The Queen’s Gambit: not only an opening move in chess and a book by Walter Tevis, but also a fantastic series on Netflix. “What has this to do with ferreting?” I hear you cry. Well, for me, everything. Ever since I started ferreting, I have evaluated, scrutinised and reacted to everything that I have done. My biggest bugbear is getting it wrong but when you are dealing with the natural world, it inevitably happens from time to time. It is how you react to it that matters.
Like a ferreting Beth Harmon — Tevis’s orphaned chess prodigy — I used to visualise the mistakes, how to correct them and how it would all look when they were corrected. At the time everybody called this daydreaming because they did not understand me, but what I was doing was preparing for my future.
In my mind I would practise honing my skills and techniques, experiment with equipment and scrutinise the skeleton of my ferreting philosophy. I was preparing myself for the moment when the pressure got ramped up. You have to learn quickly when you are in the results business or else you will not succeed. And when it was time to grace the field with the ‘grand masters’ of my trade, I was instinctively on another plane. I knew how to outthink, outwork and visualise what was coming, rather than reacting to what had come and gone.
Suspicions
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