With the ever-tightening COVID-19 restrictions in operation in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, there is little hope for those of us longing for a return to driven shooting. It seems pretty certain that most of us will have more birds on the ground at the end of this season than at the end of any other that we can remember.
Fitting in an extra day or two, or upping the bag on the days already in the diary for December, was quite doable after the November lockdowns. Trying to fit all the newly cancelled and postponed days into an already busy January was proving difficult before the latest lockdown was announced.
The question now is: what do you do with the birds you have left? Traditionally, hens were caught for laying pens and cocks were swapped with neighbours to change bloodlines and to avoid inbreeding.
The number of shoots with laying pens and rearing fields is much reduced now and, as far as DIY and self-run shoots are concerned, the cost of setting both up, plus the hours needed to manage a laying flock and rearing field, means it rarely fits in.
Poult suppliers may be looking for hen birds and it might be worth catching some up, but it has to be done during the shooting season to be legal. Of course, they may have enough already if they run a shoot themselves and haven’t managed to shoot all their days.
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Denne historien er fra January 20, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra January 20, 2021-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