Shooting Times & Country – 21 August 2019

Fowlers ban plastic wads

MerseaWildfowlersis toban
plasticwads.Atitsrecent
AGMtheclubdecidedto
insistthatallmembersand
guestsusefibreorother
biodegradablewads.The
movecomesaftertheclub’s
memberscollectedlarge
quantitiesofplasticwads
duringmarshclean-ups.
Committeemember
MartinCavietoldShooting
Times:“Steelshothasto
bestoppedfromtouching
thebarrelwallsandplastic
seemedtobetheonlyoption,
upuntilnow.Gamebore’s
SilverSteelFibreshot
cupcartridgeandthe
introductionoftheEco-wad
fromEleymeanwehave
cartridgesthatcovermost
ofourneeds.Withsome
membershomeloadingfibre
shotcupcartridges, this is
nowachievable.
“Wedon’tthinkfor
one minute that stopping

pollutionintheoceanwill

happenovernight,butweas

shootersshouldbedoingour

bit. If morewildfowlingclubs

weretofollowus,cartridge

manufacturerswouldhaveto

start offering more options

andgreateravailability.It

is ourbeliefthatshooters

shouldbemoreproactiveon

thisissue,ratherthanletting

ourenemiesbeatuswiththe

plasticwastestick before we

do anything.”

Deer Initiative is woundup

TheDeerInitiativeis tobe
woundup.The24-year-old
bestpracticeinitiativeis to
ceaseoperationsinMarch
2020.Theorganisation
wascreatedtopromote
bestpracticeinsustainable
deermanagementand
has been closely involved

withthedevelopmentof

thehighlysuccessfuldeer

managementqualification

(DMQ)system.

Morerecently,staff

fromtheinitiativehave

beeninvolvedindeveloping

thenewqualificationsfor

managing wild boar.

ShootingTimes
understandsthatthe
initiativeis a victimofcutsto
theDefrabudget.Defrawas
themainsourceoffunding
fortheDeerInitiative,but
thedepartmentalbudget
hasbeensignificantly cut
inrecentyears.
DIexecutivedirector
DavidJamsaid:“Ithasbeen
a verydifficultdecisionbut
it couldbesaidthatwehave
beenvictimsofourown
success,a factborneoutby
thenumberoforganisations
wefirstintroducedtothe
conceptofsustainabledeer
managementthatnowhave
theirownin-housedeer
managementstaff.
“TheDeerIntiative’swork
hasundoubtedlyledtoan
improvementinstandards
ofsafety,humanenessand
effectivenessandhelped
tonarrowthegapbetween
professionalandvolunteer
The Deer Initiative has helped to improve how deer are managed deer managers,” he added.

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 9

NEWS IN BRIEF

GamekeepersintheAngusGlenshave

wonplauditsforhelpingrescuea family

offour.Thepartybecamelostinthe

fogwhilewalkingonhillcalledMayar.

Keeperswereabletousetheirdetailed

localknowledgeandspecialistvehicles

toassistpoliceofficerswithgettingthe

partytosafety.Thisis notthefirsttime

keepershavehadtorescuelostwalkers

fromthehill.Therewasa similarrescue

lastAugustwhenanotherpartygot lost

and ended up in the wrong glen.

Gamekeeperssave

family in Angus

GunmakerPurdeyis launchinga new

claygun.ThePurdeySportingClays

Gunboastsa 5mmraisedrib—tapered

11mmto7mm—a highercomband

anergonomically designed grip and

palmswell.

Thegun’sfeatureshavebeen

designedtoa highstandard,with

intricatedetailsandspecificattention

totheall-importantbalance.The

speciallydesignedstockandthegrip

specificallyassiststheshooter’smount

andhandlingandreducesthefelt

recoilasmuchaspossible.Thetoprib

is ventilatedwitha stylish‘attacking’

formation,andthesideribsareof

anangled,double-vented design to

completethelook.

Prices start at £65,000.

Purdeylaunches

sporting clay gun

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All fowling clubs should be doing their bit to cut down on plastic