A great way to beef up a shoot
Shooting Times & Country|June 09, 2021
The sustainable future of our sport depends on rebuilding the old connections between farming and fieldsports, says Patrick Laurie
Patrick Laurie
A great way to beef up a shoot

Look back through old copies of Shooting Times and you’ll find a great deal of farming material woven into the blend. There are many stories of hares and rabbits shot from a combine harvester or terriers catching rats in the stackyard; scruffy adventures that always harked back to an agricultural calendar.

The connection between farming and field sports is still present today, but it’s become harder to see as the two worlds have slowly drifted apart. Farming has intensified over the past 50 years, and many of the changes have driven a decline of wild game. We now associate several quarry species with tales of scarcity and decline, so it’s hard to believe that birds such as grey partridges were ever produced almost by accident. However, a shootable surplus came as a by-product of traditional farm management, and that seems crazy when you think how much work goes into conserving wild gamebirds today.

Different path

As traditional farmland quarry species declined, shooting was forced to follow a different path by releasing the game instead. This means that farming practices are now much less relevant to the success or failure of a day’s shooting. It’s noticeable that as farming and field sports parted company, some gamekeepers were forced to become mini farmers, retaining some strands of friendly arable management in the form of game crops.

For shooting folk of my father’s generation, it was hard to imagine field sports without farming. Partridge shooting was just another harvest in a steadily revolving rural year alongside hoeing turnips and cutting oats.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 09, 2021-Ausgabe von Shooting Times & Country.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 09, 2021-Ausgabe von Shooting Times & Country.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRYAlle anzeigen
United we stand
Shooting Times & Country

United we stand

Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors

time-read
5 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
Serious matters
Shooting Times & Country

Serious matters

An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning

time-read
3 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
They're not always as easy as they seem
Shooting Times & Country

They're not always as easy as they seem

While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort

time-read
5 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
Debutant gundogs
Shooting Times & Country

Debutant gundogs

There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting

time-read
4 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
When the going gets rough
Shooting Times & Country

When the going gets rough

Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique

time-read
5 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
Shooting Times & Country

The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition

In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make

time-read
4 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
A step too far?
Shooting Times & Country

A step too far?

Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work

time-read
6 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
Two bucks before breakfast
Shooting Times & Country

Two bucks before breakfast

A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem

time-read
6 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
Stalking Diary
Shooting Times & Country

Stalking Diary

Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill

time-read
2 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023
Gamekeeper
Shooting Times & Country

Gamekeeper

Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside

time-read
3 Minuten  |
August 02, 2023