Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Sporting Gun

“It really brought home that habitat management and conservation encourages diversity of wildlife” Part of Richard Brigham’s article, ÒSeasonal PleasuresÓ, struck a chord with me this month. In his evocative feature on early season shooting, he mentioned that managed countryside encouraged a greater diversity of wildlife. Nothing new about that, I hear you say, but it resonated with me because I recently visited an estate I used to work on during my college vacations. All those years ago it was a sporting estate and I used to help the gamekeeper. Twenty or so years later the estate no longer offers commercial shooting and has concentrated on other ways to survive economically. These include letting out the “big house” to a large corporation to glad hand its clients; turning the grouse…

WHERE THEY WERE SHOT 1 Name: Lee Gibson Location: Warwickshire Pictured is Lee Gibson after shooting his personal best. He said: “I shot alone on bean stubble in Bulkington, Warwickshire, and managed to pick 145 – my personal best pigeon day.” 2 Name: Matthew Lloyd Location: South Wales Matthew Lloyd sent this picture of his bag after a day’s shooting over stubble. He said: “It was a slow day and the birds just were not playing ball, but I managed to bag 34 woodies. “I shot using my brand new Berreta Silver Pigeon 12-bore using Gambore clear pigeon 32g 6’s, my favourite pigeon cartridge – very fast and hard hitting. We shot them using 50 pigeon shell decoys, set out in a horse shoe pattern, a rotary with two dead…

Parking: Room for around 40 cars. Stands: 10 Sporting and one English skeet layout. Young Shots: Young Shots are encouraged and tuition is available. Cartridges: Wood Farm stocks Hull cartridges from .410 right through the bores to 12-bore. Fibre wads only and any standard game or clay load. Events: Stag, hen and corporate days are available. Membership: No membership. Catering: Hot drinks and snacks. Disabled facilities: Yes, access to the stands is hard standing. Competitions: No, fun only. Clubhouse: Yes, and will seat around 30 guests. Traps: 18 Promatic traps. For details visit: www.woodfarmclays.co.uk…

THE HOUSE OF BRUAR BANQUET HAMPER With tempting treats culled from every corner of the globe, this luxurious hamper exceeds expectations when it comes to delivering fine food and drink with a definitively Scottish slant. Presented in a traditional wicker hamper, this selection makes the perfect gift for any aspiring gourmand. Other hamper ranges available. Price: £495 Visit: www.houseofbruar.com ALAN PAINE COMPTON EXTENDED PEAK CAP The new peak cap is fully lined and has a waterproof and breathable pure outer wool. It’s available in sizes small to 3XL and in a range of colours. Price: £34.99 Visit: www.alanpaine.co.uk JACK PYKE COUNTRYMAN JUMPER This stylish windproof and fully reversible jumper features a waterproof membrane. One side is a knitted wool mix while the other is 100 per cent polyester…

QI’ve been told that you should keep hob liner ferrets separate from the rest in a hutch. Why? Edward says: The thinking here is that by keeping an “unsocialised” hob away from other ferrets it will be aggressive towards another ferret should it be laid up with a rabbit, and get it moving again. I don’t know of anyone who uses liner ferrets these days. Powerful hobs are fitted instead with locator collars so that they can be dug out easily should they stay with another ferret’s kill.…

Q What’s best, paper or plastic cartridge cases? Or is there no real difference? Mike says: I have heard all sorts of claims for the superiority of paper cases. For instance, some say that they recoil less, and others claim they pattern better. Personally, I have never found any measurable difference. I have always been in favour of finding a cartridge that gives you confidence and is easy on the shoulder, and sticking with it. However, I did once shoot with some of the Russian instructors on the ranges built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and noted that all of the top Soviet shooters present on the day shot paper-cased ammo, but the reason why unfortunately got lost in the translation. The important point, to me at any rate, is…

Q Six pub/restaurants in my area are keen to take kitchen-ready pigeon breasts from me to put on their menus. I’m happy to invest in a vacuum packing machine to present them properly, but do I need to have a certificate of some sort or other to trade in this way? If so, what’s required? Peter says: It is most likely that you will need some sort of registration in order so that hygiene officers can inspect your premises and fridges. I would imagine that the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) could give you the details because they are heavily involved in all matters meat hygiene and run tailor-made courses to promote safe game handling and onward sales.…

QI have a fixed-choke gun with chrome-lined barrels, and I wish to have the chokes opened out. However, a chap at the club tells me that, because of the internal chrome plating, this is impossible. Is he right? Mike says: The chokes in internally chromium-plated barrels can be opened out, but the plating has to be ground away with abrasives first. That’s not a problem to a good gunsmith, but it means you will have to clean the gun a little more carefully in future because the choke area will be deprived of its corrosion resistance. Unless the gun is choked very tightly, I wouldn’t have too much taken out because it’s a good principle of engineering that it is relatively easy to remove metal, but, in gunsmithing terms, impossible…

Q What, if any, safety equipment do you take onto the marsh just in case an accident happens? On the estuary I shoot here in Kent I can’t get a mobile phone signal, which does make me wonder how I can alert people should I run into problems with the tide, or come across another wildfowler who might be in difficulty. Tom says Safety on the foreshore is very important, it’s not the kind of environment for the faint hearted with fast flowing tides and treacherous mud. In regards to keeping in contact with people, I try to keep safe by telling someone where I’m going, when I’m planning to be off the marsh and will check in when I’m safely back. Such simple information will give a search team…

Last month we looked at what manufacturers put on the labels of their dog food and what it all means. The legal requirements for labelling includes the product name, a visible legible statutory statement, directions and descriptions, a list of ingredients, average analysis, vitamins and copper, additives, best before date, batch number, net weight, name and address of the company and bar codes. These are all proscribed by the 1995 Feeding Stuffs Regulations, presumably to protect and inform consumers. Sometimes, however, it is what is NOT on the label that is the problem! The price Remember years ago when every item in every shop had a wee sticky label that told you what it cost? Or those tins of dog food with a big red star containing the price in…

Last week I started my 2016/17 picking-up season at my regular shoot, near Henley-On-Thames in Oxfordshire. During lunch there was the normal early season grumblings about how much people get paid and how such and such a shoot has increased its daily rate. I never get involved in these conversations, let’s be honest in “normal” life if someone offered you a day’s work for £25 where you would have to walk many miles, at times get soaked through to the skin and probably scratched to pieces, and you’d have to supply your own boots and clothing, you’d probably tell them politely to go away. At the end of the day none of us do it for the money, we do it because we want to be out in the fresh…

Walter Smith is a shooting and fishing legend around the Stamford area and a true countryman to boot. An invitation to his day on Bidwell's Farm Shoot near Clipsham, where he keepers, is not one to turn down – very few get the privilege of being asked! “It’s just a proper country shoot… how it used to be”, said Walter, when I met him at his hut by his fishing lake for a chat. The shoot covers 120 acres and there are no cover crops planted, mainly because the rolling countryside is blessed with plenty of woods and thick hedgerows that are used to fly the 250 released pheasants. There is also a quarry with plenty of scrub for cover, where unsurprisingly Clipsham Stone is quarried! The shoot has been…

I use the muscle on the inner side of the haunch for this dish, we call it flank. Cut the meat so you have four steaks. Ingredients 4 pieces of steak 3tbsp oil 6 shallots skinned and cut in half Butter 4oz button mushrooms Flour 1 bottle of Belgium lager 1oz demerara sugar 1 clove garlic skinned and crushed Salt and pepper How to cook Marinade the meat overnight in the oil with a little seasoning. Fry the shallots in the butter until lightly coloured and place in an ovenproof dish with the mushrooms. Drain the steaks and coat them with flour then brown in the same pan as the shallots, adding any remaining oil. Put the steaks on top of the vegetables. Mix together the lager, sugar and garlic…

» I wouldn’t go for the maximum load, you can always slowly work it up and so often it is the below max loads that are the accurate ones. » There is a huge amount of kit out there that will take you into the minutia of loading. This is the beginning steps to that journey, start with the basic kit until you are confident then away you go. » Be safe, always use the manufacturer’s recommendations. » Do not go over manufacturer’s maximum measurements. » Christmas is just around the corner, it might be an idea to start to slip in a few suggestions with the boss!…

GUNS FOR SALE Cogswell & Harrison Markor, 12-bore, ble, 28in barrels, easy opener, made in 1926, vgc, good all round game gun, £400. Tel 07572 662238 (Kent). 12-bore BSA s/s, 28in barrels, 2½ chambers, ble, dt, gc, £400 ono. Tel 01702 219629 (Essex). 12-bore Charles Osborne, s/s, ble, 30in barrels, 2½ chambers, gc, £400 ono. Tel 01702 219629 (Essex). 12-bore Greener hamergun, 2½ chambers, 25in barrels, re-barreled by Roberts of Birmingham, gc, £400 ono. Tel 01702 219629 (Essex). Browning C2G 205, vgc, cased, £2,300. Tel 01352 78001 (Flintshire). Sabatti 12-bore, O/U, 28in barrels, cast left-hand, c/w gun cabinet for two guns included in price, £270. Tel 07790 083733 (Devon). Zabala Hermanos, s/s, 12-bore, 3½in chabers, 29in barrels, five shokes, sst non ejector, mint condition, £400. Tel 01472 841085 (Lincolnshire). Baikal…

ATA ARMS LIGHTWEIGHT FIELD The late and much respected shooting writer Gough Thomas expressed the opinion that the ideal weight for a game gun to shoot 1oz of shot was 6lb, while 6lb 6oz was right for 1 1/16oz loads. The book in question – Shotguns & Cartridges for game and clays – was first published in the 1960s, so it is interesting to note that in the 21st century most O/U game guns tip the scales at more than 7lb, and an average seems to be around the 7¼lb mark. By Gough’s standards, however, the ATA Arms Lightweight Field is a good compromise as far as weight is concerned. It weighs around 6lb 4½oz, a weight achieved by the use of aluminium for the action body, with a steel…

“The company’s first big break came with the design of the Perazzi MX8” In Italy in 1946 life must have been tough for a young lad with an ambition. In recent years the country, under Mussolini, had gone to war on the German side, but had surrendered and joined the Allies in 1943. Then came the struggle to throw out Hitler’s forces, and the eventual capture and execution of Mussolini by a band of partisans. Put briefly, it was a country in chaos. The infrastructure was severely damaged, the economy likewise, and political unity between left and right seemed, at times, like an impossible dream. It was in this scenario that the 14-year-old Daniele Perazzi nurtured his own apparently impossible dream. He wanted to be a gunmaker, but the only…

“There is no doubt that pigeon numbers have risen dramatically and continue to do so” Shooters of my age often lament that things were better in “the good old days”, when all you had to do was throw an old stuffed grey sock out on a likely looking field and pigeons would swarm to their doom. They would recall flocks of woodies leaving the roosting woods at first light that were so big it would take 20 minutes to pass over. But, was it really like this? Entries from my diary going back 45 years often revealed uncooperative birds that ignored my decoys, or simply cleared off after the first shot. Admittedly, I was still learning the art of decoying, but average bags were probably around the 30 to 40…

“Using your vision correctly and finding your visual pick-up point is crucial” Geoff “Silver Fox” Kelly has been shooting clays for 40 years and prior to that used to do some game and pigeon shooting. Having started with an airgun at the age of seven, his route into the shooting world went down a familiar path that many have taken, beginning with beating on a local shoot. His clayshooting began at the now long-gone Tisbury Gun Club that had about 12 members, who used to take it in turns to trap and shoot. Following the closure of the ground, a local farmer with a private skeet and trap layout allowed the club members to use his facilities. Although Geoff enjoyed trap and skeet, he preferred the variety of targets that…

“Unlike many jackets, when you raise your arms into the shooting position the sleeves don’t ride up” Avian quarry, especially geese and ducks, have exceptional eyesight. They can spot anything unusual from a great distance, making camouflage a vital part of any wildfowler’s wardrobe. Seeland’s Wetland jacket uses the Realtree Max 4 pattern specifically designed for wildfowling in marshy conditions. The camo is given extra depth because of the honeycomb weave on the material, which gives the pattern an almost 3-D effect. This weave also strengthens the material. It is a lightweight jacket coated with a durable waterproof coating (DWR). This is a polymer coating, which causes water to bead on the surface of the jacket, preventing it becoming water-logged. Seams have been “taped” (heat sealed) which prevents water coming…

Q Why is the kennel cough vaccine given up the nose and not injected? My dog hates it! Neil says: Kennel cough is a bad name really. Most of the affected dogs that we see have never been near a kennel but have caught it in the park, on the street or at a training class. Or even at a shoot! The causal agent, Bordetella bronchiseptica, is airborne and, if it lands on the lining of the respiratory tract, it grabs hold and multiplies. Since this thwarts the wave motion of the cilia in the trachea, which normally wafts mucus out of the lungs, coughing results. Typically, there is a strong response to a tracheal pinch and the cough sounds like there is something stuck in the throat – with…

QI have always wanted ferrets to bolt rabbits to my gun, but I’ve never taken the plunge and bought any. I’ve now been given two young jills from working stock but, not having an adult as a role model, I wonder how I go about training them? I would appreciate your advice. Edward says: If the ferrets are from good working strain then you are halfway there already! The rest should be fairly easy. I answered a reader’s question on a similar subject some time ago and my advice stays the same: the best way to train a kit is to make sure it has an exercise area attached to the hutch that replicates, as near as possible, an actual rabbit burrow. This means setting up a system of pipes,…

Q My young cocker spaniel is retrieving dummies really well and I would like to try him on cold game, but I am not sure at what age he needs to be before I start? Can you please help? Graham says: First of all, age is irrelevant – there are a number of other factors that are far more important. To start, you say that your pup is retrieving dummies well and I assume from this that he also has a good delivery. If that’s the case then I suggest you try him on fur dummies or dummies with feathers tied around them just to make sure he is happy with them. Some young dogs cope with the transition from canvas to game dummies really well and make no issues…

Q Because of a shoulder problem I have resorted to using a semi-auto for all my pigeon decoying. It’s a great bit of kit and comfortable to shoot, but, oh dear, it sprays empty cases far and wide. I have bought a magnetic stick to pick up spent cartridges, but it isn’t long enough to poke into deep ditches or thick cover. A clay shooting pal says shooters in America use small baskets attached to the action to catch fired shells, but I haven’t seen these advertised here. Do they exist, and where can I find one? Peter says: I, too, have seen these devices used at skeet shoots in the States, where any spent shell that hits the ground, automatically belongs to the club. Home loading is very popular…

“In a crowded marketplace full of guns for less than £1,000, the Lincoln Vogue stood out” Based on a limited edition shotgun with the same name from the early 1980s, the new version of the Lincoln Vogue over-and-under game gun is placed in the sub-£1,000 sector of the market. But what sets it apart from its competitors? Lincolns have been built by F.A.I.R. (Fabbrica Armi Isodoro Rizzini) since 1971. The company prides itself on its quality engineering, selection of materials and stylish Italian design, so this will help put the Vogue on many shooters’ wish lists. Deluxe In the 1980s the original Lincoln Vogue was built as a limited edition “Deluxe” gun. Now it has been brought back with a few updates, one of these being the action. The new…

“These kinds of training days are not about shooting, they are about the dogs” If you take a look on the many Facebook “gundog training” or “shooting available” forums, you may see advertised opportunities to enter your dog on game training days or the chance to shoot on such a day as a Gun. In recent years a number of shoots have taken the commercial decision to set apart areas of their ground to accommodate these days and they are proving to be very popular. The early season partridge days get pre booked year on year. The 1st September is the day that everyone wants, Guns are keen to warm their barrels and gundog handlers want to give novice dogs experience under live conditions or to sharpen up experienced dogs…

Ted has settled in really well, although it is just as well that I am a morning person because I have seen the sunrise on more than one occasion over the past few weeks. All my cockers live indoors and right from the start we have used a puppy crate for Ted, and he has taken to it very well. We just need to wait until his bladder has grown enough to last through the night! I have always believed that the key to any dog training is getting your pupil to think you are the centre of his world and I personally like to develop a good eye contact with my dogs and that is one thing that I have been working on with young Ted. It hasn’t been…

Most of us go beating or picking-up for fun and don’t think of it as a form of employment. There are few exceptions to this principle, such as in areas where shoots form an important part of the seasonal employment pattern – grouse moors in summer and shoots in tourist areas in the winter, for example. Officialdom sees it differently. Since 1999 there has been a national minimum wage, now called the “living wage”. It’s currently £7.20 per hour for those aged over 25 and less for younger people, dwindling to £3.87 for the under 18s. There are few exemptions from the need to pay the living wage unless the employment is very casual and the sum paid is a token gesture merely covering expenses such as petrol and a…

EASY RECIPE Pheasant noodle stir-fry Ingredients Pheasant breasts Onion Mushrooms Peppers Stir fry mixed veg Garlic powder Soy sauce Chinese five-spice Noodles (straight to wok) This is a great, healthy recipe, which is also cheap and quick to make. Firstly, slice the pheasant breasts into small chunks or slithers and dice up the peppers, onion and mushrooms. Heat the wok and add a little oil. Once the oil is hot, add the pheasant ensuring the meat sizzles on entry. As the pheasant is cooking, add garlic and Chinese five-spice to flavour the meat. Once the pheasant begins to cook on all sides add the diced onions. After the onions have begun to sweat, add the rest of the veg including the bag of stir fry mix and a healthy glug…

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 —…

Just off the A303, a stone’s throw from the quiet Wiltshire village of Mere, lies Wood Farm Clayshooting Club. Set in 700 acres of arable and livestock ground and overlooked by Castle Hill – all that remains of a castle built in 1253 by the Earl of Cornwall – the club is run by Rodney Coward, who has farmed there for 53 years. Rodney started the club in 1987, he said: “We always had guns around the farm when I was growing up, but I was never a serious shooter. I started the club mainly as a means of diversifying to raise a bit more income. Initially I used to take entry fees sitting in my Land Rover, but a couple of years later we built the clubhouse.” Rodney is…

GOT A QUESTION? CONTACT: sportinggun@timeinc.com  or Sporting Gun, Time Inc (UK) Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF MEET THE TEAM 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…

QI’m about to sell a gun to a chap who claims to be an authorised firearms dealer. Is there any way in which I can check that he is? David says: Yes, quite easily. Every Registered Firearms Dealer (RFD) has a certificate issued by the police. The certificate number is often quoted on their letterhead. If in doubt you can always ask to see the certificate, which looks rather like the one you have for your own guns. An RFD’s certificate is valid for three years. There have recently been reports about RFDs not getting their certificates renewed on time because of delays by the police. If the dealer can’t produce a valid certificate then you mustn’t sell or transfer the gun to him. For him to say: “I’ve been…

QI intend taking my young dog to France for a fortnight so that I can continue her training while I am on holiday. It is not a long journey for us but is there a checklist of stuff I need to do for her? Neil says: The DEFRA website is always worth a look but the process is quite simple. She should already be micro-chipped. She will need a rabies vaccination, given after she has been chipped and not before she is 12 weeks old. She will then need a Pet Passport, which your vet should be able to provide when she is vaccinated, but remember, she cannot travel until three weeks after the date of vaccination. Check with your vet but I would additionally treat her for ticks a…

Q My game dealer – the only one in a 30 mile radius – takes all my woodies, fresh or frozen. But after talking to my mates in other parts of the county I consistently get five or ten pence less per bird than they do. Surely all dealers should pay the same? How do they work out their own price? Peter says: Any business will run on a supply and demand basis, so if your dealer is paying less than others he most likely is being oversupplied. It is up to you to get the best price for your birds, not the other way round.…

Q What sort of bedding do you recommend for a ferret’s sleeping quarters, and how often should I change it? Edward says: In spring and summer I like to use sawdust but when the weather starts turning colder, straw. Both are cheap, easy to come by and easy to dispose of. Avoid hay at all costs because it holds too much heat and can cause death through heat stroke in hot weather. Hay aside, the important thing is to change the bedding regularly – once a week is about right. Kennel cleanliness is hugely important because it helps ferrets avoid nasty illnesses, and prolongs their working life.…

Q More of the syndicate Guns here are now shooting with 20-bores, one even turns up from time-to-time with a 28. Should I change to one after using a 12 all these years? What advantages does the smaller gun have? John says: None. Small bore shotguns can certainly be deadly little tools in the right hands, but in my experience not everyone is able get the best out of them. Some people say it’s more of a challenge to kill high birds with a 20 and those who can are the very same folk who were able to shoot to a high enough standard with a 12-bore before making the switch. Young and older sportsmen who find the weight of a 12-bore too much should certainly consider using the smaller…

Q My young Lab has a small lump on his elbow. My vet stuck a needle in it and sent off a slide to be analysed. Result? Apparently “not enough diagnostic material to make a diagnosis” and a bill of £70! What is the best way to make a complaint? Neil says: I always think a reasonable personal approach either to the vet involved or, if you prefer, the practice principal is the way to go. (Of course if you are dealing with a “corporate” practice they may just direct you upstairs!) On this occasion, however, I have a certain sympathy with your vet, unless they neglected to inform you that this was a possible outcome. The perfectly valid, noninvasive, relatively safe and cheap method he used was a “fine…

QI find some “springing teal” targets difficult to hit. I think that when the muzzles overtake them I lose sight of the clay and this causes me to slow the gun. Can you help? John says: Losing sight of the target and stopping the gun is a fairly common problem and it’s one reason why I teach people to shoot this bird with my “Move, Mount, Shoot” technique. By holding the muzzles high and slightly to one side of the line of flight, you can mount the gun and still keep the bird in view below the barrels, even when you pull the trigger. If you can’t make the transition from follow-through to MMS it’s still worth holding the gun a fraction off line because it helps you keep visual…

“Most techno-babble has little bearing on our use of the scope for hunting purposes” Last month’s historical ramblings brings us to the last half of the 20th century and the first 16 years of the 21st. Much more familiar territory and a time when the telescopic rifle sight has become virtually universal, even on air rifles. Reading advertisements and assorted articles in magazines, it is easy to be confused by all the technical data and end up at a total loss as to which scope is “best” for you. Worry not, because most techno babble is only of academic interest and has little bearing on our use of the scope for hunting purposes. In fact, most of the supposed “improvements” are undetectable to the human eye. However, we’ll have a…

Over the past couple of months we have been looking at working your dog in the beating line and as part of a picking-up team, but many of my clients at Gamegoer aspire to shoot over their dogs either “on the peg” or on walked-up days. Either way, before shooting over your dog you need to make sure that it is steady to game, both fur and feathered, quiet when it is either hunting or sitting at a peg and is a confident retriever. A dog that is constantly whining or dancing around during a drive or hunts out of control is not only a nuisance to other Guns but will almost be guaranteed to spoil your day. Driven day During your gundog’s early training you should have trained it…

“I had at most two seconds to get the crosshairs on it. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop” One of the consequences of shooting foxes is that if there’s any increase in, say, the rabbit population, you’ll get the blame from the farmer whether it’s justified or not. As a result, one of the things that goes hand in hand with vulpine control is keeping a lid on the numbers of other pests in the vicinity. If my shooting partner, Paul, and I see a perceptible increase in bunny numbers we do our best to get onto it straight away. Our preferred method is to swap the NV add-on units from our fox rifles to our HMRs. To this end, I’ve made up a series of adaptors so that all my rifles…

A couple of weeks ago someone phoned and asked if I could help them with a problem. They have a Christmas tree plantation that is deer fenced, but apparently a buck had got in and, of course, they needed him out before the damage started. I can sense many thinking “that’s easy, fenced in, nowhere to go” – think again! The plantation is one of the best I have seen and is really well looked after, so I understood their concern. My first step was to have a look around the 20 acres or so, just to see if he was still in there. He was, and so I went in with the rifle and had two friends spotting from outside the young plantation. True to form, up he jumped…

In this article I was reloading for my 30.06 T3. We used 55.5 grains of powder, the basic recommendation on the Hodgdon tub for 180 grain bullet. OAL was 2 thou back from the lands. The target results showed a slightly high first shot, that was to get the spiders out of the barrel! The other five, without any scope adjustment are a pretty tight group and that’s without any further adjustments, all basic measurement. Next issue will be chronographing the speed of the bullet, this is to ensure it is legal for deer at the minimum of 2,450 ft/second, but also so that I can work out the drop at various distances to put into my Swarovski ballistic turret.…

Ingredients   Serves: 4 whole dressed par tridges 2 knobs of butter 2tbsp olive oil Salt and ground pepper 4 sprigs of thyme 4 garlic cloves, crushed Honey roast root vegetables 2 large carrots 2 large parsnips 1 medium swede 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 large sprig of thyme 3tbsp honey 4tbsp cider vinegar 5floz/150ml chicken or game stock COOKING METHOD 1 Place the garlic and thyme in the cavity of the partridges. 2 Heat a large ovenproof frying pan with olive oil and butter. When it starts to foam, add the partridges. Seal the birds for two minutes on each side until golden brown and remove from the pan. 3 Wash and peel the vegetables before cutting them into 1in/2cm square chunks. Place the vegetables in a pan, cover…

“Made around 1620, the rapier hails from a time when the world was a dangerous place” Every time an old gun or sword comes into my office my mind immediately imagines the story behind it. Who was it made for? Why did they want it? And where was it used? Unfortunately the answers to these questions are usually lost in time, but occasionally something turns up which is such an iconic piece of the period that one only has to read accounts from the time to get a real feel for the item. Take the rapier pictured here for example. It is a magnificent piece with a 47in blade and has been in a private collection for the last 40 or so years. Now it is back on the market,…

When the hammer finally falls, are you going to go for burial, or cremation? And have you settled on who’s getting your gun and best shooting boots when the big egg timer runs out? Or maybe you’re one of the 70 per cent of over 55s, like me, who hasn’t yet made up their mind? It’s not that I haven’t thought from time to time what I want done with my bones, it’s how and where they end up that’s the problem. When I’m in the burning mood I’m torn between having my leftovers sprinkled under a winter moon on Whittlesey Wash or the bank overlooking my favourite salmon pool – Stank End on the River Tay at Stobhall. But then there’s the niggling thought that what gets shovelled into…