Living off the land is a very green sort of thing to do, so any association with shooting may not appeal to those vegans among us. However, the reality is that beaters have all sorts of chances to top up from nature as they tap. Far more like snacking than foraging – a berry here and a nut there, rather than filling a hand-crafted trug with chanterelles – it’s still the ultimate additive-free fodder to add another dimension to your ‘ealthy hout-door ‘obby.
Obviously, this does not grant the right to drift out of line to browse the available nibbles, risking the keeper’s wrath, but if time and alignment should allow, there’s no harm in grabbing chances as they come.
So, let’s start back at the beginning with September partridges – with apologies to the grousers, but heather moorland does not provide much of nature’s bounty. Well, there are bilberries, whortleberries, blaeberries, whinberries and winberries, but they are all names for the same berry. Sorry. I must also apologise for the sad fact that by now much of what follows will have long been munched by passing wildlife. But at least next season you’ll be ready…
In a good year, hedgerow shrubs, bushes and copse edges will bend under the weight of hazelnuts and blackberries. Where the nuts are concerned, they will be milky, with easily cracked shells and a sour thin skin covering the kernel. Rub this off with a thumb and the cleaned nut will taste like no other hazelnut – and no way like the husky dry things others may by now have munched to help celebrate Christmas.
Time plays a part in this enjoyment though: wait for the shells to harden and go brown all over and the squirrels and mice will beat you to it every time. Pick when you can as you pass by – as long as the shell has started to turn from green to brown, the nut will have formed and it will be easy to crack.
Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Sporting Shooter.
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Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Sporting Shooter.
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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RSPB gives mixed message on shooting
Having recently attended the RSPB’s virtual AGM, Conor O’Gorman discusses the outcome of the charity’s year-long review of game bird shooting
Causeway for concern
Alan Jarrett’s renewed interest in reading takes him down memory lane to an offshore island duck flight that very nearly ended in disaster
Through a purple patch
The Garrows Estate is taking a conservation-focused approach to restoring the wildlife populations and biodiversity on the Scottish heather moorland.
When the wheels fall off
Losing form on a day’s shooting can be infuriating, especially if you’ve been shooting like a god up to that point. Simon O’Leary looks at some common causes and how to remedy them
Beaches, books & bad behaviour!
The annual Kay family vacation to Northumberland offers a chance to give the cockers a blast on the beach – although they don’t always shower themselves in glory, as Ryan Kay recalls...
Using the Stop whistle
Now you’ve instilled the basics, it’s time to up the ante with some more tricky distance work. Howard Kirby explains how to take the core Stop whistle command to the next level
The humble teal
They may be tiny, but as far as Rupert Butler is concerned, the appeal of this little duck is huge. He recalls some of his most memorable nights in pursuit of these aerial acrobats
Fab all-rounder
Mike is impressed with the Fabarm Elos B2 Field Notte, which offers great value for money, is suited to fieldwork or clays and is future-proofed for use with steel in all choke constrictions
CALL OF THE WILD
Dom Holtam reconnects with one of the purest forms of shotgun shooting as he walks-up woodcock over pointing dogs in the Scottish Highlands
A yen for the Fens
Tony Jackson recounts a memorable duck flight over an area of Fenland in Norfolk with his friend and author, the late Alan Savory
