Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

40 SPORTING GUN M AY 2019 http://www.shootinguk.co.uk

Our shoot

GAMEKEEPING

Mucky business

I’vebeena fanofMuckBootssince

I wasgivena pairofthecompany’s

classichalf-neoprene,half-rubberwellie

bootstotestlastyear.Theywerefirm

favouritesofmineformanyreasons

andlastedwell.I havenowbeengiven

a pairofitsSummit8inlace-upbootsto

test.I justhopetheydon’tdisappoint.

Myfirstimpressionsaregood.They

lookwellmadeandaresaidtobe

completelywaterproofaswellaswarm

andbreathable.Acommonproblem

formewiththisstyleofbootisgetting

mybigfeetintotheminthefirstplace.

Oftenthelacesdon’tallowthetopofthe

boottobeopenedupenoughformyfeet

toslideineasilyandthematerialinside

theheelcatches,stoppingeasyaccess.

Perhapsitisjustmyfeet,butitcanbe

a realpain.Luckily,thesebootsdon’t

havethatproblemandI canputthemon

easilyandtheinsideheelisslippery.The

solelooksgood,too,withplentyofdeep

treadtohelpwhenitgetsmuddy.I can’t

seecomfortbeinganissueona long

shootday,asthereisplentyofflexibility

whereneededbutgoodsupportaround

theankles.Onlytimeanda fewmileswill

tellbutstraightoutoftheboxtheyfeel

great.I’llreportbackaftera fewmonths

ofwearandletyouknowif theyareup

to the challenges of real-world keepering.

isabout30cmwideandhigh,andfoldthe
excesswireback.Don’tcutit away,justfoldit
backsothatyoucanputit backinplaceafter
catchingallthepheasantsyouneed,andthe
cutcanberepairedwithcabletiessothepanel
isgoodtogofornextseason’spartridges.
Then,witha sparepieceofchickenwire,
forma tunnelleadingintothepen,which
graduallyreducesinsizebyabouthalfand
runsfor60cmto100cm.Somepeoplewill
pegthetunneldowntothegroundatthis
point,butI’veneverhada problemwiththe
birds returning out of the tunnel once inside

Folding the excess wire back rather than cutting it means the pen can be repaired easily

Tomakeapophole,cutasmall

sectionofthechickenwire,forman

arch and fold the excess wire back

thepen,soI don’tbother.Next,simplyput

a moundofwheatinthemiddleofthepen

andalsosprinklesomearoundtheopening

ofthepophole.It won’ttakelongforyour

remainingpheasantstofindthefoodasthey

areusedtofindingfoodaroundthepartridge

peninthecovercrop.Youneedtocheckfor

trappedbirdseverycoupleofhoursorso,and

removethemtocratesfordeliverystraight

away,unlessyouhavea suitableenclosed

areawithfood,waterandsheltertokeepthe

birds.Fornota greatdealofeffort,“catching

up” makes a great deal of fi nancial sense.

Thebootsareflexible

yetprovidegood

ankle support

Ontest:MuckBoots’

Summit 8in lace-ups