Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

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

theplace.Aswithmanyshoots,farminggoes

handinhandandwithacresoffoddermaize

andwheatwaitingtobecut,bytheendofthe

summerit wasprovingquitechallengingto

keepthebirdsontheground.Butpersistence

paidoffandassoonasthecropswere

harvestedit wasclearthattherewould

be plenty of birds about on shoot days.

Vermincontrol

Keeperstendtokeepfiguresandpercentages

closetotheirchestsandAndyisofthatilkbut

weknowthatoneachofthe 11 shootdays

the“requiredbag”wasreachedandonnearly

allofthemit wasexceeded.Thiswasallcredit

totherelentlessworkoffeeding,watering

anddogging-in.Also,vermincontrolhad

beenalmostnon-existentonthefarmand

Andyknewheneededtogetontopofthe

foxpopulation.Duringtheyearheaccounted

fornearly 30 ofthem.Thewingedvermin

were also signifi cantly reduced with plenty

ofcarrioncrowsandmagpiesfallingfoulto

theLarsentraps.Inthelongtermit ishoped

thatsomeoftheleftoverpheasantsand

partridgeswillrearsomewildbroods.With

thisinmind,Andyrana lineofFennandcage

traps,whichaccountedforplentyofsquirrels,

a minkanda coupleofweasels.Thispartof

thejobwillbeongoingandwillbeeven more

important as the spring progresses.

Beatersandpickers-up

Organisinga newbeatingteamandpickers-

upisnotalwaysstraightforward,butmanage

it Andy did and over the past year the team

GAMEKEEPING

Our shoot

atYeatWoodhasbecomea well-oiled

machine.Everyoneinvolvedhaslearned

thevariousdrivesandhowtheyneedto

beworked.Anotherthingthathasevolved

isthatmostofthedrivesnowhavenames:

theFarm;DoubleCover;theBase;theBrook;

theWood;theGlassHouse.A coupleof

thedriveswerescrappedduetothefailing

coversandwerenotnamedbuthopefully

theywillbeupandrunningfornextseason.

Andyisgoingtotakea well-earnedrest

fora fewweeksbeforethecyclestarts

alloveragain,preparing for another

successful season.

The beating and picking-up team at Yeat Wood Farm works like a well-oiled machine

Andy made a dent in the fox population

Onallofthe 11 shootdays

the“requiredbag”was

reached or exceeded