Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Sporting Rifle

As I write this leader it is the height of the roe rut in my part of Yorkshire. The pandemic restrictions meant I couldn’t stalk in the precious months spring months of April and May – the time of year when I harvest two-thirds of the buck from the estate. This of course put a lot of pressure on me to catch up on numbers during the rut. Thankfully the rut has started well, the bucks have responded well to the call and the keepers intelligence service better still. If you have a stalking lease it is imperative that the stalker gets on with the farm manager and the keepers. Fortunately, the three keepers and the farm manager on the estate I rent for stalking are all top blokes, and…

Last month, we covered some of the fine-tuning and set-up aspects of training. This month, we take a look at some ways to maximise your training without ever firing a shot. First of all, let’s be clear: I like shooting, but shooting is not always the best use of your time. My first instinct on the range is to get my gear out and send some projectiles to an intended target. That feeling of punching neat little holes in the paper or ringing that steel is very rewarding – it makes you feel good. What I have come to realise, though, is that a little rehearsal will only add to your results, and pay dividends in your progression in riflecraft. Sometimes, of course, it can be good to get shooting…

The quarter century that has come and gone since I first enjoyed Iken stalking in September 1995 has passed in a flash. One outing has merged into another, leaving me with a rucksack full of happy memories and incidents that occurred in that special place. As I knock on the door of the 25th anniversary of Iken stalking, I can refer to my diary to highlight a few of those pleasurable forays. I see from this that on 16 September 1995, I arrived at Iken just after first light, and saw fallow out on the stubble by the owner’s house. These were not approachable, so I went on and stalked into Ashpoles wood, spooking a beast on my way into the high seat, which was situated overlooking an attractive open…

Nightmaster lighting products really don’t need much of an introduction, having been around for about ten years now. In that time the company has produced a range of torches, some of which have become really well known. In fact, the name Nightmaster has become synonymous with quality equipment that really does the job it is intended for. I still have one of the original Nightmaster torches that, despite having had a pretty hard life, is as good as the day I bought it. Always on the search to improve Nightmaster products, Tony Jones – ably assisted by his right-hand man Tom Lister – has come up with another winner. There is certainly no shortage of torches on the market, but anyone who uses night vision will be aware that few,…

MEOPTA MEOSTAR R2 1.7-10X42 RD Mike says: “For anyone looking for a scope that will work well on a noncentrefire rifle, one that springs to mind is the Meopta Meostar R2 1.7-10x42 RD. Costing a little over £1,000, this comes with a red dot No.4 reticle and a very good illuminated reticle system. Another excellent feature is the ability to return the turret settings to zero by pressing down on the spring-loaded turret centre.” RUAG Ammotec 01579 362319 ruag.co.uk BUSHNELL ELITE LRTS 3-12X44 FFP Mike says: “This is the first FFP scope I’ve used. It's not necessarily designed for foxes alone, but with its low starting mag, it did work well on my 17HMR, and I also tried it on my Daystate FAC Huntsman Regal. This scope is Argon purged,…

Following the Government’s recent announcement relating to the reopening sporting businesses, the National Small-bore Rifle Association have released guidance for shooting clubs and members. Shooting clubs have been allowed to reopen since 25 July and the NSRA have written the guidance to direct clubs on how to organise reopening. The association also acknowledge that some clubs will still choose to remain closed to maintain the safety of participants and the public. “Clubs have many differing disciplines, locations, facilities and circumstances under which they each operate and it will not be possible for all clubs to restart all their activities at this time. Each individual club committee has a duty of care to its members and must decide if they are going to reopen and if their circumstances and the protocols…

Wild and Game are a not-forprofit company supplying frozen game products so you can enjoy delicious recipes all year round. Pheasant Mafé SERVES FOUR Ingredients 2 packs of Wild and Game pheasant breast fillets, chopped into chunks (or about 700g of pheasant breasts)1 medium onion, finely diced1 generous tsp minced ginger1 generous tsp minced garlic1 generous half tsp cayenne pepper1 generous half tsp smoked paprika1 capsicum pepper, any colour, diced1 red chilli pepper, very finely chopped (optional, if you like it spicy)70g tomato puree70g smooth peanut butter300ml coconut milk400ml chicken stockA glug or two of vegetable oilSalt For brining the pheasant (optional): 3 rounded tbsp sugar3 rounded tbsp salt1 litre water Method…

As I write this almanac it would be fair to say that shooting is gradually getting back to a level of normality. The keepers of my acquaintance have been getting this season’s poults into the release pens and despite the odd hiccup in the weather, things seem to have been progressing pretty well – pheasants have feathered up well and the partridges are ready to go. September of course heralds the start of the partridge season. When I was keepering I found these very attractive birds extremely frustrating. My part of Devon certainly wasn’t what you would call ‘partridge country’ and, for the few seasons I tried them, my efforts certainly weren’t crowned with success. However, in the right areas there is no doubt they do provide testing and exciting…

John ‘Jack’ Charlton might be better remembered as a footballer and football manager than a stalker, fisher, and shotgunner – he was part of the 1966 England side that won the World Cup and went on to manage the Republic of Ireland national team – but he was first and foremost a field sportsman. He died at the age of 85 just a couple of weeks ago at the time of writing. Despite having four professional footballing uncles, accounts of his early life indicate it was no sure thing he would follow them into the glorious game; born into a northern mining family, football was a viable career path for those with the talent for it, but it was not the route to riches then that it is now –…

Last month we reported that the Game Fair would not take place in 2020, due to government guidance. However new dates have now been set for 2021, with the ‘Festival of the Countryside’ set to return to Ragley Hall on 23-25 July. As show organisers had no guarantees that a phased reopening would happen in time for the revised dates in September, the decision was made to reschedule the event and make Warwickshire the home of the Game Fair for the next five years. The director of Ragley Hall Estate, Charles Granlund, commented: “We support and understand the difficult decision that the team have had to make, but are excited to welcome The Game Fair family back to Ragley in 2021 and to become The Game Fair’s new home for…

How many years have you been a custom rifle builder? Riflecraft Ltd was started to fill a gap in the then commercial rifle market. It was identified that customers were either offered off-the-shelf factory rifles or fullblown custom builds of exceptionally high costs. There was an obvious need for a service to accurise factory rifles and build custom rifles within the budget of an average working shooter. We started in February 1998 in a workshop near my home, with three staff. We then moved to an industrial unit, that we still occupy, in December 2007. We expanded to four units in 2012 and up to 13 staff, including a retail outlet, but we closed shop and moved back to two units and five staff 2019 to concentrate back on riflesmithing.…

We have walked almost four kilometres through the scrub and forest over the ridge and through gorges, as our guide Cacho suddenly stops. He listens for a few seconds as he evaluates several stags roaring around us. Then he makes a sign that we must pick up the speed if the plan he has just calculated is to succeed. Yesterday, Cacho saw a very beautiful and strong stag that he had never encountered before, and his experience tells him that this stag should be shot, if possible, this evening. If we don’t risk the shot, he will disappear into nothingness again. After seeing it in the valley below us, Cacho leads his Danish client, Mark Longhi Andreasen, down to the deer. They are moving in cover by single bushes and…

As the season for “big deer” in England and Wales begins, I found myself looking back to the same time last year and comparing it to where we are now. This time last year I had, very fortunately, been granted access to a brand-new piece of ground in the North West of England. An area with a considerable population of red deer. I had been given the tour by the landowner in the spring, showing where the boundaries were, where the deer tended to be seen and points of access and was keen as mustard to get out on there. August finally came and I remember setting out onto the ground with a sense of boyish enthusiasm, a feeling that many of us will know well when exploring a new…

I have to admit, I do rather like a tactical rifle. That’s not to say I don’t see the beauty in an elegant walnutstocked hunting rifle, as I do, and if money was no object I’d certainly have a stunning Holland & Holland hunting rifle or similar in a glass case in my gun room to admire. However, a while back I decided I fancied a new 22LR ‘fun gun’; something semi-auto and ‘tacticool’ for plinking. After a little internet research, I settled on the latest Smith & Wesson offering, the M&P 15-22 Sport from Sportsman Gun Centre, an option that wasn’t going to hideously wipe out my overdraft. This model replaces the older standard M&P 15-22 with a few changes, the most obvious being the rounded, more sleeklooking hand…

LEICA MAGNUS 1.8-12 X 50I I have been in the company of Leica kit, be that binoculars, riflescopes or spotters, in some pretty gnarly places around the world. I have watched it deliver at high altitudes in Nepal, and under a torrent of Scottish rainfall, and it has certainly done the job that was asked of it. I will admit it is not a scope I have used myself as much as some of the others in the list, but it certainly deserves its place there, and shouldn’t be overlooked. The 1.8-12x50 Magnus comes in a BDC version should you wish, with an illuminated dot as standard. Teamed up with the ballistics solutions offered in their binoculars, it is an extremely efficient and intuitive system. Granted, little of this will…

PULSAR HELION 2 XP50 The new Pulsar Helion XP50 monocular builds upon their past success to provide even more detailed thermal imagery. It features the same look and feel as the previous XP50, but now comes with unprecedented sensitivity due to a new SUB 40MK NET-D thermal sensor which provides 640x480 resolution. The updated thermal imager provides a crisp heat signature, with enhanced recognition and a detection range up to 1.8km. With the latest wi-fi and integrated video recording technology, the Helion 2 XP50 thermal camera provides stellar performance, with a 2.5x to 20x magnification. RRP £3,399.95 Thomas Jacks 01789 264100 thomasjacks.co.uk PULSAR AXION KEY XM30 One of Pulsar’s smallest thermal imaging monoculars, it is compact and robust, with a magnesium alloy shell. The XM30 has a 12μm thermal sensor…

Blaser 8.5 x 55 The 8.5x55 Blaser is ideal for moderated rifles, and offers long-range trajectory and wide field of use. Even with barrel lengths of less than 50cm, the calibre reaches ideal ballistic values that are normally only achievable with longer barrels for high-performance calibres. Blaser Sporting ■ 01494 481004 blaser-group.com/uk Howa Bravo Howa Bravo’s precision-made chassis allows the rifle to adjust while remaining rigid. The aluminium build will not allow the forend to flex, but does allow for modular design with compatible accessories. Ideal for targets/varmint shooting, and available in 6.5 or .308. Price: From £1,395 Highland Outdoors ■ 0345 099 0252 highlandoutdoors.co.uk NEW Swarovski NL Pure A huge, revolutionary field of view combined with ground-breaking design in premium-class binoculars – Swarovski’s new NL Pure has a sophisticated optical…

Ruth Mwandumba is one of the most exciting young talents in British rifle shooting, firing her way to English Championship glory in 2018 before scooping gold, silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships held in Northern Ireland. Ruth is one of the few black shooters in the country as she prepares for an important 18 months that culminates with the Commonwealth Games in January 2022, and she is acutely aware of the lack of diversity in the sport. “There aren’t many black shooters at all, and when I first started I was the only one on the competition scene,” explained the 24-year-old Liverpudlian. “I’d love for shooting to be a more diverse sport and I want to be the one who inspires black people to get involved.” “I…

The Countryside Alliance has unveiled details of a new Government approved ‘Underkeeper Apprenticeship’ that it has developed with input from 20 lowland and upland shoots in a major step forward for the shooting community. The apprenticeship has been published by the Institute of Apprenticeships, the Government body for administering vocational training schemes, and funding has been formally agreed. Shoots will now be able to employ apprentices safe in the knowledge that they will be trained with the right skills to start their career. Funding of up to £7,000 for each apprentice has been allocated. Adrian Blackmore, Director of Shooting, for the Countryside Alliance said: “The Government is committed to reforming how apprenticeships are delivered, with employers now specifying the standards that would make an apprentice valuable to them. Working with…

Sightmark launched the Wraith digital riflescope to European markets at the 2019 British Shooting Show, and the night vision unit soon became a hit. Since then Sightmark have been working on expanding the popular Wraith range and are now preparing to launch the improved 4K model. Featuring state-of-the-art technology and better image quality, the Wraith is expected to arrive in October. Sporting Rifle’s Mark Ripley has been given exclusive access to the Sightmark Wraith 4K – look out for the full review coming soon!…

To me, September is a slightly strange month in the stalking calendar. It is a great time of year, but I find myself slightly in limbo after the roebuck rut and waiting for the red stag rut. Yes, there are sika and fallow in the mix, but for me, the bulk of my work will be on the upcoming red stags. We have clients on the other deer species, and it’s actually a good time for the roe bucks, particularly later in the month, as they start to feed and move again after the rut. For those fortunate enough to have arable crops, working on stubble after the harvest is great. We do quite a bit of work on assessing the stags as well, and we are still stalking on…

As I write this in early July, we still have very few foxes about the place. As I’ve explained before, we did a good job over the winter, cleaning up everything on our patch, and nothing much has moved back in since – which has given a real boost to the local ground-nesting game and wildlife. If I want to shoot a fox at the moment, the best way is to go to the boundary and try for one on a neighbour’s land. I know that sounds like a bit of poaching, but it isn’t – the neighbours are more than happy for us to tidy up their foxes for them. I can sit in a high seat, or on the back of the truck, guarding the border as it…

LEGAL Q My fallow deer stalking permission suffers from having an adjoining neighbour who targets the bucks with the best heads and leaves the does unculled. Can I make him manage the deer properly? A David says: In England wild deer are ownerless. You do not own these fallow deer and nor does your neighbour. They are free to come and go as they please. Assuming your neighbour has the right to kill deer on his land he is of course entitled to do just that. In so doing he makes the shot deer his property. When you shoot a deer you bring it into your possession in the same way. Should your neighbour shoot a deer that runs on to your ground and you then find it, it becomes…

The 7mm projectile is certainly versatile. Many will have come across the 7-08 and 7mm Rem Mag, at least on paper, but far fewer will have crossed paths with the .284 Winchester. More recognisable as a 7mm, this cased version bombed out of commercial production, never catching the imagination of hunters. It was the first American cartridge with a rebated rim, where the case body diameter exceeded that of the rim diameter. This gave dimensions close to belted magnum cases, while allowing for the same OAL and rim dimensions as a .308 round, with the fatter body offering case capacity in the region of the .270/.280 Win. In the field, this almost mirrored the ballistics and performance of the .280 Rem, which should have made it a formidable big-game calibre.…

ENGLAND CHILDERLEY SPORTING Chinese water deer and muntjac specialist. We manage over 30,000 acres of land in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. We can offer 1:1 guided stalking to all capabilities and training for beginners. We have a zeroing range up to 250 metres along with our simulated stalking area. Contact: Paul Childerley 07715 638934 paul@childerleysporting.co.uk www.childerleysporting.co.uk MARK BOULTON Driven boar hunting throughout Europe and night shooting in Sussex. Groups or individuals. Various packages offered from day trips to France to six-day all-inclusive trips to Hungary. Contact: Mark Boulton 07854 985006 markthedeerstalker@hotmail.co.uk SHOOTING SH A long-established syndicate of 15 years with 19 varied blocks. Red, roe, muntjac and fallow deer with 10 walked-up days as added value plus rough shooting in your annual fee of £750 first year, dropping to £600…

RIMFIRE Brno .22LR bolt action with Leupold VX1 3-9x40 scope and Parker Hale mod. £200. Gavin Jones 01646 603814 07967 284704 (Wales) CZ452 American .22RF bolt action, 10-shot mag. BSA Sweet17 3-12x40 scope and mod (bipod not included). Good condition. With 500 rounds. £150. Selling due to retirement. Patrick Plavin 01303 863891 07934 597060 (Kent) BRNO .22 RF bolt action, five-shot magazine, ASI Super scope 4x40, wide angle image. All as new with silencer. £275 ono. Michael Darlison 01189 783202 miketat3@yahoo.co.uk (Berkshire) CENTREFIRE Sauer 202 Bolt Action .300 Win Mag. Synthetic stock, sling, bipod, moderator. Swarovski Habicht 4-16x50 scope. Sauer airline case. Bought for wild boar, used just four times. Plus 100 rounds Sako 220gn. £950 the lot. James Radcliffe 01924 402697 Jr_unionroad@btopenworld.com (West Yorkshire) Blaser R93 .308 black edition,…

Rifle of the year Mike Powell reviews the Great British Shooting Awards Rifle of the Year, the Tikka T3X Pure imagination Chris Parkin explores the brand new Swarovski NL Pure binoculars Nature calls David Barrington Barnes investigates the pros and cons of calling for quarry Whitetail wonder Daryl Crimp takes his son on the shoot of a lifetime, tracking whitetail in New Zealand PLUS… • On Test: The best foxing products from Pulsar • Stalking stories from Ayrshire and beyond • Leading lines of night vision gear • News, views and talking points SUBSCRIBE NOW Never miss a copy of your favourite shooting monthly again – subscribe to Sporting Rifle and save money every month, as well as getting the mag delivered to your door. With a quarterly subscription starting…