tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80096433559821172762009-07-14T15:31:06.936+01:00James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.ukBlogger300125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-88338811899414474652009-07-12T20:53:00.006+01:002009-07-12T21:28:25.349+01:00

Today I visited the splendid 2nd International Festival of Falconry, at the Englefield Estate near Reading in Berkshire. It's a fabulously colourful spectacle, with falconers from all over the world flying in to demonstrate their art and take part in the Parade of Nations in the grand ring. More photos on my flickr page.I saw HRH Prince Andrew presented with a male gyr falcon by His Highness

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-77205289796940372732009-07-11T11:22:00.006+01:002009-07-11T20:45:24.625+01:00

There's a legend round these parts of a man named Sean who lives in the woods. He even has a facebook group dedicated to him. The stories go that he eats rabbits, squirrels and mushrooms, was once in the army, and is partial to rum. There are wilder claims about him too, but you know how these things spread and grow.The stories remind me of Tammylan, the hermit in Enid Blyton's Children of Cherry

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-88883803946794000392009-07-10T23:38:00.004+01:002009-07-11T00:58:52.092+01:00

I see from the server logs that a certain Kit Davidson has been trawling this blog and others searching the name 'POWA' (the anti organisation 'Protect Our Wild Animals') - which reminded me that we hadn't heard anything recently about the murder charges against gyrocopter hunt monitor Bryan Griffiths.The following report appeared in the Stratford Observer, but has since been taken down. There's

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-73588745375901091062009-07-07T23:20:00.004+01:002009-07-07T23:31:46.990+01:00

Charlie Jacoby interviews WLSS senior instructor Alan Rose for fieldsportschannel.tv. We're working with them to produce a series of articles on how to shoot typical quarry - first up, partridges, in our September issue.Out of interest, this was shot on the new office toy, a Flip HD video camera which is about as 'point and shoot' as they come, and plugs straight into the USB on my laptop.

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-13647396848138435102009-07-07T17:13:00.002+01:002009-07-08T08:35:57.069+01:00

The latest copy of Sporting Shooter, and some other magazine, on the coffee table at West London Shooting School.

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-45005727138460816392009-07-03T08:38:00.009+01:002009-07-03T10:01:54.088+01:00

This press release from the RSPB puts shooters at the top of their 'blame list' for attacks on peregrine falcons. To be fair, they also list other groups who might go after peregrines or their nests: pigeon fanciers, illegal falconers, and egg collectors.It's no secret that peregrines are a major problem for people who keep racing pigeons. Check out this thread on a pigeon racing site - the

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-69945727596745460702009-07-01T16:52:00.009+01:002009-07-01T17:50:31.350+01:00

Spot the shooter: with a hide like this, the pigeons stand little chance of seeing you.Today, assistant editor Rebecca and I went to see the guys at ukshootwarehouse to learn how to built the perfect pigeon hide. Father and son Phil and Will Beasley run an impressive sporting agency providing quality pigeon shooting for paying guests. And Matt Hance runs the equipment side of the operation,

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-25883947629268741212009-06-30T12:28:00.003+01:002009-06-30T12:33:41.863+01:00

We've taken delivery of our office copies of the CLA Game Fair issue - and it's a stunner! I particularly like the cover photo, and the absence of the red strip at the top - I think the white 'Sporting Shooter' on top of the photo just looks altogether better and does this outstanding photo (by Don Brunt) justice. I reckon the content this month is some of our best ever too, but then I would say

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-68069998331712229062009-06-29T17:11:00.007+01:002009-06-29T17:34:36.392+01:00

David Taylor, MP for North West Leicestershire, had to admit that some of his expenses claims showed a "lack of judgement", and cashed in an ISA to pay back £8,003.In another staggering lapse of judgement, he is sponsoring this Early Day Motion, spoon-fed to him by the antis, ranting about game shooting and supposed "suffering", pest control, cartridge cases and "disruption to native wildlife".

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-17634977381977377762009-06-29T15:33:00.007+01:002009-06-29T16:30:58.094+01:00

You'd expect alarmist, misleading nonsense from the League Against Cruel Sprouts. And their risible anti-snaring campaign doesn't disappoint."Norfolk pet owners warned of snare danger" screams their latest press release - which highlights a handful of cases where pets were killed or injured in illegal snares, and then calls for a ban on legal snares. Because the people who're already breaking the

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-14458450492025314562009-06-24T15:36:00.004+01:002009-06-24T22:21:35.167+01:00

Well fancy that, here's me on the telly. Almost - this is a short programme produced by FieldsportsChannel.tv, which you can view online but not yet on the actual TV. It's a behind-the-scenes look at how we produce Sporting Shooter each month.Also featured are Harriet and Rebecca hard at work in the office (while I swan about chatting to TV crews), our celebrity chef Mark Gilchrist, Chloe Finch

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-51301687788480179662009-06-24T14:32:00.004+01:002009-06-24T14:41:07.766+01:00

Shooters are still trying to work out whether they're for or against the latest document on Scotland's deer, wDNA: Scotland's Wild Deer, A National Approach [downloadable as a pdf here]. At least it appears to recognise the value of wild venison to the rural economy. On the other hand, there are some alarming comments - not least (as Andy Richardson pointed out to me) this reference on p7 to '

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-30831578372635380502009-06-23T12:04:00.002+01:002009-06-23T12:10:02.468+01:00

Terrierman has an interesting post about some research in the US, looking into the cost to the public if hunting and trapping didn't exist.Basically, it would mean 50,000 more injuries amd $3.8bn repair bills per year due to road traffic accidents, additional healthcare costs of $12.45bn p.a. for rabies alone, and $972m in damage to homes by pest species.If hunters didn't control wildlife for

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-33343636765377038752009-06-23T11:54:00.004+01:002009-06-23T12:01:48.319+01:00

You'd think that Iranians had plenty on their mind at the moment, with the upheaval in their country brought home by this poignant video of the last seconds of Neda, a protester shot in Tehran.Oddly, the counter on this site shows an ever increasing number of visitors from Iran, looking at this post about Danny Sumpter's preferred method of snaring rabbits. The diagram of how to set the snare is

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-44334463467178200052009-06-18T21:58:00.004+01:002009-06-18T22:17:44.528+01:00

A while back I got the following email:hi my name is Jake on june the 7 2009 i killed my first rabbit with my weihrauch hw95 air rifle .22 cal. when i went there were there were not that many rabbits so please can you tell me what is the best time to go rabbit hunting throw the day and also when i go rabbit hunting is it crusial to were camoNow you could write a book (or produce a 70-min dvd!) on

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-55899932799887211312009-06-18T14:33:00.004+01:002009-06-19T14:19:09.746+01:00

Fruitloop antis are criticising US president Obama for swatting a fly on TV.“We support compassion for the even the smallest animals," says Bruce Friedrich, VP for Policy at PETA.The organisation has sent Obama a 'humane' fly trap, and sounds slightly miffed that they haven't had a thank-you note yet!BBC website: 10 ways to swat a fly >

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-59302959168182762312009-06-16T14:27:00.003+01:002009-06-16T14:33:40.936+01:00

This newspaper clipping is doing the email rounds - but no-one seems to know where it came from. Is it for real? I can well believe it.Only slightly less naive is this statement:"Our vision is to work for a world in which all humans respect and live in harmony with all other members of the animal kingdom"A Miss World contestant? No, it's the RSPCA - in a recruitment ad for a 'Major Donor and

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-27649249612342932902009-06-10T14:12:00.007+01:002009-06-16T14:40:52.302+01:00

Went to feed the ferrets this morning - and this was the scene. The rascals had been busy through the night, and burrowed under the wire.The most likely hiding place was under the garden shed, and a bit of basic tracking confirmed that something was under there, so I set a live-catch mink trap baited with a few bits of ferret food, and went to have a cup of tea. Shortly afterwards...Three back in

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-22904614695824336012009-06-05T21:46:00.009+01:002009-06-05T23:18:30.948+01:00

I'm hearing rumours of an imminent threat to the use of lead shot and bullets in Britain. My sources suggest there may be moves to set this one rolling in parliament sooner rather than later.Perhaps it's coincidence that I've recently had a press release from CIC, the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation, announcing that the council has adopted a recommendation to phase out

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-88560104490429138962009-06-04T19:53:00.017+01:002009-06-12T22:34:30.032+01:00

I'm adding to this as the email conversation continues. It's long, but worth reading as an insight into the warped minds of the antis. Here is someone who professes to hate cruelty but wants to wipe farmers, shooters etc off the face of the earth, and feed people to lions. Her solution to wildlife management appears to involve darting and castrating all male deer, and darting and catching foxes

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-11571131048945313722009-06-04T09:20:00.013+01:002009-06-04T13:41:58.002+01:00

This is Kevin Hunter from Nuneaton in Warwickshire - I mentioned him before in a previous post (A miscarriage of justice?). My photo shows him pointing to the gap on the wall where his gun cabinet used to be. That was before he was arrested, held for 11 hours in a police cell, questioned, his house searched and his guns and ammo taken away, and his certificates revoked. That was in April 2008.

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-78504960789327089092009-05-30T12:24:00.003+01:002009-05-30T12:39:01.685+01:00

Take a look at FieldsportsChannel.tv, a new web-based video channel focusing on all types of - yes, you guessed it - field sports. It's the brainchild of Charlie Jacoby, well known to regular readers of Sporting Shooter as a former editor and regular contributor.The channel hasn't officially launched yet, but it already has some great programmes to watch - including the one pictured above where

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-52208417199926670922009-05-29T09:22:00.004+01:002009-05-29T09:33:06.816+01:00

BASC have released a new video detailing the success of their Green Shoots programme. They've cunningly made it impossible to embed, so to watch it you'll have to go to their website here...I first saw this video at the reception at the House of Lords a couple of weeks ago. It's been produced by BASC's new media man, Dave Harper (who writes each month in Sporting Shooter), and a very competent

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-40060293160854127322009-05-28T14:12:00.007+01:002009-05-29T12:57:47.034+01:00

WLSS instructor Ed Sandys with FHM's High Street HoneysCharlotte Thomson (left) and Charlotte McKennaAs part of their promotion of National Shooting Week, the Countryside Alliance arranged for two of FHM magazine's High Street Honeys to try clay shooting at West London Shooting School. The CA's Rob Gray points out that they've also achieved "plenty of serious coverage, including lengthy

James Marchingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109578008088776428james@sportingshooter.co.uk2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8009643355982117276.post-74837431319137628362009-05-28T12:47:00.005+01:002009-05-29T09:15:07.720+01:00

News is breaking of a man dead and 7 police taken to hospital after being exposed to a 'noxious substance' at Burpham Court Farm, Guildford, Surrey. BBC story here. Reports say the initial call to the emergency services was about a domestic dispute - raising the possibility that this was a deliberate attack with a pesticide of some sort. Nasty.UPDATE: This report in the Sun suggests it was a

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