The sun starts to disappear behind Criffel and as the poet Gray would have written: “Leaves the world to darkness and to me.” There are few more peaceful ways to spend an evening than waiting for a duck in the gloaming of a Galloway day with only the owls and the whisper of the wind for company.
And as the Editor has asked me to pen something for Shooting Times’s “Fowling in the footsteps of the greats” series, there is no more fitting way to mark this week’s great: my uncle, Archie Blackett. But for his untimely death in 1970 at the age of 37, I would not in all probability be sitting by what was once his flight pond.
Archie lived and breathed ducks and geese. Living by the Solway shore in what was then the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright — now part of Dumfries and Galloway — it is hard not to be aware of them. He spent every available moment studying them, painting them and shooting them.
His carefully annotated game book is still in use and is the possession I would save first in a fire. Specially made for him in 1960 by Webster & Co of 44 Dover St, London W1, it has columns for seven species of geese and 13 species of duck, as well as the usual game birds.
From his game book I am able to trace his exploits. He was a good Shot and it was his habit to keep a tally of the number of snipe he bagged — the last one not long before his death was his 488th, not bad for someone still in his 30s. One entry describes a particularly good drive at Whitfield in which he shot 54 grouse.
Most seasons he was out on more than 60 days between August and February, usually rough shooting and flighting. He fed four flight ponds and each flight is meticulously recorded with time and wind direction.
Denne historien er fra January 02, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra January 02, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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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