Letter of the month Madge is game
Southfield shoot in Gloucestershire may not possess the prettiest of gundogs, but they are keen, as we see from this French bulldog performing a great retrieve. Brooke Eastern on our shoot tells us that he has taught Madge all she knows.
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I write concerning the letter Body Count, published in the November issue of your fine magazine.
I cannot believe that someone who claims to have been a shooter for more than 45 years could be so ignorant in the ways of the countryside. Did he really think all those rabbits were shot for the fun of it by some yobs running around the countryside armed to the teeth and dressed like Rambo? Does he not realise that rabbits are one of the most problematic pests encountered by farmers throughout the UK, estimated to cost them around £260million per year?
Perhaps he should speak to some landowners or gamekeepers to see what they would do when faced with such a pest that is a threat to their livelihood. I’m pretty sure every one of them would happily see 500 rabbits returned to their maker in one night.
The letter writer obviously doesn’t appreciate the work that goes into putting those lovely pheasants up in the air for him to shoot on a Saturday afternoon. Were it not for farmers being able to make a living from their land, it would not be available for him to shoot over.
Rob Maultby, via email
Some years ago, David Garrard had a section in Sporting Gun named Cartridge Clinic that specialised in homeloading. This had a great following and it would good if an expert in this field could restart it. Finally, there are a number of small companies that can supply all the components needed for homeloading. Mick H, via email Ed – Good to hear your thoughts, Mick. Let’s find out if other readers agree with you and I will see what I can do. What are your thoughts on using triplebarrelled shotguns on a driven pheasant day? If I were to turn up to a shoot with a three shot semi-automatic, it would likely be frowned upon. What do you think the consensus would be about shooting game with such a gun? I think that if you can’t hit a bird with two shots then it’s beaten you and deserves to live for another day.
I think the concern with many people when they see a semi-auto on a shoot is for safety, in that it’s difficult to tell if the gun is loaded. At least you don’t get that with the triple-barrelled Akkar shotgun, but I’m with you in that I believe in giving driven birds a sporting chance. Two shots is plenty and the semi-auto and triple-barrelled shotguns should be used for the type of shooting that they are designed for.