Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i Sporting Gun

The shooting season is in full swing and I was invited out on a day beating and picking up by Sporting Gun contributor, David Frost. The shoot was on the Carrington estate in Buckinghamshire and it was a pleasure to work with the beaters and see a first class team of pickers up in action. I was also impressed by the game storage facilities on the estate, which not only included a cold store with a careful rotation system, but the estate also prepared some birds for the table as well. It showed how seriously the shoot takes getting game into the food chain. As a reward for beating, I was handed a brace of partridge. Even better, they had already been prepared. I cooked them at the weekend and…

In the 1992 February Issue, shooting journalist and author, Mike Yardley, writes about the right age for a youngster to start shooting. As Mike points out, it all “depends on the physical and intellectual development of the child concerned.” The young person needs to be big enough to handle a gun and mature enough to understand the potential dangers. Like Mike Yardley, I started shooting with an airgun around eight years old and moved onto shotguns around 12. All this was under adult supervision, of course, but I am a great believer in starting youngsters shooting (if they are interested) as soon as possible. Lessons learned when you are young are ingrained. This means they become second nature when you grow up, which is vitally important where safety is concerned.…

Words of advice and thanks I have been diagnosed with cancer and I’m hoping this letter will help anyone in a similar situation. My son has a firearms certificate as well as I and I have given him full access to my gun cabinets and entered all my guns onto his certificate and informed the police of this in case the worst happens. My son can now dispose of the guns in accordance to my wife’s wishes. The last time I wrote to this magazine was over 15 years ago after a blood pressure check revealed that the nurse asked me what I use my rifles for. I was shocked that this information was on my medical records. It is obvious from reading recent letters in the magazine that nothing…

Meifod is a small village just over the Welsh border near Oswestry. It’s also home to the Dolobran shoot, a thriving DIY shoot. It’s an interesting shoot with 12 full Guns and eight half. The Guns shoot one drive and walk the next. Today there were going to be six drives, each Gun would get to shoot three and walk three. Team effort We arrived in the car park to be met by smartly dressed Chris Evans, the shoot captain. He’s fairly new to the shoot and this was his first season as team captain. He runs a tight ship and knows what he’s doing. Now a hill farmer, he spent many years as a keeper in Shropshire and is bringing a wealth of experience to the shoot. The shoot…

One of the great pleasures of pigeon shooting is looking at situations and assessing if they’ll develop into a worthwhile shoot and, if so, when. There is a great deal of judgement involved – how long can I leave it until the food is exhausted? How many birds are using the field? Is that number likely to increase? And all of this is without throwing into the mix the likelihood of another decoyer blowing the field up, or the farmer turning up to rip it in – and don’t mention the weather! Paul and I do a huge amount of reconnaissance prior to any outing, trying to stack whatever odds in our favour that we can. Post-harvest Harvest is a particularly difficult time to pin the birds down to a…

Expert advice Graham Watkins SG’s gundog guru The causes Some young dogs can develop this quirk and, although it tends to disappear as time passes and they get experience of the real thing, it can be frustrating for the trainer. Eye contact is something that, as gundog trainers, we work hard to develop in a dog and it is a positive thing, especially when you start to work the dog. However, if the dog is so focused on you above all else it can cause issues. A good marking dog is worth its weight in gold, whether you plan to use it for picking-up or to shoot over, and it is a skill that can be taught and developed with careful training. A common cause of a dog not marking…

INGREDIENTS Serves 1 • 1 pheasant or two pheasant breasts • 100g macaroni • 20g cheddar • 2tbsp crème fraiche • 1tbsp whole grain mustard • 1 leek, cut into strips of leeks • 250g frozen peas Cooking method 1 Remove the pheasant breasts or take two pheasant breasts and place into a hot pan. Fry the breast for four to five minutes skin-side down. Turn the breasts over when they have turned a golden brown colour, this should take about two minutes on each side. 2 Once the breasts are golden brown, take the pan off the heat, but still leave the breasts to rest in the pan. Boil a saucepan of water, approximately 500ml, and once boiling add the macaroni and cook according to the instructions on the packet. 3 Heat a large saucepan, add…

Robin’s say Is commercial driven game shooting in the UK reaching a watershed, or has it already been reached? You tell me... Robin Scott, Editor-at-large We all know the price paid by game dealers for shot birds has been historically low for many seasons, and maybe it always has been. Back in Victorian times the saying went: “Up goes a guinea, bang goes a penny, down comes sixpence.” However there’s now a new twist to things. This year some dealers – while continuing to take and process pheasant and partridges from estates – are dictating terms like never before. In my neck of the woods a number are only taking the bag if it’s “free of charge” while others are actually billing shoots up to 25p per bird to ensure…

Kexby Men’s Performance Coat This coat is designed for use in the field. With a waterproof, breathable cotton outer and studded placket to cover the zip, this jacket will keep you dry on the wettest of game days. It has an action back, which gives great freedom of movement, ideal for those high shots. It is available in khaki, olive and navy from sizes S to 5XL. RRP: £224.95 Visit: www.alanpaine.co.uk Libery Gun Our spies managed to get hold of this picture of the new Liberty Gun from Browning. It is designed for shooters of a smaller stature with lightweight construction, more cast and a Monte-Carlo stock. It looks as if it will come with extended chokes and is rumoured to be on sale in Spring 2018 for under…

Ridgeline Typhoon jacket The new Typhoon jacket uses the latest hydrostretch fabric, which is waterproof and breathable. It is also very light, weighing in at just 859g, which allows the wearer to be comfortable, whatever the conditions, when walking the dog, on the peg or in town. Price: RRP £149.99 Visit: https://ridgelineclothing.co.uk Fieldman Boots Made from full grain leather and with a Vibram trek rubber sole and high rubber rand these are tough boots. They have a Hydroguard membrane and an antimicrobial treatment to keep your feet fresh and dry. A great pair of general purpose boots for whatever shooting you do. Available in sizes 6 to 12. Price: £135 Visit: www.jackpyke.co.uk Grand Prix paper case cartridge Eley Hawk are launching the collector’s edition Grand Prix paper case cartridge. Just…

“Another 30 minutes rolled by and we all started to fear the worst” We remember tales of shooting for a range of different reasons. Most of the time these are happy memories, but, on occasions, it's because of how remarkable the event was. I like to venture over the border as often as I can during the season in pursuit of the wild goose chase. Last season I had an invitation to join some good friends on the Tay for a goosing trip. This was to be my second trip onto the Tay, which left me in high hopes because I have a good idea of what this fantastic piece of Scottish foreshore has to offer. The walk out The first day we hit the ground running, we arrived and…

“Mounting too soon can lead to hesitation” Jonty Wightman volunteered to look at his method for dealing with a pair of long, slow crossers passing from left to right that looped downwards in front of the shooter – an oak tree’s branches adding to the conundrum of when to take them. Jonty has shot since his youth and recently qualified for the North of England Sporting team. He has been enjoying his Krieghoff Parcours, which he has shot with for about a year and uses ¾ choke in both barrels with No8 shot Gamebore White Gold cartridges. He also offers tuition for gameshooters at the club. Jonty said: “With this pair of clays I would take the rear of the two first. This allows me to continue my swing onto…

Name of estate or shoot: Glenogil Type of estate: Grouse and partridge County: Angus Glens How did you get your new role? The head keeper wanted a couple of trainees and he got in touch with Curtis Mossop, Senior Lecturer and Course Manager at Newton Rigg College and asked him if there were any lads that were interested in a job. So I applied and came up on a work trial for a week, and after that I was offered a job. There were two jobs going, and a lad that I went to college with got one as well. We share a house, so it’s quite convenient. You finished the course at Newton Rigg in May, would you recommend any aspiring keepers to a similar course? Yeah, I’d definitely…

Rabbits can be caught in a number of ways by a ferret bolting them. Some work better in certain situations, but they all have their place. Some of theese methods can be combined together to improve effectiveness Purse nets Purse nets are the starting point for those beginning a career of ferreting. These are nets that go over the holes of a burrow, and each net is normally 3ft 6in in length. Setting these nets can be time consuming, but a necessity in places with high concentrations of rabbits because they will simply “hole hop” otherwise. Shooting Shotguns can be used to good effect if you can shoot both accurately and safely. No shots should be taken at rabbits while they are near the burrow because the ferrets are also…

As mentioned, a possible cause is because the steadying process has been started too early, and the dog has been chastised for running in. Therefore, the dog would rather look at the handler in case something bad happens. If this can be identified as the cause then the solution is to go back a few steps and return to the training field. As soon as you throw a dummy, send the dog straight away – preferably while the dummy is still in the air. Do not throw the dummy too high in the air to start with, a dog’s instincts are very tuned in to movement and if you keep throwing the dummy at a lower angle it will catch the dog’s eye. By sending the dog straight away you…

This is another reminder of our holiday in France. After all the rain we’ve had I need a reminder of sunshine. • 12oz casserole venison cut into bite-size pieces • 1 tin chopped tomatoes • 4oz mushrooms cut into chunks • 1 red pepper de-seeded and cut into strips • 1oz black olives • 2 medium onions • 2 cloves garlic • 1 bay leaf • 1 strip orange zest about 2in long •½ pint red wine Sprinkle some plain flour on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Coat the venison chunks with the flour and leave to one side. Heat the oven to 140C and add some oil in a flameproof casserole dish. When hot, brown the venison a few pieces at a time and place on a plate. When all the meat is browned, add…

For some reason the makers and importers of sporting rifle ammunition seem shy of letting it be known how many cartridges they sell on the UK market in a year, but an intelligent guess is that the leading cartridge, in numerical terms, is the rimfire .22 Long Rifle. And, to do a bit more guessing, subsonic variations on the Long Rifle theme must be the most popular. The reason? Subsonic ammo for competition is more accurate than supersonic, and pinpoint accuracy is desirable when you consider the bull in the NSRA’s 25-yards target is only around half an inch across, and all of the bullet hole has to be contained within that area. At 100 yards the bull is only about an inch, which is the equivalent of one minute…

This month I thought we could talk about a subject we don’t seem to touch on much – airguns. What many people don’t realise is that airguns are every bit as old as powder weapons, and even pre-date them if the humble blowpipe is taken into account. The first mechanical airguns were operated by bellows, very similar to the bellows used to feed air to furnaces and are documented from the 16th century. They were really intended to be used as weapons of war rather than practical hunting devices, but it did not take that long for the continental gunmakers to miniaturise household fire bellows, attach them to a barrel and, by using powerful “V” springs concealed within a wood outer – shaped to resemble the muskets of the day…

150 More than 150 students and teachers from Darland High School in north Wales have tried their hand at clayshooting with coaches from BASC. 192.64 A gold medal head has claimed the CIC Scottish red stag record. The trophy, from a stag shot in Galloway in early August, scored 192.64 points, beating the previous record of 190.66. 18 Helmsley’s famous Stick Man is celebrating 18 years in business. Keith Pickering, based in the North Yorkshire town, is one of the nation’s biggest suppliers of stick-making materials and tools. 500 BASC introduced 500 cubs and scouts to shooting at the recent Suffolk Moot. 30 The current drying-out period of 90 days for all trophy species measured by the CIC has been changed to 30 days with immediate effect. 20 The Countryside…

Getting behind I have just opened August edition of Sporting Gun. I am a busy man and get behind with things, so I see I am too late to get a Sporting Gun 40th anniversary pin badge. I was going to write anyways because I bought the very first issue and gave it to a friend who didn’t return it to me. I have had every issue since and still have them in my house, along with 1960s Shooting Times. Sporting Gun is definitely the best magazine ever produced for shooters. Roy Clarke,Cornwall Ed – Flattery will get you everywhere, Roy. A pin 40th anniversary pin badge is making its way to you. Cover To say I was delighted with the front cover of Sporting Gun October is an understatement.…

There’s an old saying that if you look after your kit, it will look after you. This is true, especially when it comes to your knife. It accompanies you on many shooting outings and is used for a variety of jobs, whether that’s helping cut vegetation for a hide, cutting a bit of twine, paunching a rabbit, or breasting a pigeon. Your knife is used and abused on a regular basis. Naturally, whatever the quality of the blade, your knife’s edge will go blunt and need sharpening. There are many sharpeners on the market. One of the best methods of sharpening a blade is by using a wet stone. The results maybe fantastic, but using this method takes a lot of time and skill. The stone has to be soaked…

At least it was good pigeon weather. Quite a decent blow from the right direction, and although the sky was generally overcast with high cloud, it was reasonably bright apart from the odd dark patch that sailed in over the horizon to threaten a brief shower. With the gear on-site, I now stood roughly halfway along the upwind edge of the rape – below the overhanging branches of a leafless oak overlooking a rise in the ground – it also felt right. Having been in this situation on countless occasions, I find gut instinct plays a major part in choosing just when and where to shoot. Right now, that feeling was good. I couldn’t wait to get started! The pigeons mostly had it their own way until the game season…

GUNDOGS GRAHAM WATKINS A professional gundog trainer for more than 35 years and runs Gamegoer Gundogs. VETERINARY NEIL MCINTOSH A practising vet in Scotland. TUITION JOHN BIDWELL 6 times World FITASC champ and pro shooting coach. LEGAL DAVID FROST Author of Sporting Shooting and the Law. TECHNICAL MIKE GEORGE Engineering author with a deep love of gunmaking. PIGEONS PETER THEOBALD Author of Woodpigeon: The Ultimate Quarry. STALKING GEORGE WALLACE Former National Gamekeepers’ Organisation’s firearms consultant. RABBITS ED COOK Professional rabbit catcher working over 30,000 acres. PEST CONTROL & WILDFOWLING TOM SYKES Passionate wildfowler and pest controller.…

“I found it shot well once you remembered to pump the action” As the pinkfeet start to arrive to the country in numbers, apart from the South West sadly, my thoughts turn back to wildfowling. Not that I take a lot of turning to think about fowling! As I write this article my ShotKam is charging alongside the radios and the GoPro, because in the morning I’m off out after the honkers. The tide is right and there are a few knocking about. I have been fairly successful so far, having had a few results with the mighty Browning 10 and even my young apprentice Josh has bagged his first goose. Fowling gun This month I’m looking forward to my review because it’s a good little fowling gun with lots…

Vet’s advice Neil McIntosh SG’s gundog health expert A recent study by the Royal Veterinary College’s Veterinary Companion Animal Surveillance System, which looked into the frequency, risk factors and survival of dogs that had bloat, found that of the dogs that underwent surgical treatment, 80 per cent survived. (It should be borne in mind, however, that only around half of owners chose to operate). Larger, older and pedigree dogs were more likely to be affected and bloat accounted for 0.64 per cent of all emergencies. What is bloat? Bloat, or gastric dilatation/volvulus syndrome (GDV) occurs when there is an abnormal accumulation of ingesta and gas (dilatation), which precipitates rotation of the stomach (volvulus). It is most common in giant, deep chested dogs, possibly because they are less able to burp.…

“By the end of our holiday Ted was looking as fit as the proverbial butcher’s dog” As August drew to a close, I could feel the anticipation of a new shooting season gradually building. I was like a kid waiting for Christmas, but before I could get young Ted out in the shooting field me and Mrs R had booked a week’s holiday down in the Isle of Wight. It was a chance to spend some time with the family and our new granddaughter, but it was also a chance to top up Ted’s fitness levels. After a week of long walks on the beach and plenty of swims in the Solent, I could see a definite change in the little dog’s energy levels, and by the end of our…

A few weeks ago I received a new piece of kit that has been designed by Napier of London. I have used various pieces of Napier kit for a number of years – the Napier Apex predator game sack with the auto lift, and tree hugger stored inside, are a part of my everyday kit. The Apex ready sled I use too, especially if I have to drag a heavy carcase for any distance. All of these are innovative products designed and manufactured by Napier in the UK. The Apex truck click arrival was something I had been waiting to be designed for a number of years ever since using its Apex auto click, which is a carcase lifting tool for hatchback vehicles. The Apex truck click has been designed…

Food vacuum packer As readers may have gathered from my recipes every month, I like to eat as much game as possible. There is, however, nothing worse than defrosting meat to find it has freezer burns. I like to store my meat to keep it as fresh as possible. A few years ago I bought a cheap vacuum packer from eBay, which does the job perfectly. They are a simple but effective invention which increases the shelf life of food in the fridge or freezer. I use mine to store the meat in small labelled bags. The bags take up very little room in the freezer because all the air is removed to save space. The thick bags are sealed well, which prevents leakage – even when defrosting – which…

Max price: £5,000 Type: O/U Boxlock Preferred make: Any with a reliable importer Mike George’s buying advice First of all, you are right in going for a boxlock, and there are plenty of good-looking guns on the second-hand market which come well within your budget. For your money you should find what you are looking for, and have the cash for some coaching. In fact, I wish all gun buyers would consider the value of coaching, and cost some sessions into their budgeting. I know good coaching is not cheap, but it can save a lot of frustration, wasted time, cartridges and non-expert analysis by well-meaning friends. I think your decision to go for a boxlock over a sidelock is correct, because you wouldn’t get a really good sidelock for…

GUNS FOR SALE Austrian 12-bore, 28in barrels, side-by-side, 2¾in Magnum, ¼ and ½ chokes, as ne, £500. Tel 0208 582 7836 (Middlesex). AYA no.4, ejector, 28in barrels, immaculate condition, £450. Tel 0208 582 7836 (Middlesex). Hatsan Escort, automatic, never used, m/c, camo, 12-bore, ½, ¼ and improved cylinder chokes, mint condition, £425. Tel 0208 582 7836 (Middlesex). Charles Osborne, side-by-side, 12-bore, 26in barrels,game scene engraved ducks and pheasants, as new, ¼ and1/2 chokes, offers. Tel 0208 582 7836 (Middlesex). Browning 725 Game, UK Hunter Grade 3, 30in barrels, m/c, very nice wood, as new condition, c/w plastic case and instruction book, used once, £2,000. Tel 07701,383146 (Hampshire). Purdey 12-bore, sidelock, 30in barrels, choked imp and ½, made around 1912, c/w case, £5,950. Tel 078311 47856 (Nottinghamshire). Charles Lancaster 12-bore ,…