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Roy Lupton has invented a 40-mile-an-hour remote control lure to teach granny goshawk and her friends the

golden eagles how to take partridgesFalconry is all about fitness. If your bird hasn’t been pumping its wings on the run up to the season you might as well have a budgie on your glove.

Roy is a little behind with his training because of his recent hip op-eration so, to speed things along a bit, he has created the fastest lure in the west. It is capable of dragging bits of muntjac impersonating a hare and even a roe deer hide at up to 45mph across a wet field.

Roy shows us round. “What we have done is we have fitted an en-gine, a clutch and a big drum on a machine down there,” he says. “We have got a servo on there which is attached to the throttle. So now we have got a remote control lure machine. So we can run a lure up to 45 miles an hour over about 500 metres in very quick suc-cession and really start to get some fitness into the birds. This is the first year we have bothered to fly the goshawks on the lures and the results we are getting so far are phenomenal.”

Roy’s truck is bursting with eagle and hawk boxes. In total there are six birds that need exercising in preparation for hunting. He’s about to head up to Scotland for the blue hares.

Once Ian has given his youngster an outing Roy brings out the old girl. She’s so old and wise she remembers Roy before he became

Teaching eagles

Fieldsports Britain, episode 158. Visit www.fieldsportschannel.tv

Eagle in flight

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interested in girls without plumage. She is 16 years old coming into her 17th season. “For the last four years she has been in a breeding aviary because I wanted to make sure I got a couple of youngsters out of her,” says Roy. “I thought I would just take her out and give her one last hoorah and it is amazing she has being flying for a couple of weeks now just getting back to it. I thought she was going to be a bit of a couch potato, but she has already put a few rabbits in the bag and hopefully in the next couple of weeks she will start putting a few hares and a few pheasants in the bag as well.”

She might be long in the beak but she’s still fighting fit and won’t be fooled by gimmicks, so Roy has to abandon the hare lure and use a real rabbit. Ian sets the motor turning and off she goes. As expected she hits the spot. She pre-empts the lure again. “I just held her back for a second and then waited for the lure to go past parallel and then let her off and she chased it very well,” says Roy. “Bearing in mind we have got a good head wind against us today – probably 10 or 15 miles an hour easily. She caught up with that no problem. I am really, really pleased with her.”

In complete contrast to this goshawk is the youngster. She is one of the fastest goshawks Roy has ever bred.

“This young lady is incredibly fast we are not going to get a true assessment of her speed today, because she is flying in such a head wind, but the way this thing flies at the lure is just absolutely out-standing, for speed,” says Roy. “It is a shame she has got nothing up top, she is definitely built for one thing and it is certainly not thinking.”

Falcons and eagles are like the formula one racing cars of old - agile and fast but fragile if not treated with care. One thing that can help keep these birds stay healthy is having the right sort of transport box.

“The worst thing you can do for your bird’s health especially for lung conditions such as aspergillosis is put your bird away damp,” says Roy. “But if you do have to then a box like this could be the answer.This box is made by Game Walker, not only have they got a light fitted in them, but they have also got fans fitted at the back and then it is constantly pumping the stale air out of the box and keeping a fresh flow of air through and I can’t really see the reason for people using wooden boxes any more.”

Baby looks relaxed leaving his bespoke accommodation and is rested enough to put on a good show, pumping after that lure. He

excels at being flown from the fist whereas Roy’s other eagle hunts in a different way – soaring high then dropping on to his quarry.

He is fifth or sixth season. “We have been hunting together since he was about 20 weeks old, when I went over to Austria and started our hunting career over there and I have been hunting him successfully over here,” says Roy. “He is a superb eagle especially for off the fist work. My other eagle – my main eagle Cappie – I am only using him for working in the mountains for way too long, so when I try and fly him off the fist at brown hares, he is not so good. But this eagle for off the fist acceleration is just absolutely phenomenal.”

Losing the light, Cappy gets the last run of the evening. The birds are race fit and we’re looking forward to seeing all Roy’s hard work pay off in the field. <

Teaching eagles, cont...Fieldsports Britain, episode 158. Visit www.fieldsportschannel.tv

Eagle handler: Roy gives his golden eagles a fly

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HIGHLANDOUTDOORS

webley is supplied exclusively to the trade through highland outdoors

For Trade enquiries contact Highland OutdoorsPh: 0845 099 0252 Fax: 01857 341 111

sales@highlandoutdoors.co.uk

Available from all good gunshops - Now!Raider 10 XS series in Standard 12ft/lbs & FACTM

Is the Raider 10 thebest value Multi-Shot PCP

in Europe?

TM

- the answer is still yes!

• INTEGRAL QGS SILENCER

• RIFLED GERMAN P & P STEEL TUBE

• POSITIVE INDEXING 10 SHOT

TM

MAGAZINE

• AMBIDEXTROUS STOCK

• FULLY ADJUSTABLE 2-STAGE TRIGGER

Amazing Price!

stock now available

contact your local

shop to order

Magazine systemVentilaed recoil pad

Precision checkering

The Raider 10 is Webley’s most tried and trusted multi-shot PCP, having soldin its thousands over the last 6 years. Rugged and reliable, during development

it was cycled over 5,000 times-without a single miss-feed!

All Webley Rifles availableas combo package with AGS Scopes

AGS Combo PackagesAvailable

we recommend the use of Webley vci 3-4-1 cleaning products

BARREL MADE FROM

Follow us on Facebookfor Exclusive Offers and announcementswww.facebook.com/HighlandOutdoors

Free Free AMTA Lock With Every Gun AMTA Lock With Every Gun

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AirgunWorldMay2012-Raider10.pdf 1 30/11/2012 10:03

Speed merchant: the 40mph lure machine

News Stump All the stuff David reads out on the programmeLead poisoning Olympic shooting star Peter Wilson (pictured) is spearheading a campaign to try and save one of the best shooting grounds in Europe. A former city trader turned organic farmer may force the closure of Southern Counties Shooting Ground in Dorset if he succeeds in his claim that lead shot from the ground is incompatible with his organic farm status. Alastair Cooper says that lead pellets from the ground are raining down onto his farmland, killing livestock and polluting the land. Pete Wilson lives locally and uses the ground regularly.

Gundog winnerThe International Gundog League Retriever Championship 2012 which, is sponsored by Skinner’s, just like this news bulletin, has been won by a dog fed on Skinner’s Field & Trial Crunchy. Dave Latham’s Field Trial Champion Delfleet Neon of Fendawood, better known as Del, took the championship held at Cawdor Castle in Scotland. Bred by Mr S Crisp, Del and Dave had previously won it in 2010 at Sandringham.

Rat eradicationIt is a bad time to be a rat in South Georgia. The trial phase in 2011 was the largest rodent eradication ever attempted and succeeded in removing rats from a tenth of the infested areas. The second phase of the project will see a 25-strong team of scientists, helicopter pilots, chefs and engineers – dubbed Team Rat – embark on a four-month mission to eradicate the brown rat from the South Atlantic island. They are dropping 270 tonnes of poisoned bait from three helicopters.

Botswana hunting banBotswana is to ban big-game hunting from 2014. The south African country is one of the most popular destinations for plainsgame and dangerous game hunters, attracting people including the King of Spain. Ignoring protests from com-munities who depend on hunting for their livelihoods, the Government says that a ban on hunting will help in the fight against poaching. Wildlife conservationists point to other African countries such as Kenya, where hunting is banned, and poaching is driving many of its most of its iconic species, such as lions and rhinos, into extinction.

Welsh badger soapWelsh TV channel S4C has come under fire from the Welsh Government for its coverage of the badger culling in its flagship soap opera. Welsh politicians dodged a cull, deciding instead on a vaccination programme. In the BBC-made TV series, Pobol y Cwm, a cash-strapped farmer’s wife shoots her TB-infected cows and then says “the government doesn’t have the backbone to sort the problem out” and that farmers are not afraid to break the law. Hurt by the criti-cism, the Welsh government tried to get the repeat of the programme withdrawn.

10 million views Now do you know who is top of the pops when it comes to hunting, shooting and fishing channels on YouTube? Well,Fieldsports Channel crossed the 10 million views mark last week. And it inspired us to have a look at who else is topping the charts with big global audiences. If you are watching this on Youtube you can see a full list with links below the screen. You can also see the list by going to this address www.fieldsportschannel.tv/biggest-huntingshootingfishing-youtube-channels. I am pleased to report that Fieldsports Channel is the biggest hunting/shooting/fishing channel outside the USA, and we are 15th in the world. So thank you for watching.

Caravan blast Country Pursuits TV have been having a smashing time with a caravan and it is all in aid of charity. The film was done to raise money for 13 year old Holly Warren who needs £7,000 for a special wheel chair. This of course is not something you should try at home and the filming and shooting were supervised by four marshalls. Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cvCBiCr6Gg

Killer Queen And finally, Brian May has come out in favour of deer-culling. Sort of. Following the story in the Sunday Times from a tip off by C Jacoby, that Brian May allowed deer to be shot on his land in Dor-set, the animal rights activist and national treasure says: “There is not a trace of hypocrisy in standing by the necessary and controlled killing of deer while opposing the badger cull”. Brian is apparently now looking at birth control to keep the number of deer at a manageable level.

Fieldsports Britain, episode 158. Visit www.fieldsportschannel.tv

News Stump is brought to you by

Coming up Christmas is around the corner and like all shooters, Andy Crow has got his mates decorating the tree.If the solitary oak in the field were a Christmas tree, then the decoys would be the baubels, Crowman’s cousin Gary the fairy, with the pigeon hide under the tree packed full of surprises.

It’s a cold morning and Crow has been keen to get out on to this maize stubble field. When we first arrived, a few thousand pi-geons and crows lifted. It could be a fun day – especially if those lofted decoys catch the eyes of the flighting birds.

“These old lofting poles are pretty flimsy,” says Andy. “We want to get some lofters out of the top of the tree. These go up to about 20 foot. You get a 20 foot lofting rod up there, bit of wind, with the weight of the decoy swaying like that you can’t get it where you want. So what we do, we cheat a bit, we take a ladder and stick it up the tree and get up the tree, you only need about 10, 15 foot of pole. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless you know what you are doing, because it is pretty dangerous and that is why I send Gary up. That is the only reason I have invited him today.”

In an ideal world, Gary works his way squirrel-like around the tree and with pinpoint accuracy he carefully places the decoys on to the branches. But that’s not true. We would like to say that, over many years, Gary has turned this into an art form, getting the angle just right so as not to put the birds off. Well, it is cold up there.

We’ve never filmed Crow using the lofting poles before so why today? “Pigeons have been shot at a bit and this tree is right out in the middle of the field. It is a bit of a flight line up through here, it just helps out with the decoys really.”

He puts decoys on the ground as well. He puts a whirlie out to the right hand side of us. “They haven’t been wanting a whirlie or a flapper,” he says. “Other people might be finding it different, but in this area they just don’t want too much movement. But today it is quite a lumpy field and I am going to put a whirlie out just for a bit of movement just to try and attract their attention and see what happens.”

The field is scattered with fallen maize. You can tell which birds have been feeding on the cobs by the way they peck at it. Pigeons tend to pull the grain out whereas a crow will peck harder at it and just take the insides out. Because the maize is such a good food source Crow expects that the now pigeon-free field will soon be bringing the birds back, both pigeons and crows. Even though pigeons are the name of the game today, Crow wants the pattern to look natural so he sticks in a few plastic crows as well.

Right let’s get this show on the road. The chances are that we’ve pushed the pigeons on to Andy’s neighbouring rape crop which is actually what he’s trying to protect - but the maize should bring them back - and they do return in large numbers..

The birds are dropping in from the front and from behind. The lofted decoys attracting them as they fly down the centre of the field. Both Andy and Gary are making some good shots - not

everything is passing just yards in front of the hide.

The cousins have been shooting together for more than 30 years and they have a system. Gary calls the shots so they shoot in unison. This means the birds don’t flare.

When there is a quiet moment, the crows look tempting but Andy will not be distracted and stays with the programme. There’s plenty of time for him to get into the Crow zone later in the week.

Over the course of the day there’s a regular stream of pigeons and by the end of it the boys account for 189 pigeons, three crows and two jackdaws. He gives in to tempation after all. <

Andy Crow is out after pigeonsAutumn brings its own decoying challenges

Fieldsports Britain, episode 158. Visit www.fieldsportschannel.tv

Filming Andy Crow

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The excitement of finally seeing the desired object.

The certainty of taking secure aim even in the deepest twilight.

This is the moment we work for.

Here is how to make a delicious bread from flour, water and an oven made out of a dust-bin. To go with nettle soup and also to provide a dessert we are going to add a bit of flour to some water. There us no point giving exact amounts of flour and water – it is more about the consistency.

This is where you get your hands dirty. Well I say you get your hands dirty. If ever there is any mud left on your hands from be-ing out in the woods, this is where you get it off. We add a bit of water, sleeves up and get stuck in there. Start kneading. Keep turning it, keep twisting it.

You want dough that is sticky enough to hold together. It should also be dry enough so it doesn’t stick too much to your hands. Some of it is going to stick. So the idea here is to just add a little bit of water at a time. If you add too much then you have to add more flour – and it is easier to go and get some more water than it is to go and get some more flour. I use self raising flour which means I don’t have to have yeast. It just makes it a little bit more palatable, or I find anyway.

I split the dough into two halves. The first half is going to be

just plain bread. The second half is going to be mixed with some blackberries and other berries too. Blackberry bread, I quite like. It is a nice one to finish off a meal, especially washed down with a bit of sloe gin.

Once properly kneaded, you leave it to expanded (with its selfrais-ingness).

Now this is the bit where I add the blackberries to one of the dough balls. You can place them neatly or slap them on or just see what ever you feel like doing. I fold them inside the dough.

I put the two dough balls on top of billy can lids and then into the oven. This is a metal dustbin, laid on its side, with fire underneath it.

It is hard to say how long you leave the bread. I go back and check it every 30 minutes or so and then when it looks ready I take it out. But you shouldn’t have too many sneaky peeks just beforehand, because that can take all of the heat out of the oven and you will be starting from scratch again.

Tap it. It should sound hollow – and mine does. Yup that is just about right. <

The Survival School DVD volume 1 is available from Koolbox.co.uk. For more about Jonny’s bushcraft courses, visit www.survivalschool.co.uk

How to cook bread in the woodsOur bushcraft hero Jonny Crockett on dough

Fieldsports Britain, episode 158. Visit www.fieldsportschannel.tv

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We’re off to Canada where Relentless Pursuit – Hunting Coyote and Whitetail in Alberta Part 103 by OutdoorHubHunting shows bowhunting including calling coyotes – and it’s dramatic.

Keep heading west and we get to a deer herd in the South Pacific. Hunting Rusa deer in New Caledonia part 51 shows Waikarimoana after trophy Rusa stags with, he is the first to admit, a couple of mistakes.

We complete our round-the-world trip on Rabbit Hunting With CZ 452 .22

Rimfire Rifle. Fieldsports1 is shooting rabbits from a vehicle and he is keen to share all his techniques.

Using liquidised bait shows Shimano/Dynamite baits’ Jonny Watt on the best recipe he has: liquidised corn and maggot.

Now it’s time for fish on some kind of mind-altering drug. TunaXXL, Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada by Thomas Schmidt is the closest we can get, all set to a heady sound track.

Back to earth with a bump and Modern Trapping Series Part 38 Dog Proof Coon Traps by WildernessOutfitters shows an

excellent spring trap which you will have to check for legality in your own country but may give you some good ideas. WildernessOutfitters is currently the sixth biggest hunting/shooting/fishing YouTube channel in the world.

We get little drive bird shooting on YouTube so it is a joy to see a film of a pheasant shooting day at Dungarthill Estate near Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland in late November 2012. This comes to us from Robert White.

Finally, fans of the Pirates of the Carib-bean will be surprised to find the film soundtrack used on this wild boar hunting film by 77580nounours. It’s in French but the subtitles are hardly necessary to give you a clue about the action. C’est la grande traque de voulanbord.

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, email the link to charlie@fieldsportchannel.tv

Hunting YouTube Best hunting, shooting and fishing on YouTube

Fieldsports Britain, episode 158. Visit www.fieldsportschannel.tv

Fieldsports Channel brings you the free weekly programme Fieldsports Britain. See us on our website, on YouTube, find us on Facebook and on Twitter. To advertise, contact James Westbrook on +447718126762 james@fieldsportschannel.tv or visit www.fieldsportschannel.tv/category/advertise