Schools Challenge at the Game Fair, take 2

There was so much to see and do at the CLA Game Fair we couldn't possibly fit it all in one show. This is the second featuring the fair; there will be more from the CLA in the next show in two weeks time.

Note the rather natty Schools Challenge TV microphone wielded by Izzy in her interview with Andrew Crawford. It's a trusty and well-worn dynamic AKG D230 which served me well when I was producing audio podcasts, spruced up with a red foam cover and a white mic cube. I printed the show's name on a sheet of sticky labels, cut them out neatly with a steel ruler and my Swiss Army Knife, stuck them on as straight as I could and, hey presto, custom SCTV mic!

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Video report from the CLA Game Fair 2013

Here's the latest episode of Schools Challenge TV, straight from the weekend's CLA Game Fair at Ragley Hall. You can practically feel the heat of the sun burning down on Gunmakers' Row! Lugging the camera around in that weather was no joke, but I'm pleased with the result, and Fieldsports Channel have done a great job of turning it round so quickly for tonight's show. I particularly liked giving the microphone to the youngsters of the Schools Challenge Academy so they could ask their own questions of some top people in the gun trade.

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Video: pigeon shooting with Geoff Garrod

Here's my latest piece on The Shooting Show - I made the first item in this week's show, with gamekeeper Geoff Garrod and Tomas Atienza of Eley Hawk out after pigeons in Essex. After a wet start, the sun breaks through and things begin to pick up, and Geoff and Tomas finish with a respectable total for the day.

The show also includes an extended news report from the CLA Game Fair - well done the Blaze team for filming and editing that so quickly to get the report out the day after the event.

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Phew, what a scorcher!

I'm just back from the 2013 CLA Game Fair, which was an absolute scorcher. I had no way of checking, but it certainly felt like the daytime temperatures were well into the 30s, and it didn't seem much cooler in the tent at night.

I was kept pretty busy filming for Schools Challenge TV - you'll see the first programme on Tuesday (David Wright is busy editing the footage as I write), but I did manage to catch up with a few old friends, despite missing a good many more.

With only a video camera to hand most of the time, and precious little mobile phone coverage for the three days, I took very few still photos to capture the atmosphere of the event, but this one appealed so much I whipped out my phone and snapped it while glugging cold water as fast as I could.

It's Charlie Jacoby's cocker, Muffin, proudly wearing her press pass as we sat around the Fieldsports Channel encampment behind the Press Centre.

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What a great Midland game fair!

I always enjoy the Midland - I think it's probably my favourite countryside event, with just the right mix of people, stands displays and events. I had a great couple of days at this weekend's show, catching up with old friends, meeting new people and catching up with all the news and gossip.

It was a treat to catch up with Hubert Hubert, writer of the Rabbit Stew blog, who told me he'd made the trip by bicycle. I was impressed with the neat patching on his Barbour jacket. Some people might say to themselves "Here's a bloke with too much time on his hands." Me, I was thinking "Here's a bloke who might be able to write some useful tips for our readers!"

He's recently being having a bit of a battle with some of the readers and moderators on the Weihrauch hunting forum - basically the purists aren't happy that he owns up on his blog to being less than 100% perfect as a hunter. I can understand the mentality that says we should portray our sport in the best possible light. But I think it's downright silly - and counter-productive - to pretend that nothing ever goes wrong.

In a similar vein, I discovered that Neil Dale of NOBS has come in for a lot of stick for openly discussing a shooting accident he had while pigeon shooting earlier this year, where a faulty gun discharged and injured his partner in the leg.

As a shooting magazine editor, I'm sometimes asked to hush up a story that someone thinks shows shooting in a less than perfect light. It's a real dilemma. The last thing I'd want to do is damage the sport of shooting. But as a journalist it goes against everything I believe in to censor a story. And I'm sure that being open and transparent is the only way we can make our sport safer and stronger. I'd be interested to hear readers' views on that one.

Realtree and Rivers West put on a great fashion show, unveiling some of the interesting clothes they've got coming up for next year. It seems odd to think of wearing camo to be seen rather than not be seen - but after this show I can imagine Realtree becoming something of a fashion statement.

There was an interesting discussion about this recently on the Up North Journal podcast. Mike Adams explained that he wears camo to work and around town as a kind of 'badge of honour', a way of showing his pride in being a hunter - and he says it leads to interesting meetings with other hunters while he's out and about.

There was a lot of interest in the Realtree covered Mitsubishi L200 at the bottom of gunmakers row. It was fun to watch the way people couldn't resist touching it, to see what the finish was like. Talk about making a statement on the high street - that one would certainly turn heads!

I came across very few genuinely new ideas and products at the show (no doubt I'll get my ear bent now by companies reminding me of their fabulous new kit!). One that did catch my eye was this 'deer sled' being sold by Kevin Wilcox at Tidepool wildfowling. It's used in the States by deer hunters to drag their kill back across the snow to camp - but Kevin reckons it's the ideal way to get your fowling kit out across the ooze, and back again with your bag. This size was selling for under £40, and there are other sizes on offer too. It's incredibly tough and lightweight, and if your trip on and off the marsh is suitable it could be just the job.

New kit is only one small part of why people go to shows like the Midland of course. I always enjoy tracking down traditional craftsmen - like this chap, John Kemp, "Woodsman, Traditional Rope Worker and Complete Knotter". I particularly enjoyed his wry dig at health and safety culture:

Well, there was plenty more to see and do at the Midland - we spent a long time watching the excellent competitions in the gundog ring, for instance. On a personal note, I got a brilliant Christmas present for my dad (which I'd better not mention here in case he discovers what it is), and paid a terrifying amount of money for a pair of Fjallraven trousers that I've been lusting after for a long time. Nordic Outdoors didn't have the size and colour I wanted in stock, so they took my money and promised to post them on as soon as they get back to Edinburgh. Let's hope they don't forget!

CLA Game Fair - an overview

...quite literally - thanks to a helicopter flight kindly laid on by ASI, who were launching their new range of B Rizzini shotguns.

As always the CLA Game Fair was a bit of a blur, but it was great to catch up with many, many people, some of whom I knew only as an email address or a facebook photo.

Highlights? Too many to mention now, but I've put some photos on flickr here...

Looking forward to the CLA Game Fair at Ragley Hall

 

Vincent Hedley-Lewis, chairman of the Game Fair management committee,
and David Hough, CLA Game Fair director, with an early version of the
site plan for this year's CLA Game Fair, in front of Ragley Hall

Today I visited Ragley Hall, near Alcester in Warwickshire, for a sneak preview of the site for this year's CLA Game Fair, on 23-25 July.

It's a stunning location, with good road links via the M5, M42 and M40 - and also a wonderful showpiece estate with a great tradition of country sports. The shooting on the estate is let to a syndicate who shoot around 30 days a year. There are roe and fallow on the estate, with around 150 head of deer taken each year. And there's coarse fishing, taken by local fishing clubs, on the lake, river and reservoirs. The lake, which will form the centrepiece of this year's fair, is said to contain carp up to 15lb, and some eels of up to 9 or 10lb. And yes, they do have a problem with cormorants!

My attempt at a stitched-together panorama, taken from the far side of the lake,
where the CLA members enclosure is planned to be

The lovely Palladian house, designed in 1680, is home to the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford, and stands in lovely 'Capability Brown' gardens. Around the grounds you'll find the Jerwood collection of quirky sculptures, not to everyone's taste but certainly eyecatching.

Chatting to estate manager Alan Granger, I was impressed to learn that the estate has its own butchers and farm shop selling meat and game from the estate. And they are keen on encouraging young people to come and learn about the countryside and how the estate works, running study days for local schools. The estate recently installed a wood-chip boiler, and now all the heating for the house is fuelled from its own managed woodlands. Coincidentally, Alan used to run Audley End, the estate next door to Sporting Shooter's old offices near Saffron Walden.

Aerial view of the site from Google Maps

Some random Game Fair facts I picked up today:

• The CLA Game Fair gets around 140,000 visitors over the 3 days
• There are around 900 exhibitors
• The average visitor age is 39
• 80% of visitors participate in at least one country sport
• 62% of visitors shoot
• The budget for the first Game Fair, in 1958, was £500
  (they overspent by around 40%, due to much higher than anticipated visitor numbers)
• Around £15m of trade is done within the show
• The fair generates around £13m for the local area

Is the BBC institutionally anti-shooting?

BASC's Phil Pugh did an excellent job of explaining the benefits of shooting to a rather hostile sounding Anna Hill on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme yesterday. In today's programme (12 Aug), Anna went deerstalking in Suffolk. She appears to be getting it, slowly, although she still asked a few rather odd-sounding questions: "Can it become addictive to some people," she asks, as if she finds it hard to believe that deerstalkers aren't all blood-crazed psychopaths.

When it comes to shooting, the programme always gives the impression it's terrified of guns and finds shooting rather unsavoury. An odd perspective for a programme aimed at the farming community. Last week's report about stolen shotguns being used in crime was a case in point where Anna Hill was practically standing on her chair going "Eek! A gun!" She's come a long way in a few days - I suspect BASC's press office may have been hard at work behind the scenes.

This perfectly illustrates the problem shooting has with the media generally, and the BBC in particular. Robin Page made some very anti-BBC comments at the CLA Game Fair debate 'The BBC and the countryside: friend or foe?' He sees anti-fieldsports and anti-farmer conspiracies behind every pot-plant. He was very amusing, but I think he's wrong.

Many journalists come from an urban middle-class background. These people rarely encounter shooting, except the sort that goes on between rival drug gangs. They can't imagine why anyone would want to 'kill things for fun'. And that attitude comes through when they report shooting.

There's another problem fieldsports have with the BBC in particular, and that's the word 'controversial'.

BBC culture says that if something is controversial, they must report it impartially. In other words, let both sides of the argument have their say. This is set out in the organisation's charter.

Watching the BBC Countryfile programme on the CLA Game Fair, it was clear that the programme makers considered that shooting and fishing were not controversial. They could cover both with no need to find an anti for 'balance'. But hunting was 'controversial', so to cover their backsides against complaints, they went the 'impartiality' route and dragged in the awful Louise Robertson from LACS to bleat about 'cruelty', thereby 'balancing' the fact they had shown a few hounds in the main arena.

Who decides if something is 'controversial'? So far as I can tell, the programme's producers decide for themselves. And in that sense, the BBC is simply holding up a mirror to public opinion, rather than pursuing any agenda of its own.

Unfortunately, by giving a handful of vociferous antis a platform, this policy ensures that some subjects continue to be 'controversial', even though 99.9% of the general public never give them a moment's thought. And it ensures that those same people never become sufficiently well informed to form a valid opinion.

RSPB at the Game Fair

I take my hat off to the RSPB's Mark Avery. Whatever you think about his approach to conservation, he has the nerve to show up at the Game Fair each year and face the inevitable flak. The ear-bashing I took from a couple of unreconstructed old-school keepers on our stand is nothing compared to what he faces.

I've never had a one-to-one with Mark, but I recognise in him a mischievous streak. I think he enjoys being provocative, and deliberately sets out to wind up the establishment to get his point across. Read his tongue-in-cheek checklist for 'Game Fair Bingo' and you'll see what I mean. He knows exactly what different people think of him and his organisation, and he chuckles at their predictable responses.

His Birds of Prey Pledge is a clever ruse. He challenges all and sundry to sign it. If they refuse, what does that say? That they want to massacre birds of prey?

I was tempted to sign it myself at the weekend. After all, I do believe that illegal killing of birds of prey is wrong. I do condemn the (mercifully few) disgusting poisonings and shootings of kites, buzzards, eagles and the rest, as do the vast majority of shooters, shoot owners and keepers that I know. More than that, it would affirm my belief that shooters and conservationists can and should (and indeed do) work hand in glove for the benefit of Britain's wildlife.

But I didn't. And Avery's latest blog post illustrates perfectly why I didn't. I don't want to be numbered among the people who he can claim "want legal protection of birds of prey to remain". It's far more complicated than that. Illegal killing is wrong - but we badly need a debate about legal methods of controlling raptors when they become as common, and as destructive, as crows and foxes.

And I certainly don't want to support someone who writes off the Countryside March as "the Countryside Alliance... filling the streets of London with angry people." I was there, and I was a lot of things: worried, apprehensive, indignant, and fed-up with my life being treated as a political football by people who wouldn't know a combine from a corncrake. For Avery to dismiss me as some sort of rent-a-mob is downright offensive.

I think it's time for Avery to grow up a bit. This issue is too important to be sidelined while he gets his kicks from needling what he sees as the toffs and their keepers, or tries to manoeuvre our organisations into a carefully crafted corner. Whether it's for his own amusement or part of some wider agenda, he's driving a wedge between shooting and conservation.

I stood at the back of the crowd on the Friday as Avery banged on about the need to 'marginalise' the illegal killing of hen harriers by keepers. A dour old keeper standing next to me muttered "It's already marginalised you tosser." Precisely. By thumping out the same old tune, Avery is alienating thousands of people like that keeper who instinctively support everything the RSPB stands for, but can't bring themselves to work with an organisation that clearly despises them and wants them extinct.

Instead of a confrontational message about birds of prey, perhaps the RSPB stand at next year's Game Fair will feature a welcoming message to shooters and keepers: 'Come and talk to us about how we can help you do even more for the wildlife on your shoot'. Then again, maybe it won't.

More Game Fair gossip...

It seems shooting was halted on the clay line on Saturday morning, when a golden retriever ran across in front of the guns - chasing a butterfly! The embarrassed owner whistled and called to no avail.

Things people leave at Game Fairs

Chatting to one of the staff at the Game Fair press office, I learned a bit about the things that people lose at Game Fairs. Apparently this year's event yielded the usual crop of hats, children's toys, mobile phones and car keys, but nothing specially notable. Perhaps it's a symptom of the credit crunch, but past events have produced the odd item of exotic underwear, and even a set of false teeth, which were never claimed. They sat in the lost property box for some weeks until staff could no longer bear seeing them grinning back, and consigned them to the bin.

Game Fair stars

The lads from Rushyford Game saved the day for us on the Saturday of the CLA Game Fair. Without their help, we'd have had a barbecue with no meat - unthinkable!

Long after all the stands had closed up, Harriet and I spotted them clearing up their smart green burger bar after a hectic day dealing venison burgers. "Er, excuse me, I don't suppose you've got any burgers left you could sell us, only the bloke who was supposed to buy the burgers, er, forgot..."

Well, they couldn't have been more helpful. We staggered away loaded down with not just a big heap of burgers and sausages, but tomatoes, onions, buns - even some smart aprons with the "just ask" logo.

It turns out they're subscribers and big fans of the magazine too - all the nicest people are, of course! Oh and the burgers were delicious - 5 stars Sporting Shooter Tried & Tested!

CLA game fair

Our Game Fair issue

We've taken delivery of our office copies of the CLA Game Fair issue - and it's a stunner!

I particularly like the cover photo, and the absence of the red strip at the top - I think the white 'Sporting Shooter' on top of the photo just looks altogether better and does this outstanding photo (by Don Brunt) justice. I reckon the content this month is some of our best ever too, but then I would say that wouldn't I?!

It should be in the shops by the weekend - I'd be interested to hear your comments and feedback.

Strong words on knife crime

I enjoyed this post from Bill O' Rites, a blogger who doesn't mince his words:

Every time there is a shooting, some dull witted politician will pontificate upon there being no place for guns in today's society, thus tarring legitimate firearms owners with the same brush as murderers & armed criminals. It's ALL bollocks.

His post came in response to the news that 1,000 people marched in London at the weekend, calling for "an end to knife crime." At the same time as that march was going on, some 80,000+ responsible people were attending the Midland Game Fair - many of them carrying knives, guns and what-have-you. No-one was stabbed or shot, and everyone had a good time.


Doesn't that just prove that guns and knives don't cause trouble all by themselves?

That point was lost on the jobsworth copper who strode officiously onto our stand to announce that we were breaking the law by offering bottles of scotch to people taking out a subscription. He could be right - although he didn't seem very sure on the finer points of the law - but it was a textbook example of how to annoy well meaning, law-abiding folk with an aggressively condescending tone.

Having bullied and intimidated the youngest girl on the stand, writing down her birthdate and home address in his notebook, he stomped off with a parting shot about guns and alcohol not going together.

The cops would get a lot more help from folks like us if they'd just stop treating us all as criminals. According to the Telegraph we are all criminals now - but that's hardly surprising when they keep moving the goalposts. When did it become illegal to take a swig of water in a traffic jam - and did I vote for that??

CLA Game Fair '08 - Phew! What a scorcher!

Sporting Shooter had a great three days at the CLA Game Fair at Blenheim - three days of blue skies, scorching temperatures, and a constant throng of readers around the stand keen to meet the team, including Robert Bucknell, Diggory Hadoke, Vicky Payne and Mike Yardley. We sold a shed-load of subscriptions, which will keep the bean-counters happy. And we had a great time.


The CLA have issued a jubilant press release stating: "a record 151, 000 visitors attended over the 3 days an increase of 13,000 over the previous of 138,000. The sun shone, business was buoyant and the atmosphere convivial and happy."

Things became especially convivial and happy after a few beers on the Saturday night, culminating in this classic karaoke performance starring several leading lights in the world of airgunning:



The Sporting Shooter team (& camp followers) were camping behind the stand, enjoying the finest cuisine and luxury sleeping arrangements:


It was good to catch up with many old friends in the trade and the wider sporting fraternity, and there were plenty of interesting new products about, including this lovely new hammer gun from ASI...


...and a new lithium battery from Deben that weighs a fraction of the standard lead-acid type. It's not cheap, but it's going to make lamping a whole lot less tiring!


All in all, a great Game Fair, and a fitting event to mark the 50th anniversary, after the disappointment when last year's event was washed away by freak rain.

Midland Game Fair highlights

Well, I just got back from the Midland. What a great fair! This year it seemed busier than ever, and somehow it had a particularly warm, friendly atmosphere (or was that the Jack Daniels?!). The team on the Sporting Shooter stand worked hard throughout, and we met hundreds of readers with positive things to say about the magazine, and only the odd one with a gripe (mostly about badges gone missing in the post - and yes we will sort those out as soon as the new stock arrive).

General impressions of the fair seemed very positive. Most traders agreed that it had been particularly busy on the Saturday (one even complained it was too busy!). What with a successful Midland, and the offer of a 60% refund on the CLA game fair, most traders seemed to be in buoyant mood. Visitors were generally happy too. In fact the only grumble I heard was from a group who had arrived at the West Gate at 6.30 and had to wait outside (with conflicting info from the security guys on the other side) until the gates opened at 8.

It will take me a few days to sort through the big pile of business cards in my pocket, get all the pictures off the camera and go through my notebooks. For now, though, here (below) are a few memories that sum up this year's Midland for me.

Apologies to anyone I inadvertently missed, or promised to visit and never quite made it - despite the best intentions, there's just never enough time. I lost count of the times I set off to visit a particular stand or find a particular person, then got sidetracked and hours later remembered what I'd meant to do in the first place!


Mike Yardley tries out the amazing new ST-2 Shooting Simulator, on the Acorn Traps stand. I was astounded by the potential of this system - Mike will be writing about it in a future issue.


John Swift of BASC with Graham Downing's excellent book on the association's history, published to mark its centenary next year.


Gary the ferret, a regular visitor to the fair, takes his owner Steven Holmes (9) for a walk. They had travelled from Cannock.


Colin Jones from the Midland Gun Co with one of the new Demon semi-autos they are selling at £399 (and even cheaper on a special game fair offer) - remarkable value, and selling well at the fair.


David Hitchman with one of his Berger Picards. Apparently they are an old celtic herding/guarding/droving breed, and there are only 23 in the country - most of which appeared to be going round the show with David, Shirley and their family!


And finally, for now anyway, Andy Norris from Browning International showed me this new Browning T-Bolt .22LR. It's an amazingly fast straight-pull bolt-action, with a double-helix 10-round magazine. It comes in regular or carbine barrel lengths, and is threaded for a moderator. It's in the shops now at around £500; there's a .17HMR version due out next year.

See you at the Midland!

We're off to the Midland Game Fair at the end of the week: Sporting Shooter will have its usual stand in Gunmaker's Row, near the East entrance.

We'll be running a draw for a Beretta shotgun, so make sure you come along and enter (it's free!). Also on the stand you'll find our guns and auctions expert, Diggory Hadoke, with a selection of interesting old guns. We have a special subscription deal available for visitors to the fair, so if you've been putting off taking out a subscription this is the moment to grab your chance.

Plus the editor and staff will be there to talk to readers, answer questions, and listen to your ideas for how we could improve the magazine.


The Midland is always a highlight of the year for shooting folk, and this year promises to have a real buzz after the CLA Game Fair was cancelled due to bad weather. It's the event's 25th year, so there are some special celebrations planned.

The Midland is at Weston Park, Shifnal, Shropshire, on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 September. More details at midlandgamefair.co.uk.

See you there!

Festival of Falconry

I visited this amazing one-off event today. Two impressions really stand out: First, the majesty of the birds themselves, from the tiniest hawk to this impressive golden eagle. And second, the sense of culture and tradition surrounding this sport, with falconers from all over the world coming together in a colourful melee of birds, dogs, horses (even camels) and traditional costume - the stands included Bedouin tents and Far Eastern yurts, as well as the more familiar game fair style canvas shedding.



I can't help feeling that some of our traditional sports in Britain have rather lost their roots. Perhaps we should resurrect some old shooting and hunting songs, and invite a few indigenous hunters from around the world to parade at the CLA Game Fair??



One thing that didn't surprise me was to learn that DEFRA are all over falconry like a rash, with countless forms and licences and approvals and best practice guidelines. Thank heavens they don't leave it up to us. Can you imagine what a mess we'd make of things?!

Scottish Fair

I've just got back from the Game Conservancy's Scottish Fair (www.scottishfair.com). It's the first time I've managed to attend this event, and I enjoyed it enormously. It's well-run, has a great atmosphere, and to my mind is just the right size for a fair of this type - not too big, not too small.



For me, it was a great opportunity to meet some of our Scottish readers, to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. I also got some fascinating interviews for the magazine and the podcast - on a range of subjects: from ticks, to grouse prospects for this season, to how keepers are helping in the fight against wildlife crime.



The only downside to the fair was the torrential rain which hit on Saturday afternoon - which washed me out of the tent at the back of the stand where I'd been camping, so the last night was spent in the car!

Watch the magazine and the podcast for more on what we got up to at the fair - and make a date to attend next year; it's a great event!