Fieldsports Britain - Shooting pigeons in Essex, and the fallow buck season starts

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Welcome to Fieldsports Britain.
Coming up, the only way is Essex - Mark Gilchrist is in Britain's most glamorous county and
he is after a big bag.
We have News, we have Kit, we have Hunting YouTube and we have Calendar.
Are you feeling those end of the Olympic’s blues, well we also have Blue Wildebeest in
Africa.
But first Sporting Shooter editor Dom Holtam is hungry for a buck. The season started at
the beginning of August. We join in with Andy Crow at the end of a day’s pigeon shooting.
A day on the rape stubbles is drawing to an end and Andy and Dom have clearly had too
much sun - Both, of course look incredibly cool
Someone said I look like brains on holiday. They are very good I have to say. I think
I look like Usha only white. Do you know who Usha is David?
If only Guy Richie were still auditioning for Lock stock and Two Smokin Barrels 2!!
Time for some 'Crow-mo'.
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Slowing the action down, we get a chance really to see the man and his quarry in action...
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Let us just have a look at one of those shots again - this one shows the mass of shot and
the plastic wad heading towards the pigeon - from this angle it looks as if the lead
has all but past the bird but with the lead crow has given it - the pigeon eventually
collides with shot
Things are definitely starting to cool down. The skies are emptying. Those that do get
within range get Crow's full attention. This is a pretty tasty last one of the day.
With 135 on the deck, Andy is reasonably happy and there is a lot of tidying up to do.
Time is marching on. We have to leave him to it so we can cross to the other side of
the farm to try and catch up with a possible fallow buck.
Over the past few months Dom has been writing about the work that goes into customising
a rifle. His .243 has been given a make-over by Chris Blackburn at UK Gunworks.
My trusty Tikka T3 .243 is under going a bit of a transformation at the moment and we are
working with UK Gunworks doing a kind of semi custom build. A custom rifles are very expensive.
This is how to get good results on a budget. We have been working with Chris Blackburn
at UK Gunworks his bolt handle with the oversized bolt on it. We have got this amazing looking
GRS laminate rifle stock, it is left handed. It is quite difficult to get this kind of
stock for a left hander, but this is great. Fully adjustable for height, length of pull
which is great and it has got this wonderful angle pistol grip which just fills the hand
perfectly and looks pretty cool as well I have to say. So we have just started to build
have had trigger upgrade, a few cosmetic upgrades and the stock, but we are also going to be
doing the scope we are going to be working up the cost of rounds, we are going to fit
a moderator, upgrade the barrel as well and be reporting back on all the results in the
magazine. So yes, I am quite pleased with it so far.
It is true that Dom's success rate with a camera in tow is more Mark Cavendish than
Bradley Wiggins but there is always a chance of a sprint finish with this man. And tonight
he comes good. Just as we start making our way towards the High Seat known as The Spencer,
after TV presenter Phil spencer shot his first ever deer from it, we drop to the ground.
Dom has spotted what he thinks is a buck and a doe. Dom gets the sticks sorted and we gently
rise to our feet to get above the grasses.
Luckily the little spiker is walking straight towards us. Sometimes things do work out.
Dom would rather not take a straight on chest shot, but this animal suddenly realises it's
not alone and there really is only one option.
Dom shoots and the buck runs into the crop. At this point, David would like to apologise
for his camera work. It is not often he pulls a shot - that's more my style - but can someone
please send Dom a moderator?
I don’t normally like to shoot them head on, but he wasn’t going to give us another
option. He walked down right towards us and he just about made us. I tried to let him
get as close as possible ... I had to put one through the front of his chest there.
He just dropped in the crop which will make it interesting to find. David has got a good
nose on him.
We look for a blood trail. The adrenalin has taken him 20 yards into the crop. It is a
fantastic example of this beautiful deer.
It never normally happens to us when David and I are stalking together. Literally the
wind was very much in our favour. We suspected they would be out in this top bit of the crop,
but for him to very obligingly graze his way down the path towards us and then present
a shot was not the brightest idea he ever had, but certainly performed for the camera
this time. Beautiful animal. Andy likes to cull out as many of the young bucks as possible.
The animal is in great condition because it has been eating his corn. Ideal for us. Looks
like it has good body weight so no doubt it will be going down to the game dealers. Yes,
very happy with that.
Dom takes him to the edge of the crop to gralloch it for Crowman.
It's pretty clear what this buck and the rest of the fallow herd are enjoying feasting on
at the moment.
You can see why the farmers are not overly keen on having a herd of fallow on their ground
at harvest time. They trample, flatten all the standing crop, but they make a fairly
good job of eating it too.
Not a bad finish to thoroughly sporting day.
If you want to see Location Location Location's Phil Spencer, stalking deer and shooting pigeons
with Andy Crow right here and you are watching this on YouTube you can click on the screen
which has appeared in the sky behind me.
Now from big bucks to small change - it’s David on the Field Sports Channel News Stump.
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This is Fieldsports Britain News.
The British Equestrian team is heading for highest-performing sport at the London 2012
Olympics, with Xx medals, including X golds. It surpasses shooting and archery did less
well at this year's games with just one gold medal in Olympic double trap for Fieldsports
Channel contributor Peter Wilson. However, it did end Britain's 12-year Olympic shooting
medal drought. Here is Pete with prime minister David Cameron. Even Sebastian Coe, who famously
dropped the presidency of the National Pistol Assocation after the Dunblane tragedy, was
keen to be photographed with the shooter. The good news is that Team GB's Olympic shooters
are game shots and the equestrian team are foxhunters.
The most exciting news to come from the waters of Great Britain has nothing to do with London
2012. It has to do with the enormous fish caught by James Jones that may end up being
the largest freshwater fish ever caught in the UK. The 31-year-old chef from Southminster
was fishing Oak Lakes Fishery, Essex, when something big hit his bait. Twenty years of
fishing experience told Jones that what was on the other end of his line was huge so he
yelled for help. Nearby anglers ran to his side to watch and assist him battle the unseen
goliath for more than two hours. There was speculation that this was the rumoured, never-before-caught
monster fish of the lake, and that speculation proved to be true when Jones landed the 144-pound
catfish or wels.
Unfortunately it's been a record year for rhino poachers in South Africa, too. Since
the start of 2012, a shocking 281 rhinos have been killed by poachers in South Africa. The
hardest hit regions are the Kruger National Park with 164, Limpopo 40, KwaZulu-Natal (30)
and the North West (26). Meanwhile, CITES has requested Vietnam to report by September
2012 on its actions to combat the illegal trade in rhino horn. Vietnam, which is the
destination for much of the rhino horn smuggled from Africa, is to make an inventory of rhino
hunting trophies and to verify their non-commercial use.
The Daily Mail has come down hard on the side of deerstalkers.
And finally Daily Mail writer Tom Mitchelson went out with Andy McLeish, executive chef
at the Michelin-starred Chapter One restaurant near Bromley in Kent.. They went to Dorste
where the journalist shot his first sika stag, cooked it and ate it. He reports it is enough
to make 35 starters and 15 main courses.
You are now up to date with Fieldsports Britain News. Stalking the stories. Fishing for Facts.
Stay with us now for the Map that Matters and Calendar.
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Welcome to Calendar. Here with some important dates for the diary and seasonal reminders.
The moon is waning gibbous and will by the middle of the month, be dark enough to give
you good cover for rabbiting and foxing outings.
Planning your grouse shooting next week? The Glorious Twelfth is on Sunday - but 2012 looks
like it'll offer an inglorious 13th on Monday as moors report too few birds to shoot. Best
chances of a good day in August are east of the Pennines. West of the Pennines, the summer
rain killed off many broods. The Angus Glens have survived better than most in Scotland.
Inverness-shire is especially poor, say agents.
The roe rut is easing up and Sea anglers have much to look forward to with reports of good
seabass catches in coastal waters all around the UK, especially in the West Country. Smooth
hounds are also being caught in numbers on the South Coast.
Some pigeon shooters are reporting a falling-off in pigeon numbers after a promising start
to the stubble shooting, but most say the birds are still to be seen in large packs,
as long as they are not being shot hard.
That was this week’s calendar... if you have an open day, try day, course, show or
fundraiser then why not talk to James and put yourself on the map. James@Fieldsportschannel.tv
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Now do you know your vulture from your vulturine guinea fowl - Well we've created a couple
of african bird and animal quizzes for you. Click on the wildlife quiz which is appearing
there if you are watching this on YouTube and turn on your annotations and you will
get a few seconds for each animal and then you will get the answer. Or click on this
one for twitchers out there. It is the bird version. Now we are going to Africa and we
are hunting blue wildebeest.
It has already been a hot busy morning in Namibia in search of game. We are guests of
Zeiss sports optics who have taken over Blaser's Sney River ranch in Namibia.
As part of the management plan here in Africa - and part of Zeiss's marketing over there
in Europe - Spanish Zeiss dealers have been offered a trip of a lifetime. They're allowed
to shoot oryx, red hartebeest, zebra and wildebeest as long as it's with a Blaser rifle, Norma
ammunition and of course some quality German glassware.
As with any hunting the added bonus is being able to see plenty of wildlife - but there
is nothing that is going to feed the guests and staff or look good on the wall.
Juan and Fernando are taking it in turns to hunt and there has already been some success
- with this oryx but the day is drawing to a close so once more we leave and head off
in search of African Game.
Eventually we come across a young blue wildebeest bull - he doesn't stick around long - and
runs in front of us. Juan is used to driven game and gets a shot off as he runs in front
of us - but this strong animal keeps powering on. And we need to make sure he is down because
the sun is dropping and the one thing they won't accept here is lost game.
We found blood and we are now trekking the game. Let’s see where it is, may be we find
it, may be we just need to get the dogs now at the moment. But both shots were quite good,
so hopefully we will find it immediately.
The animal must be hard hit - he's spotted by the tracker and we race to keep up. A few
hundred yards later - Juan puts the bull on the ground. Ohlay!
That is the first wildebeest for him, even though we had a little bit of a run we finally
got him and actually I am quite exhausted now because we were just running through the
thick bush and now we are here, so well done.
Juan was using the new Blaser R8 professional success - with the pistol grip which seems
to be one of those design concepts that just make sense.
This model here is with thermo elastic inlays. We also do a pimped up version of this one
with leather inlays. As you can see it is a thumbhole stock. It has been used in the
sports scenes for many, many years. So if it has been so successful on the sports scene
why shouldn’t it be successful for the hunter. I personally have also switched to this model
for the pure reasons for my self confidence of actually shooting from free hand. With
this thumbhole system my hand is actually into the rifle so I feel more of a connection
and being part of the rifle. Also another advantage is my finger is completely around
the trigger there is no side ways movement, so it is also a good aid against flinching.
We are expecting this to live up to its name and to also be a success.
Certainly Juan felt comfortable with the R8 on this young blue wildebeest...you can tell
he's young by the distance between his horns.
When it becomes bigger and bigger, when it starts to close here and you cannot put your
finger in, it is a really big trophy, but this is a young one.
Of course there are the all important photographs - but it's vitally important to get this animal
gralloched and in the back of the truck - each of the staff here get three kilos of meat
a week as well as their accommodation and wages. And Juan will be adding to that pot
when this handsome trophy is mounted and shipped all the way back to Spain.
Now likely as not you will not get herds of blue wildebeest sweeping majestically across
your garden, but if you do you will need the right kit to capture it. It’s Kit Special.
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Introducing the Pulsar Digisight N750 Digital Night Vision, the much-anticipated updated
version of the popular Digisight N550. This Digisight offers increased performance, digital
push button zoom, built in infra-red laser, and an organic LED high resolution display
giving stunning performance and long range viewing up to 600 metres in good conditions.
Here is that zoom in use on a stuffed deer we found. ScottCountry.co.uk £1,299, and
Scott Country will throw in a free Pulsar EPS3 battery pack worth £84.95.
That is it feast your eyes, fish into your pockets, if the website asks you the promo
code is 'fieldsports', thanks for watching, this is Kit Special.
Now it is congratulations to Game Chef Mark Gilchrist... he has been named by the Field
Magazine as one of the top 1,000 game shots in the country - (off camera "top 10" - top
10 really ?) Well let us see how he gets on in Essex.
Mark is in Essex- and when in Rome... you need big shades and a blonde on your arm.
This one isn't head to toe in labels but camo - there is no Gucci handbag but there is a
bag of birds - Essex birds - Many of you are now going weak at the knees at the thought
- Yes I know... Mark is alone in a field and there are loads of pigeons - fantastic!
I would say we have got 70 birds on the deck. I have shot very, very badly this morning,
I don’t know what I am doing wrong which is the worst thing, because you can’t correct
it. I should think I have had 150 shots and probably got 70 birds.
It has been a really tough time for those whose passion is their pursuit of the pigeon.
Thankfully things are looking up - and Mark is ready for them. This fallen wheat is not
going to be the farmer's most profitable crop but he wants Mark to try and help conserve
what he has left.
It is lovely weather and we have got 40 acres of laid wheat here. Sadly the farmer couldn’t
get the growth regulator on it and it has all gone on the deck. We are not that far
from London and there are a lot of birds in the area, so we have got very good conditions.
So hopefully we should have a fairly big score. I am hoping to shoot 500 shells today.
Mark has been here for a couple of hours and has about 70 on the ground. He's brought his
two dogs with him today to ensure all the birds are retrieved. However many of the pigeons
are dropping in nicely close to the whirly.
Oh God! What is wrong with me!
The pigeon shooting is a welcome distraction for Mark as the wet summer has had a serious
impact on business.
I am a company which makes and sells game pies at game fairs when I am not doing catering
functions. I also do cooking demonstrations at game fairs. When all the game fairs are
cancelled I have no game pie sales and I have no money for doing cooking demonstrations.
So basically my wages this year are cut down by three quarters. So if I earned £4/year
I am now going to earn £1/year. So it is all really quite devastating.
Do the pigeons pay.
They just about pay for me. So I can shoot £50 worth of cartridges, 250 shells I average
a 100 to 150 pigeons, let’s say 100. So for 100 birds I will get £80 for them trussed
and dressed because I need to sell them wholesale. So that doesn’t really pay. Sorry. Rabbits
pay for me because I shoot so many and I get £2.50 each for them. However, I am not shooting
very many of those at the moment because the crops are tall and generally speaking you
can’t sell rabbits, well you can, but you don’t sell the volumes in the summer months.
So I am stuck.
With the crop sprayer getting closer it's an opportune moment to move. The birds' flight
line has changed and they're crossing over about 40 yards to our right. Mark makes the
decision to shift over with a helping hand from Sam.
The change of location proves successful - maybe like Dom and Crow - it's all thanks to the
eyewear.
Are they proper shooting glasses?
Pardon?
Are they proper shooting glasses?
Is that sarcasm David? Yes, from the enormous pay cheques I get from Fieldsports Britain
I have gone out and bought top of the range shooting glasses. No these are a £10, slightly
effeminate pair from the service station. But do you know what I don’t see what I
look like when I am here and if I break them I am not going to care and they stop the sun
from hurting my eyes. So why vanity drives other people to buy expensive sun glasses
I don’t know, but one of the faults I have is vanity. Another fault I do have is missing
pigeons, especially easy pigeons like that.
Mark's tally for the day is 265 for 502 shells.
Now offering the sometimes woolly always whacky occasionally weird and definitely wonderful
from across the world it's hunting youtube.
This is Hunting YouTube, which aims to show the best hunting, shooting and fishing videos
that YouTube has to offer.
We highlighted someone who shot 103 pigeons last week. Viewer EM Jackson was disappointed
so recommends this from US company Soar no More, who call 103 a bad day and enjoy bags
that reach 700. Here is Soar no More's Pigeon Hunting Highlight Reel 2
Some shooters positively revel in small-bag pigeon days. Here is bigsigh66's Pigeon shooting
with 17 Rem. He is out after magpies and shoots this single pigeon at more than 200 yards
taking careful account of holdover, windage and, if you wondered, putting 25 grain Hornardy
Vmax with 22.2 grains of N135, Fed 205M primers and neck turned fully prepped RP brass through
a new LW barrel which is currently shooting sub 0.25MOA.
If you find that unsurprising, you will not be moved by this film from leeroyjones76,
sent in by viewer Lee Mulcock. Fishing for ducks shows how to retrieve the duck you shot
which landed on a frozen lake. Best bait for dead duck, says LeeRoyJones76, is a hook tied
with a strip of mackerel feathers.
On the fishing front, our occasional cameraman Nicky Brown's flyfishing YouTube channel TechSecMedia
this week shows a good method for filleting a Trout without gutting it. Worth a watch.
Staying with angling, let's get pelagic. OK, so you may not have walleye on your pond,
you may never have come across crank baits and leadcore may sound to you like a heavy
metal fanzine but there is actually lots for anyone to learn from Cabela's latest upload,
This Week on the Water - Leadcore Trolling for Deep Walleye. And look out the British
gun and tackle trade - Cabela's is the future.
Here is a good use of YouTube and that's showing off the finished gundogs you have for sale.
These are the latest from the Altiquin kennels, from Irish and British working bloodlines.
And every good gundog trainer should be able to play tennis.
Back to shotguns: I have been rude about the work of UK01Edmund but I take my hat off to
his Sporting Clays - Four Different Methods of Obtaining Lead. It's a good instructional
video. All it needs now is our man's rich Yorkshire brogue to tell the viewer what's
going on.
Now, much is made of the new wave of comic talent coming out of YouTube at the moment.
Viewer Neil Hawkins sends in this American film called the $300 Dollar Bullet. Thank
you Neil. It is compelling - but it's barely comic.
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
Now the great thing about these hunting youtube films is if you have missed them you can click
on this little link up here and you can go to see them. They are here to stay.
We are back next week and if you are watching this on Youtube do not hesitate to hit the
subscribe button which is arranged as a serious of squares just there. Or go to our shows
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been Fieldsports Britain.
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