Letters
Write to: The Editor, The Field, Future Publishing PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2 6JR
Email: field.secretary@futurenet.com
LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE
HUNTING MEMORIES
In my part of the world (eastern Germany), the organised shooting of small game has become a rarity. I have only vague childhood memories of driven shoots. Nevertheless, in the back of my mind, there is a small, but persistent, voice reminding me about hunting with a shotgun. So what could be more welcome than to receive an invitation from my hunting friend, Declan, to a pheasant shoot on the Isle of Man.
My welcome on the island is a warm one. No time lost before setting me straight about the local shooting customs, especially the golden rule: shoot only if you can see open sky behind the bird, otherwise let it go. I reach my peg and suddenly there are birds in the air, and shots ringing out across the valley.
With my third shot, I managed my first pheasant. No great skill required – the bird was neither flying very high nor particularly fast, so perfect for a novice.
On the, however. The one beater who saw my attempt said to me at the end of the day, with a very British wink and a tip of his tweed cap, “Kind of you, Sir, to pardon that woodcock.” Nothing can take away the wonderful memories, though.
