Shooting Gazette – September 2019

WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2019 13

Letters

Infact,it isthereverseand
leavesa livequarrycarrying
pelletsfortherestofitslife.
ThepointI amtryingtomake
is,yes,shootingisfunbutalso
a seriouscommitmentwhen
harvestingourgame.Toshoot
wellyouhavetopractise,as
inanysport.Todefendmy
cornerI shootclaysweeklyfor
12 monthsoftheyearandgo
wildfowlingfrom1 September
to 20 February.
Theothersmallpoint–as
raisedattheendofBen’s
column–ishowtoinvolvethe
dogs.Quitesimply,Ben,take
yourhoundwithyoutothe
claygroundtoinstilsteadiness
whenshooting.Dogslove
allthebangsandatmosphere,
whichmeanstheyare
neverleftoutofthe
enjoyment.Theyenjoybeing
pattedandtheirpresence
willaddtotheinformal
atmosphereoftheday.
Bob Watcham, by email

Thebloomin’Beeb
IwonderhowmanyShooting
Gazettereadersareangryat
therecentanti-fieldsports
positiontakenbythelikesof
ChrisPackham,usingtheBBC
ashissoapbox,andwiththe
recentdecisionbytheBBCto
removefreelicensingfromthe
over75s.Itistimefor action
againsttheBBC.
Weaslicencepayersshould
nothavetosubsidisethewages
ofChrisPackhamandcoif
wedonotwishto.Perhapsit
is time an organisation like

theCountrysideAlliance

starteda campaigntoprotect

theinterestsoftheover75s,

particularlythoselivingin

remoteruralareaswheretheir

televisionmaybea lifeline.

TheBBCshouldbemadeto

raiseitsownrevenuelikeany

otherchannelprovidersand

weshouldbeallowedtoopt

outofwatchingtheBBCand

notpayinga licenceif wewish.

JustasSkyandVirginwilllet

youoptoutofsportsand movie

channelsif youwish.

Anycampaignonthisissue

bya countrysportsorganisation

wouldhavenationwidesupport

anddoourpublicimageno

endofgood.And,perhaps,

even if unsuccessful, make the

BBCthinkagainabouthowit

representscountrysports.

RobertMartin,byemail

Ed.Thanksforthis,Robert.

Thoseagedover 75 whoare

onPensionCreditwillstillbe

eligiblefora freelicence.And

youdon’tneeda TVlicenceif

youonlyusenon-BBCcatch-up

sites.Furtherdetailscanbe

found at tvlicensing.co.uk

Fondmemories

CongratulationstoShooting

Gazetteonreachingits30th

anniversary.Thankyou,too,for

thenamecheckineditorMartin

Puddifer’sacknowledgment

tocontributors(Behindthe

Headlines, Julyissue).Itmade

an old man very happy.

I‘joined’ShootingGazette

aroundissuenineor 10 at

theGameFair,whichwasin

theLakeDistrictandthen

sponsoredbytheCLA.I had

beencommissionedbythe

CLAtoactasitsin-house

photographer.MikeBarnes,as

wasusualforhim–juggling

threemeetings,twopress

conferencesandprobably

a debateintheGameFair

Theatre–camegallopingpast.

“Canyouphotographthe

clayshootingfinalforme

please,andposta selection

ofpicturesofftomebythe

endofnextweek?”heshouted

overhisshoulderashedashed

pastme.SoI did.Andthatwas

the start of a relationship

Vintage

page-turners

I enjoyedDavidWhitby’s

articleinJune’sShooting

Gazettewithregardtoold

magazinesandbooks.

Icameacrossthese

Gamekeepermagazines

(pictured)inanantiqueshop

inDevonrecentlyandcould

notresistpurchasingthem:

all 12 issuesfor 1937 and

1938.Theyarea fascinating

readandattimes,when

reading,I findmyself

laughingaloudatsomeof

thelettersthatreadershave

sentin,everythingfrom“Am

I allowedtoshoota catthat

istakingmypheasants?”to

“Have you any idea why my

ferretshavediedjustafter

beingfedoncat!“(To

which,incidentally,

someonehas

repliedadvising

that“cat’sentrails

andsexualorgans

shouldberemoved

beforefeedingthemto

ferretsasit’sbelievedthat

thesearepoisonous and can

causedeath).

However,onthemore

seriousside,a lotofthe

articlesareasrelevant

todayastheywerebackin

thosepre-wardaysandit

woulddonoharmforsome

ofthenewgenerationof

keeperstoreadthearticles

written by ‘pre-quad bike’

gamekeeperswhohad

a wealthofcountryside

knowledgegainedby

travellingaroundit ontheir

pushbikeswhilst going about

theirduties.

GeoffFarenden,

by email

Usefuladvicefrom

1937 and 1938.

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