BACK
TO MENU
SHOOTING GAZETTE - JAN 04
A very happy New Year to you all - I fear that it is one fraught with danger
for all Field sports. Can there be any sentient shooter still foolish enough
to believe that were NuLab to outlaw hunting that they would not then come
after shooting? They made a promise? If you have not learned what NuLab's
promises are worth by now, then you are indeed living in Flaky Pheasant
Land - along with the BASC spokesman who said that he thought a hunting
ban would be good for shooting, as it would encourage disgruntled hunters
to pick up a gun. I know and like the man in question (I will not name
him and shame him) but I know from experience that he is not the brightest
bunny in the burrow. Does he not know that the LACS and its nasty chums
have complied a comprehensive and devastating dossier on the sleazier side
of shooting? We all know that there are certain shoots whose practices
may be immensely lucrative, but certainly cannot be listed under the heading
of Sport and which certainly contravene the Code of Good Shooting Practice
- a document which now seems to be gathering dust and disregard on the
shelf. BASC sometimes appears to think that it can sup with the Devil and
avoid Damnation. I thought of all this when I was on the way to our local
Declaration Day. I am glad to say that there were a lot of shooting people
there, who did sign the Declaration, but I passed two shoots on the way
who had obviously chosen to ignore the whole thing and who deserved a left
and right in their collective rear echelon. They would do well to remember
that shooting is a Field Sport and that pheasants are not clay pigeons
with wings. I have the honour of being on the judging panel for the 'Purdey
Shooting and Conservation Award' and I am glad to say that the judges take
a firm line on applicants who are not deemed to meet the high standards
that all sporting shoots should aspire to. I went to Hertfordshire
the other day to be on the panel of a seminar for GWP owners. These fine
and handsome dogs are in danger precisely because
they are fine and handsome. This means that many people buy them as fashion
accessories and totally ignore the fact that they are first and foremost
working dogs who love to work. Their frustration at being denied their
birthright can lead to wrecked furniture and mangled livestock. They are
also physically and mentally powerful, which means that in well meaning,
but unskilled, hands, they can become a disaster waiting to happen. When
it does happen, then it is all too often the bullet or the rescue home.
I have mentioned my Tigger before. He had been through, in several senses,
3 homes before he came to me. He was a 15month old hooligan, who did not
even know his name, or would not answer to it if he did. This was why that
indomitable lady, Joyce Parks, who runs GWP rescue, was determined to find
him a working home. I was fortunate that Norman, the Head Ranger at Grizedale,
gave me a good chit. The Dragon Lady (a title into which my wife has slipped
quite seamlessly) says that Tigger and I are meant for each other, as we
are each as daft as the other. The Captain drove Tigger and me to
the Forest the other day. It was to be Tigger's first serious outing. He
is reasonably well behaved now, but
is so entranced by the scent of deer, that I had him firmly anchored to
my belt. I was trying out my new 'tac' sling for the first time - too many
'firsts' you may be thinking. It came to pass that a little yeld doe presented
herself nicely at c100 yards. Tigger sat obligingly. Things started to
go wrong. The harness of the tac sling got embrangled with the binoculars.
My tripod stick got in a muddle. In short I finished up taking a sloppy
shot, which I was, and am, ashamed of. The doe evaporated. I can't say
more because at the 'ker-boom' of the rifle Tigger went mad - wrapping
the lead round my legs and trying to leap up and lick my face at the same
time. This distracted me. Order was restored and we set out for the spot.
From the paint and pins, the doe was hard hit. Tigger sat quivering whilst
I put on the bell collar, "
Find…" I said. I was going to add "the deer", but
the dog had gone, like a rocket, into 100 acres of Sitka. To cut the story
short, the dog did indeed 'find the deer' - his first. So the system worked,
but it did not deserve to and there will have to be some intensive 'dry
training' before I try it again.
|
