Home///10-May-2023/In This Issue
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023Problems for early nestersThe low temperatures of April have had, and will continue to have, an impact on our early nesters, especially lapwings. The severe frosts a few weeks ago have rendered some eggs infertile; this is backed up by the first hatches in the north, some with only two chicks.The problem now is food supply, as it is too cold for the insect world to get going and all the newly hatched youngsters are going to need to find some protein. Curlew and many other waders are still to hatch and will have missed the frosts so, all being well, their numbers shouldn’t be impacted too severely.On the moor, the lack of heat has had an impact on the heather as it has not yet managed to green up after the winter…1 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023Problems for early nestersThe low temperatures of April have had, and will continue to have, an impact on our early nesters, especially lapwings. The severe frosts a few weeks ago have rendered some eggs infertile; this is backed up by the first hatches in the north, some with only two chicks. The problem now is food supply, as it is too cold for the insect world to get going and all the newly hatched youngsters are going to need to find some protein. Curlew and many other waders are still to hatch and will have missed the frosts so, all being well, their numbers shouldn’t be impacted too severely. On the moor, the lack of heat has had an impact on the heather as it has not yet managed to green up after…1 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023Aim for its noseIn January, I whiled away the New Year’s Day bank holiday meandering through the woods in search of a rabbit. While it is always a joy to be out in the woods, the rabbits well and truly beat me that day, and I returned home without a single bunny in the bag. It was very disheartening and, in truth, it set me back for the rest of the season. I had several frustrating days thereafter.“Early May has to be one of the most glorious times of the year”Such was my frustration with the whole day, I took myself off to a nearby clay ground to practise on rabbits; I think I shot at 50 clays, all of them flinging along the ground and bouncing erratically. By the end of the…7 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023TRAINING FOR PETSFifteen years ago, dog trainer Lez Graham spotted a gap in the market — there were numerous books on how to train working gundogs, but none that were aimed at training pet gundogs. Wanting to fill this gap, she started writing The Pet Gundog. It was first published in 2010 and soon became a bestselling book. As she explained in the introduction, her book was “for anyone who has a gundog breed living with them as a pet; you may, or may not, be interested in taking him out on a shoot, but want to know more about what makes you gundog tick and how to get the best out of it”. As all well know, most gundogs like nothing better than doing what they were bred for. Owners armed…2 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023They’ve not come down from a UFOPressing the television remote, trying to find something that did not involve cooking, gardening or interior design, I stumbled across a channel showing the original Star Trek series. Utter joy on a wet afternoon, though the children were totally bemused; couldn’t I see that the landscape was made of papier mâché, the scenery was a bit wobbly and that the Starship Enterprise was probably an Airfix model? Even worse, they said, was the non-woke depiction of female crew members — why did they all wear very short dresses with leather boots? Happily they didn’t stay around or they would have discovered that it wasn’t just human females that were so depicted: Captain James T Kirk was constantly falling for alien ladies with full figures wearing not much. Had those aliens…5 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023Stalking DiaryDavy Thomas is a professional deerstalker and estate manager in the HighlandsIt was shortly after dusk that it appeared. We had laid upon the cairn since well before sunset, to let the surrounding wildlife settle to our presence. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there it was, a vixen just 40 yards behind us, moving through the rocks. I couldn’t get in a shot; it was so close, and my reshuffling in an attempt to get a good rest had moved it off. Within an hour it returned and we managed to despatch it cleanly. A celebratory coffee was had, and then we settled back down for the night, waiting for the dog fox to appear.This had been a litter that was found high out and later than I would have preferred.…3 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023Stalking DiaryDavy Thomas is a professional deerstalker and estate manager in the Highlands It was shortly after dusk that it appeared. We had laid upon the cairn since well before sunset, to let the surrounding wildlife settle to our presence. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there it was, a vixen just 40 yards behind us, moving through the rocks. I couldn’t get in a shot; it was so close, and my reshuffling in an attempt to get a good rest had moved it off. Within an hour it returned and we managed to despatch it cleanly. A celebratory coffee was had, and then we settled back down for the night, waiting for the dog fox to appear. This had been a litter that was found high out and later than I would…3 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023Casting a fly in unlikely placesFly-fishing for trout and salmon on rivers has an accessibility problem. However hard we try to preach inclusivity, it is usually done in £500 waders with a £1,000 rod on a river owned by a friend. Even when I’ve written about the most glorious beats on Dartmoor through the Duchy of Cornwall or the Westcountry Rivers Trust, which are cheap and affordable, I’m usually stood in the middle of nowhere. In the UK, 17.2 million people live in households that don’t have a car. For readers of Shooting Times this probably comes as a surprise; it did to me. However, over the course of my short tenure as a contributor to this magazine, I have come across a number of reasons why living in a town, city or not having…7 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023TRAINING FOR PETSFifteen years ago, dog trainer Lez Graham spotted a gap in the market — there were numerous books on how to train working gundogs, but none that were aimed at training pet gundogs. Wanting to fill this gap, she started writing The Pet Gundog. It was first published in 2010 and soon became a bestselling book.As she explained in the introduction, her book was “for anyone who has a gundog breed living with them as a pet; you may, or may not, be interested in taking him out on a shoot, but want to know more about what makes you gundog tick and how to get the best out of it”. As all well know, most gundogs like nothing better than doing what they were bred for. Owners armed with…2 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023The Shooting Times Almanac 10 – 17 MAY 2023THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELDAnyone who owns a hairy dog will be all too aware of Galium aparine, better known to most as cleavers, goose grass or sticky willy, depending whereabouts in Britain you hail from. The annual wildflower is most adhesive at this time of year, readily attaching itself to the ears, chests and belly fur of spaniels with a Velcro-like persistence.Although also a bane to farmers and gardeners alike, thanks to its vigorous growth and crop-choking ways, cleavers do have many medicinal benefits. The plant is exceptionally rich in vitamin C; dogs seem to know this and you will often see your them nipping off the young tips with gusto. Cleavers also make a useful first field dressing — a handful pressed against a wound will stem the flow…2 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023The Shooting Times Almanac 10 – 17 MAY 2023THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELD Anyone who owns a hairy dog will be all too aware of Galium aparine, better known to most as cleavers, goose grass or sticky willy, depending whereabouts in Britain you hail from. The annual wildflower is most adhesive at this time of year, readily attaching itself to the ears, chests and belly fur of spaniels with a Velcro-like persistence. Although also a bane to farmers and gardeners alike, thanks to its vigorous growth and crop-choking ways, cleavers do have many medicinal benefits. The plant is exceptionally rich in vitamin C; dogs seem to know this and you will often see your them nipping off the young tips with gusto. Cleavers also make a useful first field dressing — a handful pressed against a wound will stem…2 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023Casting a fly in unlikely placesFly-fishing for trout and salmon on rivers has an accessibility problem. However hard we try to preach inclusivity, it is usually done in £500 waders with a £1,000 rod on a river owned by a friend. Even when I’ve written about the most glorious beats on Dartmoor through the Duchy of Cornwall or the Westcountry Rivers Trust, which are cheap and affordable, I’m usually stood in the middle of nowhere.In the UK, 17.2 million people live in households that don’t have a car. For readers of Shooting Times this probably comes as a surprise; it did to me. However, over the course of my short tenure as a contributor to this magazine, I have come across a number of reasons why living in a town, city or not having a…7 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023Aim for its noseIn January, I whiled away the New Year’s Day bank holiday meandering through the woods in search of a rabbit. While it is always a joy to be out in the woods, the rabbits well and truly beat me that day, and I returned home without a single bunny in the bag. It was very disheartening and, in truth, it set me back for the rest of the season. I had several frustrating days thereafter. “Early May has to be one of the most glorious times of the year” Such was my frustration with the whole day, I took myself off to a nearby clay ground to practise on rabbits; I think I shot at 50 clays, all of them flinging along the ground and bouncing erratically. By the end…7 min
Shooting Times & Country|10-May-2023They’ve not come down from a UFOPressing the television remote, trying to find something that did not involve cooking, gardening or interior design, I stumbled across a channel showing the original Star Trek series. Utter joy on a wet afternoon, though the children were totally bemused; couldn’t I see that the landscape was made of papier mâché, the scenery was a bit wobbly and that the Starship Enterprise was probably an Airfix model?Even worse, they said, was the non-woke depiction of female crew members — why did they all wear very short dresses with leather boots? Happily they didn’t stay around or they would have discovered that it wasn’t just human females that were so depicted: Captain James T Kirk was constantly falling for alien ladies with full figures wearing not much.Had those aliens landed on…5 min
