What a brilliant day this was! I had a great time filming this happy band of muzzleloading enthusiasts on their annual walked-up game day. It was like stepping back in time, walking through the woods and beet fields with a bunch of chaps dressed in period gear and festooned with powder flasks, shot belts and what-have-you. Impressive clouds of smoke too! It made a terrific feature for The Shooting Show - enjoy!
“Deranged” – PETA • “Super-posh” – The Mirror • "His own worst enemy" – D Barnes Esq • "Barbaric" – Liverpool City Council
Showing posts with label game shooting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label game shooting. Show all posts
Monday, 18 November 2013
Monday, 3 January 2011
Bracken's first pheasant
We took Bracken, the 15 month old lab, to her first proper driven pheasant shoot today - and she behaved impeccably! She sat patiently but attentively at the peg (on her rather girly pink and white rope lead) and didn't pull or whine.
When we got the chance, we sent her for her first pheasant retrieve - this nice cock, which fell in plain view an easy distance away. And she went straight out and brought it back!
OK it wasn't the most demanding task, but that wasn't the point. We wanted her first introduction to driven game to be a calm and positive affair. There will be plenty of time for more adventurous work later.
As it happens, this was also my first pheasant this season too. I know readers like to think I'm constantly swanning around getting shooting invitations left right and centre. The truth is, it doesn't happen like that, and I rarely have the time to spare anyway. Still, it was great to get out and enjoy a modest driven day, courtesy of my mum who gave up her gun for the day. Thanks mum!
For the record, the total bag was 56 pheasants, a pigeon and a rabbit, between 8 guns. I shot just over my share, at 8 pheasants and the pigeon. The weather was dull and chilly, while the company was quite the opposite. It's a small, friendly shoot near Horsham in Sussex - just the sort of shoot I like best.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Animal Aid urges malicious complaints
A new guide published by animal rights extremists Animal Aid urges members of the public to make malicious complaints to police about legitimate shooting activities.
How to Oppose Shooting, a Practical Guide [pdf] is lauded as "probably the most comprehensive practical guide to ‘gamebird’ shooting and the problems it presents to people living in the vicinity of shoots" on the group's website.
It downloads as a turgid 41-page A4 document which comprehensively describes some forms of shooting in the UK, and summarises the law surrounding them. The choice of photographs is misrepresentative and emotive - unhealthy-looking birds in cramped cages. Slipped into the innocuous descriptive passages are suggestions that people might find the shoot worrying, and should call the police - advice designed to engineer a potentially dangerous confrontation between shooters and armed police.
The 'guide' goes on to suggest that people who are anti-shooting should stir up trouble for shoots by snitching to the VAT office, regardless of whether there is any reason to suspect wrongdoing. At the end of the document are standardised letters where a troublemaker can simply fill in the name of a shoot and post it off.
Sadly for the antis, most readers will have fallen asleep with boredom by the time they reach that bit. Pretty much the sort of thing we've come to expect from Kit Davidson and his chums, then - boring, devious, ineffective and malicious in its intent.
It does, however, provide a useful insight into the way these people think, and the chinks in our armour that they think they've spotted.
How to Oppose Shooting, a Practical Guide [pdf] is lauded as "probably the most comprehensive practical guide to ‘gamebird’ shooting and the problems it presents to people living in the vicinity of shoots" on the group's website.
It downloads as a turgid 41-page A4 document which comprehensively describes some forms of shooting in the UK, and summarises the law surrounding them. The choice of photographs is misrepresentative and emotive - unhealthy-looking birds in cramped cages. Slipped into the innocuous descriptive passages are suggestions that people might find the shoot worrying, and should call the police - advice designed to engineer a potentially dangerous confrontation between shooters and armed police.
The 'guide' goes on to suggest that people who are anti-shooting should stir up trouble for shoots by snitching to the VAT office, regardless of whether there is any reason to suspect wrongdoing. At the end of the document are standardised letters where a troublemaker can simply fill in the name of a shoot and post it off.
Sadly for the antis, most readers will have fallen asleep with boredom by the time they reach that bit. Pretty much the sort of thing we've come to expect from Kit Davidson and his chums, then - boring, devious, ineffective and malicious in its intent.
It does, however, provide a useful insight into the way these people think, and the chinks in our armour that they think they've spotted.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
I'm on the telly - well almost!
The next best thing - I'm on this week's programme on fieldsportschannel.tv. Actually that's better than the 'real' telly, which never seems to have anything useful to say about shooting. That's me following gundog trainer Chris Burns around on beaters' day at Penshurst. He talks to me about what makes a good beating dog, a great picking-up dog, whether or not a working dog can also be a family pet, and much more.
David - pictured with Chris above - did a brilliant job of filming and editing the programme, which really captured the spirit of a fantastic day's shooting. Great stuff!
Monday, 4 January 2010
Nice idea, more work needed
Wouldn't it be interesting to rig up a video camera looking straight down the gun barrels, so you could see how the gun tracks the bird, maybe even follow the shot pattern and see the lead required to hit a driven pheasant?
That's what I thought, so last night I spent some time destroying one of my favourite Musto caps in order to fit a lightweight video camera to the peak. And today I wore it on a couple of drives to see how it would work out.
And the results... not quite what I'd intended. First the cap fell off as I swung on an overhead bird...
Then it fell off again...
And finally I took a beautiful right-and-left (or under-and-over in fact), only to discover that the camera wasn't aligned with the barrels at all, and I was actually filming the breech end of the barrels.
Ah well, back to the drawing board (and probably taking a knife to another Musto cap). Still, it was a beautiful day to be out, I shot a couple of brace and I won the sweep, so I'm not complaining!
Friday, 1 January 2010
Lovely day for it!
I love this pic by Nico Morgan (found on his Flickr pages) - it pretty much sums up this shooting season for me!
Friday, 11 December 2009
Shooting ourselves in the foot
Two phone calls this afternoon have highlighted the fact that some shooters don't do themselves - or the rest of us - any favours.
The first was from a council employee in Leeds, who had shot from a nearby pheasant shoot rain down around him as he worked. He was the most reasonable bloke imaginable, but understandably concerned and wanted to know the legal position. I suggested the best bet was a quiet word with the shoot captain, but apparently local residents have complained before and got nowhere.
The second was from an RSPB worker in Northern Ireland. A while back I emailed him asking about the latest report of a poisoned red kite. Was he sure shooters were involved, I asked. After all, there are other people who might have cause to put down poison. But no, it seems he generally finds shooters and gamekeepers very helpful - but in this case the keeper is an oldfashioned sort who sees buzzards and kites as his enemies.
It only takes a few people like this to undo years of good work by the rest of us. The frustrating thing is, it's not our job to police them, we don't have the powers to do so - and yet we're the ones whose names get dragged through the dirt.
The first was from a council employee in Leeds, who had shot from a nearby pheasant shoot rain down around him as he worked. He was the most reasonable bloke imaginable, but understandably concerned and wanted to know the legal position. I suggested the best bet was a quiet word with the shoot captain, but apparently local residents have complained before and got nowhere.
The second was from an RSPB worker in Northern Ireland. A while back I emailed him asking about the latest report of a poisoned red kite. Was he sure shooters were involved, I asked. After all, there are other people who might have cause to put down poison. But no, it seems he generally finds shooters and gamekeepers very helpful - but in this case the keeper is an oldfashioned sort who sees buzzards and kites as his enemies.
It only takes a few people like this to undo years of good work by the rest of us. The frustrating thing is, it's not our job to police them, we don't have the powers to do so - and yet we're the ones whose names get dragged through the dirt.
Friday, 30 October 2009
Is your MP an anti, or just a mug?
Is your MP on this list? If so, it looks like they've been had by the antis' latest stunt, where David Taylor MP tabled an 'early day motion' - clearly spoonfed to him by Animal Aid and their chums - calling for the banning of game shooting. I first reported on this nonsense here, but some 67 MPs have signed up to it and now the LACS is crowing about it here. Just in case you're in any doubt about their intentions, they clearly state "We are working hard to demonstrate the cruelty inherent in the shooting industry and will not stop until this cruel sport is outlawed completely".
So, if shooting matters to you, and your MP is on the list below, you might want to email him/her and point out that this is no way to win your support at the forthcoming general election.
So, if shooting matters to you, and your MP is on the list below, you might want to email him/her and point out that this is no way to win your support at the forthcoming general election.
Monday, 29 June 2009
Another lapse of judgement by David Taylor MP
David Taylor, MP for North West Leicestershire, had to admit that some of his expenses claims showed a "lack of judgement", and cashed in an ISA to pay back £8,003.
In another staggering lapse of judgement, he is sponsoring this Early Day Motion, spoon-fed to him by the antis, ranting about game shooting and supposed "suffering", pest control, cartridge cases and "disruption to native wildlife".
His website promises his constituents: "Whether you voted for me or not, I’m here to represent you and the best interests of our local area to the best of my ability." Has he forgotten to consult the hundreds of shooters, keepers and others working in related industries in his constituency before supporting this inane bit of anti propaganda? Has he even bothered to look into the positive benefits of shooting (check out the links in the right-hand column of this blog).
If you're a constituent of his, you may like to remind him of his responsibilities - contact details here.
If you're not a constituent of his, write to your MP pointing out how stupid they would look if they were to sign it.
In another staggering lapse of judgement, he is sponsoring this Early Day Motion, spoon-fed to him by the antis, ranting about game shooting and supposed "suffering", pest control, cartridge cases and "disruption to native wildlife".
His website promises his constituents: "Whether you voted for me or not, I’m here to represent you and the best interests of our local area to the best of my ability." Has he forgotten to consult the hundreds of shooters, keepers and others working in related industries in his constituency before supporting this inane bit of anti propaganda? Has he even bothered to look into the positive benefits of shooting (check out the links in the right-hand column of this blog).
If you're a constituent of his, you may like to remind him of his responsibilities - contact details here.
If you're not a constituent of his, write to your MP pointing out how stupid they would look if they were to sign it.
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Animal rights terrorists convicted
Strangely, you won't find this story on the websites of Animal Aid, LACS, or any of the other animal rights nutters who are usually so quick to jump on a bandwagon. Maybe that's because it gives us too much of an insight into the characters who infest the animal rights movement - and by doing so actually hold back the cause of animal welfare.
Animal Aid, incidentally, have just released a ludicrous video of their "Undercover Footage From The 2008 Gamebird Shooting Season" - several minutes of wobbly video of, gasp, people firing guns in the air. Gosh, never knew that happened on shoots. And, ooh, a gundog retrieving a shot bird which is promptly dispatched by the handler. All interspersed with some even wobblier shots of a sick partridge in a pen. As if that proved anything. Oh, and guys, if you walk up to a larsen trap and poke a video camera at the decoy bird, you are causing it distress. Please don't.
Honestly, if people want to see what happens on a shoot, there's no need to skulk about in the bushes with a handheld camcorder. They only have to ask. We have nothing to hide. Unlike certain animal rights activists.
Monday, 15 December 2008
Desperate times at Animal Aid
Things must be bad at Animal Aid – their latest 'report' is hilarious. Talk about clutching at straws!
It reveals – wait for it – it costs more to produce a pheasant than it's worth on the supermarket shelf.
And – gasp – game is promoted by pro-shooting organisations like BASC and Countryside Alliance.
Wait, there's more... apparently, cartridges are quite expensive nowadays – eek! And on and on.
I laughed out loud when I saw Animal Aid, of all people, rubbishing surveys and questionnaires. Apparently results are possibly biased towards people who have strong views on particular issues. Oh really? You mean like the "opinion polls" constantly quoted by antis to "prove" that the public oppose hunting, fishing, snaring, eating meat, wearing tweed or talking a bit posh.
Dress that up with a few irrelevant but ugly photos of "dumped body parts" (looks to me like wings trimmed from pheasants being prepared for the oven), "incarcerated" pheasants and dead foxes, and – hey presto – you have a "damning new report".
Damning it certainly is – it shows how desperate the antis have become, now that what remains of their support is dwindling away!
It reveals – wait for it – it costs more to produce a pheasant than it's worth on the supermarket shelf.
And – gasp – game is promoted by pro-shooting organisations like BASC and Countryside Alliance.
Wait, there's more... apparently, cartridges are quite expensive nowadays – eek! And on and on.
I laughed out loud when I saw Animal Aid, of all people, rubbishing surveys and questionnaires. Apparently results are possibly biased towards people who have strong views on particular issues. Oh really? You mean like the "opinion polls" constantly quoted by antis to "prove" that the public oppose hunting, fishing, snaring, eating meat, wearing tweed or talking a bit posh.
Dress that up with a few irrelevant but ugly photos of "dumped body parts" (looks to me like wings trimmed from pheasants being prepared for the oven), "incarcerated" pheasants and dead foxes, and – hey presto – you have a "damning new report".
Damning it certainly is – it shows how desperate the antis have become, now that what remains of their support is dwindling away!
More anti tosh
Further to my earlier story about anti's whining over cruelty to clay pigeons, now the League Against Cruel Sports has jumped on the bandwagon. The princes are "setting a bad example" says an anonymous LACS spokesman. "A lot of people think that shooting animals for sport is wrong... they're not sending out a good message."
On the contrary, they're sending out an excellent message: Don't sit at home listening to bigoted class-hating animal rights extremist numpties - get out and discover the countryside for yourself, get some healthy exercise and fresh air, and bag yourself a tasty dinner!
On the contrary, they're sending out an excellent message: Don't sit at home listening to bigoted class-hating animal rights extremist numpties - get out and discover the countryside for yourself, get some healthy exercise and fresh air, and bag yourself a tasty dinner!
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Animal Aid whining about cruelty to clay pigeons
Trust Animal Aid to jump on the chance to take a cheap shot at the Royal Family – and then shoot themselves in the foot!
In the Mail's story, AA director Andrew Tyler is quoted moaning about Kate Middleton "senselessly taking the lives of birds" and being "drawn into the Royal habit of killing for fun" (an appalling misrepresentation of what a day's shooting is all about, but what would he know?).
But take a closer look at those photos. Are they shooting pheasants? I think not. It's certainly not a formal driven shoot - guns standing round watching as one shoots, nobody on a peg. And it doesn't look like rough shooting to me either. They're clearly standing in one spot, calling for a target from a known location.
No, I'm quite sure they popped out for a bit of clay practice. And I bet they're having a good laugh about the stupid comments in today's papers!
I'm in the Mail!
...spouting about the etiquette and safety rules of shooting, as they relate to Princes William & Harry, pictured shooting with friends at Sandringham. They cut the article short in the printed paper, but the full piece is on the website here:
I had a call from a Mail journalist yesterday afternoon, asking for a comment on the photos, which they couldn't let me see but would only describe over the phone. Difficult to have an opinion then!
Still, I did my best, and they quoted me reasonably accurately (would I really have talked about "walking from one shoot to the next"?!) And they kept in my comment about the excellent safety record of shooting.
Shame they didn't ask me what I thought of photographers sneaking round in the bushes with ultra-long lenses, grabbing shots of the royals minding their own business!
And honestly, "deployed her pheasant-blasting skills"??!! Who writes this rubbish? Clearly someone who wouldn't know a Purdey from a Kalashnikov.
And honestly, "deployed her pheasant-blasting skills"??!! Who writes this rubbish? Clearly someone who wouldn't know a Purdey from a Kalashnikov.
Incidentally, what do you think of the photo of William, apparently firing rather low over the others' heads? It looks like a most unsafe shot, doesn't it. But then look at the others' eyelines - they are all looking to their front, apparently at his target. I reckon the very long lens has foreshortened the perspective, and he's actually firing at a target 20 or 30 yards in front of them.
Saturday, 22 November 2008
The best way to spend a sunny autumn Saturday
...is shooting pheasants with a great bunch of people. And lucky me, that's exactly what I was doing! Shot like a muppet on the first drive, but got the hang of it in time for the notorious Oaks drive, and managed three right-and-lefts in a row with the Silver Pigeon 20ga. Very satisfying!
More photos on my flickr page »
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Martin Salter's first pheasant
Here's a pose you won't often see from a Labour MP – Martin Salter with his first ever pheasant. The Reading West MP went rough shooting with TV chef Mike Robinson in Berkshire, and he loved it: ”I really enjoyed my day’s shooting with Mike Robinson and my colleagues from BASC in the beautiful Berkshire countryside. Rough shooting is much harder than it looks but it was good fun and helped me learn more about the sport.”
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Where's he been?
Two weeks go by and not a peep out of James? Yup, I've been to the land beyond mobile phones, broadband internet and skinny cappucino with an extra shot - the west coast of the Isle of Skye. It was fabulous to get away from all the daily bull and concentrate on the stuff that really matters - spinning for mackerel off the rocks, stalking rabbits, walking the hills for grouse (surely there must be one here somewhere?!), and even a few hours flyfishing for salmon (almost as scarce as the grouse).
Here are a few pictorial highlights. More on my flickr page. I'll add some more detailed posts once I've cleared the logjam in my inbox - including a report on field testing a selection of midge repellents...
Here are a few pictorial highlights. More on my flickr page. I'll add some more detailed posts once I've cleared the logjam in my inbox - including a report on field testing a selection of midge repellents...
In search of grouse
Sunset over Macleod's Tables
Sara caught a salmon on the Snizort!
Picking mushrooms
There must be a grouse round here somewhere!
So that's what the pocket on my Nomad fleece is for!
Heading home after spinning off the rocks
Some work better than others...
Emma with mackerel
Friday, 1 February 2008
Last day of the game season
I was lucky enough to be out on a shoot in Herts on the last day of the season. Glorious sunshine, great company, and some terrific birds - pheasants and redlegs mostly. The only drawback was, I was doing my shooting with a camera and not a gun. Still, you can't have everything!
Saturday, 26 January 2008
Friday, 28 December 2007
Emma's first pheasant
Christmas Eve saw the family out at a pheasant shoot near Horsham in Sussex, where my mum had generously given up her gun so my elder daughter Emma could get her first taste of driven pheasant shooting.
It's always a friendly, family-based shoot, and all the more so being so close to Christmas. It was touching to see everyone, from the beaters to the shoot owner, making Emma feel welcome - and genuinely thrilled when she shot her first pheasant.
The bird was kept separate from the main bag so that Emma could bring it home, and after a few days' hanging it will be turned into a very special meal.
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