The Grand Finale
A Hampshire's Tale
Well there we are the end of the Game and Wildfowling Season of 2022/20223, in my previous article The Seasons End we took a whistle stop look at this past season, in this article we are going to look at the final shoot of the season in Hampshire where I was shooting as a gust of my dear friend David the estate owner and my other dear friend and fourth generation game keeper Roberto, what a fantastic day and indeed night we had, we will also look into some trapping days for the Red Squirrel protection dealing with Grey Squirrels, as I am the South West Regional Director for The Uk & Ireland Grey Squirrel or The Grey Area Page.
I last shot on this wonderful Hampshire Sporting Estate as a guest in November of 2022, whilst drinking a warming glass of port and smoking a choice cigar that evening in The African trophy room with David and Rob, I was asked would I like to return as their guests on the 31st of January last shoot of the year, its a beaters and guns all together day, I didn't even need to think of course I said yes, I would clear my diary no matter what to be there, this is the most wonderful shoot and the people are some of the finest you will meet anywhere, truth be told I have been dreaming of this final shoot of the season here since I was asked, I literally was counting down the months, days, hours and minuets until I could be back here again.
I last shot on this wonderful Hampshire Sporting Estate as a guest in November of 2022, whilst drinking a warming glass of port and smoking a choice cigar that evening in The African trophy room with David and Rob, I was asked would I like to return as their guests on the 31st of January last shoot of the year, its a beaters and guns all together day, I didn't even need to think of course I said yes, I would clear my diary no matter what to be there, this is the most wonderful shoot and the people are some of the finest you will meet anywhere, truth be told I have been dreaming of this final shoot of the season here since I was asked, I literally was counting down the months, days, hours and minuets until I could be back here again.
The Grand Finale
The day came and I was up at a sparrows wink, I just could not sleep in anticipation and excitement, I was like a kid trying to listen for Santa and his reindeer on the roof. The 4.30am alarm went off but I was already awake just staring at the alarm clock, I was out of bed, washed, dressed in my fines mole skin suit from Jack Pyke like the house was on fire, flask and sandwiches made, guns, cartridges a bottle of home made mead ready to take as a thank you gesture, I was ready so I had a small bowl of corn flakes and a couple of Mugs of tea whilst waiting for my dear friend Ben to pic me up as he was a guest too.
6am came in a flash and I was already waiting for Ben outside to load his truck up, this we did in the blink of an eye and we were both back on the road within a few moments, our chatter was excited, light and jovial all the way up to the estate, we actually arrived in record time and was there in no time at all, John saw us arrive and beckoned us in to the kitchen, tea is in the pot he said, this was real tea, loose tea just like my Grandfather (Pappy) would have, Ben made me the first and that slipped down like pure velvet dancing over my tonsils, your a bit early for breakfast John announced, laughing we said that's OK we will wait, we will wait for all the other guns, beaters and pickers up to arrive, David came down and greeted us like old friends, we sat around the table swapping stories and discussing the day that lay ahead, by this time everyone had started arriving, some friends I had not seen for a year or two, a fine breakfast of fresh baked rolls and sausages were had and more tea, now it was time to get shooting,
The day came and I was up at a sparrows wink, I just could not sleep in anticipation and excitement, I was like a kid trying to listen for Santa and his reindeer on the roof. The 4.30am alarm went off but I was already awake just staring at the alarm clock, I was out of bed, washed, dressed in my fines mole skin suit from Jack Pyke like the house was on fire, flask and sandwiches made, guns, cartridges a bottle of home made mead ready to take as a thank you gesture, I was ready so I had a small bowl of corn flakes and a couple of Mugs of tea whilst waiting for my dear friend Ben to pic me up as he was a guest too.
6am came in a flash and I was already waiting for Ben outside to load his truck up, this we did in the blink of an eye and we were both back on the road within a few moments, our chatter was excited, light and jovial all the way up to the estate, we actually arrived in record time and was there in no time at all, John saw us arrive and beckoned us in to the kitchen, tea is in the pot he said, this was real tea, loose tea just like my Grandfather (Pappy) would have, Ben made me the first and that slipped down like pure velvet dancing over my tonsils, your a bit early for breakfast John announced, laughing we said that's OK we will wait, we will wait for all the other guns, beaters and pickers up to arrive, David came down and greeted us like old friends, we sat around the table swapping stories and discussing the day that lay ahead, by this time everyone had started arriving, some friends I had not seen for a year or two, a fine breakfast of fresh baked rolls and sausages were had and more tea, now it was time to get shooting,
We split into two teams, Rob gave a safety talk and we went about the day, walking guns and beaters, and the other team standing guns, then vice versa after every drive, I will say this right from the start, the game birds from Perdix valley Game really fly well, especially these end of season birds, the flat ground of this Hampshire Estate is not famous for high birds, but I will say these From Perdix Valley game must have had NASA written on their backs, not only did they fly strong but gained a good height before they were presented over the guns, I swear they had jet rockets under each wing, this is a testament not only to their breeding, but also of the great keepering skills of my dear friend Rob, his father and grand father and great grand father are so proud and made him the Game keeper he is today, with his own personal take on the craft too, it truly is a pleasure to know him and call him my friend.
That first drive of the day set the bar high in the world of game shooting I telle, every other drive also reached this high bar too, some of the finest shots I had seen taken with clean kills and hmmmmm some clean misses too, the picking up team did a fantastic job marking and retrieving every shot bird, I don't think a single bird was lost this day.
We retired for the evening meal early as we had planned to be on a duck flight, so a wonderful meal was prepared by John and Ger, all off the estate Southern Fried Pheasant and Guinea Fowl and Pheasant conjoins with Nik’s wife's home made sweet chilli dipping sauce, followed by a duck casserole, a pheasant casserole with fresh root vegetables, proper creamy mashed potatoes, fresh baked bread and proper salted farm house butter with as much tea or coffee you could want, the pudding and cheese board were going to be for after the duck flight.
We retired for the evening meal early as we had planned to be on a duck flight, so a wonderful meal was prepared by John and Ger, all off the estate Southern Fried Pheasant and Guinea Fowl and Pheasant conjoins with Nik’s wife's home made sweet chilli dipping sauce, followed by a duck casserole, a pheasant casserole with fresh root vegetables, proper creamy mashed potatoes, fresh baked bread and proper salted farm house butter with as much tea or coffee you could want, the pudding and cheese board were going to be for after the duck flight.
The Duck Flight, blimey stick a fork in me I was done, I was so full on dinner I could hardly walk let alone shoot, I said to Sebastian the shoot captain, put me in a nice quiet spot I have had a lot of shooting today, take young Ben here to a hot spot get some birds over him, although Ben had taken some cracking birds this day, a high curling hen on the first drive and a wonderful left to right cock bird stand in my mind, it was an honour to see my young friend take these birds in fine style.
Sebastian said that is not a problem I will put him in a great spot, if you go over there on that far peg you might get one or two shots but that's usually a dead peg, that's fine with me I said, I am really happy to just watch on this one, the drive started and I noticed all of a sudden the wind changed 180 degrees, from my position I could see all of the other guns around the various ponds etc, these duck took to the wing strong and hard and gained a good height immediately, again a testament to Perdix Valley and the quality of their birds and to Robs keepering skills, actually to this old wildfowler it was wonderful to hear the sound of duck, feel the whistling wings over my head and see these ducks fly, for a moment I had to pinch myself for I was transported back to the marsh as these birds flew strong like wild birds.
Then my peg came alive, it seemed like every duck wanted to fly over me, my barrels blazed red, quiet peg yeh right, this peg was on fire I hardly had time to re load, every bird I took was a good sporting duck, I lost count how many I had down when the whistles blew to say end of drive end of season, a picker up and his fine Labrador cross came over to help pick my ducks up, we were still picking up when all the others were enjoying their pudding and fine glasses of port, I got to the African Hunting Lodge just in time before all the food was eaten, they all laughed saying we thought you had got lost, I laughed and said they are still out there picking up my shot birds, the evening flowed and joviality and laughter flowed, a fine evening the icing on the cake after a fantastic days game shooting and rounding off the perfect end to a cracking season, Ben had some good ducks too on that flight but I was most certainly in the hot seat, everyone left one by one, Ben and I were staying the night so we all sat in front of the log fire and the brandy and fine cigars came out as David, Rob, Ger, John, Ben and myself talked like old school friends, I have place my order for all my birds from Rob and Perdix Game for next season, I will add their contact details, if you want quality clean strong flying birds drop them a line, I guarantee you will wish you had used Perdix Valley Game sooner. The next morning Ben and I got up packed our truck, David made us a wonder cooked breakfast, John had to go and retrieve the eggs from under his hens , another cup of tea and we said our good byes, Ben and I came home with a pile of wonderful fresh shot Hampshire Game in the boot, you will see some of these used in my recipes in the fourth coming month.
Sebastian said that is not a problem I will put him in a great spot, if you go over there on that far peg you might get one or two shots but that's usually a dead peg, that's fine with me I said, I am really happy to just watch on this one, the drive started and I noticed all of a sudden the wind changed 180 degrees, from my position I could see all of the other guns around the various ponds etc, these duck took to the wing strong and hard and gained a good height immediately, again a testament to Perdix Valley and the quality of their birds and to Robs keepering skills, actually to this old wildfowler it was wonderful to hear the sound of duck, feel the whistling wings over my head and see these ducks fly, for a moment I had to pinch myself for I was transported back to the marsh as these birds flew strong like wild birds.
Then my peg came alive, it seemed like every duck wanted to fly over me, my barrels blazed red, quiet peg yeh right, this peg was on fire I hardly had time to re load, every bird I took was a good sporting duck, I lost count how many I had down when the whistles blew to say end of drive end of season, a picker up and his fine Labrador cross came over to help pick my ducks up, we were still picking up when all the others were enjoying their pudding and fine glasses of port, I got to the African Hunting Lodge just in time before all the food was eaten, they all laughed saying we thought you had got lost, I laughed and said they are still out there picking up my shot birds, the evening flowed and joviality and laughter flowed, a fine evening the icing on the cake after a fantastic days game shooting and rounding off the perfect end to a cracking season, Ben had some good ducks too on that flight but I was most certainly in the hot seat, everyone left one by one, Ben and I were staying the night so we all sat in front of the log fire and the brandy and fine cigars came out as David, Rob, Ger, John, Ben and myself talked like old school friends, I have place my order for all my birds from Rob and Perdix Game for next season, I will add their contact details, if you want quality clean strong flying birds drop them a line, I guarantee you will wish you had used Perdix Valley Game sooner. The next morning Ben and I got up packed our truck, David made us a wonder cooked breakfast, John had to go and retrieve the eggs from under his hens , another cup of tea and we said our good byes, Ben and I came home with a pile of wonderful fresh shot Hampshire Game in the boot, you will see some of these used in my recipes in the fourth coming month.
Pest Control
Well with this season over we start planning for our next season, necessary maintenance and repairs, sorting our birds and getting all the incubators, sheds, pens drinkers, feeders etc all sorted and so much more, I wont bore you now with all this and will save that for another article in the life of a game keeper.
Now for many of us we really step up our pest control, the list is almost endless here but everyone of us involved in running a shoot etc will be out day and night controlling the vermin before each species breeding season etc, as The South West Regional Director for The Grey Area Squirrel control is at a paramount at the moment, my techs and other qualified folk are now able to get out on the shooting estates etc where they could not before, this is the perfect time to start dealing with this grey invader for me, although I deal with them all year round, I am not a fan of poison for pest control, it has its place in some parts, but not for me, I always try the echo friendly approach first, a good trapping line works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, my thoughts are a good traditional trapper who knows his job can make a big impact but still be eco friendly.
Well with this season over we start planning for our next season, necessary maintenance and repairs, sorting our birds and getting all the incubators, sheds, pens drinkers, feeders etc all sorted and so much more, I wont bore you now with all this and will save that for another article in the life of a game keeper.
Now for many of us we really step up our pest control, the list is almost endless here but everyone of us involved in running a shoot etc will be out day and night controlling the vermin before each species breeding season etc, as The South West Regional Director for The Grey Area Squirrel control is at a paramount at the moment, my techs and other qualified folk are now able to get out on the shooting estates etc where they could not before, this is the perfect time to start dealing with this grey invader for me, although I deal with them all year round, I am not a fan of poison for pest control, it has its place in some parts, but not for me, I always try the echo friendly approach first, a good trapping line works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, my thoughts are a good traditional trapper who knows his job can make a big impact but still be eco friendly.
I generally use two peoples traps, Colin’s Traps is my first one, he is a retired game keeper and knows exactly what's needed, my Pappy and Uncle Dave use his traps and I have since boyhood, Colin is in his 80s now and still as sharp as a brand new pin, you can see him on his stand at most game fairs, his telephone number is on the photo.
The other trap maker I use is Katch It Traps, that's my game keeper friend Rob’s firm, equally as good as Colin’s Traps, British made with the finest materials that wont let you down, Rob has had a few personal issues this year on top of so many other problems Covid and leaving Brexit related on top of the French disaster with eggs etc, I have had to wait for orders etc myself, all I can say here is bare with him.
Grey squirrel control is a vital conservation effort, most think its all about bringing back our beautiful native Red Squirrel, it not although that is a huge factor in why we have to control the grey invader, its well documented the Grey Squirrel carries a pox that is deadly to our Native Reds, but for me I say we are not going to eradicate the grey invader, the best we can hope for is the control of said species, plus the fact they are a conservation nightmare, killing our song bird and ground nesting bird populations, eating the young chicks and adult birds alike, killing our ancient native forestry and broad leaf trees, bark stripping etc, get one in your attic and you will know about it, so this month I really up the anti on my Grey Squirrel Control, both Professionally and Domestically I get really busy now with this, I will soon be assisting in running Lantra approved courses on Grey Squirrel Control here in the Southern Counties, keep your eyes open for the adverts for that, a dedicated Squirrel article I will write next time.
Well as I draw to a close on this season and this last shoot shoot, WOW what can I say, it started off like a desert, then the rains came and it tuned into a wet place indeed, but for me the whole season was magical as always, it matters not to me the size of the bag, its the just being out there, some of the best hunts and shoots I have in my memory banks, I did not fire a single shot, so for this Ole Countryman it really is about being out there in mother natures living larder, the camaraderie and friendships made, working my little Cocker Spaniel Goose and just enjoying everything The Lord blesses me with.
The Grand Finale, I cannot thank highly enough my hosts David and Rob for their wonderful hospitality and their hands of friendship, all the team from John in the kitchen, to the beaters and pickers up, to my fellow guns and guests, I am now raising a fine glass of port to your good healths and I so look forward to seeing you all again, at the Country Shows and Game fairs through the Summer or at the shoot the next time I am graciously invited as a guest, cheers to one and all.
Until next time I hope you enjoy my humble scribbles as much as I have enjoyed remembering them and writing them, take care one and all, come say hello at the shows, my first is The British Shooting Show 2023 at the NEC Birmingham, you will find me on The Night Pearl Stand wearing one of my international Brand Ambassadors Hats.
Until next time I hope you enjoy my humble scribbles as much as I have enjoyed remembering them and writing them, take care one and all, come say hello at the shows, my first is The British Shooting Show 2023 at the NEC Birmingham, you will find me on The Night Pearl Stand wearing one of my international Brand Ambassadors Hats.
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