As a boy, my heroes were a mixed bag. No poodle-haired rockstars nor crumple-suited Hollywood detectives for me. My heroes were a gamekeeper named Tony Butler, a sporting parson called David Hopley and Debbie Harry, lead singer of Blondie.
Tony and David had country lore oozing from every pore, Ms Harry had fewer fieldsports credentials. My son, Charlie, has built up a similarly diverse array of champions. He holds evolutionary biologist Professor Ben Garrod in the highest of regard, equally the actor Sam Neill, largely due to his role as the heroic palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. His other man of the moment is my friend Jim Allen.
The erstwhile Royal Marine is a superb Shot and a philosophical, knowledgeable deer manager. Therefore joy became unbound in the junior department of the Negus household when he was invited to join his hero and I for a morning in the high seat. Jim planned to sit up on one side of a mixed, mature wood, while the boy and I were tasked with perching on the other.
Charlie’s role was to shoot grey squirrels with my air rifle and I had the .243 on standby should a muntjac cross our path. The boy became the proud owner of his own air rifle last month, which he dubbed Black Death, but it is a low-powered beast and to my mind unfit for shooting live quarry.
Thus with my Gamo slung across his shoulder, the youngster followed in Jim’s footsteps as we three set out in Indian file from our vehicles to pick our way through the Stygian predawn wood.
Ghosts and ghouls
Denne historien er fra December 09, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra December 09, 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