Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2020 i Shooting Gazette

Our April issue is, as always, a heartfelt tribute to all things gundogs. We’ve dedicated almost half of this month’s magazine to our four-legged friends, from hapless vizslas to the seldom-seen breeds doing their bit on shoot day, as well as the people involved with them, from decorated breeders to emerging and award-winning handlers. Away from dogs, Chris Warren will be following up his story from late last year, when he planned to only eat meat that had come from the shooting field. The initial results make for interesting and inspiring reading in equal measure. The same can be said for our feature on Bolton Estate, which I visited just after the season’s end with the aim of finding out more about how conservation on its grouse and pheasant shoots…

David Whitby’s article in the January issue was depressing but accurate. The degradation of the countryside is a topic of constant conversation among my family and friends. In my part of rural Gloucestershire, many of the fields were alive with lapwing 20 years ago. They have all gone now. I cannot remember the last time I saw or heard a yellowhammer. And our rivers and lakes have been decimated by predators such as cormorants and seals. I could go on. I have little hope for the future as most of our political class are of metropolitan background and have little experience or interest in the countryside other than to build on it. David and so many others, who have so much knowledge of the ways of the countryside simply by…

Dear Uncle Giles, I was recently pegged on a double-banked drive ahead of a very senior Shot indeed. Although I don’t think he was troubled by my shooting in front of him, it occurred to me that there might be a protocol for such circumstances of which I – as a relative newcomer to driven game shooting – might be unaware. Is there such a protocol? And, if so, what is it for both the first rank Gun and the one pegged in the second row? NBT, by email Uncle Giles writes Pegging Guns in two, or even three rows – I have seen a 4-3-1 formation – generally only occurs when there is a topographical requirement, such as the drive being undertaken in a narrow valley, perhaps, or when…

Are you considering a new gundog? If so, why not think about a rescue? There are many rescue gundogs looking for new homes, which, with TLC and time, will adjust well to working for a new mistress or master. There are two options: adopt an already-trained gundog or welcome a dog of a suitable breed and start its training from scratch. Due to their boisterous natures, many pet springers are looking for new starts and these quick-to-learn, eager dogs thrive on having a job to do. A friend of Sapiens has recently re-homed a trained gundog following the death of his previous dog from old age. His partner wanted a rescue, he needed a working dog, so a compromise was reached and they have just welcomed a four-year-old black lab…

For your chance to win a bottle of Taittinger Champagne for Picture of the Month, send us a team photograph or a picture of something unusual from your shoot. Send high-resolution images or prints with captions to Shooting Gazette Gallery, TI Media Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7BF or email: martin.puddifer@ti-media.com PICTURE OF THE MONTH In more news from the Gamekeepers' Welfare Trust (GWT), Helen Benson, its chief executive, will be getting on her bike and many other modes of transport in April during her two-week GWT Conquering Castles Challenge. Using every means of transport available to gamekeepers past and present, including bicycle, pony, quad bike and Gunbus, Helen will journey between a number of royal estates and residences from Castle of Mey, near John O’Groats, all…

I rarely touch on any controversial subject for fear of attracting a stream of letters to the editor from readers who disagree with my thoughts or theories. However, I am now going to put my head above the parapet and question a long-held belief in the shooting world, namely that birds do not fly well when there is high barometric pressure. At the beginning of the last week in January, the arrow on my antique banjo barometer seemed to be playing tricks on me. It turned clockwise past ‘Fair’, past ‘Very Fair’ and eventually steadied right round at what would be five o’clock on the clock face. It read 30.82in, the highest the mercury column had reached since I could remember. That evening, the BBC News reported it to have…

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I have to say I was a little sceptical as to whether the 28-bore would really be capable of any serious shooting. With some 14gram No.7s we made a start at the 40ft tower and I was absolutely stunned with how the little gun performed – great handling and some stunning breaks, with clays smoked. All very well on a small walk-about day but would it do the job on something a bit more challenging? On to the 80ft tower. Using both the 14gram No.7s and some 23gram No.6s I have to say the gun was amazing to shoot – even with the trap positioned to shoot some wide birds it delivered some devastating breaks and was very controllable. You had to be a little bit careful not to overcook…

Q How can a game Shot use a picker-up or other member of the shoot day staff to their best advantage during the season – for example, should Shots be afraid to ask for advice on where to stand and so on? A Any picker-up worth their salt will be standing well back from the line in order to see any wounded birds that may land in front of them which can be retrieved and despatched as quickly as possible. This would make it very difficult to take advice from a picker-up on where to stand. That said, you can often learn a lot from loaders, hosts, beaters or flagmen who have a tremendous amount of local knowledge. A good host will have a thorough understanding of each drive and…

“Hello, I’d like to make an appointment for one of our dogs to see one of your vets this morning, please,” I said. “Certainly, which dog is it?” enquired the receptionist. “Moss,” I replied. “Aww Mossy,” she beamed. “We love Mossy.” Moss has his fans. It is probably his eyes that do it; his eyes and his demeanour. His resting face is one of pleading tragedy. We have two Hungarian wirehaired vizslas; the other, Pippin, has the shorter, coarser coat. The differences are more than just coat texture though; again a quote is necessary to really get the point across. The scene is Penrith on a sunny day. The dogs are sitting outside a shop while someone is within. People approach and this is how it goes: “Ooh, aren’t they…

“There’s a partridge over there,” said the young lady beater, pointing with a stick at what looked like a stone way out on a Suffolk field larger than the average family farm in Cornwall. Ambling towards elevenses, the beaters, secure in the knowledge that an accomplice would have hidden a supply of port and pork pie in their wagon, gathered in anticipation of some entertainment – which clearly they thought it was my duty to provide. Burleigh, my canine Exocet, who had not failed to see the pointed stick, stared at me with his best gimlet stare. The babbling beaters hushed. “Over!” I demanded firmly. He leapt the ditch. “Bip!” went my whistle. He turned and sat. Our eyes locked. “Gebback!” I called. And he was off, heading straight for…

Remember your roots: Retriever field trialling is a symbiotic sport – without shooting it wouldn’t exist and testing a dog’s natural game-finding ability would be relegated to rubbing dummies with synthetic scent, rather like an ‘oily rag’ is now to hunting. Protect shooting at all costs to protect gundogs. Be creative: Always be open to new training ideas and train each dog as an individual – one size doesn’t fit all. It’s true, the harder you train the luckier you get, and some of the best dogs are lying on a sofa somewhere. Personal integrity: It is everything in life. Who you surround yourself with, breeding healthy dogs, the way you train, who you train with, how you dress, how you conduct yourself, tells people what your standards are and…

Writer and photographer My team would be a somewhat eclectic group, put together with just a soupçon of mischief. Over a period of about 20 years, when I had the pleasure of working as a photographer for this magazine, I visited, and enjoyed, many shoots up and down the country. Whether walking the dog or shooting – with gun or camera – my real pleasure is for an area where I lived for more than 30 years: the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire. Beautiful beech woods, interspersed with native, broad-leaved trees, some commercial forestry plantations and ideal combinations of managed and semi-wild hedgerows that are full every autumn with beech mast, acorns and berries – an almost perfect habitat. Even the most wandering-minded pheasant would be content to stay close to…

My regular shooting gun is a dainty little 2in boxlock by Arthur Howell of Birmingham, weighing a diminutive 5½lbs. I occasionally use my Boss hammer gun that seems very heavy to me at 7lbs but when I have to hold one of these over-under jobs at 7½lbs for friends crossing fences, I am glad I don’t have to carry one around all day. However, I recently came across a single-barrelled rifle that certainly topped anything I had ever held, weighing 18½lbs – an absolute monster of a rifle. I came across it in a Holts sale and it was immediately apparent just scanning the rack thanks to its sheer size. When I picked it up it was difficult to hold at the shoulder for more than a few seconds. This…

Sir Frederick Jackson was born in 1860 and in 1888 joined the Imperial British South African Company, later becoming Governor of Uganda from 1911 to 1927. He was a keen explorer, big game hunter and naturalist and in the Big Game Shooting volume (1894) of the Badminton Library he recommended a suitable battery for big game shooting. Sir Frederick suggested a single 4-bore rifle weighing 21lbs sighted for 50yds, 100yds and 150yds, shooting 12dr of powder with a spherical bullet; a double 8-bore rifle weighing 15lbs sighted for 100yds and 200yds shooting 12dr of powder with a spherical bullet; a double .500 Express sighted for 100yds and 200yds bored for a bottle-necked case loaded with 6dr of powder to shoot either solid, small-hole or copper-tube bullets. Sir Frederick also recommended…

When the GWCT, BGA, BASC, Countryside Alliance, CLA, Moorland Association, NGO, SLE and SACS jointly announced their “wish to see an end to both lead shot and single-use plastics in ammunition used by those taking all live quarry with shotguns within five years” back in February, the news sent a shockwave through the game shooting community that is still being felt as I write these words in early March. There was, unsurprisingly, a mixed and vocal reaction on social media; some were passionately against such a move, while others were equally energetic in their support. Debates about everything from the ballistic prowess of alternatives such as steel to securing a market for game meat were batted back and forth, and you needed a fortifying coffee or two just to get…

Engineering: 10/10 This design has been around for a long time and has stood the test of time. Looks and finishing: 10/10 Absolutely first class, wood-to-metal fit is perfect and a great looking, classic side-by-side. The wood is attractive and well finished – maybe not with figuring to make you swoon but we’ve yet to see one with a broken stock. Handling: 9/10 A real surprise here, I was expecting to suggest too light, too fast and too ineffective, but a truly great and enjoyable gun to shoot. If you are an occasional shooter you might want to practise a little more to be truly effective in its use. But for days where the birds are not stratospheric, though maybe challenging, some great sport can be had. Value: 9/10 The…

There are few more soul-destroying sights for a picker-up than an unexpected stratus of dark rain clouds on the horizon during shoot day, especially when you’ve only got a wafer-thin waterproof for company. The Monsoon Classic jacket by Ridgeline is a robust garment that will keep the wearer snug and dry when the weather bad turns but still offers plenty of room to manoeuvre when birds are brought to hand. The jacket certainly came in useful when I took Wilson the lunatic spaniel out to put the new Dummy Pack by Sporting Saint through its paces. This collection of seven balls and dummies of varying weights and sizes will be perfect for puppies finding their feet and for trainers wanting to introduce their slightly older gundogs to textures and feathers.…

SHARE YOUR VIEWS Email: martin.puddifer@ti-media.com Survey on gundog retirement I am a semi-retired veterinary surgeon who specialised in canine orthopaedics. For the past 25 years I have had working labradors (I currently have six) and pick-up around 80 days each season. I am passionate about the wellbeing of gundogs but all too often we seem to have to retire them prematurely – and while we think we know the common reasons the truth is no one has reliable information. I have launched a questionnaire to collect information as to why gundogs in the UK are retired/stop working. The information collected will be used to produce a publication about the impact of health on the working life of gundogs. Please help me by using the link bit.ly/2U7iBOh for each dog you…

SERVES TWO PEOPLE Ingredients For the macaroni • 225g dry macaroni• 30g unsalted butter• ½ onion, chopped• 1 garlic clove, minced• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour• 480ml milk• 230g cheddar, grated• 1 tsp dried mustard (optional)• 250g cooked pheasant, shredded For the breadcrumb topping • 60g butter• 95g breadcrumbs Method Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente (there should be a slight crunch or bite left to the pasta). Drain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking, and to keep the pasta from sticking together. Set aside until needed. Melt the butter in a large pot over a medium heat; once melted, add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for…

The Hunter GTX Evo Extreme from Lowa is the boot of choice for Guns and keepers who demand strength and comfort when out in the field. Handcrafted in Germany using the finest leather, SPS midsole technology and Vibram outsoles, these boots will look stylish and your feet will be well supported, while the Primaloft insulation and Gore-Tex waterproof lining will keep them warm and dry. For more information, visit lowa.co.uk To win a pair, find the 11 words listed and send the completed entry form to: Wordsearch, Shooting Gazette, TI Media Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough GU14 7BF. Entries to arrive no later than 30 April. The first correct entry to be drawn will win. February’s winner was David Hooper from Salisbury. • Shooting Gazette, published by TI Media…

TIP: USE PAST FRONT COVERS OF SHOOTING GAZETTE FOR INSPIRATION AND BE AS CREATIVE AS POSSIBLE WITH YOUR HEADLINES AND THEIR SUB-HEADINGS! HOW TO WIN: To be in with a chance to win your own personalised Shooting Gazette cover, all you need to do is: a) email a high-resolution JPEG portrait image of your gundog to the editor, and b) write six headlines with short sub-headings which explain the stories about your four-footed friends IN RETURN YOU WILL RECEIVE A HIGH-RESOLUTION PDF OF THE COVER FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE For more information, email: martin.puddifer@ti-media.com. Closing date April 30…

I am an obsessive collector of books. Long winter nights slide past in a never-ending hunt for old titles and rare editions, and when I’m not seeking books I’m usually reading them. When it comes to game fair season, I make a beeline for the fieldsports bookshops and cash runs through my fingers like water. I was never more delighted than when I finally found a copy of A Book of the Snipe by Scolopax, published in 1904. I had been on the lookout for a copy for many years and I could have shouted with glee to find a copy for sale at last. Suffice it to say my wife never heard the price. I extended my bookshelves by several feet last year, and I still have mounds of…

Qualifying for the championship, whatever the breed of gundog, must be the aspiration for so many handlers, certainly for those of us who work and compete with our dogs for the sheer enjoyment of the chase rather than the potential financial gain. Not only does it demonstrate we have achieved a great working partnership with our dog, but it also takes us to some amazing venues that we might otherwise never experience. I had the good fortune to qualify for the 2020 Any Variety Spaniel (except cocker) Championship with my four-year-old English springer bitch Bucklawren Luna of Stockingford – an unusual name, which she acquired by being born on 28 March 2015, the date of the last lunar eclipse. We gained our qualification at the Hampshire Gundog Society’s open stake…

To a labrador or spaniel, it matters not what the purpose of their training is: instinct makes them want to work, whether the reward be a game bird brought to hand or, as with the case of those trained as sniffer dogs for the police and military, a tennis ball. An instinct and a desire to do what nature intended – namely hunt and retrieve in order to survive – isn’t, however, only present in the gundog breeds. In well over 40 years of being involved with game shooting, I’ve seen several obscure breeds or examples of indeterminate breeding that hunt, retrieve and even point every bit as well as those that the Kennel Club would officially recognise as being a true gundog breed. “Non-gundogs” sometimes make useful allies on…

Q My dog’s training is going pretty well and I now want to introduce him to water. Any tips? A Take it easy when your dog is first introduced to the wet stuff, or the dog may find itself swimming too soon and panic. Then you panic and it all goes pear shaped. Pick a gently shelving bank into shallow water and make sure there are no surprises. Get in there yourself and make a fuss of the dog, then wade a little deeper. If you have been training with dummies then use these to your advantage in getting the game going. You will soon gauge the dog’s nervousness – or lack thereof. When he is ready, you can extend the distance you throw the dummy and develop his swimming…

How to win For your chance to win either a Pintail Explorer smock (top right) or a Seasons jacket (right), email high-res images to martin.puddifer@ti-media.com. Please put ‘Gundog Picture of the Month’ in the subject line. The winner will be chosen by the Shooting Gazette judging panel. Good luck! The prize will only be posted to winners with a fixed UK postal address. Here we have Jessica Sutherland’s three-year-old fox red labrador, Jack, pictured, so his owner says, “towards the end of a fruitful walked-up day near Pathhead in Midlothian”.…