Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2016 i Sporting Gun

“Whatever shooting you do this month, I hope you enjoy yourself and this issue helps you” This time of year puts your shooting skills into sharp focus and, in my humble opinion, there’s no better way to limber up for open season than by doing a simulated shoot. I can hear some of you say that live quarry doesn’t fly in an arc or slow down like a clay, but believe me, if you go to a good simulated shoot, you are really challenged by realistic looking “birds”. I was lucky enough to get my “eye in” on a simulated shoot at Bisley this month. The warm up stand didn’t really challenge me and I was feeling pretty confident in my ability. That was until we entered the next stand.…

“Never in the eight years that Paul and I have been shooting together have we shot a field cold” What a few weeks we have had! At the time of writing the pigeons have really showed up in biblical numbers. It all started soon after we had some violent thunderstorms that inevitably knocked over some patches of winter barley. The birds were quick to take advantage of the easy pickings and so were we – our first trip resulting in a bag of 220. Shooting from a joint hide in the middle of the field, and covering a huge laid area, we despatched 110 each – honours even, job done. Not so. Even on this brilliant day, we noticed a significant number were by passing us, to head for another…

Parking: Room for upwards of 200 cars. Clubhouse: The clubhouse set inside a barn can hold up to 50 guests and 30 seated. Gun hire: Gun hire is available along with cartridges, hearing and eye protection as well as professional instructors. Stands: 15 that are all mobile and are changed every two to three weeks. A five-stand Compact layout is also available. High tower: 100ft plus and also mobile. Catering: Bacon butties through to pizza, barbecues and hog roasts – telephone for details. Disciplines: All Sporting. Competitions: One 100-bird Sporting registered competition per month. Cartridges: Any standard game or clay loads-plastic wads or fibre. The ground is regularly swept. A small range of Hull cartridges are available in the shop. Disabled facilities: Yes. Membership: Membership is available and non-members are…

The grey partridge is a beautiful bird; Des Wykes says they bring a smile to his face every time he sees one. If there are a few grey partridge around on your shoot, best leave them unsaluted this season. Even a rough shooter taking in the heat of the moment. However: Red-legged partridge tend to run from the beaters and scatter flying singly or in small groups of two or three. Grey partridge will sit tight and then flush as a tight covey, usually flying a bit higher than accompanying red-legs. If they are calling, it is said that the grey sounds like a creaking rusty gate, the red-leg more of a chuckling sound. the odd grey can do serious damage when numbers are sparse. Like Des, many keepers…

WHERE THEY WERE SHOT 1 Name: Robert Linfield and Charlie Turner Location: West Sussex On Robert’s 13th birthday him and Charlie had a brilliant day out on the stubble shooting pigeons. Charlie and Robert said: “Although they were doing no damage on the stubble they were damaging the other fields around. We started at 3pm and finished at 7pm. We ended up with the grand total of 138 and a crow bringing us up to 139 altogether, this is Robert’s first day over 100! “The farmer was very pleased because they were damaging the pea field that we backed on to while we were shooting.” 2 Name: Matthew Cloughley and Richard McCammon Location: Co. Armagh, N. Ireland Pictured here are Matthew Cloughley and Richard McCammon with their bag of final…

“Before it could make a move, however, a .204 round knocked it off its three legs” This time of year can be great for foxers – not only is the weather usually pleasant, but the cereals have generally been cut and the resulting straw rolled up. Personally, I love using bales as cover, especially when the moon is out. This was particularly true of one time when I got a call from a local keeper – he’d seen foxes near his precious pheasant poults, and as they were due for release, he was desperate for me to sort them out. Just after it got dark I drove over and parked up close to the pens in question. These were next to a field of spring barley that had just been…

The spaniel is one of the oldest “type” of hunting dog and today the cocker and springer spaniel are among the most popular gundog breeds seen in the shooting field. Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of dense brush. By the late 1600s spaniels had become specialised into water and land breeds. The extinct English water spaniel was used to retrieve waterfowl shot down with arrows. Land spaniels were comprised of setting spaniels – those that pointed their game so hunters could catch them with nets, and springing spaniels – those that sprang pheasants and partridges for hunting with falcons, and rabbits for hunting with greyhounds. Spaniel history During the 17th century, the role of the spaniel dramatically changed as wing shooting with flintlock guns became popular and…

So, you got her pregnant. Life has been idyllic, the weeks have gone by and her abdomen has grown. Changes in her teats started around day 35 and by day 50 her mammary glands were enlarging. You wormed her daily from the 42nd day. Her diet has been slowly increased to match her appetite and you have avoided the temptation to add any nasty calcium supplements (clever boy!). Now you can see those pups kicking around in her tummy, she has started nesting behaviour and day 63 (the magic day) approaches. And then it passes and nothing has happened. What on earth is going on? Don’t fret The long survival time of sperm in the female reproductive tract, coupled (pardon the pun) with the fact that eggs can survive for…

Ingredients 600g coarsely minced venison 1 red onion, finely chopped 1tsp chopped th yme Sea salt Ground black pepper 1 parsnip Serves: 2 carrots 1 celeriac 4 slices blue cheese 4 buns Seasonal salad Mustard 1 To make the burgers, mix the mince, onion and thyme together, adding sea salt and ground black pepper to season. If you wish, fry a small piece of the mix and taste it to make sure that the seasoning is just right for you. Divide the burger mix into four patties and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up. 2 Finely slice the root vegetables and fry in vegetable oil until crisp. Drain, season with salt and set aside so that they remain crispy. 3 Heat a frying pan…

EASY RECIPE Goose fried rice Ingredients Goose (shredded) Onions Garden peas Eggs Rice Soy sauce Garlic powder Chinese five-spice Geese can take some getting through because they are a big bird. I shred a lot of mine as a base for a lot of recipes and freeze it in old Chinese take away containers so I can get out the right amount when required. To shred the goose, simply wash the meat under a cold tap and place in a slow cooker. Leave it to cook all day on low until the meat is tender and falling apart. Remove from the slow cooker and place on a chopping board where the meat can be flaked apart with the help of two folks. Now, to make the fried rice. While your…

When I edited the very first issue of Sporting Gun , back in 1977, I asked Fred Buller of Chubbs of Edgeware, then one of the country’s leading gunsmiths, to nominate the best new gun for a newcomer on a limited budget. Without hesitation, he recommended the AYA Yeoman. In the era it was a tough but well-balanced, sweet-handling side-by-side boxlock – so well-made that that many of the guns purchased new in the era must still be in regular use today. These days, if I wanted a reasonably-priced side-by-side for my game shooting, I’d still be tempted to go for an AYA, but one of their elegant sidelocks – a No.1 if I could find an immaculate example on the second-hand racks. Or, if financial good…

The strip of bean stubble was fully 1,000 yards long. Sloping gently downhill from a busy main road, in places it was almost 500 yards wide. It was covered with beans, and though too far from home to keep a regular watch, luckily it was not long before my shooting mate Ed drove past and found it covered with pigeons! Stopping to watch mid week, a good flock were seen to be working a central slope running the entire length of the field, but it was obvious that decoying the place would not all be plain sailing. Challenge ahead Towards one end, a farm track doubled as a public footpath, a small road ran along either side and a couple of houses were also well within shooting range, each needing…

Sean Ponting has pretty much been there and got the T-shirt as far as Sporting and FITASC clayshooting goes. He has had 20 years of coaching experience, and has won competitions at county, regional and national level. He has been in the England team 18 times and also captained it. He is a member of The Association of Professional Shooting Instructors (APSI) and also designs layouts for grounds. Sean said: “I first became involved with the ground here when it opened because it offered somewhere new to practice. Since then I have got to know Jeremy and put my competition experience into some of the layouts here. “When I design a layout I have a few rules, one is the ‘eyesight test’. Clays must be easily visible to the shooter…

“Conservation and positive management of the moors is vital for its survival” With around 75 per cent of the world’s heather moorland located in the UK, tied with the fact that heather moorland habitat is in a more critical condition than the rainforests, it is clear that conservation and positive management of the moors to maintain this diverse habitat is vital for its survival. Continuing the overwhelming efforts of the previous generations of gamekeepers, the Northern School of Game and Wildlife aims to educate trainee gamekeepers in all aspects of moorland management to allow them to understand the importance of maintaining such a fragile habitat. In addition to the college’s own grouse moor, we have the chance to undertake a work placement in any industry related job of our choosing.…

The summer tends to be a more relaxed time of year in my line of work. I use this downtime to carry out my hobbies, but this year has been different. Work has been rolling in thick and fast. Generally, summer is a tricky time of year to carry out rabbit control due to the abundance of vegetation. It provides more food and hiding places for rabbits compared to the winter months, when everything dies back. That said, it is possible to control rabbits at this time of year, with the correct equipment. After all, if a customer wants it done, it has to be done. That’s what keeps the roof over my head and pays the wages. The way to do it So what's the best way to approach…

Last month I touched on the subject of the new “affordable” range of Seek thermal imagers – I was certainly in two minds as to what I thought of them because they’re so completely different from what I’m used to, which is mostly thermal spotters. The acid test for me, however, is whether I’m prepared to give them pocket room – something I guard jealously, as I don’t like to carry any unnecessary baggage at all. Having now had a bit more time to test them, I’m pleased to say that the RevealXR has always come out with me. I was asked to try out two different formats of the technology. One is a simple handheld device called the “RevealXR” while the other is a small plug-in thermal camera, which…

In recent years health testing in cockers has become a much discussed issue and as it stands there are three main conditions to look out for: Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA): This is an inherited eye disease, there are many different types of PRA but the one most commonly seen in cockers is General Progressive Retinal Atrophy (GPRA) also known as prcd-PRA. This disease results in night blindness gradually leading to total blindness, both parents need to carry the PRA gene for the disease to occur. Familial Nephropathy (FN): This is a fatal kidney disease in young cockers which was quite prevalent in the breed in the 1980s until research established that this was also a hereditary condition. A control scheme was put in place by The Cocker Club and in…

For the first time in more than eight years the Ridley household is trying to come to terms with the pitter-patter of tiny paws. Three weeks ago, Whaupley Sharp Shooter (yes, I think the breeder was having a giggle at my expense) AKA Ted arrived in our midst and life hasn’t been quite the same since. Despite all the advice that is given about choosing a new puppy gundog, Ted in fact chose me. I have known the dam since she was a puppy and I have watched and admired her success over the year, which culminated in her achieving highest placed bitch and second place in this year’s Cocker Championship. Field Trial Champion (FTCh) Meadowsedge Shooting Star – Dizzy – has run in 15 field trials. She has won…

The airgun pellet is an important link between the shooter and the target. It can make the difference between Olympic gold or bronze. For most airgunners it can just mean the difference between a hit or a miss, but that’s equally important as Olympic glory, especially when you are hunting. Pellets come in four main calibres (sizes):.177; .20; .22 and .25, with .177 being the smallest and .25 being the largest. There is also a .303 calibre pellet, but that is rather specialist and was designed for the awesomely powerful FAC rated Daystate Wolverine. Hunting for pellets For hunting it used to be said .22 was the best because the relatively large calibre imparted a lot of energy to the quarry, ensuring a clean kill. But things have changed and…

It’s the first drive of the season. I’m wound tighter than a watch spring and shuffling nervously around my peg. It’s one of those rare occasions when I pray that the first bird heads for someone else in the line. If it comes to me and I miss, the banter will be radioactive. Like all the syndicate members, I have been looking forward to the opening salvo for many weeks. I’ve re read every article on how to hit high birds. Inside my head a nagging voice is on a loop; good footwork, keep eye on bird and gun moving, don’t look at the barrels, keep cheek glued to stock, etc. My own worst enemy Well, you know the outcome. The bird does come to me. I miss. Bring on…

Here at Greenlee I am writing this in August, as we come to the end of what is our buck season. Those who hunt deer will be thinking, “Hang on a bit, that’s still in the season, buck open season doesn’t close until the end of October?” While that is true, we find that after the rut it all goes quiet on the buck front and hopefully, as is the case this year, we will have completed our cull, so it is time for a break from all those early mornings and late evenings. We may catch up on a few stragglers in October, but essentially our work is completed – time for a well earned rest! For us the season was a little erratic, starting slowly and then picking…

GUNS FOR SALE Hushpower 20-bore moderated shotgun, fired fewer than 200 cartridges, vgc, £425. Tel 01916 881486 (Warwickshire). Yildiz 20-bore shotgun, 13.75in stock, only fired 100 shots, nice looking woodwork, £500 ono. Tel 07581 475909 (Isle of Wight). Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon Deluxe Field, 12-bore, o/u, right-handed, 28n barrels, ¼ and ½ fixed choke, game scene engraving, upgraded wood, c/w Beretta ABS case, £1,400. Tel 07817 546335 (South Yorkshire). Beretta 682 Gold E limited edition Sporter, 30in, m/c barrels, mint condition, exhibition wood, cased with all accessories, £1,950. Tel 07900 528420 (North Buckinghamshire). J. Manton, 12-bore, boxlock non-ejector, sbs, 28in barrels, 2.5in chambers, £425 ovno. Tel 07973 627990 (Nottinghamshire). AYA .410, single barrel, ex condition, oiled stock, good recoil pad, £150. Tel 07973 627990 (Nottinghamshire). Sabel 20-bore SBS, 26in barrels,…

Owl-ing with laughter > I really enjoyed reading your article, “Eagle owls: friend or foe?” in July issue. My first experience with an eagle owl was many years ago when a friend started to keep birds of prey. One of the birds he reared was an eagle owl. This bird was enormous; much bigger than any bird of prey I’d ever seen. It was also an escape artist. No pen seemed to be able to hold him for long and when he escaped he would swoop down and sit on the same large fence pole in a local street and watch the world go by. The first time he did this some frightened locals phoned the police, convinced this huge bird was going to fly off with one of their…

Situated high on the rolling landscapes and big skies of Salisbury Plain is Widdington Shoot. A CPSA Premier Ground, it offers an attractive and unique venue for both competition shooters and the casual Gun who wants some practice. Set in 2,000 acres of largely arable land farmed by shoot owner Jeremy Horton, the layout around the clubhouse is a horseshoe shape and shooters can quietly amble around the stands on mown grass. As well as a warm welcome, the ground itself was tidy with barely a broken clay or wad visible. The clubhouse is spacious and bedecked with trophies that Jeremy brought back from an African safari, a trip he won in a raffle at the CLA Game Fair a few years ago. Being a keen stalker, it was the…

A family in which a father, his sons and a grandson are all gamekeepers on neighbouring shoots must be rather unique. Welcome to the Lincolnshire village of Willoughton, home to the remarkable Wykes family. Award winning family If gamekeeping is in this family’s genes, so is devotion to that iconic British gamebird; the grey partridge. This devotion does not go unrewarded. Once again the Wykes have carried off the prestigious “Lincolnshire Grey Partridge Trophy” – a conservation prize organised by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). It is the third time a family member has been awarded this trophy – given each year to the estate or shoot that has done most for grey partridges. This year’s victor was family patriarch Des Wykes, himself the grandson of a local…

As I write this article I am going through a quiet patch on the pest control side of things. I am just about finished with all the mole control and the pigeons have yet to make an appearance on any of the crops. The rabbit control has become difficult on the low lying arable land with the vegetation now being too high and dense to see them with the lamp. I had noticed through the binoculars a small piece of land of not more than two acres had been worked up around a slurry pit very close to the farm. On closer inspection, this piece of land had roughly 60 crows sat across it. In most cases when you approach crows in the car they scatter, but not today, the…

We might get pretty good – or think we are – at judging range from experience in our normal environment, say from a familiar high seat on the edge of a wood or in the corner of a field. But any change is likely to throw us into the realms of pure guesswork. Sensible people pace out or measure distances from such seats and that measurement can be used to estimate distances in other similar places. But change the light or the situation, say from woodland to open fields or vice versa and a guesstimate can be miles out. And then take yourself into the hills, where the light is so different and there is often what we call dead ground – a dip or a valley where the ground…

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. FERRETS: ED COOK Professional rabbit catcher working over 30,000 acres. PEST CONTROL & WILDFOWL: TOM SYKES Passionate wildfowler and pest controller…

The 202, the predecessor of the 404 was launched in 1993 and was seen as one of the best rifles around. However, the new 404 has many mechanical improvements over the 202, one being the safety catch. When you push the safety catch up to make the rifle “live”, you are physically cocking the rifle. Moving the safety catch back again makes the rifle completely safe. It is simple and effective. One of the other improvements with the 404 are the mounts. On the 202 most people either had Warne mounts or Apel mounts, which are okay but rather clumsy and not always the most reliable. Sauer have developed its own QD mounts, which pull down to the top of the action. I have to say it’s a very neat…

Many new gundog owners that come to us for training at Gamegoer aspire to be part of a picking-up team. However, very few are fully aware of the responsibility that comes with working your dog in, what is, a vital part of a game shoot. The aim of a good picker-up is not just to come back to the gamecart laden with dead birds, but also to find those illusive runners and pricked birds. A good picker-up and their team of dogs will make every effort to sweep an area, not leaving any injured or dead birds behind. It takes dedication and determination, as well as a well-trained dog to achieve that aim. I often get asked how to get “picking up” on a shoot and that depends on what…

With the new season soon upon us, it’s time to get the gear out ready for the sport ahead. Early season wildfowling can be a bit on the warm side depending on the weather. This article is a look into the tips and tricks I use while pursuing ducks and geese on those warmer autumn days. It’s fair to say that last winter was particularly mild compared to the norm. However, the balmy autumn weather from last September through to November was relentlessly warm. I’ve never shot ducks and geese on a regular basis in such heat. The issue with all this heat is that wildfowlers are generally used to the cold stormy conditions of deepest, darkest winter and a lot of our equipment is designed for the cold. This…

I was pleased to be sent this gear to try out because the weather this summer has been appalling and waterproof trousers have been a bit of a godsend. I was hoping to be spending the summer in shorts while out with my lab Dixie and mooching around the shoot, but that wasn’t to be. And when I returned to Ireland for a few months, where you can almost guarantee rain, the shorts seemed a pipe dream because I was wearing these waterproof trousers every day. Waterproof First and foremost, the Pintail trousers are waterproof. I can vouch for that having worn them in pouring rain. Part of my job is walking crops and this can be a very wet job after some of the weather we’ve had recently. It…

We are just about to kickoff the new wildfowling season, which can be a funny old time of year. I’m sure I am not the only wildfowler eager to get back out on the foreshore in our relentless pursuit of ducks and geese. The truth is I have to ban myself from watching my pal Chris Green’s fowling DVDs prior to the season because they get me prematurely excited to be on the foreshore. During the August run up we try to remind ourselves of the freezing cold mornings to come, but the reality is that those trips won’t happen for a few months. What we normally face at the beginning of the season is the heat and flies, young birds and limited migratory species. Having said that, there is…

Ingredients 8oz cannelloni 1 onion chopped 1lb venison sausage meat ½tsp dried sage Salt and pepper 1 egg beaten 6oz grated cheese 1 tin chopped tomatoes How to cook Cook the cannelloni in boiling water until al dente and drain them. Heat some oil in a frying pan and add the onion. Cook until soft then add the venison sausage meat and cook until the meat has browned. Add the dried sage and season with salt and pepper. Remove this mixture from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a basin. If it does not stick together very well, bind with a little beaten egg. Stuff the cannelloni with this mixture, lay half of them in a greased ovenproof dish and cover with half the cheese. Add the…

GUNS adj — adjustable ble — boxlock ejector blne — boxlock non ejector brls— barrels c/w — complete with cyl — cylinder db — double barrel dt — double trigger ej — ejector ex con — excellent condition fac — firearms certificate fc — fixed choke gc — good condition grd — grade hg — hammer gun imp — improved ltwt — lightweight m/c — multi-choke mod — modified o/u — over and under ono — or near offer ovno — or very near offer p/x — part exchange pa — pump action rf — rimfire rnds — rounds (ammunition) sa — semi-automatic sb — single barrel sbs — side by side sle — side lock ejector slne — sidelock no ejector sst — single selective trigger tge — teague…

MIROKU MK60 UNIVERSAL GRADE 5 In the 1980s a type of gun for the Sporting disciplines was just evolving. All too many Continental manufacturers were trying to palm us off with slightly modified trap guns, while their game guns were too light and often too tightly choked, and skeet guns were too open-choked and not nearly steady enough for the more distant targets. Nowadays the skeet gun has all but disappeared, while every gunmaker’s range seems to include a Sporter. One of the very best Sporters of the 1980s was the Winchester 6500, available in fixed choke or multichoke format. Both guns handled brilliantly well, with the 30-inch fixed choke gun just having the edge. Sadly, the 6500 – made by Kodensha in Japan – was not destined to be…

Regular readers of this column will know that I am quite a fan of the Victorians. Their ingenuity never fails to amaze me, with their ability to overcome major engineering and mechanical applications with nothing more than brass and iron, sometimes with a bit of steam power thrown in for good measure. Anyone who requires a fantastic example of this only needs to Google search Charles Babbage & Ada Lovelace and check out Babbage’s “Analytical Machine”, which was basically a computer built from brass cogs that Lovelace wrote programs for. The fact that the finished article would probably have been about the size of Battersea Power Station and would have cost as much as a small country is but a small detail! Absolute folly Another thing the Victorians are famous…

What is your favourite form of shooting and which quarry species really floats your boat? Most, who simply enjoy getting out with the gun and having a go at whatever is in season, will find it difficult to make a choice. Decoyed pigeons? Grouse over pointers? Driven birds, or rabbits bolted by ferrets? Clay shooting? What about duck and geese on the foreshore? The list goes on. So maybe we should rephrase the question. So, what form of shooting do you like the least? Mine is driven reared mallard. Okay, some estates do a half decent job of showing birds that appear to be wild and wing it into the distance as soon as they hear a shot. But for every one that can, there are another dozen that can’t.…