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[Music]
Welcome to Fieldsports Britain. Coming up, we put a disabled shooter in touch with JCB
so he can shoot pheasants for the first time. Do you have an unruly puppy? We have a gun
dog training series. First, the legend that is Roy Lupton.
There's plenty of the white stuff in this week's programme. Here in Hampshire at the
Steventon shoot it's 6 inches deep. We're out to film Roy on a pheasant shoot, something
we've never done before. We're not altogether sure he understands that a shotgun is meant
for shooting birds in the air and not incoming foxes. Hey-ho - let's see if he gets booted
off on the first drive for concentrating on ground game.
Roy is a guest of Keith Goresuch - they've swapped and shared some stalking outings over
the past few years. Keith has kindly offered Roy the chance to join his friends and family
day, but Roy's feeling a bit rusty.
Whenever I get out on a stand, especially after being out of the game for so long the
old butterflies are kicking really badly. I definitely think I will need a bit of luck
on this one. It is just absolutely amazing the feeling you get out and are on the stand
and everything goes live and you are ready to begin. It doesn't matter how much you have
done it, it still gets exciting.
On the next peg down is George with his "caddy". This dedicated clay shot is having his first
pop at game shooting so has a friend to talk him through it. More about George later.
On with the show - and the higher numbered pegs and the walking gun get the most of the
shooting on this drive. Roy gets off the mark. He can now start to enjoy the day.
Now that was brilliant. When you think that we are a week away from the end of the season
that was phenomenal the amount of birds that were still showing. So I think the keeper
is going to be very happy with the show that they got here. I know that they have got a
few more days to finish off, but they really can't complain about that.
As Roy has got his eye in - we try and hinder him by strapping a Go-Pro camera to the end
of his barrel. It ain't pretty but we get the odd shot.
Ooh.....better.
There are some good shots here today - Alan next door is a gamekeeper and shows us how
it's done.
Drive three is a short walk but the beaters have a way to come. When they do, Roy picks
some nice birds and some that need finishing off.
With that bird there it is not what you would call a sporting bird, but she had been hit
by one of the guns standing in front and so just administered the coup de grace.
Roy also illustrates the most efficient way of using both barrels.
He remains calm refusing to show any emotion - and this is something you notice all across
the country - that cool calm exterior of a gun who's made a great shot. Inside it's a
different story, they feel epic!!!
Time for elevenses and a chance to get to know our fellow guns. There is a mixed bag
of experience here today.
First day out on game today?
It is indeed. I have been shooting for some 20 odd years clay pigeons and I will say to
you it somewhat different between clay pigeons and the live bird.
Have you found it more tricky getting onto the bird from the clay pigeons or is it?
I shoot down the line which are all going away birds and of course you have got the
incomers in so you have got the crossers. So yes there is a variety, but what does put
you off is that little black eye looking at you. They don't do that with clay and when
you miss it in clay shooting they say lost. Nobody calls out here do they? The actual
atmosphere with the people, brilliant.
That is it. Comradery is part of it.
Absolutely brilliant. Yes at ten years old had an air rifle shot at a sparrow, winged
it, felt quite bad about that. I hadn't shot since until today and I was interested to
see my reactions once I shot the first clay, you are right, first bird. Yes, fine no problem.
Ok so your conscience is fine at the moment.
The adrenaline flows and that is something that surprised me, because yes, you shoot
at clays and if you are in it to get a silver cup then that makes the adrenaline go. That
is just shooting the clay, there is no emotion in that because that is what it is all about.
But this because it is live.
Roy's next peg requires some fast reactions - the birds aren't low but they scoot over
the ride offering only a small window of opportunity.
There are clearly still plenty of birds about, even at this time of year, and it sounds like
the guns have enjoyed a good season.
So are you happy with the way the shooting has gone this year?
It has been very good. We have thoroughly enjoyed it and I think most of the teams of
guns have as well.
So they have all gone away with a smile on their faces.
Yes, yes. Given it is January there are plenty of birds and in actual fact in terms of ...we
have got two different strains of bird here.
Oh right.
The Kansas is the bird and we have got a three quarters cross and a pure Kansas. Believe
it or not we have actually tagged them with different coloured tags to see if we can determine
which fly better and which hold better. Things that game keepers are very interested in.
Because obviously that is your other side, you are on a game farm as well.
Yes, it is the first year we have flown them and three other estates actually bought them
from us this year as well. The reports we got back from the keepers from all of the
other three estates have said they have held brilliantly and flown brilliantly and in fact
they already know that they want the same for next year.
Excellent.
With darkness always an issue at this time of year we power through the next few drives
looking to have a late lunch. Talking of food, Roy's convalescence from his op meant he's
put on a few pounds which is why he is not wearing his breeks today - more importantly
it does affect the fit of the gun.
All joking aside I have found that when you put on a few pounds or lose a few pounds,
the fit to the gun can change. Just because you had a gun that fitted beforehand doesn't
necessarily mean it will continue to do so if you become a little fat porker, like I
have.
Even with the extra padding Roy and the rest of the guns shoot well and a good day is had
by all with a bag of 228 - most of which ended up in the back of Roy's truck - best leave
off that gun fitting for a few months yet Mr Lupton.
For more information about the Steventon shoot, go to SportingGameServices.co.uk.
Now from one old stager to another, it's David on the Fieldsports Channel News Stump.
[Music]
This is Fieldsports Britain News.
David Cameron's plans for a high speed rail link could be more damaging to the hunting,
shooting and fishing than Tony Blair's ban on hound sports. That's the conclusion of
backbench Tory MPs who represent rural constituencies in the path of the £30 billion scheme to
cut 30 minutes off the rail journey between London and Leeds, and London and Manchester.
If your hunt country, shoot or local river is going to be affected, please get in touch
with us.
The proposal to build a barrage across the river Severn has been described as a 24/7
fish mincing machine. The Angling Trust has joined the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and the
RSPB to come out strongly against the plans. The Trust's National Campaigns Coordinator
and former Labour MP Martin Salter says that the groups support tidal energy development
in the Severn, but that the current proposal will lead to fish deaths due to sudden changes
in water pressure and salinity, and through turbine strikes.
Winter can be a perilous time as this American deer found out. The mule deer was caught out
after wandering onto a frozen-over lake in Golden, Colorado in the US. The buck was stranded
on the ice as it struggled to stand up. Rescuers eventually threw a rope round its antlers
and towed off.
The summer clay shooting competition season is underway at the Royal Berkshire Shooting
School. Its Handicap Classic runs until the final on 7th May and there are now £14,000
of prizes. If you are watching this on YouTube, click on the screen to see our film about
it. Meanwhile West Midlands Shooting Ground in Shropshire is getting ready for one of
the high points of the semi-auto owner's year, the Benelli SP'Auto Championships on Sunday
19th May. Click on the screen to see our film about that.
And finally, cats famously have nine lives. Foxes are not so lucky, especially not this
one, who is ignoring the advice of his friends the crows. Viewer John Wilkes sent in this
film, which is doing the rounds on the internet, of what must be the unluckiest fox there was.
You are now up to date with Fieldsports Britain News. Stalking the stories. Fishing for facts.
[Music]
Thank you David. Now Chris Warner shoots clay pigeons from a wheelchair and is keen to try
pheasants. JCB rides to the rescue.
We're in snowy Hertfordshire today to provide Chris Warner with his first day's pheasant
shooting. Chris has shot plenty of clays and is keen to transfer those skills to the pheasants.
His wheelchair, however, isn't quite up to the off road trials of a pheasant shoot. Local
JCB dealer MK Agriculture is lending a JCB Workmax and even better Andy is Chris's driver
for the day.
This machine we have got here we are going to be using today to transport Chris around
the shoot and get him through all the sticky and awkward situations we might come across
where we need to go. This vehicle here is equipped with a front opening windscreen which
is quite useful for shooting out of the front of. Rifling and things like that. It is a
four wheeled drive machine with a diff lock, so should handle most of the sticky situations.
It is equipped in the back with game carriers. This is the smaller of the range of game carriers
as we can carry roughly 60 brace of game on here. It has opening sides to keep the game
cool and dry. So I am hoping we will have a fantastic day and Chris will really enjoy
it.
The guns start to gather at the Colne Spring House shoot and, although the weather is bleak,
the company is in good spirits. Chris is eager to make a start.
I have never done any game shooting before. This is my first game shoot. I am really looking
forward to it. It is nice to be able to come out and do this. I always felt it would be
difficult for me in a wheelchair to do that.
The shooting at Colne Spring House is run by gamekeeper Peter Jones. He's a well known
character in the shooting industry and his son Vinnie is well known for all sorts of
other reasons.
Off we go, everyone in to the buses and Chris riding shotgun in the Workmax.
Drive Number 1, Chris is in position and ready to go. The pheasants not so much. They're
still waiting on their morning coffee.
The beaters close in and up they go only to come straight back down as Chris bags his
first pheasant. Then his second.
The first stand is a success all round and the Workmax has its work cut out as the pheasants
are piled high on the Gamemate.
On to the second drive and Chris isn't so successful, but he's exactly where he's wanted
to be.
At least the dogs and pheasants are getting acquainted. Drinks time and at this time of
year an essential pitstop to fend off the frost bite. It's a bit of a trek to the next
drive, but that's no trouble for the Workmax.
The pheasants are reluctant to get going on the third, and who can blame them? It's freezing
today but it's amazing how quickly you warm up when the birds start moving.
Wait - here they come. A torrent of pheasants appear and Chris is blasting left, right and
centre.
Another couple for Chris' bag and that seems like a convenient time to stop for lunch.
To save time Peter hosts it in the bus -
Unfortunately not all the vehicles are coping with the elements - There seems to be engine
trouble with the ***'s bus.
Not to worry. Annie, Peter's daughter, keeps the guns entertained on the way to the next
drive.
It's out of the woods and into the open for the penultimate drive. The guns line up in
formation.
There are partridge galore on this drive. The pheasants get off lucky and Chris has
another species to add to his game card. It's been such a successful day that the bird quota
has already been filled. With the failing light, Peter decides it's best to call it
a day and tell us a little more about his sporting family.
I brought the kids up on here, 1973 and taught them to drive landrovers from about five years
old and Annie and Vin are still coming over. Annie beats with her three little dogs and
as Vin says it has been emotional. But today has been good, great fun and we managed to
get Chris about everywhere which was great. I really had to think that one because getting
him into the wood where there are ditches all around, but we actually overcame that.
Everybody was absolutely delighted and we only did four drives.
In the lodge everyone is defrosting in front of the fire and it's a chance for a cuppa
and a few thank yous.
I would just like to thank everybody for what you have done and for makingvit so enjoyable
for him. Thank you very much.
You are welcome.
Chris's first day pheasant shooting is not going to be his last.
Everybody who put the shoot on they couldn't have done enough for me, especially with JCB,
with what they lent us. That helped me I wouldn't have been able to do it without that. But
I wouldn't have been able to do it without all the guys here at the shoot either.
The JCB has meant Chris has been given access all areas and it's been a fantastic opportunity
for all to show that with a bit of effort a game day is an option for one and all.
Now to get your gun dog to a perfect pitch it is our new gun dog training series.
A bird lands out of sight of your dog and, as far as the retrieve is concerned, your
dog and often you are flying blind. Here are top gundog trainer Ricky Moloney's training
tips with real-life examples
First retrieve, end gun or a gun further down shot it, dog hasn't seen any of that retrieve
what so ever, so he has got to believe me that he goes out and he runs until he either
finds the game, touches scent, or until I say woh that is the area I want you to settle
down.
Ok show me the command that means this is the line.
So if I am lining my dog up, one hand, line the dog up, go back. That is the command I
am going to
give the dog. It comes down to foot work and heel work. I have trained my dog about heel
work. Where ever I am as a retriever he want to be at the side of me. So whenever I turn
with the gun, the dog is in a line and I can then go back, if it has seen it just gets
the dog's name.
If the dog comes off the line do you then call it back and start again?
Depends on the dog, it depends on the dog's temperament. If you have got a very sensitive
dog and you keep calling it back you could get it very sticky. He would go out five yards
and stop and look at you, am I doing the right thing am I coming back. So dog training is
really about looking at the type of dog you have got, from eight weeks when you acquire
it as a puppy and assessing that dog, seeing how he ticks, whether it is bold, whether
it is shy, or in between. Whether it is hard hunting, whether it is a dog that runs in
a straight line naturally. Then you will tailor your training according to the puppy, the
youngster you have got in front of you.
The second retrieve, nice shot, well done.
Thank you very much. Yes.
The second retrieve it landed and it ran. You are disconnecting with the dog, the moment
it has gone over the wall aren't you? It is not listening to you it is going straight
after that pheasant.
The dog has got to deal with that, that is what I have got a dog for. Too much handling,
too much over training you get a dog that might touch that fall, but not follow it up.
So the art in training a good dog is balance.
Ricky Moloney runs Ribblesdale Labradors. This series on gundog training tips is brought
to you by Skinners Petfoods, maker of the Field & Trial range of gundog feeds. Visit
SkinnersPetfoods.co.uk
From gun dogs to the wider world of hunting on the internet. It is Hunting YouTube.
This is Hunting YouTube, which aims to show the best hunting, shooting and fishing videos
that YouTube has to offer.
We've been away - sorry about that - lots of your suggestions to catch up with. The
first is Ireland's most outward-facing shooting group. Invited to Ballynatray Estate in Co
Cork by the Irish Hawking Club, TheRathcormacGunClub presents Goshawk Hunting in Ireland. Tricky
thing to film, hawking, but they get good action nonetheless.
Stuart Taylor sends us his video of Gun cam pigeon shooting on *** and in woods on the
auspicious 12th December last year, 12/12/12. He was out with his dad and they got a few.
Now, we have uncovered the Tommy Cooper of shooting videos. FurOnTheGround attempts to
make his own scope cam out of sticky-backed plastic and a pair of Val's old knickers,
with hilarious consequences. In case you wondered what the blurry white target is, it's Frosty
the Snowman in FurOnTheGround's garden. Happily, FurOnThe Ground is able to laugh at himself.
From Tommy Cooper to Ant and Dec. Carl and Alex Smith have shot to stardom in Anglers'
Mail magazine as no-nonsense teenagers devoted to coarse angling. They turn up on AnglersMailTV
and on their own channel called, unsurprisingly, CarlandAlex Smith. In this film, Carl or Alex
is out feeder fishing for bream and small stream roach, and he catches a goldfish.
Now we get numerous requests for films from EdgunUSA and here's an unuusal one that finds
its way into the angling double we like to put in the middle of Hunting YouTube. Ted
the Edgun, the God of Airguns and supreme being of holdover is in the Bahamas spearfishing,
and of course it is a great film.
FatGuyWithAKatana sends us Motohumter's Bike hog hunting with the message: ‘I think this
guy could use some more views. He's tearing up the Australian Outback in pursuit of feral
hogs armed with a dirtbike, a helmet cam and a Beretta 92'. And so he is, catching a pig
with his bare hands in this film. For reference, Motohumter's five steps to biking a boar are:
1 choose the biggest boar, 2 bend him from the rough terrain of the gully, 3 outpace
him, 4 wrap him up, and 5 throw and pin him. Much the same advice is offered to the Wallabies
before international tests.
This next film is a challenge. It's an interview with Franz Albrecht von Oettingen who is the
George Digweed of wild boar shooting, only younger and, with the light behind him, slightly
better looking. OK - he's the pin-up pop star of continental hunting. He appears in the
Hunters Video Wild Boar Fever film where he shoots seven in a row. If you don't speak
German and you want to watch this film, you will need to turn on not just YouTube's automatic
subtitles but also its automatic subtitles translation feature, which turn the interview
from inexplicable to sidesplittingly inexplicable, but you will above all get to see some truly
astonishing shooting. And he's not even 30 years old. Makes you spit.
Finally, a viewer wants to highlight the work of the channel ClassicBowHunts which, a bit
like the Caves of Lascaux, is posting ancient hunting library footage in order to preserve
it. This film is called Bill Negley Elephant Bow Hunt. Bill Negley was out after elephants
in the 1950s with a recurve bow. It wasn't great for the elephants but it's near the
top of the list of things they said could not be done.
You can click on any of these films to watch them. If you have a YouTube film you would
like us to pop in to the weekly top eight, send it in via YouTube, or email me the link
charlie@fieldsportschannel.tv
Well we are back next week and if you are watching this on Youtube don't hesitate to
hit the subscribe button that is somewhere round the outside of the screen there, or
go to our webpage www.fieldsportschannel.tv where you can click to like us on Facebook,
or follow us on Twitter, or scroll down to the bottom of the page. Pop your email address
into our constant contact box and we will contact you about our programme,which is out
7pm UK time every Wednesday. This has been Fieldsports Britain.