, motorway
service stations and convenience
stores across the country.
Gundog and owner
reunited after crash
A gundog lost after a serious car
accident has been reunited with her
owner after 14 days on the run near
Maybole in Ayrshire. The box in which
Holly (pictured below) was travelling
was detached from the car by the
force of the accident and burst open,
allowing the terrified dog to run off. An
enormous effort by the local shooting
community followed. The search was
finally successful, with gundog handler
Richard Binkhorst returning Holly to
her owner, who is unable to walk due
to her injuries. Both dog and owner are
expected to make a full recovery.
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 LETTERS
LET TER OF THE WEEK
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This week’s cover image was
captured by Sarah Farnsworth
GPs, licences and mental health
I am concerned about the
recent addition to firearms
applications/renewals that
stipulates a letter from the
applicant’s doctor is required,
advising on their mental
health (News, 3 and 31 July).
In theory, this sounds incredibly
sensible; in practice, it may be
a very bad move for both the
authorities and the applicant.
If any treatment, consultation
or medication for stress,
anxiety, depression and so
on is going to be instrumental
in refusal of a firearms
certificate, no one is going to
approach their GP about these
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BROWNING
The winner of Letter of the Week will receive a
Browning Powerfleece. Warm and practical, it is ideal
for both the peg and the pub and is available in sizes
S-5XL. For more information, visit: www.browning.eu.
Colour dependent on availability.
THE RSPB
We note, with considerable
disappointment, the recent
article by Jamie Blackett
(Country Diary, 9 October), which
contains many false and totally
unsubstantiated allegations
about the RSPB.
It appears that this article
seeks solely to damage the
RSPB’s reputation and create
suspicion and distrust in the
minds of your readers. Its
publication does nothing
to encourage constructive
discussion between the
shooting industry and nature
conservation NGOs, and is all the
more disappointing in the light of
recent discussions and meetings
between RSPB staff and Shooting
Times,wherewearetryingtobuild
bridges between our sectors.
There is no evidence
whatsoever to support the
apparent source of this story’s
assertion that the two individuals
he claimed to encounter were
from the RSPB, other than his
claim that they told him this.
The falsities are compounded
conditions. This will lead to
patients not seeking treatment
for issues that could easily be
resolved if nipped in the bud,
ultimately leading to worsened
mental health. The only people
it will pick up are the older
applicants with medical history
prior to this inclusion.
You have to consider it also
from the doctor’s point of view
— fearing some backlash of
responsibility, they are going
to flag up the slightest of issues.
At a time when the
importance of good mental
health is increasingly coming
to the fore and people —
by the fact that no attempt was
made either by the author or your
editorial team to put them to us
for comment.
RSPB staff have no powers
or right to ‘inspect vehicles’
— the only time we would be
involved in carrying out any
search would be when we are
specifically requested by the
police to assist them under their
instruction and immediate close
supervision. Similarly, the further
accusations that RSPB staff were
‘trespassing’ or are vigilantes
do not stand up to scrutiny.
The final paragraph of the
article suggests that the RSPB
may have brought the law into
disrepute by acting dishonestly.
Again, we repudiate this
baseless accusation.
This article is constructed
entirely on false accusation and
allegation and on unevidenced
opinion. For clarity, we refute
the allegations completely
and request that you publish
this letter and provide us with
an apology.
Allie McGregor,
communications officer, RSPB
especially men — are being
encouraged to share their
feelings and problems more
easily, this licensing change
could work against it. It must
also be remembered that
a huge proportion of those
applying for licences will be
farmers, an industry in which
suicide rates are already
alarmingly high.
The licensing authorities
may see these changes as a
way of picking up on potential
risks, but they could have the
opposite effect.
P. Smith,
by email
TheEditorresponds:“Ithasbeen
apleasuretomeetvariousRSPB
employeesoverthepastfew
months.Youhavesomegreat
peoplewhoareworkinghardto
achievereallygreatthingsinterms
ofconservation.However,the
storytheoldkeepertoldJamieis
notauniqueoneandagreatmany
ofourreadersareworriedabout
theRSPB’srelationshipwiththe
likesoftheLeagueAgainstCruel
SportsandChrisPackham—
yourvice-president—whohas
beenguiltyofpeddlingmistruths
aboutBritishfieldsports.Iwould
dearlylovetheretobeabetter
relationshipbetweenshooting
andyourorganisation.Ifyou
werealittlemorevocalaboutthe
manybenefitstobiodiversitythat
shootingbrings, it would go a very
long way.
PERCEPTION IS ALL
I read with interest the points
raised by J. M. Osborne and the
response from Patrick Galbraith
on big bags (Letters, 23 October).
One word: perception. We have to
remember the vast majority of the

10 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE


NO FOOTPRINT
My daughter, Poppy (right),
has been coming shooting
with me for the past five years.
She is now 10 and working
one of our two Labradors. She
has come to appreciate the
countryside, its beauty and its
fauna and flora. Recently she
and her friends were debating
ethics of shooting and why she
did it, and carbon footprints
left by many things.
She asked her friends
what they liked to eat. Varied
answers came back — you
can probably imagine what
10-year-olds might like. She
pointed out that all those
things had a considerable
carbon footprint.
She then told them that
the spoils of our day were
public has little understanding
of the intrinsic biodiversity
benefits of well-conducted game
shooting. Sadly, a good-news
story of the successful re-
establishment of a grey partridge
population through sensitive
land management and focused
predator control is unlikely to find
an audience outside those who
are members of the GWCT.
However, an isolated case
of bag dumping or, perhaps,
a case of persecution of a
protected species in the name of
gamekeeping, will gain several
thousand posts on social media
and an opinion will be formed
that will be nigh on impossible
to change. The extent of the
issue is illustrated by the level of
comments from within shooting
with regard to big bags.
Those with little or no
understanding of the wider
dynamics are likely to draw far
more damning opinions from
seeing double-gunning and
shooting 500-plus birds in a day.
I get the economics, I get the
basis of scale and the good that
comes from injections of cash at
this level. But it will be pointless
‘‘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
Email your letters / STletters@ti-media.com
NEXT WEEK IN WILD SPORT
SPECIAL
FIRE IN ICE HIGH ON THE HOG
Hunting ptarmigan in Norway. Seeking wild boar in Galloway.
taken home in the back of
our Defender, to be prepared
by her father and enjoyed
during in the week with some SAVING GREYS
home-grown vegetables. What does the future hold for
This was met with a slightly WATCH LIKE A HAWK wild grey partridges?
embarrassed silence. Stalking partridges with
It was a refreshing reply peregrine falcons.
and literally food for thought.
R. Gee, Derbyshire
if this is the type of shooting that
brings it all to an end.
I welcome the introduction
of Habitat Regulations
Assessments where birds are GONE TO GROUND
to be released within sensitive Cooking venison faggots
habitats, or where the resultant WELSH WIGEON in an earth oven.
stocking density exceeds a Flighting wigeon in
certain level. I look forward to the west Wales.
switch to non-lead alternatives.
I embrace the imposition of
higher penalties for those who
commit wildlife crime in the name
of shooting. And the end product
must be utilised — no excuses.
Therefore responsible and
sustainable marketing of the shot
game should be at the forefront A GOOD START
of every shoot. These changes Creating a woodcock and
are fundamental. Sadly, there SIMPLY MAGIC snipe shoot.
are a number of shoots, together Walked-up woodcock
with landowners and sporting in Ireland.
agents, with far too much “skin
in the game” to support a drive
for self-regulation. These are
the exception. Let’s not let the
exception become the rule.
R. J. Kerr-Bonner,
Gloucestershire
See What do Guns really want?
on p.20 and A bigger piece of the ... AND MUCH MORE!
pie on p.24.
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 11

Country Diary
Extinction Rebellion has been more than a little economical with the
truth, serving up double whoppers with fries to anyone who will listen
L
ondon is now culturally
another planet as far as this
backwoodsman is concerned.
Two lots of space cadets
were there doing their level best to end
life on planet Galloway: our elected
representatives in the House of Commons
and a bunch of misanthropes calling
themselves Extinction Rebellion.
I should have thought if anyone had the
right to rebel about extinctions it would be
farmers driven out of business by badger-
borne tuberculosis, keepers and shepherds
being laid off in the hills as estates bow to
market pressure and plant forestry, and
keen young huntsmen robbed of their
futures by the Axis of Spite.
We were there as finalists in the Hidden
Gem category of the eviivo B&B awards.
I say ‘we’ but really my wife does all the
hard graft, though I was happy to share in
the glory. We didn’t win but it was a great
night swapping anecdotes with other
breakfast chefs from across the UK.
Revolution
While there, I briefly considered going
to observe proceedings in the House of
Commons, but decided my blood pressure
couldn’t take it so went to check out
Extinction Rebellion instead. Having what
socialists call a vested interest in the
survival of British livestock farming,
I was anxious to see the vegan revolution
at first hand.
George Monbiot, the Citizen Smith of our
time, had just blockaded Smithfield Market
and announced that British farmers were all
going to give up producing meat and have
a wonderful future growing vegetables.
I don’t suppose George ever ventures out
of his ivory tower but if he did he would
discover there are even parts of the
Cotswolds where that isn’t possible.
I found them in Trafalgar Square.
It brought back happy memories of the
Countryside March when our rumbustious
throng of rustic dissidents entered the
square, a blue-grey flock lifted off Nelson’s
Column and some wag shouted ‘Pigeon!’
And we all looked skyward and shared
a cultural moment. I don’t know what
Nelson would have made of the dreary
12 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
According to Extinction Rebellion, it takes some 16,000 litres of water to produce a kilo of beef
bunch of hippies sitting on the steps outside
the National Gallery with their placards, all
70 of them, watched by 72 bored-looking
policemen, who had been bussed in from
Kent at our expense.
They all looked very anaemic — the
protesters, not the policemen — as might
be expected of vegans. Apart from an
eccentric fellow with a banner proclaiming:
“When they circumcised Trump they threw
away the good bit.” Obviously a Democrat
then. A sad-looking woman cowered behind
a large placard that read ‘This feels like
a dictatorship’.
“The protesters
looked very
anaemic, as might
be expected from
a vegan diet”
I looked around the square at happy
tourists of every creed and colour, at
children climbing on the lions and at the
random collection of ‘environmentalists’
being humoured by the avuncular arm
of the law and asked: “Really? Do you
really think so?”
It’s always a mistake to get into
conversation with single-issue fanatics.
Soon I was being proselytized by a
Jamie Blackett
woman who assaulted me with falsehoods:
“Do you know, eating four beefburgers is
the same as flying to New York and back?
Four burgers!”
Another one pitched in with the
interesting but entirely erroneous factoid
that it takes 16,000 litres of water to
produce a kilo of beef. If that were true we
would all be investing in cattle in Britain to
soak up the flood waters. But it was what
you might call a double whopper with fries.
I headed back to Galloway a sadder but
not much wiser man. Our world is under
threat. If rising sea levels don’t get us,
the vegan thought police will. Happily, if
Extinction Rebellion has achieved anything,
it has galvanised the scientific community
into looking more closely at the myths
surrounding methane from cows and
exposing the fake science.
I urge readers to go on YouTube and
look at a series of seven short Cows and
climate videos produced by GHGGuru,
aka Dr Frank Mitloehner of California. Then
when some moron tells you that being an
omnivore threatens the planet, you can
put them right with all the facts at your
disposal. I wish I had.
VAL CORBETT/COUNTRY LIFE PICTURE LIBRARY
Jamie Blackett farms in Galloway.
He runs a small private shoot and was
one of the founders of the Dumfriesshire
& Stewartry Foxhounds.
 Lindsay Waddell is a former chairman of the NGO and a retired gamekeeper
Upland keeper
Fenn traps will soon become illegal and the new traps will not stop
as many predators — but that is what our masters see fit to impose
A
s the last knockings of the
grouse season are upon us,
keepers who have not already
started changing are now
giving serious consideration as to what trap
they are to use next year when the Fenn
is no longer legal.
It is fair to say they are far from happy
with the process that to date has left them
with the choice of two traps, one of which
has been around for some time already.
Given that the New Zealand Department
of Conservation (DOC) trap was already
legal, only one new trap has made it on to
the approved list, the Tully. The original
specification bandied around was that any
trap which was to be seriously considered
had to be the same size as the Fenn, and
as economic as possible.
It is still possible that one will come
on to the market but time is against us.
It’s easy to understand the frustration
that many keepers feel now they find
themselves with one new trap, which is
about 50 per cent larger than the Fenn,
and as expensive, or pricier than the DOC,
depending on how many you buy at a time.
With individual units coming in at more
than £30 each, that is hardly similar to
the cost of one Fenn trap. For the deep-
pocketed large moor owners, cost is not
the issue but, contrary to what many seem
to think, there are scores of small grouse
shoots for whom that sort of money is not
an insignificant outlay.
Part of the reason for the cost, the size,
and the restrictions on entrance size placed
on the new traps seems to be that many
traps were discarded because they did
14 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
not strike fast enough to catch the target
animal during testing. That may well have
been due to the animal being moved around
to get it to cross the trap.
I was responsible for the control of those
animals on perhaps one of the most prolific
areas for them in Britain. Our annual cull
was in the region of 600 per year and up
to 800 one season. Thousands of acres of
marginal grazing with a high density of rush
cover and lots of voles and rabbits meant
high numbers of stoats. We also played
host to the highest density of wading birds
outside the Orkneys, so control was vital.
During the course of those years
I observed hundreds of stoats and the one
noticeable characteristic is that, with few
exceptions, they are seldom in a hurry. They
are, if anything, very careful going about
their daily rounds, taking in everything
“Keepers are far from happy with the
process for approving new traps”
around them, pausing to smell things and
constantly watching where they are going.
They only go up through the gears when
being chased, chasing something else
or crossing open ground.
A stoat being pursued is very fast,
as any observant keeper will tell you.
Many keepers like a very light-pressure
striking trap, but these have their
drawbacks. There are reports of even the
new generation of traps missing animals
that seem not to have been far enough on
to the plate. This, I believe, is because they
are too light regarding pressure.
From left: the DoC 150
trap, the new Tully and
the old Fenn trap
A slightly heavier plate pressure allows
the animal to get properly on to it before the
trap strikes, which ensures a humane kill.
The manufacturers of the Tully trap have
listened to feedback from gamekeepers
and modified their trap accordingly.
The DOC plate pressure is easily
altered by tweaking the stamped-out catch
upwards on the plate to give it more bite
with the swinging arm. This is important
if you do not want to catch mice and other
by-catches and will keep your trap set ready
for the animals you do want to kill. You
can, if you wish, simply use a set weight,
100g, lowered on the plate to check at what
pressure your trap will fire.
Simply use a good hook as a safety
catch to stop your trap smashing your
weight, or vice versa. It is an exercise worth
doing to ensure that your new traps work
as efficiently as possible. That, after all,
has been the whole point of this process.
A word of caution on the size of the
restrictors around the traps if you’re
making your own. Make sure you get
imperial mesh because metric mash
will be just that tiny bit too big for the
legal requirements.
In the end, within reason, the more
restricted the access to the trap, the
fewer animals will be caught and the more
ground-nesting birds predated. But sadly
that doesn’t seem to be something that
worries our masters unduly.
D. MOORE
 Wildfowling
A world light
years away
Simon Garnham enjoys a morning on a
hallowed marsh and goes home wondering
if dawn or dusk is better for wildfowling
G
raphite grey skies loured
darkly at dawn as I
crouched on the edge of
Moze Creek. The sucking
mud gurgled and belched beneath
me. In the distance a skein of two
dozen greylags beat their ragged
way into a head wind.
John English, old friend and
chairman of Tendring Hundred
Wildfowlers, hunkered down to
my left some 80 yards further up
the creek. The geese were heading
his way out, necks bent into the
D. ROGERS / S. FARNSWORTH
wind to defy the elements and find
safe passage across the marsh. We
held our breath and hoped for good
fortune, hissing the dogs to restrain
their instincts and keep still.
Tendring wildfowlers are investing in an impressive freshwater sanctuary that will not be shot
16 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
John and I have shot together for
many years but this was the first
time for me on his home territory.
He also chairs the Hamford Water
Wildfowlers’ Association so has
access to some of the finest and
wildest hunting grounds on the
east coast.
Creek-crawling
We were at school together though
John was rarely to be found,
preferring to be creek-crawling with
his father or cousin who together
formed the club he now chairs. As a
family they led the way in Tendring’s
land purchases and now head up
a little gem of an east coast club.
Tendring limits itself to 30 members
and has a waiting list measured in
terms of light years.
Access to its marshes is a privilege
restricted to a lucky few and I was
keen to see what makes the club
so special. So when John invited
me to join him for a morning flight,
I jumped at the chance.
With an early start we wound our
way along the coast road through
scudding autumn leaves and
blackthorn bushes groaning in the
gale. A long track took us through
an old-fashioned farmyard and to
the edge of the seawall, where we
parked in a gateway and pulled on
waders and waterproofs. Going
through the gateway and
across a tufted, uncut grazing
meadow, over a stile and
across a sluice, we came
to the seawall.
Vastness
It was clear that birds love the borrow
dykes — or ronds as they are still
known — the club has been digging
out and clearing. Teal whistled and
mallard burbled contentedly from
inside the reed beds. Automatic
feeders flickered on the edges of
the dykes but our destination was
to be way out on the marsh. We left
them far behind us as we crested
the seawall and set out across the
vastness of the backwaters.
Tendring fowlers are spartan in
their approach. Younger members
are expected to shoot well out on the
saltings and exercise restraint nearer
 Wildfowling

The greylags pass wide

but the nearest bird
falls to John’s shot

to the heavy clay farmland adjoining

their holding. A no-shooting zone
is clearly marked parallel to the
seawall. I wondered if this was so that
the public could not see members’
exploits but no — footpaths run far
away from here.
The club is fortunate to border
land owned by an explosives factory
and is therefore exempt from coastal
access rules now being imposed in so
many other parts of the country.

One for the pot

“We can shoot where we want,” says
John. “But who wants to shoot where
it’s easy? The only members who can
shoot over the borrow dykes are now
too old to get out on to the marshes.
They tend to come down, take one
for the pot and then just enjoy what
we’ve got here. Most of us would
rather be out in the creeks.” Simon with Tess and John with
So it was we found ourselves on Blaze take a break for coffee
the edge of a gutter that was turning
from leaden grey to silver, hoping
against hope that the geese would
hold their line. A redshank jumped
“The club borders land owned by
and flickered past with a mournful an explosives factory and is therefore
shriek, and out on the estuary lines
of curlew moved on scything wings. exempt from coastal access rules”
But the geese seemed to be taking
an age, hoving closer, occasionally a shot rang out. The nearest of the the tussocks, through the autumn
lost against the dark silhouettes of birds lurched and dipped while flotsam and down into the main Moze
distant poplars. Good things come the others chorused their alarm, to heave back the prize, grunting and
to those who wait, I thought with disappearing like phantoms in the snorting with the exertion.
growing excitement. half light. John had connected and Now other birds were on the
In a ragged V, they came in on his lightning-quick five-year-old black move. From a distant reservoir
silent wings, too far from me to Labrador Blaze was off, exploding a flight of four fine high mallard
address them. But away to my left out of the creek. She raced across headed in our direction but crossed

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 17

Wildfowling
DAWN VS D USK
Tweed or Gore-Tex? Springer or Labrador?
Driven or walked-up? There are some
debates in shooting which will never be
fully resolved, such as the question of
when to go fowling — dawn or dusk?
A morning flight takes some beating
and is probably the preference of the
majority of experienced fowlers. Walking
through tens of thousands of roosting
pinkfeet in the darkness of a Montrose
dawn and lying among them waiting for
them to lift is a sporting experience to rank
alongside a century at Lords or a hat-trick
at Wembley. At dawn, a fowler is not limited
by light; birds can continue to move well
after the gloom has lifted. Big bags are
possible as ducks return to the marshes
in small parties to roost.
There is something unparalleled about
setting up in the darkness and becoming
part of the foreshore at dawn. The silence,
the solitude, the romance of the foreshore
seems never greater than at dawn after a
sleepless night waiting for the off.
As the day goes on, however, it’s hard
to better a really good tide flight. The
skills required to pick a spot, negotiate
the weather and create a realistic pattern
Waiting in the gloom for
the geese to flight in
right on the edge of range. My
judgement failed me and I fired a
single barrel, cursing myself almost
as soon as I had done so. Goose fever
had got the better of me and the birds
swung away unharmed.
A huge pack of teal lifted off the
dark pan half a mile to our front. They
wheeled and turned like starlings. But
we were not going to intercept them.
Many clubs round here have no-
shooting zones and they opted for one
such area, settling again after perhaps
18 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
of decoys are similar to those of an
expert pigeon Shot — but with the added
complication of millions of litres of hostile
saltwater to negotiate.
When the weather is cold and birds are
keen to settle, a dozen decoys, a shallow in
the mud and a really good dog can create a
sporting experience to rank alongside any
the world over. Cut off from civilisation with
nothing but a boat and some oars between
you and terra firma, you can be truly alone
in pursuit of the wildest of quarry.
Then as the sun sets, if you can find
a flightline off the marsh to a well-loved
pond or reservoir, you may enjoy 20 to 30
a minute of flight. Then nothing. The
day grew lighter. The wind continued
to send scudding ripples across the
snaking creek to our front, now
beginning a flood tide.
A cormorant beat his way across
the marsh and a pair of shelduck
curled in the wind. A seal looked on
quizzically from the oily waters. But
no quarry seemed to be moving so
we broke cover to admire the huge
gander that John and Blaze between
them had accounted for. A thermos
of sugary coffee and some cake took
the chill off the dawn.
John pointed out the extent of
Tendring’s fowling rights, the creeks
and gulleys he knows so well. The
stunted trees of Skipper’s Island stood
skeletal in the rising dawn. Garnham’s
Island — named perhaps after a
distant forebear — divides Tendring’s
land from my own club’s, Little
Oakley & District.
A solitary egret broke the skyline
as the tide rose and John offered to
show me his club’s latest investment,
a £20,000 excavation project to
create a freshwater refuge. We lugged
our gear back across gulleys and mud
to an ancient track across the marsh
minutes of exceptional shooting, not unlike
pigeon roosting. Add a full moon and there
is the pinnacle of sport.
I’ve been fortunate to shoot wildfowl
from the north-west of Scotland to the
south-east of England. But I can’t imagine
anything will ever beat a moon flight at
Lindisfarne. As the tide lapped over the
island’s causeway and the moon rose over
an icy sea, wigeon and pinkfeet came in
packs numbering many hundreds. After
we had shot a modest bag we enjoyed one
of nature’s most spectacular migrations.
So given a choice, I’d head out before
dawn with the dog and a bag full of decoys,
and back to the seawall, where I was
impressed to find a huge area of ponds
and lagoons being created.
“We won’t shoot this — ever,” said
John. “The birds love this place. I’ve
seen it black with wigeon but we’ll
leave it as a refuge.” And right on cue
flights of mallard, teal and geese all
swung over within range. I admired
his restraint but couldn’t resist
another hour on the marsh now that
the rising tide was encouraging birds
off their roosts and on to the wing.
Solitary
We lay back on the saltings in the rain
enjoying our good fortune to have
such a solitary and wild place entirely
to ourselves. A dozen teal flicked
overhead and burst like fireworks
as we sat up. Others were forming
a flightline that promised an exciting
evening flight at a later date.
It was fully light and the dogs were
soaked. Domestic duties called, so
reluctantly we called it a day and
left the marsh behind us, tramping
contentedly back to the trucks.
One greylag is not a lot to show for
a morning’s adventure. But fowling
is not about bag sizes. In the words
 The pinnacle
of foreshore
sport — picking
“Cut off from off a duck or
goose as the
civilisation, you sun sets

can be truly alone

in pursuit of the
wildest of quarry”
plenty of warm kit and some food and
drink. I’d watch the geese lift and take
a duck or two as the sun rose.
Then I’d set out decoys as the
tide moved the birds off their roosts
during the day, before finishing with
an evening flight under a rising moon.
But if I had to choose just one element
of that magical day, it would be the
last. A full moon and a mass migration
happen so infrequently that my
pinnacle of foreshore sport would
Image © Richard Faulks

be as darkness fell.

version_3_2018/9
The thermometer would plummet,
a north-easterly would cut like a knife
and above, under a cloud-shrouded
moon, would be the wild music of
geese and wigeon. That would be truly
a night to remember.

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of local legend James Wentworth
Day, it is about those who “live
precariously by ancient arts… in
long grass with long guns in ghostly
dawns”. John is helping this precious
arrangement survive and flourish
for the next generation. Through
careful and respectful management
of a wonderful piece of coastline,
Tendring Wildfowlers are setting
a standard for other clubs to follow.
I wish them well and hope that
their waiting list might not be too
long; I’m its latest addition. Good
things come to those who wait.
tailored additional** insurance covers for:
The day’s
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 Game shooting

What do Guns really

Beautiful scenery, wild birds, a good lunch — so many things make
up the shoot day but what matters most? Patrick Galbraith finds out

I
n a West Country inn on a
crisp autumnal evening, Tim
Maddams, whom regular
readers will recognise from our
cookery pages, tells me that he thinks
we need to kick the habit.
“One thing I’m really trying
hard with is to sell my days on an
experience, rather than on how many
birds we’ll shoot,” he explains.
Tim feels that for years we’ve
been stuck in a rut of marketing our
sport based on bag size rather than
H. MITCHELL
A while ago, I went to the Isle of
Luing to meet a reader who has just
launched a shoot in the Hebrides
(Unlikely oasis for the French, 16
October). In an attempt to confirm
“We even have a spare gun because
mechanical failure happens”
whether his plan of hosting guests for
a long weekend — in which they might
shoot a rough day followed by a driven
It was a question I couldn’t
honestly answer and I’ve been
thinking hard about it ever since.
Tim continues: “Clearly, we do
need to give some kind of indication,
because I would be horrified if people
thought I was ripping them off.” His
model at the Cricket St Thomas shoot,

the things that make a shoot unique day — was a good one, he asked: however, is that six Guns pay £325 for
and special. “What do paying Guns really want?” their ‘ticket’.

James Fenner takes

a shot at Cricket
St Thomas shoot

20 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE


want?
“Sometimes you have a team who
can shoot quite well and we don’t
want to stop them shooting, and other
times you have people who have had
ample opportunity and can’t get pass
30, but they’re still having a great
day,” he explains.
Spectacular
Unsurprisingly, one of the crucial
points for Tim is the food he provides.
The following day, after two drives
showing some very high birds, we
head back to the yard we met at for
elevenses. On the way, I get chatting
to Sue Booth, who shot a spectacular
right-and-left on the second drive.
She tells me that she only started
shooting a couple of seasons ago and
enjoys the friendliness of the days at
Cricket St Thomas.
Elevenses is a real show-stopper
with Tim cooking partridge teriyaki
skewers on a wood-burning stove
and handing round pheasant salami,
made out of birds from the shoot. He
says they make ‘a big thing’ of serving
their own game, which always goes
down well with the Guns.
After everyone is refreshed we
head off to start shooting again.
It is obvious that we had a rather
bountiful opening to the day,
with Tanya Jones telling
me that she shot as well
as she ever has. But,
interestingly, we
still have quite
a number of drives
to go. Skilfully,
keeper James
Mouland manages
to combine two small
drives with a very large
one to make everyone feel
that they’ve had plenty of sport.
While preparing lunch, Tim says
he has a superb keepering team who
never let him down, meaning that he
can get on with hosting. As he grates
some truffle over a pasta dish, which
is to be the starter, he believes what
Guns really want is attention to detail.
“We have spare socks in the
wagon in case someone gets their
feet wet, we have cartridges in case
Show-stopper: Tim
Maddams prepares the
partridge teriyaki
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 21
Game shooting
Elevenses proves a cut
above the average, with
partridge teriyaki and
interesting tipples
people run out and
I’ve even got a gun
because mechanical
failure happens.”
Over lunch, a number of the
Guns reveal that the reason they
keep coming back is because Cricket
St Thomas feels like a gem of a farm
shoot with very fine food.
Ptarmigan
At the other end of the country, Rob
Rattray — who works for Ossian, a
forward-looking sporting agent — feels
“there’s growth in the smaller stuff ”.
The hardest thing, he reflects, is being
able to find the Macnabs or “even the
usual walked-up grouse shooting”
clients are looking for. He says there’s
even an uplift in the number of people
“who want to shoot a ptarmigan”.
I ask whether the bigger days are
still selling well north of the Border.
“Scotland has never been that sort
of venue,” says Rob, adding that
he feels irked as a sportsman when
“someone promotes something that
reflects poorly on all of us”.
The morning after I spoke to Rob,
GunsOnPegs, the country’s leading
digital marketplace for buying
shooting, released its annual census.
The survey, which polled 8,900
people, hints at a changing attitude
towards bag size, with 17 per cent
of shooters saying that they intend
to shoot smaller days in 2019. Chris
Horne, managing director of the
business — and a very competent
pigeon shooter — says: “No matter
how we phrase the question, the long
and short of it is that Guns just want
to have a fun day out and bag size is
not the most important factor.
“Seventy-five per cent of Guns
said that if a shoot had a conservation
policy, it would influence their
decision to purchase a day there.”
Game shooting

In God’s own country — according

to Yorkshiremen, anyway — Frank
Boddy runs one of the nation’s most
successful shoots, frequently selling
single guns. During his days, the Guns
usually shoot a bag of around 250 and
most of the pegs are booked up well in
advance. The message he gets is that,
to make a commercial shoot
successful, you really need
to make it feel like a
homely syndicate.

Quintessential
But what about
international clients?
Nick Mason, who is
a director of sporting
agency Davis & Bowring,
muses that what those
coming from abroad really
want is a quintessential experience.
In short, if they’re heading to
Speyside they want to chase grouse
over pointers and if they’re in Norfolk
they want to be pitting their wits
against grey partridges starbursting
over a hedge. Essentially, they want
to shoot like the locals do. The irony,
of course, is that it seems many of the
locals want to head to the Highlands
to shoot French partridges.
Guns are keen to buy walked-up grouse days (above) or shoot a ptarmigan (left)
It would be easy
to suggest that the
answer to the original
question of what paying
Guns really want is that
it’s simply horses for courses,
and to some extent that’s probably
right. But 41 per cent of the Shooting
Times readers we polled said that
when buying shooting, the scenery
is what matters most.
And 31 per cent said they would
be swayed to hand over hard-earned
cash if there was an opportunity to
shoot wild birds.
Thinking back across my sporting
career, I can remember almost every
time I’ve been out chasing game
with a gun. I can remember snipe
zigzagging away across frosty reeds;
I can remember coveys of grouse
breaking ahead of vizslas; and I can
remember starting to shoot well again
after lunch following a poor morning.
There have been great landscapes,
too, of course, and memorable pints
enjoyed in front of pub fires while
my socks dry out.
It seems that it is these things, the
things that stay with you, that Guns
really want. While an estimated bag
might be part of why people buy a day
first time round, it’s the experience
that keeps them coming back.

Forty-one per cent of

Shooting Times readers say
stunning scenery is vital

22 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

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 British Game Alliance

A bigger slice of the pie

The British Game Alliance can bring much-needed unity to our sport
— if only more shoots and game dealers get on board, says Matt Cross

T
he world of shooting moves
slowly. Around the country,
there are still people who
call the GWCT the Game
Conservancy and last season I met
an old wildfowler who told me he’s
“considering leaving WAGBI” — the
Wildfowlers’ Association of Great
Britain and Ireland, now BASC.
But there is a new kid on the block,
which, since being launched in May
2018, has become a big talking point.
The British Game Alliance — run by
31-year-old Tom Adams, formerly
director of shooting at GunsOnPegs
— operates a certification scheme.
It allows shoots and game dealers,
which have been through an audit
process, to market their products as The BGA’s mission is to ensure that all shot game is consumed and shoots are paid for their birds
‘BGA assured’. The membership fee
ranges from £100 for shoots that bag consumers about the source of this However, in a big blow early this
up to a 1,000 birds a season to £1,000 fantastically healthy product. year, the National Game Dealers
for operations shooting more than Association voted not to endorse the
10,000 birds. The audit process looks Dynamic alliance. The reason for this centred
at rearing facilities, release pens, the For Tom the alliance is a dynamic around the fact they felt they had
handling of game and so on. organisation challenging old ideas been ignored and their experiences as
It is no secret that prices paid for and moving the market in a new successful business operators in the
game have been declining in recent direction. It has grown rapidly, with game sector had been overlooked.
years, with many shoots receiving more than 600 shoots on its books Tom is honest about the alliance’s
no payment last season and some and 30 new members joining every struggles and says “there should have
even having to pay for birds to be month, including 18 processors. been more consultation”. He added:
taken away. The BGA’s mission is Ninety per cent of those who joined “The pace others wanted to move
to address that problem. in the first year have renewed their at and the pace I wanted to move at
The alliance has won the support membership. Dylan Williams, who weren’t aligned. The alliance has built
of a number of food industry figures, founded the Royal Berkshire Shooting a bridge to allow us to move forward,
including celebrity chef Nigel School and sits on the BGA’s advisory which most people have taken.”
Haworth, who is its official chef committee, says by next year they The rebuff, he says, was a bump
ambassador. Nigel’s view is that “th hope to have 1 200 shoots on board. in the road and he hopes the BGA
P. QUAGLIANA / A. HOOK

game sector has been crying out for

a quality assurance standard” and
believes the BGA is finally delivering
it by reassuring chefs, retailers and
BGA has more than 600
ts on its books and 30 new
bers join every month”

24 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

is back on co chieve
goal of shoot aid for
their game th
2020-2021 se
But he ins
not time to rest on a
laurels. “I don’t beli
we will have
five to 10 yea
if we don’t e
self-regulatio
BGA is the on
town in term
to achieve that.”
Inevitably, however, this is Game is a
not a view shared by everyone. fantastically
Chris Jordan, a game dealer in healthy
Bedfordshire, says he’s had enough product but
of heroes. “Instead of people going needs to be
off on a tangent we need BASC, the marketed
Countryside Alliance and people like properly
the GWCT to work together — there
are too many splinter groups.”
For many people, the litmus test
was always going to come when a
member shoot did something that
breached the BGA’s code of practice.
That moment came in January when
Jerome Starkey, the then countryside
correspondent of The Times, broke
a story about footage he’d received
of a shoot that was dumping breasted
pheasant carcases. H AW K E R
Respect P RY M 1 W O O D L A N D S ®

INTO THE
According to one of Tom’s old
colleagues at GunsOnPegs, Frank
Stephenson — who is a wildfowler at
heart — the BGA “swiftly removed the
shoot’s accreditation” and won a lot

WOODLANDS
of respect in doing so.
More recently, it made national
headlines after brokering its first
major international deal. Following
a visit by Tom and commercial
director Matt Tough, a specialist
meat wholesaler in Hong Kong and
Macau agreed to take 250,000 British
birds. While this sounds impressive,
Nick James, who runs Willo Game in
Shropshire, cautioned that the BGA
has been guilty of “making claims
about opening up new markets when HAWKER JACKET HAWKER TROUSERS
processors were already suppyling Prym1 Woodlands Camo® / Prym1 Woodlands Camo® /
them”. Furthermore, a dealer told us Size 48-60 Size 48-60
anonymously that the kind of high-
grade birds required for export £169.99 £139.99

S E E L A N D.C O M
– FIND NEAREST DEALER
British Game Alliance
Grouse are in demand but the BGA hopes that
all shot game will in future find viable markets
already found enthusiastic buyers and
were profitable to process.
Tom insists the criticism was
unjust. “I never made out I’m the
first man to get a partridge into Hong
Kong,” he said. “There was a small
market there that we made much
bigger.” He thinks the confusion
stems from the specific import
business the BGA is supplying never
having bought British game before.
Less contentiously, Nick believes
the BGA is playing a vital role when it
comes to the issue of bird quality by
insisting member shoots treat game as
carefully as possible. It also educates
them about how to do this, which
means better birds are being received
by dealers from member shoots that
are now processed with ‘less wastage’.
But he added he would like to
see the alliance keeping away from
“interfering in the supply chain”
where successful relationships
between dealers and retailers
already exist.
Tom conceded: “There have been
a couple of examples of that but with
anything like what we are trying to
achieve, there are going to be those
kind of scenarios and every time it’s
happened we’ve been totally hands-
up and apologised.”
Nick Levett-Scrivener, who
imports RC cartridges, was apoplectic
when asked his view on the BGA. He
explained it had proposed an idea
whereby cartridge companies would
add £10 for 1,000 cartridges on to the
bill when they supplied shops. This
would be passed on to customers
26 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
“If people don’t
support the BGA
our sport will end
up getting policed
by Defra”
and manufacturers would have to
pay the BGA the £10 after only 14
days. The trade-off was that cartridge
companies could use the BGA logo.
Nick felt railroaded by the proposal
and revealed that a barrister advised
him such a move would constitute
a cartel. When we put this grievance
to Tom, he admitted that the idea ran
aground but insisted it was a well-
intentioned way of enabling shooters
to support the alliance.
In an alternative attempt to
facilitate Guns supporting the BGA,
Dylan Williams said it has rolled out
a scheme whereby people can pay
a voluntary 50p levy on each bird
in the bag that will go to the
alliance. We polled 310 readers and,
impressively, 75 per cent said they
would be happy to participate.
Frank Boddy, captain of the
Ripley Castle shoot, which has been
a member of the alliance since it
started, believes the levy is a great
thing. He dislikes big bag shoots but
says: “We are where we are and we
have to get rid of the game.”
Running almost 145 shoot days
with average bags, Frank says it’s
all about the audit process, which
could be even more stringent to make
commercial shooting get its house in
order. He admitted he had given Tom
‘a hard time’ but says if people don’t
support his efforts our sport will end
up “getting policed by Defra”.
Tom says many shoots are already
benefiting and most members will
see the real impact next year when
he believes “there will be a premium
for BGA-assured game”. In the
longer-term, he hopes the BGA will
be recognised for spearheading a
successful effort to ensure shooting
continues ‘on our terms’ without
further restrictions.
Tom recognises that those who
are still outside the tent need to get on
board and admits the next 12 months
will be a crucial period of relationship
building, and it’s hard not to admire
his ambition. Just before Shooting
Times went to press, I got the exclusive
news that the BGA has struck a deal
with Samworth Brothers, which
manufactures the Ginsters range — so
keep a lookout for partridge pasties.
Coming to a supermarket near you — shot
game will have great prominence in future
 Kit review
The heat is on
No matter how tough you are, Richard Negus believes Härkila’s
new electric jacket should be part of every sporting wardrobe
J
ust down the road from me
lies the pretty little village of
Mendlesham. It has a pub,
a school and a few streets of
ancient timber-framed houses, so
commonplace in my part of Suffolk.
Not a lot goes on in Mendlesham.
However in 1943, the peaceful
S. FARNSWORTH
idyll was transformed into a vibrant
hotbed of gum-chewing and jiving,
‘oversexed and over here’ young
28 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
American warriors. The pilots
and aircrew of the USAAF’s 34th
Bombardment group flew hundreds
of sorties out of RAF Mendlesham.
Each crew of 10 brave young men,
flying in their thunderous B17
bombers, facing fearsome anti-
aircraft fire and the ever-present
threat of Luftwaffe attack.
Freezing limits
To alleviate the dangers on the way
to their target, pilots would fly their
machines at the freezing limits of
their planes’ altitude capabilities.
Thus if the Nazi flak or pilots didn’t get
them, frostbite was an ever-present
threat. To remedy this the Americans
developed an enormously bulky
electric flying suit that the crew
plugged into their aircraft’s
power supply.
For any Gun who thinks
themselves a good shot, I would
like to challenge them to bag
an angry Focke-Wulf travelling
at 400mph, armed only with an
unwieldy open-sighted .50 calibre
machine gun. Then try this wearing
a hybrid between a Michelin-man suit
and an electric blanket.
The gilet can be controlled via a button
or by using an app on your smartphone
Remarkably they did; we won the
war and Mendlesham has gone back
to its peace and quiet.
While electrically heated clothing
is not a new thing, I am trialling the
latest in such gear. Härkila Heat uses
some very clever modern fabric
technology. The V-necked waistcoat
version appears at first glance to be
nothing more than a sage green-and-
black polyester gilet.
However, look at the lining and
it shines silver — this is Thermo Poly
Shield, which is lightweight and quick
drying. In the back and lumbar region
of the waistcoat lie some pads that
produce heat and the Thermo Poly
Shield reflects this around your torso.
The pads themselves are invisible to
touch and sight.
The waistcoat can be folded up and
treated like any other item of clothing,
including being put in a machine
washing. It runs off a 10,000mAh
power pack (not included) which,
once charged, plugs into a little cable
in the left-hand pocket. You obviously
do have to remove the power pack
before you pop the waistcoat into the
washing machine.
To activate the system there are
two options. First, you can simply
press the button on the front left of
the jacket. Press once and the button

The high-tech Härkila Heat gilet can be
washed like any other item of clothing
turns blue, warming the jacket up
to 38ºC, press twice and the amber
light indicates a 46ºC. Pressed three
times and red light has you basking
in 52ºC, which will keep you toasty
inside. You can watch your fellow
Guns as they turn blue at the nose
and green at the gills in envy. The
jacket can maintain that temperature
for about seven hours at an outdoor
temperature of 0ºC. To save energy,
the heat membranes automatically go
into standby mode once the jacket has
reached the set temperature.
App controller
There is also an app for your mobile,
which connects with the waistcoat via
Bluetooth, enabling you to use your
phone as a thermostat to set the jacket
to the temperature you require.
Härkila makes a range of clothing
for the field — indeed, the Danish
company’s strapline ‘By hunters, for
hunters’ is unambiguous. Its clothing
is designed for those of us who rub
our hands gleefully when Tomasz
Schafernaker puts on that apologetic
expression he favours when his
forecast turns frosty.
Participating in British fieldsports
guarantees that you will be both cold
and wet more often than not.
It is the moist element of our weather,
when combined with electricity, that
immediately set alarm bells ringing
in my head. However, my fears were
unfounded. This gilet’s working parts
The jacket connects to a power pack via a USB connection and has a range of temperature settings
“This is one of those
rarities that truly
will help you to
shoot better”
are fully waterproofed and the power
pack that I used is rubberised. It even
had a little torch fitted as an extra
bonus, not to mention a compass
that was I felt more of a gimmick
than anything else.
Not including a power pack
as standard could be seen as less
than generous, but many of us in
the countryside now carry one to
recharge phones and other electrical
gadgets out in the field, and the
Härkila Heat is compatible with
any such power source.
The Härkila Heat
is slim enough to
wear under a jacket
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 29
Kit review
I have worn this waistcoat on
the foreshore and I can truly see its
benefit. It essentially replaces the
usual mid-layer of warm clothing. I
switched it off as I tramped the sweat-
inducing miles along Aldeburgh
beach and across the marsh to get
to The Lantern. Once I had set up
my hide and hunkered down in my
preferred spot, the wind and rain
started to bite. I switched it on and
in moments I was pleasantly warm.
Not bulky
Costing £199.99 for the model I tried
it may not be a cheap option, but its
uses are innumerable — on the peg,
on the foreshore, watching my son
play rugby or simply getting rid of the
aching pains in my back. This is one
of those rarities that truly will help
you to shoot better, because at the
touch of a button you are comfortably
warm yet unrestricted by bulky layers
of clothing.
It is the lack of bulk that I admire
most in this piece of technology.
While game Shots will doubtless buy
the Härkila Heat, I believe the Danes
may have landed on an idea that
will also find favour with the more
adventurous sportsman or woman.
Wildfowlers, stalkers and rough
shooters also like to be warm, yet
the active nature of our sport means
we cannot work effectively when
encumbered by multiple layers.
This clever kit solves that issue with
aplomb. If only a Härkila Heat had
been available to the bomber boys of
Mendlesham in 1943 the war may well
have been over by Christmas.
For more information,
visit harkila.com
 Conservation
Pining for a solution
Reports suggest that grey squirrel numbers can be greatly reduced
by pine martens but where is the hard evidence, asks Richard Hardy
J
ust after dawn on a cool crisp
September morning I slipped
away from our Highland
bolthole and drove towards
the tiny ribbon of river that fills the
tear between rock and heather,
rushing to snatch a few extra hours
on water with rod before the long
journey south.
That morning was memorable not
because of monster salmon nor the
fleeting sea trout but for a snatched
glimpse of chocolate-coloured fur, the
meeting of eye with a most secretive
wild form — our worlds colliding for a
GETTY IMAGES
handful of seconds that even 10 years
hence seems like an hour. I headed
back to raid the bookshelves of our
cottage but I was already certain that
the answer would be pine marten.
Pine martens didn’t impinge on my
busy life from that day until Christmas
2016 when I shared an evening duck
flight with a splendidly garrulous Irish
aristocrat. He excitedly reported that
pine martens in his part of the world
were fighting a war of attrition on the
local grey squirrel population with
murderous efficacy. He had become
a very vocal supporter of this novel
biological control method.
Pine martens are strictly protected
under the Wildlife and Countryside
“It was a meeting of eye with a secretive
form — our worlds colliding for seconds”
Act 1981 with an offence committed
even by disturbing their dens, in
addition to any act of intentional
killing or injuring.
Widespread hunting reduced their
nationwide spread into strongholds
in central Ireland, the north-
west of Scotland with additional
populations though the Borders,
Northumberland and Cumbria.
Mysteriously, there are isolated
populations in Wales, Shropshire and
the New Forest. Recently, a licensed
release programme had been started
in the Forest of Dean with an aim to
establish a self-sustaining population
that can increase in range and
number across suitable habitat.
The release into the Forest
of Dean was surrounded with
a blizzard of publicity, all
entirely positive and seemingly
scripted by the rewilding
cheerleaders, with little
questioning by any of the
journalists involved.
Front and centre in many
of these reports was the now
well-worn line that pine
martens will significantly
reduce grey squirrel numbers,
something that we can all
The pine marten is protected under
the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
agree would be a very good thing.
But where does the evidence for
these claims come from and are
they sufficiently rugged for us to
completely buy into?
Some further digging found that
these claims are based on studies
performed in and around large tracts
of commercial softwood forestry in
central Ireland and followed up with
additional research in Scotland.
These studies all showed that grey
squirrel numbers reduced as the pine
marten population grew but seem
to demonstrate that red squirrel
numbers are not so closely affected
by the martens’ presence.
However, the studies do note that
not much other suitable prey was
present as an alternative diet for
the pine martens. They suggest that
more work would be required to fully
understand these effects in areas
where richer and more varied food
sources were available.
Capercaillie concern
The Scottish study also cautions
the as yet unknown effects on
ground-nesting birds in general
with particular concern expressed
for the capercaillie.
So much for the dry statistics and
rather unworldly phraseology of the
academic papers, what I needed next
was some ‘ground truth’. I hastened
to work my contacts and find
somebody living and working around
pine martens to gain some practical
insight. Then a trail camera image of
a pine marten appeared on my social
media timeline — bingo.
A farming acquaintance in
Aberdeenshire told me all. The pine
martens had first appeared on her
farm around 2016, with their progress
apparently coinciding with either
railway line or river corridor. There
were now enough around to find half
a dozen every year as local roadkill.

PINE MARTEN FACTS
At this point we really must
become equipped with some
facts. The European pine marten,
Martes martes, is a member of the
mustelid family along with mink,
otter, badger, stoat and badger.
A large adult can reach 70cm
(a little over 2ft) in overall length
and weigh 2.2kg (almost 5lb),
they can live for up-to eight years,
and have a litter of up-to five kits
every year from maturity. Martens
are omnivores with a preference
for small mammals, birds, eggs,
carrion and seasonal fruits and
various berries.
The population is established enough
for them to be seen occasionally by
eye and even more frequently by the
unsleeping trail camera.
Here, the pine martens stick
to the lower ground of the farm
and, together with badgers, have
an effect on the ground-nesting
birds that the farm is working hard
to encourage. The martens have
made repeated forays to the farm
ponds, with waterfowl a regular part
of their diet. Additionally, they are
suspected of one raid on a chicken-
“It’s only red deer
and wind turbines
up here since the
keepers have gone”
keeping neighbour who was left
with six headless hens. This is the
unsurprising result of an efficient
and brilliantly evolved generalist
predator meeting domesticated
animals in a confined space.
Sadly, here we do not have an
opportunity to test the scientific
theories, as there haven’t been
squirrels, red or grey, seen on this
farm in living memory.
Moving my quest to more
southern Scotland, I called a deer
manager friend and found that
pine martens are around but not
in significant numbers, as there
simply isn’t much food for them
in his part of the country.
With capercaillie long gone and
ground-nesters including curlew
and grouse only barely holding on
in the vast unkeepered spaces, with
characteristic dryness he reported
that “it’s only red deer and wind
turbines up here since the keepers
have gone”. Therein lies the truth
about the ecosystems in these busy
and populous islands.
The Wildlife Trusts’ and assorted
rewilding enthusiasts’ constantly
repeated trope of “fully functioning
ecosystems” is a marvellous
soundbite, but we seem very short on
any detail of how and when this could
be achieved without massive changes
in our countryside. Those wholesale
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 31
Conservation
changes would require far more
than the fashionable and easy-to-
sell limited reintroductions of these
various charismatic species.
When Shooting Times asked me
to investigate beaver reintroductions
a while back, I became gradually
more enthusiastic as my research
continued — but with pine martens
the exact opposite has happened.
Meddling
So many of our genuine conservation
problems in the 21st century are the
result of previous, sometimes well-
meaning, meddling. Ash dieback
disease, American signal crayfish,
mink, feral boar and even muntjac
are serious issues that are capable
of upsetting the balance in our
already very degraded ecosystems.
In virtually all parts of our nation
well away from Guardian columnists,
we are so distant from the pipe dream
of “fully functioning ecosystems”
that even minor changes such as the
introduction of yet another splendidly
evolved generalist predator could
have devastating effects on our most
precarious wild populations.
After all, if pine martens do
actually expand in range and number
enough to finally achieve the laudable
goal of significantly suppressing the
exploding grey squirrel population,
what will they eat next?
Pine martens certainly eat
grey squirrels — but what
happens when that food
supply runs out?
 Catlow’s notebook
Laurence enjoyed a beautiful
last day on the river Wharfe
Odds and endings
The final day of the fishing season is a success and a young gundog
shows promise, but Laurence’s shooting skills seem to have vanished
I
t has been a time of endings and
beginnings; both have had their
distinctive flavour and both
have given great pleasure.
Of the endings, one matters a lot
to me, for September’s end is also
the end of the trout season.
The afternoon of September’s last
day found me way up the Wharfe,
not far from the river’s first pool,
feeling surprised that I was there at
all and highly delighted because the
preceding days had seen so much rain
that I had thought any more fishing
would be out of the question. Only
that morning the internet had told me
P. QUAGLIANA / D. MOORE / GETTY IMAGES / ALAMY
that the Wharfe was still too big for
sport, but it was at least falling.
All morning I helped High Park
headkeeper Tony Smith with the
pheasants, telling myself how
well they were doing and how well
they were holding. Then I drove to
Wharfedale in the improbable hope
that the river would have fallen back
enough to make fishing possible.
32 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
One of the virtues of headwaters
is that they run off much more quickly
than the middle and lower reaches
of rivers. The Wharfe up near the
source had fallen back further than
I had dared hope. It was pleasing for
a fisherman to search its pools and
runs with a team of wet flies and catch
himself a few last trout.
“The odd bang
caused Zac no
distress and I began
to believe I have a
new gundog at last”
I drank a couple of glasses of red
wine to mark the solemnity of the
occasion, then I fished through the
soft and windless afternoon, thinking
how quiet and beautiful it all was.
I caught six or seven trout, of which
two were big enough to go in my bag.
WITH LAURENCE CATLOW
LAURENCE
CATLOW,A
PASSIONATE
SHOOTERAND
ANGLERFOR
MORETHAN
40YEARS,
HASWRITTEN
FIVEBOOKS
ABOUTSPORT
WITHROD
ANDGUN.HIS
NOTEBOOK
RUNSINTHE
FIRSTISSUEOF
EVERY MONTH.
In its own way it was wonderful
and, when it was over, I sat by the
water for five minutes, feeling sad and
grateful, thanking my favourite river
for giving me such marvellous fishing
this year. Soon it was time to climb
into the Land Rover and drive home
over the grey-brown hills, conscious
that there would be no more trout for
me until another spring brings me
back to the Wharfe.
No expectations
That was the end; a beginning
came five days later in the form
of a boundary day at Wyegill, the
syndicate I joined last year and
enjoyed enormously. There were
no expectations of a substantial bag,
which so early in the season would,
of course, have been a big mistake.
The birds were still holding in the
main woods; it was hoped that the
boundaries might put a few old birds
and a wanderer or two over the Guns.
In the event the bag at the end of the
 Catlow’s notebook

day was four pheasants, and the sun All the omens point to a
had shone and the changing leaves good season at High Park
had glowed different colours and
I think we had all enjoyed ourselves.
It felt to me more like a get-together
than a shoot day, which was a
thoroughly good reason for being
there. It also felt like a sort of prelude:
a prelude and a kind of appetiser for
more serious business in the weeks
ahead. And perhaps I enjoyed it more
than anyone, p
because I am e
pleased but mu
because I left m
home and work
Zac. It was the fi
time I have wor
the dog in woo
he behaved him
the odd bang c e martins on the worthwhile. At the time of writing the
him no distres in the bright sky omens look promising, particularly
nor anxiety and because wild birds seem to have
I began to believ at he was told. bred well this year and I fancy we
have a new gun his own thing are drawing some of them in.

Stragglers utside days Inglorious end

There was an
boundary da
following Sa
and again i
more of a s
a shoot. The weath
was warm and bright again and
lunchtime there were swallows and
martins in the sky. I wondered if they
were doomed stragglers, destined
never to reach Africa, hoping that
I was wrong. The bag was again four
birds — a pigeon and three pheasants
— and again I was there with a dog but
without a gun.
Zac pleased me even more because
he was often working in really thick
cover where I could not see him and
tart to the
em was a second
day at Forest Hall,
al where ex-layers
get at them more
the season starts.
rst day was about
shot a decent bird and
missed a m better one and had
a good time. You don’t need a lot of
shooting to enjoy yourself; you don’t
need any shooting at all, as I found
on those two Wyegill days.
The first High Park shoot was to be
held on 5 November — the day before
this article is published — which will
show us whether all the hard work
of summer and autumn has been
Laurence’s youngster
Zac is shaping up
nicely as a gundog
There has, however, been a minor
tragedy because Blind Pugh, the
visually challenged piebald pheasant
of High Park, has disappeared.
No corpse has been found but his
remains might be lying hidden in the
gorse or the rushes, or he may have
been abducted and murdered by
some prowling creature of the night.
I suppose he was always destined to
meet an inglorious end because, even
if he had survived into November and
been declared untouchable to the
Guns, he was almost certain to have
been pegged by one of our dogs.
I was sad, anyway, when he was
no longer waiting for me on his ride;
I enjoyed helping him to find his food
and fill his crop.
I am going to end this piece
on another low note. The other
Saturday I went to Wyegill, where
I shot consistently well last season,
for our first driven shoot. I shot so
abominably that I can scarcely bear
to tell you the details. I will tell you
that I shot only one bird; I refuse to tell
you how many cartridges this single
pheasant cost me.
I hope, by the way, that this is not
another very unwelcome beginning —
the beginning of one of those periods
that occur from time to time, when
the idea of pulling a pheasant out
of the sky turns into something like
a ridiculous fantasy or an impossible
dream. It may be a long season.

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 33

 Gundog training
First days in the field
Taking a young dog on its first shoot is a big step and if it’s not handled
correctly you could end up with a gun-shy wreck, warns Ellena Swift
F
irst days out in the field are
vitally important for a dog
and its handler. It is a big
step and can be make or
break for a dog.
For Sika, this is her first season after
her training over the summer. She
has proven she is steady around shot
using a starting pistol and dummy
launcher. Her heel and recall are solid
and she has picked cold game.
I decided to take her out for one
drive on a local shoot that I pick-up
on every week. Being so early in
the season they were only shooting
partridges, which are a good size for
her. Obviously, she will eventually
pick pheasants and ducks but as she
is smaller and a novice dog, partridge
are the perfect-size quarry.
A shoot environment is a big deal
for a dog and it is important to set the
animal up to achieve. The excitement
from my older dogs is palpable
and Sika could tell something was
happening. I took two older dogs out
with her as they set a good example.
Also I do not have to watch them and
can focus entirely on Sika.
Walking from the car to the drive
S. MAGENNIS
she was excited to see all the other
people and dogs. It is important that
Sika walking on during
training with two
‘nanny’ Labradors
In association with Chudleys: over forty years of
highly nutritious food for working dogs
34 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
she understands a shoot is not a place
to play, socialise or go jumping up
at people. Cockers are notoriously
friendly, social little dogs and enjoy
attention and fuss. A Gun in his
freshly cleaned breeks would be less
than impressed if I allowed a loveable
but muddy puppy to jump up at him.
Training began as soon as she
left the car. I took a lead with me
just in case I needed to reinforce
my instructions. She was a little
overwhelmed but walked calmly with
the other two dogs to the first drive.
‘Nanny’ dog
We were standing quite close to the
Guns because there was a lot of live
game around and the keeper didn’t
want to disturb it. I sat Sika down on
my left with a ‘nanny’ dog each side
of her. They are invaluable not only
to help her learn but also to give
her confidence.
An experienced older dog can
help or hinder. When taking your
young dog out, ensure you select a
suitable dog as a companion. If the
older dog whines and gets overexcited
it will almost certainly influence the
youngster in a negative way. If the
older dog is calm, quiet and steady
Sika loses her focus — unlike her ‘minders’
you have a much greater chance that
the young dog will copy.
Despite being accustomed to
bangs, this was the first time Sika
had heard proper guns in a shooting
situation, so my first issue was to
make sure she was totally happy.
Body language
As the shooting started, I watched her
body language to see if she showed
any negative signs. This can be subtle
— constantly looking away, a lowered
head or excessive panting. It’s
important to recognise the difference
between being anxious and excited;
one can lead to a keen, driven gundog,
the other a gun-shy wreck.
She mostly looked at me,
occasionally sniffing the ground
where there was a lot of game
scent. As birds started to fall she
began watching in front rather than
watching me. This was a good sign —
it’s important that the first association
of a shooting scene is positive.
For her, the best thing in the world
is picking-up. Until now, items that
she’s picked have all been thrown
or come from a dummy launcher,
so she understands that something
falling from the sky is most likely to be
something for her to retrieve. I picked
one runner with my eight-year-old
bitch as the drive continued, which
Sika watched with great interest.
Again, all good signs.
 www.chudleys.com

IN DETAIL

SIKA

Ellena sends Sika

on a retrieve on
her first shoot

ONCE THE DRIVE HAD FINISHED I had Sika put her nose down and found bring it back and share her trophy with
decided to allow Sika to have her first the bird. Each time she did something me. I allowed her to pick one more bird,
retrieve of warm game. I had marked a towards retrieving it I calmly praised her, then picked the rest with the other older
bird down that wasn’t in heavy cover and simply so she knew that she was doing the dogs while she sat and watched.
not too far. There wasn’t a lot of game right thing. Again, another important part of her
surrounding it so I wasn’t running the risk She picked the partridge and happily education is watching other dogs work.
of her swapping or getting distracted. came running back at full pace with it. I walked her back to the car afterwards as
Before I lined her up to send her, I allowed her to hold the bird for a few that was enough for her first day out. It’s
I asked her to walk a few steps to heel. seconds, fussing her before taking it from easy to end up with an overwhelmed,
One of the most frustrating things I see
in picking-up dogs is when the drive is “Novice dogs tend to hunt too much with
finished, the handler simply ‘unleashes’
the pack. The second the horn goes to their eyes rather than with their nose”
signal the end of the drive, the dogs know
they no longer have to listen to the her. It is important to remember that, in overtired young dog on its first few
handler. They simply run feral, hunting all of this, the bird is the ultimate reward outings, so little and often is better. She
for themselves and taking no notice for the dog. To rip it out of her mouth will continue her education over the next
of the handler. quickly at this stage in her career could few weeks, taking it steady and learning
These are the dogs that tend to peg be damaging. She has to really want to the whole time with her nanny dogs.
a lot of tired birds early in the season.
Sika receives praise for
Getting her focused her first retrieve
Sika, by this point, was really excited and of a pheasant
knew there were retrieves out there for
her. So to get her focused a little, I asked
her to walk to heel just a few steps. That
way she won’t assume that, as soon
as the horn goes, it means she can run
like a lunatic.
I cast her out and at first she ran over
the bird. This is very common for a novice
dog. They tend to hunt too much with
their eyes rather than with their nose.
Sometimes you will even see them
wind the bird and, despite their nose
telling them the bird is there, they don’t
believe it. All of this improves with time
and experience.

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 35

 Gundog training www.chudleys.com

IN DETAIL

KEEPA
KEEPA HAS NOW done his first few
days picking up and is working well.
I am hoping to get a run in a novice trial
with him this season so it’s important
I don’t let his standards slip after such
a successful summer.
Despite him being older, I still run him
with my more experienced dogs as he has
been slow to mature and has a lot to learn.
I noticed on his first few retrieves that his
lines weren’t quite as straight or as direct
as I would like. Early in the season this
isn’t uncommon. He is so excited with
all the game that is being dropped that
he is not quite focusing.

Memory retrieves
I have a few days before his next outing
so I want to do a few exercises to make
sure he is running out with gusto, but
also on the line that I have sent him.
I do a lot of memory retrieves, which
are massively beneficial. However, I am

Keepa returns with the dummy from a blind retrieve, which is mixed in with memory retrieves

going to alter it slightly this time. Instead,
I put out three retrieves all in a straight
line from one another, around 50 yards to
80 yards apart. He knows there are three
retrieves out. Once out, I walk him away,
exercise, putting three dummies out
again, but one of them is a blind and only
two are memories. Again, I need to ensure
that his confidence is kept intact without
letting him become too ‘self-employed’.

“I need to ensure that his confidence

Keepa has not been running straight, so
Ellena puts out three retrieves in a line
is kept intact without letting him
become too ‘self-employed’”
stand directly in line with the first one and
send him for that. If he tries to veer to one
of the others, I call him back and re-cast.
It is important that his straight line
is rewarded with a retrieve. Each time he
picks, I walk to stand in front of the next
dummy and send him again. I repeat this
For my next step with Keepa I would
like to do a training day and get an
experienced trainer to watch us both
in action together. They will be able
to see things from an outside and
neutral perspective that I am unable
to do. Watch this space.

In association with Chudleys: over forty years of

highly nutritious food for working dogs

36 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

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wi
A goose-crazy gunner
Wealthy Shots who come to the country from the town simply to see
how many geese they can kill are selfish to their core, says Pat Cringle
J
ust before World War I
a gentleman wildfowler
was living with me on the
houseboat. He had come
from London for a fortnight’s goose
shooting and for the first week we
were out night and morning and
walked many miles for very little. He
returned to London at the weekend
but was back again by the first train
on Monday morning and he had some
interesting news to tell me.
He had met a friend during the
weekend who was a member of a
syndicate that rented a large shoot
about five miles along the coast.
Included in the shoot were several
fresh marshes where, during the
month of January, small parties of
pinkfeet dropped in to feed during
the daytime. If he cared to try his luck
there he would be given the necessary
written permission.
He asked me if I considered it worth
trying but I could not help much. All I
could tell him was I had heard of geese
visiting the syndicate’s marshes in late
January when food was getting short
in their sanctuary but had no idea
what their movements were like in
P. QUAGLIANA / GETTY IMAGES / ALAMY
early November. The only way to find
out was to go and see for himself.
Late that evening, when lying on
our bunks after the evening meal,
we again discussed the matter and
we decided to go one morning at
daybreak toward the end of the week.
When he mentioned getting into
42 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
E B R ATING OUR BEST WRITE
C EL RS
position at daybreak I reminded him
that we must get properly organised,
otherwise we would be lucky to arrive
at our destination by midday.
Crossed by boat
The houseboat was moored about
a mile from the coast road but before
we could get to the bank leading to it,
the harbour had to be crossed by boat.
After walking the mile to the coast
road we would still have to travel five
miles to a cartway leading down to the
syndicate’s marshes where there were
several dykes to cross.
“Avoid gates and posts as when geese came
in they would give such places a wide berth”
When asked if I could suggest any
means of transport I replied we had
the choice of two — Shanks’s pony
or hire a pony and cart with a driver.
He agreed that walking was out of the
question and asked if I would make
inquiries regarding the hiring of
a pony and cart.
By the end of the week everything
had been arranged. On the day of the
shoot we crossed the harbour at 5am
and found the driver and conveyance
waiting for us. We arrived at the
gateway leading to the marshes well
before any geese were expected to
flight in, giving us plenty of time to
choose our position.
My companion favoured a gateway
where he could stand against a post,
but I advised him to avoid gates and
posts because if a bunch of geese did
happen to come along they would
most likely give such places a wide
berth. A small patch of reeds growing
in a dried-out dyke was chosen and
I helped to fix a hide.
I was not carrying a gun as the
written permission stated one gun
only and I suggested it would be
a good idea if I hid in a dyke about
100 yards to his right so if any geese
passing between us were too far from
his hide to kill I would jump up and
drive them his way. A few minutes
later we had both settled down,
waiting for something to happen.
When crossing the marsh I had
kept a sharp lookout for any goose

droppings or feathers lying about
but I saw no signs of geese having fed
there. I hoped that perhaps a small
party would leave their sanctuary and
fly around to give my companion a
chance to kill one, as he had promised
one to his friend in London.
We soon heard the report of guns
well to the east and I knew that the
morning flight had begun. I kept my
eyes trained on the position where
I expected to see geese. I had not long
to wait before I saw the first lot of
about a dozen show up above some
stunted trees. To my surprise, instead
of swinging round to settle in their
sanctuary they came straight on and,
just before they were within shot of
the reed hide, opened their wings.
As they glided down to settle, the
8-bore roared and two geese hit the
marsh as dead as mutton.
Sanctuary
For the next hour or two we neither
saw a goose nor heard one and I was
getting rather fed up with staring
into the sun. I was on my feet when
I saw about 100 geese in the air half a
mile to the east. I flopped down again
to watch them. They came on towards
us but suddenly swung round and
settled well within the sanctuary.
However, they had only been
feeding for a few minutes when a
man — who I later learned was a dyke
cleaner — ambled down to the marsh
and put them on the wing again.
They came towards us in exactly
the same track as the first lot and as
they reached the bunch of reeds they
were only about 20 yards up. As they
opened their wings to glide down to
settle, a double from the 8-bore again
brought two down. As I walked up
to the hide I was greeted with: “What
“About 100 geese in the air
suddenly swung round and
settled in the sanctuary”
did you think of that lot, old chap!”
“Jolly good shooting,” I replied.
But I was sorry for the geese, for
it was like shooting chickens coming
to feed in the farmyard. He was too
pleased and excited to take any
further notice and I had little chance
to say much during the drive home.
He kept both the driver and myself
“He was in a spot of bother with other Guns,
rushing about and spoiling their shooting”
amused the whole time going over
and over again all the details of the
morning’s flight.
That evening, after supper, I had
a chance to air my views and I said
it was very good fun for him to pop
down from London and shoot four
geese coming in to feed in what should
be their sanctuary, but I wondered if
“There were two choices
of transport — Shanks’s
pony or a pony and cart”
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 43
Vintage Times
it ever occurred to him that to shoot
them there would in time banish them
from this part of the coast altogether.
He did not agree with me and I let the
matter drop.
He was one of the most goose-crazy
gentlemen gunners ever to visit these
parts and one of the most selfish. He
was in more than one spot of bother
with other Guns when rushing from
one spot to another, spoiling their
shooting. The story is told of a big
row with other goose shooters in a
hotel one night when he said the one
thing he wished to do was to creep
along a dyke one moonlit night in the
sanctuary, when thousands of geese
were feeding, and fire a quick double
with the 8-bore to see how many
he could kill.
Knowing him as I did I would never
have been surprised to hear that he
had tried it. He never had the chance
to shoot geese on the syndicate
marshes again. The following year
they were bought by the Holkham
estate and the shooting of geese
and wildfowl was stopped. Today
they are watched over by the Nature
Conservancy and the few pinkfeet
and whitefronts that visit them in
winter are left in peace.
This article was first published in the 7
November 1970 issue of Shooting Times.
 Gundogs
German shorthaired pointers
are the breed to beat in the
HPR Championships
It’s time to go on trial
November brings the prestigious championships for gundogs, with
HPRs competing next week, then retrievers, says David Tomlinson
NEXT WEEK THE HPR
Championship returns
to the Swinton estate at
Masham in Yorkshire,
where it will be held over the 13th and
14th. Last year’s contest was held at
the same location and was won by
Darryl Elliot’s German shorthaired
pointer, FTCh Aytee Jumbo Jet of
Islasbraw (Lewis).
Finding details of this year’s
Championship was far from easy.
The Kennel Club usually issues a
press release some months before
to announce the venue, but did not
do so this year. In mid-October there
was not a mention of the event on
the club’s website, while its press
office failed to find the answer for
me. Eventually, I asked Rory Major,
who has been campaigning dogs in
the HPR Championship longer than
anyone else, and he confirmed that it
D. TOMLINSON / ALAMY
was returning to Swinton, with Peter
O’Driscoll and John Naylor judging.
Finding suitable ground for this
Championship is a major challenge.
In association with Chudleys: over forty years of
highly nutritious food for working dogs
44 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
Two years ago the event was held on
the Elveden estate in Suffolk, but a
shortage of game made it exceedingly
difficult for the dogs to impress the
judges. Swinton is ideal, as it has a rich
variety of terrain, including heather
moorland. It is also easy to get to from
either north or south, as it is close
to Harrogate and the A1.
“FTCh Breeze of
Drakeshead took
the title in 1985,
winning again in
1986 and 1987”
What is intriguing is why the
Kennel Club’s Emblehope and
Burngrange estate has yet to be
chosen as the venue for this event.
Bought by the club in March 2016,
the 7,500-acre estate would seem
to be the perfect location because
like Swinton it has everything from
moorland to woodlands. The club
describes the ‘stretching moorland’
as being “ideal for the pointing breeds
to show off their hunting abilities to
the full”.
Remote
However, the estate has one major
drawback: it is as remote a place to get
to as anywhere in England, with the
nearest town of any size, Hexham,
33 miles away. Accommodating
locally the number of people who
come to the Championship would be
impossible. Had the club considered
this when it bought the ground?
GSPs have often been the dogs
to beat in the HPR Championship,
though in both 2016 and 2017 the
competition was won by a Hungarian
wirehaired vizsla, and in 2014 a
German longhaired pointer. This
year’s has potentially seven different
breeds taking part. Rory has
qualified four dogs of four different
breeds — a German wirehaired
pointer, a wirehaired vizsla, a large

DAVID’S VIEWPOINT
THE STRIPED
MENACE
Autumn’s sluggish wasps
are more likely to sting
I
t’s a curious fact that more people —
and no doubt more dogs — get stung
by wasps in the months of October,
November and December than they do
in the summer. Autumn wasps are more
sluggish, less likely to fly away if you
disturb them and more prone to sting.
I was reminded of this when I received
an email from reader Geoffrey Roy last
month. He had been exercising his two
springers in Thetford Forest when one
of them disturbed a wasps’ nest. The
wasps emerged in attack mode, with
the result that one of his dogs was badly
stung. The other escaped more lightly,
though it was also stung, as was Geoff.
A wasp that feels threatened emits
a pheromone that alerts others to its
Spectators and handlers at the Retriever Championship; this year it is being held in Perthshire
Münsterlander and a Brittany.
Spectators are welcome at Swinton,
with no need to preregister. Viewing
is generally good, though go prepared
for a long day on the hill and take your
lunch with you.
Last year the threat of disruption
by saboteurs forced the International
Gundog League (IGL), organiser of
the Retriever Championship, to insist
that spectators registered in advance.
The event passed without disruption.
There’s a similar registration system
for this year, from 25 to 27 November
on the Glenalmond estate, Perthshire.
Instead of individuals having
to register, spectators must log their
cars: only registered vehicles will
stress, with the result that if you disturb
a nest, scores or even hundreds might
emerge to help. Unlike bees, wasps can
sting repeatedly and, as we all know, the
stings are extremely painful.
A mass attack by wasps can be
very serious, in rare cases bringing on
anaphylactic shock that, unless treated
quickly, can result in death. A few years
ago a friend died after disturbing a wasps’
nest while he was hedge trimming.
Though the air ambulance arrived quickly,
it was too late to save him.
Dogs can also die from anaphylactic
shock. Fortunately, Geoff’s spaniel
didn’t do so, but the poor dog felt
very sorry for himself for some time
afterwards. Geoff did take him to the
vet, though he reported that the latter
wasn’t particularly helpful. If you or your
dog are stung, wash around the sting
or stings with soap and water and apply
a cold compress. The sleeves used for
cooling wine, and kept in the freezer,
are ideal for this.
be given entry to the ground. To
qualify for a pass you either have to
be a member of the IGL, or have your
application supported by two IGL
members, or an IGL member and
KC panel judge, or two KC judges,
or be a member of three or more
affiliated societies.
Complicated
It’s nearly as complicated as
qualifying a dog for the championship
itself. If you’re planning to hire a car,
its registration must be emailed to the
IGL as soon as possible.
Viewing for spectators at the
championship is usually good and the
event invariably attracts a large and
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 45
www.chudleys.com
Unlike bees, wasps can sting repeatedly
In my early teens I discovered that
the layers’ pellets I fed my ducks fitted
perfectly into my .177 air rifle and when
fired were accurate for up to about 8ft, so
perfect for wasp shooting. I used to enjoy
great sport shooting them, using windfall
apples as bait. My best ever bag was 60
in an hour. I was rarely stung: shooting
a wasp is much safer than swatting it.
Email: dhtomlinson@btinternet.com
international gallery — at the last one
I went to, three years ago, I reckoned
that at least 30 per cent of the people
watching were from overseas. The
Glenalmond estate should provide
a wonderfully scenic and game-rich
location for this year’s contest.
Last year’s winner was Billy Steel
Jnr with his dog FTCh Harperrig
Breac. The previous year’s champion
automatically qualifies for the next
event but successful defence of the
title is exceedingly rare. The last dog
to do so was John Halstead’s FTCh
Breeze of Drakeshead, who won first
in 1985, then successfully defended
his title in 1986 and 1987.
Unlike the HPR Championship,
which is organised and run by
the Kennel Club, the Retriever
Championship is the IGL’s
responsibility. On the IGL’s website
you will discover all the information
you need if you plan to go, and you
can also download a vehicle pass
application form. This year’s judges
are Keith Bedford, Lynn Mitchell,
Damien Newman and Phil Parkins.
Next year the championship moves
south when it returns to Ampton in
Suffolk, where it was last held in 2016.
Make a note in your diary for the most
prestigious event in the retriever
trialling calendar.
46 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Game Cookery
The flavoursome Chinese dish yuk sung is traditionally made with pork
but works equally well with duck, pheasant or goose, says Tim Maddams
Recipe kindly donated by Luke
Tipping, winner of the first ever
Midlands Chef of the Year award. He set
up Simpsons restaurant in Edgbaston,
Birmingham with fellow chef Andreas
Antona in 2004. Within a year of opening,
Simpsons had won a coveted Michelin
star, which it maintains to this day.
Ingredients
500G MINCED PHEASANT
3 SPRING ONIONS CHOPPED
1 MEDIUM CARROT, PEELED
AND FINELY DICED
12 WATER CHESTNUTS,
CHOPPED
200G FINE FRENCH BEANS,
CHOPPED
1 TSP FRESH GINGER, CHOPPED
3 CLOVES GARLIC, FINELY
CHOPPED
200G CHOPPED BEANSPROUTS
100G SLICED SHIITAKE
MUSHROOMS
CHINESE RICE NOODLES OR
PRAWN CRACKERS
FOR THE SAUCE
4 TSP LIGHT SOY SAUCE
2 TSP OYSTER SAUCE
2 TSP HONEY
2 TSP SESAME OIL
2 TSP SHERRY
4 TSP CORNFLOUR
PHOTO KINDLY DONATED BY JAMES MURPHY STUDIO
DONATE NOW
O
ne of the reasons I love what
I do is that other chefs never
fail to amaze me with their
creativity. This, in turn, drives
ny own. This recipe from top chef Luke
Tipping is one of those.
I have cooked with pheasant and
partridge in so many different ways that
I thought I had pretty much seen it all,
been there and eaten that. Then something
like this comes along and blows you away
with its simplicity, elegance and massive
flavours. This is my kind of salad — lettuce
on the outside, free-range spicy meat on
the inside, it’s a win-win.
This super-traditional Chinese dish
is usually made with pork, but it will work
wonderfully with pheasant, partridge or
even wild duck or goose, served as a lettuce
wrap. You could shred some crunchy
Chinese leaf and make this into rolls using
soaked rice flour wrappers, commonly
PHEASANT YUK SUNG
THE METHOD Serves 4 as a starter or main
1 Place minced pheasant in a bowl.
Add all the sauce ingredients and
leave to marinate for an hour.
2 To prepare the lettuce, cut off the
stalks and gently tease the leaves
apart, wash in iced water and dry on
kitchen paper.
3 Place a wok or frying pan on
a high heat. When it is smoking,
add the marinated pheasant, keeping
it moving so it doesn’t burn. Add the
The Country Food Trust has provided food to more than 250,000 people in need. It
delivered in excess of 10,000 tonnes of game meat — pheasant and partridge — to charities
between November 2018 and the end of January 2019, providing food for people in need.
USE THE DONATE BUTTON ON OUR WEBSITE
WWW.THECOUNTRYFOODTRUST.ORG
— DON’T FORGET TO GIFT AID IT TOO!
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 47
Pheasant
“You could shred
some Chinese leaf
and put this in
rolls using rice
flour wrappers”
available now at the larger supermarkets.
Any leftovers will work brilliantly in a lunch
box and would certainly be a cut above your
average sandwich.
I have used this recipe from Luke
as a very different elevenses dish and it
worked a treat. I simply fried the meat and
kept it in an insulated tub – then whipped
out a bag of washed lettuce leaves and
away we went. A proper job.
For more about Luke Tipping visit
simpsonsrestaurant.co.uk
spring onions, carrots, garlic, ginger,
the French beans, shiitake mushrooms
and water chestnuts.
4 Fry for 2 minutes, add a splash of
water and remove from the heat.
Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle
with crushed prawn crackers or fried
rice noodles.
5 Serve with flat bread, poppadoms,
or keep some frozen puris to hand,
so you can cook them as you need them.
TEXT FEED10 TO 70085
(TEXT WILL COST £10 PLUS YOUR
STANDARD NETWORK CHARGE)
 SPORTING ANSWERS
The experts Weather can affect accuracy
in rifles but conditions don’t
THE ULTIMATE generally get cold enough here

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
NGO chairman, Shropshire
gamekeeper and keen wildfowler

GRAHAM DOWNING
Shooting consultant and
sporting author

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

JEREMYHUNT
Runs Fenway Labradors and
a professional gundog trainer Velocity change for winter
C. WARREN / S. ALLAN / A. HOOK / M. MANNING / H. MITCHELL / P. QUAGLIANA / ALAMY / GETTY IMAGES

TIMMADDAMS
Former head chef at River
Cottage and runs a shoot in Devon
SIMON WHITEHEAD
Author, professional ferreter
and rabbit controller
IAIN WATSON
Keen stalker and senior CIC
international trophy judge
Contact the team
Email: stanswers@ti-media.com
By post: Shooting Times, Pinehurst
2, Farnborough Business Park,
Hants GU14 7BF
RIFLES
Will cold weather affect the
velocity of my .243 stalking
rifle, and do I have to change zero
during the winter months?
Here in Britain it is unlikely that
winter temperatures will make
any real difference to zero.
In terms of changes to velocity,
in hot weather, the cartridges can get
very hot and the pressure on firing
can rise and therefore impact velocity.
In winter the same cartridge will be
slower but dependent on other factors
— such as altitude and air pressure/
density — which will all make a small
degree of velocity change and therefore
trajectory shift. For example, I tested
some .223, .243 and .308 bullets packed
in snow to see the change.
At normal ranges up to 200 yards,
I only had variations of 50fps to 100fps,
resulting in no more than 0.5in to 1in
variation maximum dependent on
bullet weight. At greater distances yes,
a bigger correction would be needed.
Try it yourself with a cooler bag
or snow and shoot your rifle and
ammunition combination at your
normal ranges so that you can see the
difference. The real trouble comes if
you reload in winter and the cartridge
pressure is OK — if you then shoot the
same ammunition on a hot summer
day you will find that the pressure will
increase excessively. BP

48 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE


No licence required
FIREARMSLAW
Am I correct in thinking that
an old Webley & Scott 12-bore
to .410 adapter still does not need
to be held on a licence of any sort?
Chamber reducers are not
covered by the certification
regime because they are not
“relevant component parts” of a
firearm. As the gun will still function
without them, they are merely
Wild boar beginnings
WILDLIFE
When did wild boar first
re-colonise the UK?
Between the early 1980s and 1990s
more than 60 wild boar farms
existed throughout the country and
escapees were frequently reported. It
was not until 1987 — the year of the Great
Storm — that a major escape from
a boar farm in Tenterden, Kent, led to
the establishment of a viable, breeding
population of boar living in the wild.
accessories. The only accessories that
need to go on a certificate are sound
moderators or flash hiders.
The Webley & Scott 12-bore to
.410 adapter was specially made for
use with the Webley Model 100 single-
barrel shotgun. However, these
adaptors can be used in any other
model of 12-bore shotgun providing
it is neither a semi-automatic nor
a pump-action.
Parker-Hale and Turner Richards
have offered similar adapters. BH
Nocturnal and secretive, these
animals were seldom seen, but
increasing reports of agricultural
damage, vehicle accidents and wild
boar being shot confirmed the presence
of a viable and expanding population.
Releases from wild boar farms by
animal rights activists fanned the
flames so that today wild boar are
once again firmly established
countrywide. A successful species
worldwide, wild boar can adapt to
most conditions, have multiple births
and are prolific breeders. TJ
The Great Storm of 1987
allowed boar to escape
from a farm in Kent
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 49
Expert tips and advice
Native
Britain
Plants, flowers and fungi
of Great Britain at a glance
Latin name: Lonicera
periclymenum
Common name: Honeysuckle
Other names: Woodbine,
eglantine, bearbind
How to spot it and where to
find it: Weaving through shrubs
and trees in woodland and along
hedgerows, honeysuckle is easily
identified in the summer months by
its sweet-scented tubular flowers,
which are followed by red berries.
Interesting facts: Though it
is deciduous, some varieties of
honeysuckle keep their old leaves
over winter. The glossy berries
provide food for birds, including
thrushes, warblers and bullfinches.
Dormice rely on honeysuckle for
shelter and food, building their nests
from the bark and feasting on the
nectar-rich flowers.
It was once believed that if
honeysuckle grew round your door,
it would bring you good luck and
prevent evil spirits from entering
your home. It has also long been a
symbol of fertility, to the extent that
in Victorian times young girls were
banned from bringing honeysuckle
indoors. It was feared that the strong
scent of the flowers might give them
suggestive dreams.
It has expectorant and laxative
properties; a syrup made from
the flowers has been used in the
treatment of respiratory diseases.
Herbalist Nicholas Culpeper
wrote: “It is a herb of Mercury, and
appropriated to the lungs… if the
lungs be afflicted by Jupiter, this is
your cure. I know no better cure for
the asthma than this.”
 SPORTING ANSWERS
Try tempting Don’t give dogs ibuprofen
treats for rats
AIRGUNS
I have been shooting a few
rats during night sessions
with my airgun, but I find it hard
to keep them still. I have read
about shooters using baits to
stops rats from fidgeting around
and thought I would give it a try.
What are the best things to use?
Laying a pile of bait on a busy
rat-run is a great way to keep
these skittish rodents still while you
line up for a shot. The important
thing is to use either liquid bait or
very fine particles so the rats have to
stop and lap them up. Offer rats large
chunks of food and they will simply
grab them and dart back into cover.
My favourite offering is liquidised
cat food but it is messy to prepare
and makes the kitchen stink.
If you want a sweeter-smelling
option, try blending peanut butter,
cocoa powder or sweetcorn — or a
combination — with sunflower oil to
make a runny bait. Coffee granules,
small fishing pellets and chocolate
spread can also be effective and a
friend of mine swears by barbecue
sauce. It pays to experiment because
what works on one farm doesn’t
always work on another. MM
VETERINARYCARE
I notice that our Labrador, as
he gets older, is starting to have
difficulty getting up on his legs first
thing in the morning. This was
especially noticeable after he had
been for a long walk the previous
day and we are now limiting his
exercise. I was wondering if there
is anything I could give him to help
relieve his discomfort, such as the
ibuprofen tablets that I take myself
for this purpose?
I would not recommend
giving your dog ibuprofen.
Unfortunately, people tend to assume
that a safe, over-the-counter medicine
for humans will also be safe to use for
their pets and as a consequence a
number of animals are poisoned when
their owner attempts treatment.
Ibuprofen, while safe for human
consumption, can be toxic to dogs
and cats.
Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-
inflammatory drug (NSAID). These
drugs inhibit an enzyme called
non-selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor,
which means it inhibits all types of
cyclooxygenase, including enzymes
involved in producing substances
required in normal body functions.
In this respect, ibuprofen interferes
with the production of chemicals
necessary to maintain the blood
supply to the stomach and kidneys.
Dogs — and particularly cats — are
much more sensitive to these issues
than people and as a consequence
ibuprofen has a very narrow safety
margin in dogs and is far too toxic
to be used to relieve pain in cats.
Ibuprofen toxicity causes ulceration
of the stomach, which leads to
vomiting, with or without blood,
appetite loss and/or stools that are
black from digested blood. It also
reduces the blood flow to the kidneys,
which can result in damage to kidney
cells and, ultimately, kidney failure.
Kidney damage may be temporary
or permanent depending on how
much ibuprofen was ingested and
how healthy the animal’s kidneys
were before poisoning.
The message is never give
Do not be tempted to give
your dog iboprufen, as it
can result in kidney failure

Liquid baits are best as they will keep the

rats in one place, allowing you to take a shot

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50 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

 Expert tips and advice

Three cheers Woodpigeons have little

reason to migrate, as there

— or not is plenty of food available

GAMECOOKING

I have shot a pheasant,

a mallard and a teal and
would like to make a three-bird
roast. I’m quite new to game
cookery and don’t want to waste
my hard-won birds. Can you give
me some advice?

It is always great to hear about

how people are planning on
Woodies on the move
using what they have shot to best PIGEON but their origins and destination remain
effect. The three-bird roast is a a mystery.
timeless classic — the birds all boned This year I have seen several The most plausible theory is that
out completely and stuffed, like thousands of woodpigeons these migrating flocks are of Fenno-
Russian dolls, one inside the other, flying south, very high, in one day. Scandinavian origin, migrating south
tied up and then roasted. Where are they likely to have come to France and Spain for the winter. As
It is a massive faff and all the from, and where are they going? they are such strong fliers, they head
hard work invested doesn’t really straight over the UK, with no reason to
pay you back. It has long been thought that the pause nor rest. There are few recoveries
First, the flavours get a bit UK’s woodpigeon population is of birds ringed in Europe, but this may
confused and that seems a shame. largely sedentary, with individual birds also reflect that only small numbers
Secondly, the cooking time required rarely moving far from where they were have been ringed.
to make sure the middle bird is safely hatched. This theory is based on ringing I have seen big flocks of woodpigeon
cooked and tasty often means that recoveries, where the average distance feeding on acorns in the dehesas of
the outer bird gets overcooked and between the site where ringed and Extremadura in Spain. Though Spain
dry. Thirdly, the result depends on recovery is only just 5km. However, does have a small resident population,
the slice you get — if you are unlucky there’s a lot still to be learned about the most of these birds will be migrants
you can end up with a plate full of humble woodie. The movements you from northern Europe. Our own birds
connective tissues, skin and sinew describe are a regular feature on the have no reason to migrate as food is
— not so much of a treat. east coast of Britain in late autumn, plentiful throughout the winter. DT
But if that hasn’t put you off and
you are still determined to cook
a three-bird roast, my advice is to
slow cook the whole birds and then
brown and crisp the outside a little
Bird of the week by Graham Appleton KNOT
once everything is moist and tender
inside. Ultimately, though, my advice It looks as if this has A knot is a medium- Wintering numbers
is to roast each bird separately on the been a good breeding sized wader, weighing in Britain and Ireland
bone and serve them like that. TM season for knot; my about 140g; the same have dropped rapidly
September Twitter feed as three dunlin. By now, over the past decade
was filled with plenty of juvenile knot will have but one really good
pictures of confiding joined up with the breeding season can
youngsters, newly adults to create swirling boost numbers.
arrived from Canada high-tide flocks over Hopefully, Wetland Bird
and Greenland. our estuaries. Survey volunteers will
report a positive
difference when they
submit their monthly
counts to the British
Trust for Ornithology.
Soon knot will
shed their grey winter
plumage and take on
summer russet hues,
as they fatten up for the
return journey across
Tim Maddams has made a three-bird roast, A knot (left) in winter plumage with sanderling, which are similar the Atlantic.
but says the birds are best cooked separately

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 51

 SPORTIN
Training a puppy for ferreting
FERRETING
My puppy is now 10 months
old and I am keen to get her
out ferreting — but I do not want
to spoil her. What is the safest way
to start her ferreting, and is she
too young?
You are right in questioning the
age at which you start your dog
ferreting. Each dog is individual but
when starting your dog off, try to
make it as relaxing and stress free for
her as possible. To be realistic, the
training starts the day you pick up
your puppy; you simply have to
carefully let the dog physically and
mentally grow up.
Every time I start off a dog, I learn
something new from my mistakes. Not
only do you need to be patient, but you
must also maintain a good attitude
Do cock birds take poults?
GAMEKEEPING
I know people who swear
that old cock pheasants take
off poults. Having seen old birds
with poults with them a lot this
year, I wondered if there was any
truth in it. What is your opinion?
Personally, I doubt it. People like
to have something to blame
when poults wander, and cock
52 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
RS
When starting a young
dog ferreting, let the
dog see the rabbit to
honour its mark
while doing so. Your youngster will,
like any dog, notice a change in your
demeanour. You want her to be able
to pick up good habits quickly without
picking up bad ones.
After getting your dog used to
seeing, smelling and being around
your ferrets, it will be time to put all
of your obedience training to the
test. Always start in short periods on
warrens where you are going to show
your dog a rabbit or two. In an ideal
world, you want your youngster to
see or chase a rabbit down a warren
to kick-start its marking.
You must then honour this mark by
introducing the ferrets and producing
a rabbit for the dog to see, and let the
cycle cement itself inside the dog’s
head. But you must be careful not to
overtax a young dog’s body and brain.
Keep the lessons short and always
finish on a positive note. SW
pheasants make useful scapegoats.
A cock bird that has lived in the same
wood and roosted in the same tree for
at least the past 12 months isn’t going
to suddenly decide to wander off his
patch with a load of poults.
A more likely scenario is that
the poults follow him going about his
daily business, then get distracted
by something and forget their way
home while he has safely headed
back to his tree. LB
Breeding
dilemma
GUNDOGS
I want to breed from my bitch
by a field trial champion. I bred
her myself but her dam was hard to
handle and this bitch is even hotter.
She has loads of drive and ability
but I’m struggling to find an old-
fashioned type of dog that is good
at his job and easily handled, and
has all the required health tests.
What do you recommend?
Anyone looking for proven
working bloodlines that combine
health testing is almost forced to turn
to sires bred for and competing in field
trials. However, it’s obvious to anyone
watching today’s field trials that these
dogs are in the hands of those who train
them to meet a set of judging criteria.
It’s up to the individual to decide if what
they see on the trial field is what they
want in a dog of their own.
There are well-bred working
Labradors standing at stud in the UK
that are not field trial dogs but are
health-tested, but you will need to
do your research to locate and assess
them in terms of using them on your
own bitch.
We all see good dogs working on
shoots but they may not bring much
to the table in terms of their pedigree
and are even less likely to be health
tested. However, if a good dog does
come to your notice and his pedigree
is acceptable to you, there is always the
option of approaching the owner to
discuss the possibility of undertaking
hip and elbow X-rays and an eye test. JH
It can be difficult to find a working dog that has
been been health-tested — don’t be afraid to ask
 Expert tips and advice

These ticks were

found in the groin
area of a sika stag

Deer and ticks

STALKING significant areas of
redness and swelling
With all the around attached ticks,
current media some of which appeared
interest in the risk to still be feeding but also
that ticks pose to us around some that looked
through Lyme disease to have expired.
and other nasties they A young male muntjac
carry, I wonder if they had a visible tick burden
cause similar problems — there were more than
to their animal hosts, 50, so goodness knows
particularly deer? how many at the nymph
I have seen a fair stage were present.
number of ticks on Anecdotally, the
deer but never any incidence of ticks in
signs of problems. the south seems to be
on the increase, so it’s
While I’m not sure best to take necessary
about Lyme disease precautions before and
in deer, I can confirm after outings, thoroughly
that deer do react to checking both yourself
some bites from ticks and and canine companions.
that this can lead to It is a also a good idea
noticeable infection sites to make sure your
around the bites. Last family and loved ones
month, when culling are aware of the risk
muntjac in southern to them and that they
England, I saw a number also check for unwanted
of animals with visitors. IW
Crossword / Compiled by Eric Linden / 1429
Across
4 Competition decider
in which Guns make a
hasty exit? (5-3)
7 Fruity-sounding set
of clay targets! (4)
9 An act of avoidance
allows penned animals
to get out (6)
10 The sporting operator is
a mannerly man, in short (5)
11 Some fish give
a certain quality to
gun-cleaning rags (4)
12 Crouching down around
a large young wildfowl (8)
13 The horse race ensures
more of a level playing field
in clay shooting (8)
15 One of the hunt staff
might lash out! (4)
16 I make a killing in the
Inner Hebrides! (5)
Solution 1427 / 23 October 2019
Across: 7. November 8. Lyme
9. Safety 10. Let-off 12. Scope
14. Unloads 16. Stirrup 17. Small
19. Master 20. Trilby 22. Team
17 The mountain feature 8 Something bringing
is an informal must-see for more fervour to one’s
many TV soap lovers (6) image (11)
18 Catty about a Finnish 12 Sika gather around
rifle? (4) a shy pigeon shooter (7)
19 The market leader in 14 A quality gun
barrels is wrong about specification we sort
country rovers (8) of exclude without the
city chief (6)
15 The bawler is disturbed
Down by bird song (6)
1 The decoy machine 17 The gun component
might get in our hair (4)
is revolutionary! (6)
2 Spy a burrower (4)
3 Charm is required to
request a review of shotgun
certificate revocation (6)
5 Catering for shoot guests
at an NHS facility — pity
there’s no parking (11)
6 From the apartment
ceiling, it goes to some
shooters’ heads (4,3)
3. Obeys 4. Ireland 5. Platform
6. Leaf 11. Fiddleback 13. Part-time
15. Burrows 18. Stool 19. Matt 21. Inch
MYSTERY WORD: LAYOUT
WINNER: A. COGGON, LINCOLNSHIRE

TO CATCH A FISH 23. Woodcock

Down: 1. Nova Scotia 2. Cere

Wobbler lure
The wobbler bait it into a pond
is attributed to where a bass
James Heddon, struck it due
a beekeeper from to its wobbling
Michigan, in the motion. Since
late 19th century. then it has been
The story goes developed and
he was whittling is one of the
a piece of wood most used lures
and chucked in the US today.
How to enter
To enter our crossword competition, identify
the word in the shaded squares and you could
win a Fur Feather & Fin Anti-Corrosive gun
sleeve (suitable for barrels up to 32in).
Cut out this coupon and send to:
Shooting Times Crossword No 1429, Shooting
Postcode:
Times, Pinehurst 2, Farnborough Business Park,
Hants GU14 7BF Tel no:
Mystery word:
Name:
Rules: Entries must be received by 13
Address:
November 2019. All usual conditions apply.
Solution and winner will appear in the 20
November 2019 issue. Photocopies accepted.

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 53

 PRODUCTS Visit us online / shootinguk.co.uk

From the gun shop

Our weekly round-up of the best and latest must-have kit on the shelf

1 Wicked Lights Rekon tripod system

RRP: £399
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2
2 Whisper Highland Primaloft jacket
RRP: £450
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Thisbrandnewjacketisidealforharsh
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3 Game processor kit

RRP: £110
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Thisisanoriginal12-piecegameprocessing
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Devonshire shotgun cartridge bag

P £114.99
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Brown Bear trousers

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esetrousersarefunctionaland
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54 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

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56 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY for all enquiries please call 01252 555305
SituationS Vacant SituationS Vacant

GMK Ltd is the biggest distributor of shooting sports products in the
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LOVE COUNTRY SPORTS?
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SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 57
 Alasdair Mitchell

Sharpshooter
People are feeding animals in Zimbabwe and a park is culling hippos,
so how much land would be needed for rewilding in the crowded UK?

H
ow much land do you need for Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for ecotourists found themselves watching
a proper rewilding scheme? Zimparks, Zimbabwe’s national wildlife starving big game from the comfort of their
Unlike carefully managed authority, has said that country’s current luxury safari lodges?
private game reserves of the elephant population, about 85,000, is Local people are also dying during the
sort I examined recently (Sharpshooter, more than double the ecological carrying drought but you don’t seem to hear so
23 October), Africa’s national parks cover capacity. The drought conditions currently much about them. Thirsty elephants raid
huge swathes of territory. Big enough to affecting northern Zimbabwe have water tanks built by subsistence farmers,
hold a truly self-sustaining ecosystem. exacerbated the underlying problem. so conflict is inevitable. At least 22 people
Yet supplementary feeding isn’t You can understand why well-meaning have been killed by elephants in Zimbabwe
restricted to fenced game reserves. My activists are desperately trying to feed the so far this year.
eye was caught by a small story in the animals. But I wonder how many of these Even the biggest parks are not big
Daily Telegraph: “Hay trucked in to save enough. In 2016, rangers in South Africa’s
Zimbabwe’s elephants.” Written by a “Local people are Kruger National Park — which is about the
journalist with the wonderfully apt name size of Wales — resorted to culling hippos
of Roland Oliphant, it described how an dying during the and buffalo to curb overgrazing. If nowhere
organisation called Vets for Animal Welfare in Africa is big enough to allow a ‘balance
Zimbabwe (VAWZ) had trucked in 9,000 drought but you of nature’ to prevail without human
bales of hay to Mana Pools, a national park
in the north of the country, to prevent
don’t seem to hear so intervention, what is the reality of rewilding
portions of the overcrowded UK?
elephants from dying of starvation during much about them”
the current drought. Political football
About 20 elephants have already died same people are exponents of rewilding. The day after MPs voted to hold an election
in the locality during the past month. Carole How do they imagine elephant numbers are on 12 December, political analyst James
Deschuymere, who works closely with controlled naturally during droughts that Kirkup wrote in The Times: “A significant
VAWZ, said: “A lot of baby elephants are periodically sweep through parts of Africa? drag on the Conservative vote in 2017 was
being born prematurely, and the mothers When faced with poor food supplies, a group of viral issues… which persuaded
don’t have enough milk to feed them. female animals begin to show reduced many voters not to back the Tories. Fox
The zebra foals also are being born now. fertility. But long before that mechanism hunting was chief among them.”
Without the hay they would all just die.” kicks in, individual animals will die of Will fieldports be used as a political
In other words, let’s not just leave starvation. That’s nature in action. Yet football this time round? We can only
it to nature. That would be beastly. can you imagine the outcry if western hope not.

DOG BY KEITH REYNOLDS

SHOOTINGTIMES & COUNTRYMAGAZINE,ISSN 0037-4164,is published weekly,incorporating Shooting Magazine,Shooting Life,British Sportsman,TheAngler’s News & Sea Fisher’sJournal and Field Sport,byTI Media Ltd,
3rd floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London, England E14 9AP, United Kingdom. © 2019 TI Media Ltd. Contributions are welcome but must be accompanied by a suitable stamped addressed envelope. Publication of accepted articles is
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58 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

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