Airgun days at Honeycombe Shoot

The Honeycombe Shoot on the Somerset/Dorset border has opened its gates to airgun shooters.
At £50 per day, it isn't cheap but the place is a hunter's paradise. The daily rate gives insured shooters the run of the 4,000-acre sporting estate for rabbit, pigeon and squirrel shooting - not to mention an abundance of corvids.
The shoot is set in beautiful countryside on the outskirts of Sherborne, and features diverse habitat from mature deciduous woodland to open pasture. Gamekeeper Mike Appleby provides clients with first-class pheasant, partridge and woodcock shooting as well as deer stalking according to the seasons. He's clearly a forward-thinking 'keeper and has cottoned-on the growing demand for high quality air rifle hunting.

I managed a brief visit on behalf of Airgun Shooter magazine last week and have to say I was very impressed. There was lots of quarry - unlike some of the 'shot-out' commercial airgun shoots - and an absolute abundance of wildlife, which is testament to the careful management of the shoot.
The daily rate provides full access to the shoot, which is easily accessible, thanks to the well established tracks. You also get to use the Gun Room, where you can start the day with a hot drink and a chat with Mike, who has an intimate knowledge of the ground and will guide you to the best spots.
To find out more about airgun shooting at The Honeycombe Shoot, contact Mike Appleby on 07966 521707 or email mikekeeper@aol.com

NiteSite NS50

Readers of Airgun Shooter magazine will have seen my recent head-to-head test of three alternatives to conventional lamping/night vision kit. The test was my first encounter with the The NiteSite NS50 - a gadget that has caused quite a stir since its recent launch. I was very impressed, both in terms of price and performance, so I thought I'd include a version of the review here.

The NiteSite NS 50 is one of the most impressive night shooting gadgets I have ever used. This ingenious system provides the benefits of Night Vision hunting without the hassle of having to change scopes and re-zero or splashing out on a dedicated NV combo.
Although I have dedicated Night Vision optics of my own, I hardly ever use them because they’re heavy, cumbersome and can’t compete with the precision of a conventional telescopic sight. But with the NiteSite, you get to enjoy the performance of your usual daytime scope along with the stealth of NV.
The NiteSite works by fitting an infra-red (IR) camera onto your scope’s eyepiece, which then relays the sight picture to a monitor mounted on top of the scope. The image on the monitor, which includes your scope’s crosshairs, then acts as your sighting device.
Packaged in a tough, foam-lined plastic case, the NiteSite kit includes the nifty little camera, the monitor (which has a three-inch LCD screen) and battery pack – plus cables for fitting all three together. The package also includes battery charging gear, quick-fit adaptors to fix the monitor to the top of your scope (to fit one-inch and 30mm tubes) and two eyepiece adaptors that will connect the camera to the eyepiece of most scopes.
One of the most impressive things about this system is how easy it is to use and how quickly you can fit it to your daytime hunting combo and take it off again. To get up and running, all you do is fit the correct-sized clamp to your scope tube and then slide the fixture at the base of the screen into it – making sure it’s facing you – and then tighten the clamp. Next, you push the eyepiece adaptor tube over the rear lens of your scope, pop the camera into it, ensuring that it’s fitted centrally, connect the cables and switch on. It only takes a moment.
You can fine-tune the picture on the monitor by adjusting the eyepiece connector to ensure perfect ‘eye relief’ to the camera. And, if the crosshairs appear blurry, you can focus the lens by making quarter turns with your finger. This focusing won’t need to be repeated if you stick with the same scope.
The NiteSite is switched on by turning the switch on the top of the monitor module. On the opposite side from the screen is an infra-red illuminator, with a selection of power levels that you can turn up or down with a twist of the switch. The first switch-on was a revelation for me – sat in the house with the lights switched off, the NS50 produced probably the sharpest NV image I have ever seen. I couldn’t wait to get it out in the field.
The camera and monitor/illuminator modules are comparatively light - lighter than most NV units - but the battery pack is a hefty one. It weighs-in at around 1.5 kilos and you certainly know when you’ve got it strapped over your shoulder, or stuffed in a large pocket of your shooting jacket. However, that chunky battery pack holds enough power for more than five hours of continual use. It then takes six hours to recharge when flat.
Although the battery is bulky, it doesn’t really affect the performance of the NS50. The head-up shooting position required to view the monitor will affect your marksmanship, though. I found that, without the usual contact with the cheek-piece, standing shots were tricky, although ‘kneelers’ could be taken after taking time to familiarise myself with the new setup.

The NS50 really excels when used from a rested position, and is perfect for static ratting; when you can sit and use crates, pallets, sacks or strawbales to support the gun. During the test period, I used the NiteSite to tackle rats that were targeting the chicken run in my garden. Sat at a table, with the gun mounted on a bipod, the NS50 made easy work of 15-metre to 20-metre targets. At this range, I only used the built-in IR illuminators at their lowest two levels and the picture on the screen was incredibly sharp – so sharp that I could watch small spiders clambering about on a stack of logs some 20 metres away.
I reckon the NiteSite would be an awesome tool for sniping rabbits with a bipod mounted gun, when it’s dry enough to sprawl out on the grass during the warmer months. Using the IR illuminators at the higher power levels certainly produces an acceptable sight picture at the manufacturer’s stated 50 metres and beyond.
With no conventional light-source, the NiteSite provides concealment on a par with dedicated NV optics. The only compromise is the fact that light from the screen does illuminate the shooter’s face, although only to a negligible degree.
The NiteSite NS50 package retails for £399; not cheap but I reckon it represents great value for money. Its big brother, the NS-200, costs £599 and is suitable for use out to 200 metres.
To find out more, see www.nitesite.co.uk

Give it some welly

Hunter recently sent me a pair of boots to test in the field. Now these are not cheap boots, and Hunters are often regarded as the toff’s welly of choice; more associated with prestigious game shoots than my typical airgun pest control assignments. The Balmoral Sovereign has an SRP of £299 (which could buy you a decent airgun or a complete set of economy fishing gear) but shop around and you can actually get them for under £200. That still sounds like a lot of money but my old Hunter Galloways are still going strong after eight years of serious abuse. If the Balmorals last that long, I think they’ll represent great value.
I’ve always found that Hunters fit me well, on the foot and on the leg. With the Balmoral Sovereigns, the fit is even better, and there’s a full-length, zip-up side gusset so they’re easy to pull on and off. The fit on the ankle is great and these boots come with two sets of cushioned insoles; you use the thick insole for a snug fit with lightweight socks in the summer and the thin insole to make extra room for thick socks and good blood circulation when it’s cold.
The boots’ shell is tough rubber (available either in brown, which I've got, or olive green), the leg is lined with leather and the foot is lined with neoprene for comfort.

The all-terrain Vibram outer soles are incredibly grippy on mud, and have provided great traction on slippery clay river banks. However, the same could not be said on granite during a recent trip to Dartmoor. The treads didn't grip very well at all one the smooth stone and I ended up on my backside on one occasion - thankfully I wasn't carrying a gun...
After four months of unsympathetic field testing these rugged boots are showing no sign of wear and have not let in a drop of moisture, even when wading with the water level close to the top. They are surprisingly supple and have done an admirable job of keeping my feet warm and dry this winter. Something of a heavyweight in terms of footwear, they may not be the best choice when soft footfall is required for stealthy stalking but they certainly keep out the elements. I'm very impressed - just be careful on the granite...

Deben Pro Bench Rest

After years of making do without a proper rest for gun maintenance, I started using a Deben Pro Bench Rest back in October and, following several months of use, really wouldn't be without it now. This sturdy, fully-adjustable rest is perfect for properly supporting your gun while carrying out tasks like scope fitting and other maintenance, and also comes in very handy for zeroing.

The rest is very sturdy, and is easy to adjust for height and angle, while adjustable legs keep it absolutely level and wobble-free. Most importantly, it keeps the gun safely cradled and prevents the risk of unexpected knocks and bumps. In the past, I've either cut grooves into cardboard boxes to support my gun or balanced it precariously among a pile of cushions on the sofa while fitting scope mounts - I won't be resorting to my own bodged rests again...
The Deben Pro Bench Rest retails for £54.99 and, although not cheap, I think it represents great value for money. Look after it and it should give a lifetime of excellent service. Have a look at http://www.deben.com/bench-rests/pro-bench-rest.html

Chunky pigeon broth

The weather is gradually turning colder, the leaves are falling and the pigeons are beginning to flock to their winter roosts.
A lightly-spiced broth is a great winter warmer; the ideal supper to tuck into after an evening’s roost shooting. You can serve it on rice or with chips but I prefer it with a couple of chunks of crusty bread.
Pigeon is a very dark, rich meat and some people find it rather strong but this recipe is subtle enough even for people who don’t like their meat too gamey. Frying the meat in the butter, shallot and garlic at the start infuses it with wonderful, sweet flavours.

To serve two

Ingredients
Breast meat from one or two pigeons (depending on how meaty you want it)
2 medium potatoes
1 medium parsnip
2 large carrots
4 shallots (or one onion)
1 clove of garlic
1 vegetable stock cube
1 knob of butter
½ teaspoon of ground cumin
1 pint of water
Salt and pepper

Method

Finely chop the shallots and roughly dice the carrots, parsnip and potatoes. Cut pigeon breast meat into cubes of between half and one inch.
Melt the knob of butter in a saucepan, add the shallots and fry gently until soft. Then crush in the garlic clove, add the pigeon meat and fry for three or four minutes until it begins to turn brown.
Add the water and chopped vegetables and bring to the boil. Stir in the stock cube and the cumin and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables become soft. The finished consistency should be that of a thick stew – not watery like a soup but with enough cooking juice to cover the chunks in a thick sauce.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and maybe a touch more cumin, and serve.

Border Fish and Game

Today I caught up with Jonny White who recently took over Border Fish and Game, based in Yeovil, Somerset. You can see his cheerful mug below...

The business was established more than two decades ago and has a fine reputation for supplying top quality game sourced from local shoots. The range includes pheasant, partridge, venison, duck, hare, rabbit and woodpigeon. As the name suggests, the business also supplies fish, including fresh and smoked trout and salmon, and a wide selection of fresh seafood.
During my visit, Jonny and I paid a visit to the Trent Shoot, near Sherborne, to watch some of the guns in action - and to pick up some fresh supplies for Border Fish and Game. The combination of wonderful steep ground and a steady breeze resulted in plenty of testing high birds for the guns.

Jonny supplies game to pubs, restaurants, farmshops and butchers but you can also buy direct. He runs a delivery service and customers are welcome to visit his premises on Lynx West Trading Estate in Yeovil. Apart from selling game, Jonny is always on the lookout for new suppliers. Whether you're interested in buying or supplying, you can contact him on 01935 429777 or email jonny@freshfishandgame.co.uk

Mackerel and chips

Summer is here (well, sort of) and the 'mackerel bashers' are clogging up the beaches. However, we shouldn't criticise the fair weather feather-chuckers - they're targeting one of the tastiest harvests available from the beach.

A lot of people struggle to do anything more adventurous with mackerel than stick them on the grill but there are so many ways to enjoy this delicious, oily fish. Here's a simple recipe that puts a summery twist on fish and chips.

Serves two as a light meal

You will need
Fillets from two mackerel
Olive oil
Honey
Wholegrain mustard
Fresh fennel
Salt and pepper

For the chips

Two medium potatoes
Olive oil
Fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

Method
Cut potatoes into thin chips. Place in baking tray, add a slosh of olive oil, salt, pepper and finely chopped thyme. Toss the chips with your hands to coat evenly, spread to a single layer in tray and cook in oven for 25 minutes at 200C or until crisp and golden brown.
Place mackerel fillets on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Add a few twists of salt and pepper then sprinkle with chopped fennel. Toss to coat evenly.
Add a small dash of olive oil to a large frying pan and bring to a medium heat. Add the mackerel fillets skin-side down and cook for four or five minutes until crisp and brown. Before turning, use the back of a teaspoon to spread a covering of wholegrain mustard and honey on the top of each fillet. Flip the mackerel over and cook for a further two minutes.
Place mackerel fillets on a bed of fresh salad (the addition of a few torn mint leaves will give it some extra zip) and serve with chips on the side.