The long, mellow, somewhat miserable month of January is often received with an air of blandness. The festive party atmosphere and flashing lights of Christmas have now passed, and the anticlimax, at the advent of a new year, is here… again!
As goes the old adage of ‘every cloud…’, though, you still have the opportunities of one more month in the field, a saving grace to sweeten the deepest post-Christmas melancholy.
Should you have been fortunate enough to shoot throughout the season, you will have noticed the pattern of physical change within the birds: strength of wing, speed of flight, general condition akin to that of a well-trained athlete. Your approach to shooting must now be of equal prowess – a miss-mount or stuck feet will most definitely ensure you lose the game. Now is the time to rebuff your mistakes from earlier in the season and ensure you entertain only fluid, clean shooting.
Footwork
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Sporting Shooter.
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Denne historien er fra February 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.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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
