Air rifle hunting video for BASC

This week I was joined for three very enjoyable days by BASC video ace Tom O'Carroll.
It was my video debut, and the transition from print to moving pictures was certainly an exciting one.

The sudden cold weather put the mockers on what we were hoping would be a hectic squirrel shoot - we spent three days on two estates that are usually heaving with tree-rats, and didn't see a single one!
But we still got lots of great footage and ended up with what I hope will be a really useful instructional piece that's very different from what we initially set out to achieve.
I was amazed by just how long the filming process takes - our three days will probably amount to a film of about ten minutes when Tom has finished editing it. I'll post the link here when it's ready.

Tom is an absolute pro and a real pleasure to work with. Hopefully we'll be teaming up to produce more airgun content for the BASC website in the future.

Recommended reading: Rob Collins trilogy

I was lucky enough to bump into the great countryman Rob Collins (aka the Ole Hedge Creeper) at the Westcountry Game Fair on Saturday. Rob (pictured) was manning the stand for Pass It On - an organisation which is doing wonderful things to introduce young people to field sports. After chatting with Rob, I wandered off with three of his excellent books.

I couldn't put down From the Start to the Heart after thumbing through it yesterday evening, and got almost halfway through it in a single sitting. This gripping, and very honest autobiographical book is a collection of amusing, and often moving, tales of Rob's formative years. Rob was tagging along on ferreting and shooting trips with his dad and uncles as a tiny boy, and there's a great yarn about him being dangled down a a cavernous rabbit hole by his Rupert the Bear wellies - not to mention the time he got a black eye from a low-flying trout. Rob also had a marvelous grandfather, a real old countryman who reminds me of my own late granddad, and accounts of their misadventures bring back more than a few of the colourful outings I was treated to as a young'un.
Although he's very modest about his writing ability, Rob has a very warm style that really draws in the reader. The book is written almost as if it's in the spoken word, and conjures up images and emotions that really do make you feel you're among the action as his accounts unfold.
I'm looking forward to getting back to it tonight and reading Rob's trilogy in order. I've had a very quick skim through Recipes from the Hedgerow, which is packed with lots of mouthwatering recipes that I can't wait to try out in the kitchen, and will finish with Rob's latest tome: Back to the Heart.

Jack Pyke Countryman Jumper tried and tested

I added the Jack Pyke Countryman Jumper to my hunting attire at the start of the winter and have to say that this new piece of clothing has performed brilliantly in bitterly cold conditions.

It is stated as being windproof and waterproof and, although I’ve not properly tested its waterproofing (because I’ve usually had a jacket over the top) I can certainly vouch for the fact that it keeps draughts out. As well as wearing it under my lightweight camouflage jacket during shooting trips in the woods, I've also worn it under an old waxed jacket during fishing sessions on the Somerset Levels. The Levels are exposed and windswept, and this zip-up jumper provided excellent insulation that kept me toasty during the coldest of days.

The Countryman Jumper is fleece-lined and reversible but the olive-green knitted outer with suede elbow and shoulder padding looks great so I wasn’t tempted to pull mine inside out. It features a nice high collar, stretchy knitted cuffs to really seal in the heat, plus spacious zipped pockets inside and out to keep things like your car keys and mobile phone secure.

With an SRP of £66.95, this isn’t a cheap item of clothing but it’s very well made and should give several seasons of good service. It performs brilliantly and I reckon it represents fantastic value for money.

www.jackpyke.co.uk

Squirrel shooting in the snow

If there's been snow in your part of the world over the last few days, it's a prime time to crack down on grey squirrels.
A lot of people mistakenly believe that squirrels hibernate through the winter but that couldn't be further from the truth. Grey squirrels can be incredibly active throughout the colder months, and spend a lot of time foraging food during daylight hours.

With snow on the ground, or even a hard frost, a lot of the caches of food they stashed away during the winter will be inaccessible. Find a place where squirrels can easily access food during a cold snap and you should be able to ambush the greedy little blighters as they try to exploit whatever feeding opportunity they've happened across. Raids on garden bird feeders are very common when there's a covering of snow.

I was delighted to wake up to a proper covering of snow on Friday morning and, although the roads in my West Country locality have been a bit dicey over the last couple of days, I couldn't resist the urge to get out in the woods where I planned to catch the squirrels stealing grain from one of their favourite winter food sources.

Most of my woodland shooting permissions are on sporting estates that are managed for pheasant shooting. The gamekeepers feed vast amounts of corn to the pheasants to keep them in good condition and stop them from straying during the winter. The squirrels seem even more partial to the grain than the pheasants and pay regular visits to the hoppers from which it is dispensed.

I managed to squeeze in a session yesterday, and got to the woods at about 3pm. It looked promising as I spooked a jay and several woodpigeons from beneath one feeder when I arrived. Well wrapped up to keep out the cold, I settled down in a spot from which I could comfortably cover a pheasant feeder in a block of woodland that contains more than a handful of squirrels.

It was a lovely, peaceful evening, and, in all honesty, I would have been happy to spend the last couple hours of the day there with or without the gun. The woodland wildlife was very active, and I saw fieldfares, goldcrests, sparrowhawks, treecreepers, flighting lapwings, several different kinds of finches and, of course, grey squirrels.
Although squirrels feed throughout the day, they usually become very busy at dusk as they try to get plenty of food on board before nightfall. I'm pleased to say that I was ideally placed to ambush a trio as they made their way to the feed hopper.

These squirrels were in excellent condition - no doubt a result of munching their way through the gamekeeper's expensive grain. They won't be doing that again...
It was a really enjoyable session and, wrapped up in several thick layers plus my hat, mittens and neck snood, I really didn't notice the cold.
If you know a place where the grey squirrels are finding easy pickings on your shoot, get out there before the thaw and you'll probably catch them in the act.

Shooters and anglers urged to look out for ash dieback

Ash dieback disease, caused by infection by the Chalara fraxinea fungus, could be detrimental to the British countryside, and shooters and anglers are being urged to do their bit to help reduce its spread.

Anyone who spends time in the outdoors should look out for and report any signs of infected trees.

At the time of writing, there are more than 110 confirmed infected sites. The disease is mainly spread on the wind. Once infected, a tree cannot be cured and must be destroyed and removed from the woodland. With ash being the dominant species in vast swathes of British woodland (as is the case in my locality) the potential impact is unthinkable.

Tim Russell, BASC director of conservation, said: “Everyone involved in shooting should look out for the signs of infected trees such as lesions and cankers on the bark and, in the spring, die back of foliage. The risk of woodland users spreading the disease is said to be small.

"BASC is asking people involved in shooting on sites where infection has been confirmed or is suspected to take precautions against the possibility of spreading spores between different areas of woodland. This could include washing boots and vehicle wheels. Any signs of the disease should be reported to the Forestry Commission or the Food and Environment Research Agency.”
Suspected cases should be reported to the Forestry Commission at plant.health@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

Idleback rifle chair review

The Idleback Rifle Chair is the perfect solution for shooters who want the luxury of shooting in comfort and taking rested shots wherever they go.

In short, the Idleback is a rugged shooting seat with a height and angle-adjustable arm to support your gun. The gun cradle at the end of the extendable supporting arm of the Idleback should accept all but the widest of airguns, and accommadated the relatively wide fore-end of my trusty old BSA Super-Ten with room to spare.

Assembly is an absolute doddle because most of the major components are already in place when this sturdy shooting seat arrives. Deployment in the field is just a matter of seconds: unfold the heigh-adjustable legs and gun rest arm, then adjust both until the seat is level and the rifle rest situated exactly where you want it.

Costing the best part of £300, the Idleback is not a cheap piece of kit but it is ruggedly constructed and I’d expect it to give years of first-class service. The quick-release shoulder strap makes it easy to transport but, in my opinion, it’s not really a tool that lends itself to staking – hauling it around the fields and trying to set it up as shots presented themselves proved too much of a rigmarole for me.
 

The Idleback is, however, an excellent and very comfortable aid to accuracy when set up for an ambush. The seat and rest rotate silently through 360 degrees so you can stealthily target quarry at all angles, and the easily adjustable legs mean it’s always on the level. As a hunter whose seat usually consists of little more than an old carrier bag, I certainly found it a real luxury.
I’ve set the Idleback up in the garden and around farm buildings to pick off rats and avian pests, and also used it in the woods to snipe squirrels at long range with an FAC-rated airgun. In these situations, it has performed flawlessly.

Laser Genetics ND-3 Subzero review

The Laser Genetics ND-3 Subzero is a laser alternative to a conventional hunting lamp. I’ve been using the original ND-3 for around two years now, and the Subzero guise is guaranteed to perform in temperatures down to -18˚C – should you be mad enough to consider shooting in such extreme cold.

Although described as “The Ultimate Night Vision Solution” the ND-3 is not an NV optic in the true sense, but it is an incredibly powerful and versatile scope-mounted lamp. Compact, lightweight and robust, mine has given excellent service.

The ND-3 is a quality product, and that’s apparent from the outset – and from its price tag, coming in at more than £300. The package comes in a fitted, zip-up hard case, which includes the laser designator (lamp unit), mounts for fitting to 1-inch or 30mm scope tube, Weaver mount attachments, binocular mounts, a pressure switch and the required CR123A battery, which gives three hours performance at -18˚C. You can expect that battery to last twice as long if you sit tight until the temperature rises to a balmy 5˚C.
You also get an Allen key with the kit so you can fit the ND-3’s mount to your scope, and there lies my biggest gripe with this unit. Sure enough, the ND-3 is one heck of a lamp, but it’s also one heck of a nuisance fiddling around with screws to attach and detach it. And, once you’ve got it on there, you’ll be reluctant to take it off again. To be honest, I think it’s a pity that the research and development appears to have been invested in making a lamp that functions in temperatures that British quarry species don’t tend to venture out in, when it would have been better spent on designing a quick-release mount to make it easier to use this excellent laser lamp.

Luckily, the circumference of the lamp hasn’t changed, so I simply dropped the ND-3 Subzero into my original mount (which, after reacquainting myself with the instruction manual, appears to be fitted upside down). Fitting gripes aside (and whether upside down or not) the mount functions well. It is very sturdy and can easily be adjusted left and right or up and down, via two knobs, to ensure that the beam is perfectly aligned with your scope. Being so ruggedly built, it won’t creep once you’ve got it set where you want it.

Most impressive of all is the sheer power and clarity of this compact laser designator. On its dimmest setting (sharpness/brightness of the beam is adjusted via a collar at the front of the tube) the lamp casts a tight beam at 15 metres, which is still clear at 100 metres. On its sharpest setting, the beam is way too bright for ratting ranges and casts a clear circle of light way beyond the manufacturer’s stated 200 metres – more like half a mile, I reckon. The power is awesome, providing more light than most airgun shooters would ever need, in fact. However, if you also shoot a rim-fire rifle and want a lamp for controlling foxes after dark, the ND-3 could be the only scope-mounted light you need.

Another impressive feature is the complete absence of any light spillage from the crisp, green beam. The ND-3 casts a sharp circle of light, with no risk of leakage that will illuminate you and give the game away. Of course, that bright beam comes with all the usual health warnings associated with lasers, so avoid shining it into your eyes, anyone else’s eyes or at vehicles and aircraft – even the reflected beam can be powerful enough to pose a danger.
Apart from being very powerful, the ND-3 Subzero is also incredibly compact. The small, lightweight tube is unobtrusive and hardly affects the balance and handling of an airgun when fitted. The very handy pressure switch can be fitted (via the Velcro provided) to the fore-end of your gun stock so you can easily activate it with the thumb of your leading hand when looking through the scope. Unlike other switches of this kind, it doesn’t take a lot of pressure to activate so your shooting won’t be hampered by having to squeeze with any great effort.
Being powered by a tiny battery, rather than a bulky rechargeable unit, this lamp is perfect for one-man scope-mounted use. It’s no burden whatsoever so lends itself perfectly to mobile hunting scenarios. Swap the pressure switch for the standard on/off switch (which also comes with the kit) and you’ve got a very compact hand-held lamp that’s perfect for two-man hunting when you’ve got a mate to do the lamping honours while you do the shooting.
Although the ND-3 Subzero casts a seriously powerful beam, rats and rabbits don’t appear to be unduly spooked by the pool of green light, which certainly picks them out well in the dark.
In spite of its fiddly mount, this laser designer is a top quality, scope-mounted light source that should give years of reliable service to anyone with the budget for a scope-mounted lamp at the top end of the price range.