Shooting Times & Country Magazine
Heady hotspot
James Sutcliffe finds our smallest native deer are thriving, with Aberdeenshire a quality source
September seems to have been all about roe for our measuring service. While we haven’t had huge numbers of heads pass through our hands, there have been some seriously impressive, and indeed significant, heads submitted. Let’s start with R Aitken’s silvermedal buck. A lovely example of the species in its own right, but of more importance is that this is the first medal roebuck we have measured that comes from Derbyshire. Evidently our smallest native deer are gradually populating the county, and clearly doing quite well when they get there.
Moving on, I’m sure the two platinum-medal bucks from Aberdeenshire caught your eye as much as they did mine. I had the pleasure of chatting with A Johnstone, who let me know that this was the biggest roebuck he has seen in more than 40 years of stalking. He puts the increase in quality down to milder winters and careful herd management, something we should all be striving to do.
With a total of five of this month’s heads hailing from Aberdeenshire, we can see that this area of Scotland has cemented itself as a hotspot for quality roe populations. A look at the records shows that Aberdeenshire can go toe to toe with the English power counties for roe, such as Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset.
As I write this, the weather is changing and the leaves are starting to turn golden, meaning that for many of us the priority will be switching from roebucks to our larger deer species. Whatever shooting prospects are on your horizon, I wish you all the best and will leave you with a line from Mr Johnstone that struck true to me: “Roe are such fascinating beasts, and I never tire of being in the field watching their behaviour.”
I’m sure anyone that has spent time watching these little deer will know exactly what he means, and it’s worth noting that a lot of the pleasure of stalking comes from simply being in nature. It’s not all about pulling a trigger.
If you have a head you would like to submit for measurement, or require more information, email BASC’S deer team at deer@basc.org.uk
Dacia’s no-frills Duster burst on to the scene in 2010 and since then the affordable SUV has grown in popularity. Dacia has given the Duster a bit of a makeover in the past couple of years and added an automatic gearbox option, but alas only the twowheel-drive version has been given special treatment. Instead, we’re having a play with the higher-spec Prestige Blue dci 115 4x4 version. Let’s go and see if we can get it stuck.
On first impressions, the Duster looks quite smart. It’s certainly not a bad effort for a ‘budget’ vehicle. Based on styling alone, it looks like it could be fun. The silhouette remains similar, but with a few more interesting angles.
I like the ruggedness of it, with its iron-blue metallic paintwork, chrome trims and 17in alloys. The front and back have had some restyling, too. A chrome grille and trims add to the ruggedness and it’s all finished off with fancy Y-shaped LED headlamps. It all works well together.
Under the bonnet is a diesel 1.5 dci engine with all the usual eco-gadgets fitted. The little 1.5 kicks out 115bhp and 260Nm of torque. It’s not masses of power, but at a little under a tonne and a half, the Duster is relatively light and more than capable of towing its own weight. It can also launch itself to 62mph in a moderate 10.2 seconds and has a top speed of 108mph. The range has three choices of petrol engine, two diesel versions and a bi-fuel engine. However, if you want a 4x4, the 1.5 dci is the only option.
The Duster sports a reasonably sized boot — certainly enough room for luggage, kit or shopping. A couple of dogs will fit in snugly, as do around six(ish) bags of wheat, to use the standard scale. The gun slip fits in
“Crossing tramlines gives the suspension a workout, but the Duster handles it well”
THE NEW DUSTER is a pretty good allrounder and I enjoyed our week-long affair.
It’s got just the right amount of kit and entertainment, and the build quality is reasonable. Despite Dacia being branded a budget manufacturer, it doesn’t feel cheap. It’s capable of some off-piste action, as well as being a comfortable runaround. I do wonder how much of a toll prolonged off-road use would take on the Duster, though. The fuel economy seemed good, as the gauge didn’t move far in a week.
So how much for this latest Duster? Being the higher-spec version, it has a price tag to match, but in the greater scheme of things, it’s pretty good value. With the addition of metallic paint and a spare wheel, this model comes out at £22,590 on the road.