Most mammalian predators have two forward-facing eyes, which gives them binocular vision. This ability to focus on an object with both eyes and produce in the brain a single image from two independent light sources — the eyes — allows such predators to make a judgement.
For a cheetah stalking through the savannah into a herd of gazelle, it is a judgement of timing and distance. Launch too soon and the hunt will be unsuccessful. Too many poorly judged hunts in a row and the tipping point on the graph of survival is passed; weakness and death will surely follow.
Game shooters face the same dilemma but for us the judgement is an ethical one. Is the bird we are about to shoot a sporting shot or is the shot unethical?
Moral code
For many of us the answer is found in a moral code we were taught as youngsters but we should never lose sight of the fact that we are the lucky ones. We are fortunate to have had a family mentor to bring us into the sport. If that is the case, a New Year’s resolution worth considering would be to bring someone into the sport who has not had that chance.
One of the first things we learn is that a shot too close is unsporting because it spoils the meat for the table. How many of us actively consider whether a shot out of range is also unsporting because the risk of wounding becomes too great for it to be an ethical choice? Should both my children wish to progress from air rifles to live quarry shooting — and I make no assumptions — I will know they will have graduated into ethical sportsmen when they pass up a shot because it is out of their effective range. To do so will take practice, an accurate judgement of distance, and a conscience. But how do we achieve that and how do we know if we are accurate in our judging of distance?
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