Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2021 i Sporting Gun

GWCT’s Black Friday boost The clothing brand Schöffel Country has raised nearly £12,000 for the GWCT. The money will be welcome for the GWCT, which has articulated the financial difficulties it has faced since the onset of the pandemic last year. The money was donated by Schöffel Country from sales it made during the ‘Black Friday’ week in the autumn. Le Chameau, the footwear brand, raised £17,000 for the Dog’s Trust in the same initiative, which saw the companies donate £5 to the charities from every sale. COVID-19 ferret update Defra has updated its advice with regard to ferrets and COVID-19 for England. The advice is that ferrets should be isolated for 21 days if the owner of a ferret or ferrets or the owner’s household is isolating, and/ or…

Olly says he started foxing when he took up deer management on the basis that as there are none of the big apex predators left in the UK, the fox population needs to be managed. And as the GWCT points out regularly, a reduction in generalist predators is of real benefit to wildlife, including ground-nesting birds, hares and hedgehogs. He said that from the hunting perspective, the fox is a clever quarry deserving of significant effort; you learn something new every time you go out. Also: “With the benefit of night-vision equipment you are able to spend a lot more time observing them (and other animals), which adds to your depth of understanding. An added bonus is that the local farm has free-range chickens, which often get unwanted attention from…

This gun movement, using both hands in unison, is referred to as parallel gun mount. You can practise with a real laser. When shooting clays, the Gun can watch other competitors and assess his own visual point on the flightline and also decide his best foot position for shooting the clay. With game shooting, each target is different, so the placement of the shot and therefore the required foot position may change quite significantly; importantly, this needs to be assessed as each game target is first seen. This is one of the principal reasons why a 50% hit rate in game shooting is considered to be a very good performance, whereas in clay shooting it is pretty mediocre.…

Shot size should also be a consideration when buying cartridges. The smallest common shot is No 9, most frequently used for Skeet. The targets being thrown at set distances, the small shot will have enough energy to break the target and give denser patterns per load weight. As the targets get a bit further away, in sporting clays, we will need a bit more energy down-range, so bigger shot size is needed: No 8s and 7s are common clay size shot. When shooting game, more energy is needed to kill cleanly, so game shells use No 6s and 5s. If the quarry is very high or is bigger, such as geese, then 4s and 3s can be used.…

I am an advocate of using a dog crate for dogs that live indoors. Some people don’t like the idea of keeping a dog in a cage but, if properly established, the dog will come to see it as their bed and their own space. You can start to introduce your pup to its crate as soon as you get it home. A good way to start is to feed them in the crate and this way they soon get the idea that it is a nice place to be. Pups tend to sleep for most of the day, so make sure they are put in the crate for their naps and if you leave the door open you will soon find that they will get into a routine and…

Once again, I have had to reassess Percy’s training regime. I had really hoped that I would have been able to get a few birds shot over him before the end of the season but that is not going to happen now, so I will concentrate on getting him ready for a trip up to Cumbria in the spring. If this happens, I could perhaps shoot a few rabbits over him. Anyone who has tried to train any breed of gundog will appreciate the ups and downs – some days everything goes perfectly to plan, the next day they seem to have forgotten everything they have been taught. But take it from me, you have to stick with it. Over the past few weeks, Percy, who is now just over…

Musto Stretch Tech Tweed Waistcoat Useful for game shooting or spring clay-shooting, this waistcoat looks traditional but incorporates some high-tech twists to improve freedom of movement. Sizes small to 3XL. Price: £300; musto.com Musto Stretch Tech Gore-Tex Tweed Jacket A lambswool, Lycra and polyamide composition gives superior durability, with a waterproof Gore-Tex drop liner to keep you dry, plus water-repellent cuffs. In sizes small to 3XL. Price: £595; musto.com H&N Baracuda 18 Pellet This new, medium-weight, hard-hitting pellet in .22 calibre is designed as a general-purpose pellet for legal-limit airguns. It is dome shaped and comes in a 5.52mm head size. Price: £5.95 per tin of 200 bisley-uk.com Ligne Verney-Carron Marco Polo Jacket The Marco Polo has a long-pile fleece lining for warmth and a laminated, breathable membrane to keep…

Electronic ear protectors were once very expensive but you can pick up a good set specially designed for the shooter for as little as £50. These have the advantage of electronically blocking only the loud reports of gunshots while permitting normal conversation. Modern ones are light and comfortable and can usefully amplify some other sounds; many times I have picked up the sound of approaching wildfowl during a twilight flightpond vigil, giving an early warning. Some even allow charging from the car dashboard socket and mine have a jack for a radio or other electronic device – a real advantage when working as part of the beating team, or sitting in a high seat waiting for a deer to show. There is also the option of in-ear protectors moulded for…

The Fausti Class RDX round body is a beautiful gun that incorporates the very best of Italian shotgun making. It looks stunning, is well engineered and, in 20-bore, handles superbly. You could say that it has the build quality of a workhorse and looks and handles like a thoroughbred. Available in all calibres, there should be a model to suit everyone who wants a good-quality gun that looks the part. SCORES ON THE DOORS Build quality 22/25 Handling 25/25 Styling 25/25 Value for money 23/25 Total: 95/100…

Shoots ‘resourceful’ in dealing with lockdown issues Shoots have been busy at the season’s end ‘catching up’ any excess birds. Despite the two lockdowns during the season in England, even tighter restrictions in the rest of the UK, and many cancelled days, shoots have packed in extra days and allowed for bigger bags, which has headed off any potential excess issues. Dan Reynolds of BASC said that shoots were mindful of the likely coronavirus restrictions and consequently put down fewer birds, so the numbers were starting from a lower baseline. He said that the shooting community were a “resourceful bunch” and that when they were able to shoot they “made hay while the sun shone”. As a result, he said that “I don’t believe a huge excess to be the…

She is bored. We are not going out stalking as much as usual and she needs entertaining. That usually ends up with me throwing any and every bit of debris she brings to me. She is now clear about what scent we are interested in and it can be a bit tricky. Deer are around in the woods surrounding the house and I have to be alert; her head goes up and it’s a matter of seconds for me to stop her from a new unaccompanied expedition. The boss took her out on her morning walk recently and off she went, yipping away. Fortunately, she came back to the call (eventually) without tracking the deer to Kielder. Is she obedient? Hmm. I would not care to say.…

DISTRIBUTION: Widespread across North America, Scandinavia, the Baltic states and northern Russia in summer. Migrating distances vary from a few hundred kilometres to as far south as Mexico, China and parts of the Mediterranean in winter. UK DISTRIBUTION: During the summer it is most likely to be encountered in the Highlands, where an estimated 200 resident pairs breed. In winter, they can be found on lakes, large rivers, and sheltered coasts across the country, the largest numbers in the north and west. IUCN RED LIST STATUS: Least Concern; numbers stable. HABITAT: Prefer to breed among the lakes and rivers of boreal forests; seeks more protected coastal areas and open inland waters in winter. FOOD: Diving ducks that feed underwater on crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic insects, also taking fish eggs and…

Joe – who is a keen, all-round sportsman doing everything from salmon and bass fishing to driven pheasants – has been shooting foxes for about six years now. He’s not as much of a fanatic as Paul or myself, but still gets out when he can. Like both of us, he gets a kick out of seeing the variety of wildlife that’s about at night, and also likes to help his local farmers keep their chickens and lambs alive. When I asked him about he reasons for foxing he said a number of interesting things, including: • That he felt foxing was a more skilled and challenging discipline than the usual fare, facing one of the most wily of quarries • He loved the challenge of learning how to operate his…

We decided that back to basics would be a good idea. Having seen a few initial untutored shots it was apparent that foot position and upper body movement had been neglected. • Gun mount was rather haphazard and inconsistent. And probably because of this, William had developed the habit of the occasional, unconscious head lifting off the stock; almost certainly wanting to ‘see’ what was going wrong. • He was shooting well over the top of crossers and poor foot position exacerbated the problem. • After a couple of boxes of cartridges on crossers from the right and left, William’s confidence improved considerably. I gave him a card with a note – feet/mount/head down. He came back for a refresher a few weeks later, with just a bit of head…

Plastic wads used to be the norm; having a plastic skirt that went over the powder to give a gas-tight seal all the way up the barrel. The middle part of the wad was designed to be compressed to help ease the recoil. The shot cup holds the shot all the way up the barrel and just beyond, when the cup sides peel back allowing the shot to carry on. This is all well and good, but in this day and age if you can’t pick up the used plastic wad, should you be using them? Fibre wads are biodegradable and more and more shoots, both game and clay, are becoming fibre-only. The non-plastic wad innovation is moving fast, with biodegradable versions of plastic wads and obturators that seal the…

The lurcher truly is a Marmite breed of dog: you either love it or you hate it. It is believed that the word lurcher is derived from the Romany word ‘lur’, which means thief, and ‘cur’, meaning a mixed dog breed. The first mention of a lurcher-type dog in print was in 1668, then in 1670 when an Act of Charles II authorised gamekeepers to seize “gunns, bowes, greyhounds, setting dogs, lurchers or other dogs to kill hares”. There are numerous points of view as to how the lurcher came to be, but the consensus of opinion is that during the 17th and 18th centuries the drovers that travelled with various species of livestock between Norfolk and Smooth Field, now known as Smithfield (Market), would have needed herding dogs and…

Most breeds of gundogs now have Kennel Club-recognised health tests. It is a good starting point to ask the breeder what tests both the dam and sire have had and what the results were. This will help you to make informed choices and perhaps sift the opportunist breeders from the responsible ones. One of the ongoing problems with health tests — particularly with eyes and hips and elbow X-rays — are that many of the recognised bodies which do these tests are experiencing problems keeping up with demand. The British Veterinary Association, which deals with the scoring of hips and elbows, has a backlog and results are taking longer than normal.…

If in a young, growing animal, the soft tissue surrounding the joint fails to support it properly, then laxity of the joint will occur. Depending on the degree of movement, a destructive chain of events follows: • Inflammation in the joint capsule causes pain • Joint fluid increases, further destabilising the joint The bones move together abnormally causing erosive damage Lameness results in poor muscle development Remodelling of the femoral head and neck occur In less severe cases, stability returns but movement is restricted…

FRAN ARDLEY GUNDOGS Owner of Tarncrag Gundog Training, with more than 10 years’ experience. NEIL MCINTOSH VETERINARY A keen shooter and a practising vet in Scotland. TONY BRACCI TUITION Bisley Shooting Ground’s deputy shooting manager and master gunfitter. DAVID FROST LEGAL SG’s legal expert and author of Sporting Shooting and the Law. PETER THEOBALD PIGEON Pigeon-shooting expert; author of Woodpigeon: The Ultimate Quarry. ROBERT MORGAN ANTIQUES Arms and armour valuer at Holts Auctioneers. ED COOK RABBITS Professional rabbit catcher working over 30,000 acres. TOM SYKES PEST CONTROL & WILDFOWLING Sporting photographer, wildfowler and pest controller. MARC BULL COVER CROPS Marc is our plant expert and is the Midlands and Eastern adviser at Bright Seeds. IAN SWEETMAN GUNSMITHING Ian Sweetman is the owner of I S Sweetman Gun & Rifle Makers…

I went into this test with no preconceived ideas. I have never tested a piece of clothing from Ligne Verney-Carron and to ensure that my opinions were unbiased I didn’t even look up any information about the company or jacket before I tested it in the field. All I knew was that the French manufacturer was the sister company to Percussion. I have worn that clothing brand for several years now and its products have always offered impressive value for money. Camo The Lynx hoody tested here came in Ghost Camo Snake Forest. It is the unique creation of the company and uses military-style digital camouflage with a snake skin pattern to great effect. I am not a big fan of camo, but it does have its advantages in certain…

The history of airguns is a broad and interesting one. The first examples were powered by human lungs: blowpipes. These could well have been man’s earliest ballistic weapon, possibly even predating the bow and arrow, although this has never been proven. What is certain is that the blowpipe is still in use today in parts of Africa, Malaysia and South America and, at some point in history, has been universally used by almost every nation. Even European duck and rabbit hunters were recorded using reed blowpipes in the early 14th century, while many English gunmakers of the 18th century produced high-quality iron blowpipes known as ‘trunks’ that shot both darts and pellets. By the 19th century, these were often incorporated into walking sticks and while sold primarily on their novelty…

We spoke to BASC, the NGO and GWCT who told us that the shoots that bravely went ahead this season had done a fantastic job of managing this unprecedented situation. These shoots released fewer birds, made the most of the days we were allowed to shoot by allowing bigger bags and packed in as many days as possible into a limited season. As a result there are relatively few birds remaining on the ground. Those that are left will have been caught up or will be fed until natural food is more abundant. It will be interesting to see how all this changes next season. Will there be more home-grown and mature birds? Are they going to make for more challenging shooting? I applaud the shoots who carried on in…

Simon Denny has had a career as interesting and varied as some of the terrain he has enjoyed shooting on. His childhood was spent in Essex before he went to Sandhurst and joined the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. After leaving the Army he became head of corporate management development for the supermarket chain Tesco. That would, perhaps, be enough for most people but not Simon, who moved into academia. He became executive dean: research, impact and enterprise at the University of Northampton. It was in this latter role that Simon was engaged in work of direct relevance to the Sporting Guncommunity of readers. This included work on the positive effect shooting has on well-being and, with his colleague Tracey Latham-Green, on the beneficial impacts a co-ordinated moorland management programme has…

A prime cut and dish As Jon butchers the venison carcasses he has now started to put one or two fillets already peppered in vacuum packs and freezing them. This is convenience food at its best. Just roll the fillet in coarse ground pepper and pack. Ingredients ● 4 venison loin steaks, peppered ● Olive oil ● 1 knob of butter ● 1 onion, finely chopped ● Dash of brandy ● 1 cup of stock ● 1 carton of double cream Method Put the oil in a frying pan and heat. Quickly fry the steaks on both sides to brown. Pour over the brandy and quickly flambé the steaks. Remove the steaks from the pan and put to one side on a warm plate. Add the butter to the steak…

Paul, who lives a mile up the road from me, is my regular shooting partner. He is also an obsessive sports fisherman who goes all around the world chasing exotic species. He’s been an avid shooter since he was 13, some 45 years ago. Although he used to hunt regularly during the day – mostly with a shotgun – he was intrigued by my night-time activities and about 10 years ago started coming along to see what it was all about. At first he thought it was a bit dull, but once he’d got his own night-vision gear he was well away and hasn’t looked back since. When I asked him about his motivations, he came up with a wide-ranging list, including the joy of seeing animals in situations that…

North of the Fenland village of Cottenham, the flat fields are disrupted by an island of ridges, valleys, ponds and young woodlands. One weekend in December, a heavy fog obscured the landscape. Cars crawled slowly along the surrounding roads, while tractors remained in barns. Yet a passerby could hear the sporadic sound of shotgun fire from the Cambridge University club. A cadre of students was practising maintained lead on crossers and cutting a line across the path of looping midis. Nearly 20 of them had put down books and lab equipment to pull on boots and caps for the resumption of clay pigeon shooting after the November lockdown. As the morning ended, the sun began to shine through the fog. By then the students had expended their cartridges, cleaned the…

Under normal circumstances with the shooting season finished, people start to think about either breeding or buying a pup to bring on during the spring and summer months. On the face of it, the COVID-19 lockdown would seem a good time to buy a puppy as so many of us are at home, but beware. Over the past 12 months there has been a marked increase in demand for puppies, which has meant people are breeding purely for financial reasons, which has in turn led to a significant increase in prices. And because some have bought on a whim, there have been reports of dog rescue centres seeing an increase in unwanted dogs. “The most important consideration is what job you want your dog to do in the shooting field”…

Age 59 months What a roller-coaster the past few weeks have been. We are in the midst of yet another national lockdown and the shooting season is well and truly over and done. I had been planning a few rough-shooting days on a local estate as this would have helped not only to keep me sane but it would also have put some much-needed cash into the shoot’s coffers. Alas … “I only saw a brief brown flash as the bird jinked in front of me” All is not bleak. I am grateful that I have had the dogs to concentrate on and despite a disrupted season I did manage a couple of walked-up days shooting over Ted. From these I have enduring memories of great company and some really…

Whither the subject’s age? Just reading a very interesting article in the January issue about Jean-Paul Gaudin ( JP). It said he was involved in a ‘motorcycle accident in 1988, when he was in his twenties’. A couple of paragraphs later, it says, ‘JP, 47, has become something of a star attraction on the shoots he attends.’ I’m trying to figure how his age works out. Surely, even if he was only 20 in 1988, he must be at least 52 now? I think I’ll try using the calendar you use. I may find I’m only 61 instead of 69. Mick, via email Ed - Mick, you are most observant. I believe Jean-Paul’s life-changing accident was in 1998, not 1988. Our mistake, so I am afraid you are still 69,…

“If you don’t want to eat what you shoot, shoot clays” My Dad, who never shot a pheasant in his life, would religiously intone: “A game bird should be hung for at least two weeks before eating”. Not sharing his penchant for putrid meat, I pluck and prepare my gamebirds and pigeons within a day of shooting them. But what then? I am sure all readers believe that if you shoot a bird, you eat it. If you don’t want to eat what you shoot, shoot clays. So how to cook the birds? After all, there are only so many times you can roast a pheasant, or make a pigeon pie. Nicola Cox’s Country Cooking from Farthinghoe (1) is a much-used book in the Denny kitchen. But it has no…

The fortunes of the Marocchi brand have waxed and waned somewhat in the UK, but since Viking Arms took on the distribution here in recent years its shotguns have moved back into the limelight. This is to be applauded as the brand has always produced guns that are well put together, shoot well and don’t make too great a hole in the piggy bank. The company has been family owned for almost a century and has always specialised in hunting and sporting shotguns. It has a proud pedigree exemplified by its first over-and-under, the SM57, a gun introduced in 1957 and which Piero Marocchi used to become European Clay Shooting Champion. It was the start of a series of consistently excellent models. Appeal CHARLES SMITH-JONES SAYS: “It is one of…

FOR SALE GUN TYPE: SHOTGUN Make and model: Remington moderated wingmaster 870 hushpower Calibre: 12-bore Barrel: 30in Choke: N/A Price: £450 CONTACT DETAILS Name: Robert Tel: 07947589043 County South Yorkshire GUN TYPE: SHOTGUN Make and model: Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon 1 Calibre: 12-bore Barrel: 28in Choke: Multichoke Price: £750 CONTACT DETAILS Name: Andrew Cowens Tel: 07989 663957 County: Kent GUN TYPE: SHOTGUN Make and model: Emilio Rizzini over-and-under with side-plates Calibre: 12-bore Barrel: 28in Choke: ¼ and ¾ Price: £599 CONTACT DETAILS Name: Matthew Tel: 07876 764445 County: Oxon GUN TYPE: SHOTGUN Make and model: VCG Barrel: 28in Choke: Multichoke original hard case, manual Price: £750 CONTACT DETAILS Name: Andrew Cowens Tel 07989663957 County: Kent GUN TYPE: SHOTGUN Make and model: Beretta DT11 Calibre: 12-bore Barrel: 30in Choke: Multichoke (6)…