Spring Into Action

Barry Hearn prepares his shoot for an exciting year’s hunting

I enjoy every season, but there’s something truly special about spring. This is when I begin my preparations to build on what I already know about my shoots, and to plan my forthcoming campaigns. That planning begins, as always, with a conversation with the landowner or farm manager, and this is one aspect of hunting that is frequently ignored, or at least not given its full importance. I have a great relationship with those who give me permission to shoot on their land, and that includes being in regular contact with them.

FORMING THE PLAN

From these conversations, I learn of any planned changes to the landscape, including crop rotations and what’s being planted when and where. I’ll also be advised of livestock movements and additions to the storage facilities, and I’ll often be introduced to new staff members who I’m likely to meet during my pest control duties. This is essential information and it will be supplemented by reports of specific vermin problems and concerns about particularly vulnerable crops.

With my notes made – proper ones, not just the mental kind that can so easily be forgotten – I can visit my shoots and establish the groundwork for the coming season. This stage of my preparation is so important, and I’ll usually make two or three visits to become as sure as I can be that what I’m about to put in place really does represent ‘the best-laid plans’. Nothing’s ever certain in hunting, but experience has proved beyond doubt that an ounce of consideration is worth a ton of cure.