Keeping it in the pink
An old muzzleloader is better out on the marsh than tucked away in a collection – and it can tumble geese as it did 150 years ago
Amodest bookshelf in my sitting-room has been my undoing. Tales of black powder and big-bore shotguns have pushed and moulded me into a traditionalist. We fowlers already walk the ground that our forefathers walked. We crouch and shiver just as they did in the same mud-filled gutters hoping to get within shot of the wildest and wariest of birds that grace our coasts. To take a step further into history, some turn to big-bore breechloading 10-, eight- and four-bores. Lovely beasts but expensive. For those with shallower pockets, a bigbore muzzleloader can transport you to those days of old and perhaps secure a goose for around the same price as the much-favoured modern semi-auto. But pursuing wildfowl along our coasts with an English, handmade muzzleloader can only be compared to St George wielding Ascalon to slay dragons.
Spending a few winters now with my 1865 Charles Osborne double nine-bore muzzleloader, I’ve come to find that time and planning are essential. I like to have all my kit ready to go at any moment: black powder and shot carefully weighed out in small, watertight phials; small tins of cards
and wads; capping tool filled with percussion caps. Leave any one of these behind and your plans for dinner are scuppered. February fowling on this stretch of coast is always challenging. Birds are wary and with food running low inland it can cause them to change flightlines with an annoying disregard for a fowler’s plans.
IN THE GUTTER
My position this morning is a gutter half filled with water around a mile out on the saltings. Sea purslane tops the ground. The odd suaeda bush stands alone like a sentry. Fumbling in my canvas bag I pull out a tube. It’s still dark so I shake it to my ear – shot. I lay it to one side. A cold hand goes into the lucky dip bag again and the softer sound of the next two tubes indicates the black stuff. Resting the gun muzzles up I tip a tube down each barrel being careful not to let the wind gust precious grains away. A card and greased wad follow. There is a slight resistance as I press the ramrod down, remembering ‘ram the powder not the shot’. I use an old three-piece cleaning rod. To break the gun’s original one, kept under the barrels, on my watch would be inconceivable so it is never used. Next come the 1⅝oz of BBS. Finally a card made from a beer mat to stop it all falling out.
The hammers have a reassuring click back to rest at half cock. With cold hands I’m thankful for my capping tool. I press them onto the gun’s nipples in the hope they will send the jet of flame into the barrels unhindered. Please no misfires.
Ready now, my attention turns to the north from where I hope the geese will come. Through the field glasses I can just make out dull shapes on the sand. Patches of water hold shelduck, gulls, oystercatchers and brent, all on the quarry list when my gun was made. Now her job is to harvest pinkfeet.
Their calls are unmistakeable and synonymous with this part of Norfolk. Their morning conversation rolls in volume building the anticipation as dawn breaks. A peek over my low parapet – none are flying except the single scout bird. I often see this behaviour. It passes wide.
I pour a warm brew from the flask and slide downward again. The gun rests beside me. The oiled barrels are exposed to the cold elements of the morning. It seems however much care taken with it I cannot halt its reaction to salt air. But it’s better out with me than tucked away in the corner of a collection, I tell myself.
I hear a purposeful rush of wings way out on the sands. Geese! Still finding their positions in the skein they pass wide to the west of me, out of shot. Behind them is another small lot. Thirty or so. Their flight is crabbing to the east. The urge to keep watching is strong but I must stay under cover and keep the dog low. My hand finds the grip of my nine-bore. Click, click – hammers back to full cock and she’s ready. With half a pupil behind the brim of my hat I watch as they come on. My normal preference is to leave the lead bird but with this maybe being my last chance at a goose this season I focus on it. Twisting my body as I rise, I mount the gun all in one smooth movement. Forty yards to my right the world slows, thoughts of lead are out of my mind. The only way to shoot a muzzleloader is instinct. The right hammer drops and she belches out. A split second of chaos, smoke, flame and the low boom that goes with black powder. The gun gives a positive shove to my shoulder. Through the smoke edge I catch a shape dropping. Instinctively the muzzles move to the next target. The second barrel fires but goes amiss. I send Gypsy to retrieve but she’s already gone. Time returns to normal as the smoke cloud gets carried away by the breeze and Gypsy returns with a goose.
Trees are a cornerstone of our landscape but we need more
Since 2010, the Woodland Trust’s Morewoods scheme has created in excess of 2,500 hectares of woodland, with more than two million trees having been planted across the UK.
“Planting trees and woods is a winwin for landowners,” says John Tucker, the Trust’s director of woodland outreach. “Return on investment can be impressive if the right tree is planted in the right place. Trees can reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, capture carbon and trap pollutants. They can slow the flow of flood water and provide shelter and shade for crops and livestock.
“In addition, they offer excellent sporting opportunities, providing valuable habitat for pheasants and other wildlife. A new wood provides attractive holding and nesting cover for birds. Then, as it matures, it transforms into quality roosting, holding and driving cover.”
Whether you manage a shoot or run a farm, trees can benefit your business. The Trust’s Morewoods scheme is ideal for anyone planting half a hectare or more. An expert adviser will discuss your needs and offer advice on the best species for the job, maintenance requirements and how to maximise returns. They’ll provide bespoke help, design the new wood and guide you through the application process. And the conservation charity’s quality assurance scheme guarantees the provenance of native trees, with every sapling supplied sourced and grown in the UK.
Available funding
The Woodland Trust’s no-obligation advice and support is available for eligible schemes, even if you decide not to plant. The Trust can provide generous funding and help with planting in some cases, as well as directing you to available stewardship payments for planting and ongoing management where applicable.
“Trees are a cornerstone of our landscape but we need more,” explains Tucker. “The UK’S tree cover is just 13%, compared to an average 38% in Europe. UK planting rates are at an all-time low and we’re losing trees every day to pests, disease and development. If we don’t act now, our surroundings will look terribly different in the future, in both town and country. We’re delighted to be working with landowners to build more resilient landscapes.”