Over the past few months, new words have entered our daily lexicon. We have all become accustomed to coronavirus, lockdown, and furlough, not one of us spared the dread of contracting the deadly COVID-19 disease.
Life in the countryside continues unabated, however, and woodpigeon, no respecters of human frailty, are still denuding farmers’ spring crops. The dilemma for us serious pigeon shooters is whether we can justify continuing to offer crop protection to farmers who clearly still need it. Recreational decoyers often do not understand how much time and effort go into finding a situation that could lead to a significant number of pigeons ending up in the bag, the only surefire way of keeping damage to a minimum. Regular reconnaissance is essential if you are going to end up on the right field at the right time, something I doubt would convince the average policeman was an ‘essential’ journey: “Yes officer, I have just driven 10 miles to check if any pigeon is eating farmer Jones’s peas.”
This has meant we have had to rely on the farmers themselves judging whether enough damage was occurring to their crops to ask us to do something about it. Farmers have many talents but, in my experience, one of them is not the ability to spot when a big bag of pigeon can be made.
Phone call
Denne historien er fra July 2020-utgaven av Sporting Gun.
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Denne historien er fra July 2020-utgaven av Sporting Gun.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Thermal spectrum
Paul Austin explores both ends of the thermal market with latest high-end release from Zeiss alongside a surprising entry-level offering from Xinfrared
Roe, rucks and new ground
Jon Snowdon and his team have much to keep them busy and a new tool to help them
Tales from a lifetime of foxing
Join Mike Powell as he explores the evolving world of fox shooting, drawing from a career that spans seven decades
Fox rot about Charlie
Patrick Hook responds to claims that fox numbers are dangerously on the wane
The sniff of success
Join Ryan Kay as he navigates the fascinating dynamic between a handler and their canine companion
Adventures of Nick & Ted
A new chapter in the histories of Sporting Gun and Sporting Shooter has Nick Ridley reflecting on the dogs he has trained over the years he has been associated with the magazines
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Vet's advice
Gundogs Q&A
No problem goes unsolved as Sporting Gun puts your questions to the gundog experts
Stop-start!
Fran Ardley continues her training tips on disciplining your dog to the stop whistle and the exercises you need to do
Gundogs at the Game Fair
Organising the Game Fair's prestigious gundog competitions: behind-the-scenes with Francesca Prentice