Although distant, nothing can beat those memories in their gloss. For me, they can be summed up belly down in a summer-dried drainage ditch, grass-stained knees, insect-bitten cheeks, and the worn bluing of my BSA Airsporter peeping through the long grass, lining up with the bunnies in the field ahead.
“With his energy and bright white fur, acres clear the moment he arrives”
Since then the hunting ground of my youth has been mostly devoid of rabbits after some particularly bad years of myxomatosis. This left all my rabbiting a drive away on heavily grazed land, owned by farmers desperate for eradication rather than control.
Some might judge this, but I struggle to blame them with fields peppered with warrens and a rabbit festival held each evening. This shooting has been surgical, under a lamp, and not that fun. Even worse than this, it has occurred each time without my trusted sidekick — Bertie the Clumber — with his energy and bright white fur, acres tend to clear the moment he arrives.
Need for freedom
Esta historia es de la edición July 29, 2020 de Shooting Times & Country.
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Esta historia es de la edición July 29, 2020 de Shooting Times & Country.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside