A shooting acquaintance once bought himself a black labrador — a field trials champion, no less. He spent a lot of time abroad and used to lodge the dog with a keeper friend until he returned and needed to take it shooting.
On one occasion, after a very good drive, with slain pheasants littering the woodland pond in front of his peg, he happily directed his lab left and right, with one bird after another brought flawlessly to hand.
Cheerily commenting to the neighboring Gun, who had sauntered over to watch proceedings, he said, proudly: “Good my dog, isn’t it?” To which his companion replied, “It may well be, but that is my dog. Yours buggered off halfway through the drive.”
Few British shooting days are complete without the appearance of a labrador retriever; either a barely controllable peg dog sitting alongside a city-based Gun, behind the line as part of a pack of superbly trained pickers-up, or padding along at a key point in the beating line, under the watchful eye of the head keeper. The labrador is an essential figure in any still life of modern shooting.
It is used as a stalking companion, a rough shooter’s all-rounder, and as a wildfowler’s goose-getter, working in the most arduous of conditions. It is also a great family pet.
In fact, labrador registrations with the Kennel Club currently number more than 35,000 per annum, making them our most popular gundog breed, by a long way.
Denne historien er fra June 30, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra June 30, 2021-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
