southwest_colonel

Very wise advice - always ensure you're insured. The EHIC only entitles you to the same cover that a national of the EU country you are in can receive. (So, seemingly, bugger all in the Netherlands). Any skiers on here also be warned, if you need to be taken from the mountain by ski patrol you will almost certainly be carted off to a private hospital, even if there are free/inexpensive state options in the town.

£30 /acre is huge money for rent. £200 /acre for cover crops including establishment sounds reasonable though.

Unfortunately, the answer to that is 'how long is a piece of string'? Some will do it in return for shooting (as per kennett's example). On the other hand, I have one keeper who is paying £500 /acre. That shoot is over a dairy farm, so it's almost understandable that they're maximising their diversified income given how unprofitable their main operation is. I'm also involved in a shoot where it's £250 (£150 /acre 'rent' and £100 for establishment).

Hello all. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of feeding brewers' grain to pheasants/partridge (or knows of any study by GWCT or similar into such practices)? I'm having decidedly little luck with Google, and can't get to a decent library for a couple of weeks... I know it's common amongst many livestock feeding regimes due to palatability, low cost and high protein/fibre, but was wondering how game-birds would get on with it - obviously not as the main feed, but to help spread the wheat and maize a bit further. Interested in hearing your thoughts and/or experiences.

Very good, reliable, and solid guns. If I didn't already have one I'd bite your arm off at that price.

Always nice to watch what people have been up to. Looks like drive three was, indeed, the best of the day - hope everyone enjoyed what they had over them and have caught the bug. Top effort on putting that video together as a first attempt. Only thing I'd comment on was the slight fisheye look to it... Good wide view, just took a couple of minutes to get used to the slight distortion. Colours were good though - seen quite a few videos on YouTube that look almost washed out, not so yours. I keep considering a GoPro, mostly for shooting, but still a little unsure - don't really want it on my gun or my head! Will just enjoy other's efforts for the time being.

Unless they're ridiculously high I'd concur that Clear Pigeons (32g ideally if there are some higher birds) are perfectly adequate at this stage of the season. Might be slightly wishful in January mind...

Definitely poachers...

Hi chipper! When were you hoping to shoot? I'll have a few pegs on our roving syndicate days - mostly around Gloucestershire, so just down the A49/417 - but not for a couple more months.

Beautiful photos. What a magnificent bird.

Ooh yes, I did see that. It was definitely added it to the list - I love rabbit ragu, but had never thought of trying it with pheasant until I saw your post the other day.

Absolutely stunning. It always amazes me some of the colours which sunsets and sunrises create. Fantastic job capturing it.

Was looking for some inspiration for new things to do with the pheasants I'll hopefully be getting my hands on this season. A search of the forums brought up this thread. Thought I'd bring it back to life for other infrequent or new members by adding one of my own. I'll freely admit that I've done a simple cut and paste job from my blog... Ultimate Pheasant Stew I happened across this recipe in a somewhat haphazard manner. Following a busy week saving a day from cancellation, an extra brace of pheasants was gratefully received following the salvaged shoot – a thoroughly enjoyable 102 bird day around the smaller drives of the Forthampton Shoot in Gloucestershire. The pheasants were hung for just a couple of days as I was trying to win around a couple of friends to the joys of eating game (yes, I really should find some new friends…) Aside from a conscious decision to marinate the meat in wine with herbs and garlic, the rest was inspiration from the kitchen as I went along. Madeira is a classic partner of pheasant, so it just seemed right. The smoked bacon adds a depth of flavour and provides some nice fat to counter the pheasant’s natural leanness. If you can get hold of it, I would heartily recommend a jar of Cumberland Sauce – it really does work brilliantly with game and cold meats; however, if you can’t get your hands on it, a combination of redcurrant jelly and a drop of port (plus a splash of orange liqueur, if you have some handy) should make an adequate substitute. Ingredients (serves 6-8) 8 pheasant breasts Smoked bacon lardons 2 medium onions, 2 sticks of celery, & 4 garlic cloves Red wine vinegar & Madeira to deglaze Bottle of red wine Flour Chicken stock pot 2 parsnips and 4-6 carrots Dried mixed herbs, garlic granules, and salt & pepper Cumberland sauce & Worcestershire sauce Method Preparation Time: 20 mins — Cooking Time: 2 hrs Begin by marinading the pheasant breasts overnight in red wine with garlic granules and dried herbs overnight. (You can replace the garlic granules with a couple of chopped cloves of garlic). Render the fat out of the lardons and fry until nicely cooked. Remove the lardons. Cut the pheasant into bite-sized pieces and dust in flour (with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper). Brown the pheasant in batches, using the rendered bacon fat. Remove the pheasant from the pan and keep to the side with the bacon. Thinly slice the onions and finely chop the garlic and celery. Soften the onions and celery in the pan, only adding the garlic once the onion is almost ready. The onions should be golden, not burnt! Add the meat back into the pan and deglaze with a couple of tablespoons of red wine vinegar and a slug of Madeira. Add approximately half a bottle of red wine and chicken stock pot (or stock cube – no need to water down into a stock, the wine will do that job). Season with salt and pepper and a good sprinkling of dried mixed herbs. Meanwhile, dice the parsnips and carrots and par boil. Mix up some of the left-over flour with a splash of water until you have a paste – work it until the lumps have gone. Then add this to the stew. It will help to thicken up the wine and give the whole dish a lovely unctuous consistency. Add the parsnips and carrots when ready. Allow to slowly cook for around 90 minutes. To finish, add a good sized tablespoon of Cumberland sauce (or a drop of port and some redcurrant jelly if you can’t get hold of it) and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce. The former gives the dish a nice sweetness to offset the vinegar, whilst the latter adds a delectable savouriness to the dish. It’s a hearty dish on its own, but if you want to serve it with a side dish, I find a green pea crush to be just the ticket. For this, cook up some floury potatoes and plenty of peas then crush them together with a dollop of crème fraîche and plenty of seasoning.

Much obliged James. Today's research has thrown up about as many different variations as I could have imagined - from the very simple to the incredibly complex. Then in-between I've found Frank Boddy's infamous recipe from Ripley Castle (Recipe), it certainly sounds like its been honed over a few years...

Afternoon all! As autumn seems to be well underway in these parts - there's definitely a slight chill in the air these days (more the better for it!) - I've been experimenting with my attempts to make the best bullshot I possibly can. I've yet to quite nail it though, so was looking for inspiration - any top tips or recommended recipes would be greatly appreciated, as well as thoughts on the great debates... Sherry or vodka, beef or game consumme, is stock acceptable, should there be a merest hint of citrus acidity (or is there no place for lemon in this drink). When at home I often mix up an oxo beef stock cube with a splash of Tobasco and Worcester sauce plus a grind of pepper, no alcohol. It's crude, but quick and simple on a cold evening - but obviously wouldn't cut the mustard for a warming elevenses in the field.

PM sent. Hope I can help - apologies if they're not quite what you're after.

I'm a member of BASC and feel that, together with the GWCT, they form a solid basis for fighting our corners. BASC offer some excellent services and an increasingly sane/unified voice (regardless of any historical problems), whilst the GWCT's excellent scientific work is absolutely vital to putting forward a positive vision of our sports and countering the often baseless assertions of those opposed to them. Whilst I remain a member of the CA, I too sometimes feel that I'm a member of some sort of Hunt Protection Trust. I'm not wholly averse to their cause, but as someone who has never been involved in a hunt, save for one occasion I was dragged along to a very boozy party in a tent, it does often feel that shooting takes a bit of a back-seat.

Thought I should finally add to this thread. By which I mean I've finally found a photograph which isn't too unflattering... So, here we are. Just before lunch on Tuesday. Had a jolly good day with a good bunch of people.

I should have plenty of time for training (the advantage of 'being my own boss') - my training time concern was specific to pointing on moors. If that pointing side of a dog's skill set was not given enough regular exposure, could it end up being a bit of a lost attribute? By no means the end of the world if so - it would be a 'nice to have' thing, but definitely a secondary consideration. Interesting point regarding the training though - I'm not terribly experienced at training my own dogs. Would you say that they are harder to train in your experience, or just require more time to do so? Thanks.

Thank you very much for your reply Paul. I may well take you up on your kind offer. A cocker and a viszla, sounds like a cracking little combination as you describe it!

Hello again. Some of you may recall my query over the summer about the relative merits of labradors and spaniels... I'm continuing to take my search for a dog very slowly - as it will be my first for some time and would very much like to make sure I make the right decision. I've done a little search of the forums and found a few small bits and pieces, but not a lot, about Hungarian Viszlas. I've added the viszla to my list - as it seems like a brilliant all around dog, and could be just what I'm looking for. To summarise from my previous thread, that is the all-in-one dog... Though, as ever, one has to prioritise. I need a dog which has the temperament to be stead at the peg, but is also a capable retriever (hence I'm considering a lab, but the spaniels could be a little less ideal). I would ideally like a dog that can hunt quite well, for rough shooting (so, spaniels look good, labradors less so). Ideally, the ability to be useful, at some stage, on a grouse moor (where I get a small amount of shooting thanks to clients). Though I appreciate that it might be difficult for a dog to be of much use here without regular exposure and, of course, training. Or I could be very wrong. I would rather like a dog for companionship too... Which I think is why my heart's always said cocker spaniel - there's something about the way they look at you! I've always liked the idea of a cocker spaniel - though the previous thread (and my head, if not my heart) was leaning towards a labrador - as the last thing I want as a sporting agent is a mad spaniel... If I take on a second dog, then I can go with my heart, and reserve the spaniel for when I'm not with clients. However... From what I've read elsewhere, the viszla sounds like one of the best all-round HPRs available. Does anyone have much experience who'd be willing to type a few thoughts down? Also, is there much difference between the traditional and wirehaired strains? I appreciate there will be some differences, but are they significant? Many thanks in advance for allowing me to take advantage of your collective knowledge.

I love Monopoly, sadly we only manage about one game per year in our family... usually on Boxing Day. Scrabble goes down well (proper rules must be abided by, not the new ones). Haven't played Cluedo in years! Must dig that out. Not a board-game as such, but have recently been introduced to 'Cards Against Humanity'. Utterly hilarious, if you're playing with some like-minded, fun-loving people. Possibly not one to play with a frigid, humourless, aunt though.

Have only just come across this thread (the perils of only visiting PW occasionally). An excellent series of posts - really interesting to read about your syndicate and shoot days Maddaftspaniel. Some lovely photos too - looks like you have a few patches of cracking terrain to work with.

Gamebore Black Golds (32g 6s) for the majority of what I shoot. Same fps as the White Golds I use for clays, so can keep things fairly consistent. It also seems to be just the right speed for how my mind works out lead. Very clean through my gun too, whereas Eley and Hull both seem to push a lot of rubbish through the barrels. (Hull High Pheasants are my go to with my reserve gun). Strange how some gun and cartridge combinations seem to like each other. That said... if needs be, more than happy to shoot with anything. Just very much a man of habit.

I totally agree, it's nice to introduce new people to our sport and that includes a bit of 'teaching'. Of course, it requires one to know that they're a novice... I have a friend coming along to a shoot in January, and she was good enough to say she hasn't shot on a driven day before (she's an excellent clay shot). So, we've had a quick chat about the basics at the pub, and then I'll stand with her for a drive or two at the start of the day to make sure she's happy with where she can/can't shoot, when to shoot (when NOT to shoot) etc etc. As for what annoys me on a driven day? I try to let very little annoy me - it's supposed to be relaxing. I'd rather people didn't use their mobiles, but generally the only thing that does annoy me is unsafe shooting. There's no excuse. Much more will irritate me if I'm working, but I won't let it show... customer service face...