How things used to be (warning miserable old git content)

1894

Well-Known Member
Look back in anger........

I started stalking slightly over 20 years ago. The 6x42 had just knocked the 4x32 off it's perch as the premier stalkers scope. Binos were a straight choice between 7x42 SLCs or 7x42BGATs. The vast majority of rifles were blued wood and the vast majority of them were designed to be walked with. Twin sticks were used by a few bearded types from the St Herberts, the rest of us used single sticks. Lots of stalking = muffs or deafness.

There weren't very many of us. Our publications were delivered by subscription. People who wrote about stalking had a lot of experience in the field. Most writing was about deer and stalking not firearms. There was very little knowledge available about ballistics, loading etc unless you bought it in paper.

With the exception of counties well known for trophies most stalking was free or for a portion of the venison. There was a lot of land available. For the most part a stalker enquiring about shooting rights would tip his hat and walk on if it was already taken. Placing high seats on boundaries was frowned upon. Venison prices from gamedealers was cheap. There were a few but relatively well known people taking clients out and very few people thought stalking owed them a living. Hind stalking was free/very cheap. Most ordinary people thought stalking was in Scotland. Hunting was something done by people in red coats with hounds. A gun was a person with a side by side on a peg and a shooter used in bank jobs.

There were fewer deer but you could stalk them undisturbed by walkers, gamekeepers had legal powers.

Rose tinted specs off - of course a lot of this whinging is driven by the fact that I've lost a lot of stalking but in truth I am sick of the type of stalker that is increasingly the case nowadays. Pushy, ill mannered, interested in numbers above all else, land aquired at all costs regardless of incumbents and endlessly talking complete crap about equipment as well as boasting about ridiculous long range shots.

Curmudgeonly signing off.
 
You've got it about right lots of people even on here who wouldn't think twice about trying to poach your land and wanting all the land for themselves to put syndicates on for stupid money there a lot of con men in this game now
Regards Tom
 
That was the case for me.

I was introduced to stalking by the late "Peter Carne" and together with Peter and a few others we formed the East Hampshire DMG. (If they are members here they will know who they were).

I "was" a member of the aforementioned club but never stalked Thetford.

There were no formal tests at that time except the St H one.

The BDS were just starting to look at introducing tests.

The stalking was either free or as you say it was for a share of the venison.

Having recently returned to stalking I was surprised at how much things have changed, but I guess that is progress !!!!
 
Adam, good to see you posting again, even if it is a rant.

I have not been stalking as long as you, and am nowhere even close to your experience, but you are mostly right about the gear obsessed score keepers.

I was very close to quitting stalking completely last year because of the basic bad sportsmanship and greed I have encountered.
 
I still use a single stick and the Leica binos are as cumbersome as the Zeiss 8X56 milk bottles.

Thank god for fox and squirrel.

I sympathise.

K
 
1894

You are 99.999999% correct in all of your points and I understand and agree fully where your coming from .. other than ..

Having been a member of The St. Hubert Club for a lot longer than you have been stalking, I must say that I have never been a bearded type or class myself anything other than a straight talking Yorkshire man, who has in the past been known to have caused a few waves within the club ( my opinions and arguments have always been first and foremost for the benefit of the club ) Find a member and ask !

I will defend my club and what it stands for to the limits of my beliefs and my ability, and, I would respectfully request that you and any other lady / gentlemen referring to my club do so by using the correct name, I see no justifiable reason for mockery

That`s my grumpy old man bit over with

Bob
 
That's a tough ask! My deliberate mis-spell was intended as no more than gentle ribbing not mockery. I agree with 99% of the aims of the club but used to think male only membership a real negative. Has this changed?

PS I'll use the U in future. As for the beard there was a magnificent photo of a member stalking in Thetford with maasive beard, 8x56s to eyes in the morning sun slanting through the trees and mist. Rifle slung front first a la continent. Still makes me smile
 
Last edited:
I`m not trying to dodge the issue but it`s not for me as a member of the club to discuss it`s politics on this site, I get into enough trouble already, without trying, so don`t want to upset the applecart by voicing my opinion and saying something that`s not 100% correct

As for using the U in future, that would be very much appreciated, Thank you

Out of interest where did the photograph you mention originate from ? book? magazine? would be interested to know as It`s possible I may know him

Sorry to hijack your thread .... so to carry on with your point ,

I have read your post over and over and I couldn't agree with you more, stalking is nothing like what it used to be, It`s now driven by quite a lot of greedy people, making big money from shooting large numbers of deer that, if they were to be managed properly they would not be shot when they are! Ker-ching comes first and the welfare of the deer seems to now come a poor second, NOT IN ALL CASES, BUT IN A LOT!

Now that should liven up your thread a tad :stir:



Bob
 
I shot my first deer in 79, no comment on the calibre, but we had more deer than you could shake a stick at, we ate so much venison that I would not cross the road for it now, it was all we could afford , and that was because it was free, I have never read a stalking mag, we used to skin and cut the deer up ourselves and sell a bit to neighbours for £1/ lb, so we could afford beer and a local butcher paid us the same skin off ( not much better now). We had no pointless qualifications to get a firearms licence.
We owned a long dog and a good light for sport, and a terrier for Sunday mornings, the buck hounds still ran on a Monday and Friday , beagles on a Wednesday and Saturday and fox hounds on a Tuesday and Saturday.
We believed in live and let live, all that is now gone, you only have to read comments on here to see that, people worried about what the bloke next door is doing, a man with a net in the estuary, we may be grumpy but not that old.
 
I shot my first deer in 79, no comment on the calibre, but we had more deer than you could shake a stick at, we ate so much venison that I would not cross the road for it now, it was all we could afford , and that was because it was free, I have never read a stalking mag, we used to skin and cut the deer up ourselves and sell a bit to neighbours for £1/ lb, so we could afford beer and a local butcher paid us the same skin off ( not much better now). We had no pointless qualifications to get a firearms licence.
We owned a long dog and a good light for sport, and a terrier for Sunday mornings, the buck hounds still ran on a Monday and Friday , beagles on a Wednesday and Saturday and fox hounds on a Tuesday and Saturday.
We believed in live and let live, all that is now gone, you only have to read comments on here to see that, people worried about what the bloke next door is doing, a man with a net in the estuary, we may be grumpy but not that old.

pretty much like myself lurchers terriers fishing nets and no comment on the calibre and it was fun ,a lot of it was done for devilment more than gain ,we didnt like the fact that the money had all the priveliges just as it still is but before it was just the wealthy now its just greedy b.....ds trying to get wealthy,we cleared rabbits up the yorkshire dales for years till the hawking clubs started paying for it and that ended that the farmers are just as greedy and yes i know theyr all skint and struggling to make ends meet my heart bleeds ,turn their back on you in a heartbeat and no that isnt all farmers just the gredy ones who drop you like a ton of bricks!!!
 
1969, I started ratting / ferreting usually on Sundays, shooting pigeons & squirrel with .410 & air rifle /fly fishing when I could afford the day ticket, started breeding my own terriers,& eventually obtained a 12 Gauge s/s, got into duck flighting, all excepting the fly fishing being conducted on farm land, with permission costing nothing, I / we still have a vast area of foxing / bunny grounds for free, but have been experiencing the general move towards all forms of shooting having a going rate,

As to the aforementioned St Hubert's club,
Having been a member of The St. Hubert Club for a lot longer than you have been stalking, I must say that I have never been a bearded type or class myself anything other than a straight talking Yorkshire man, who has in the past been known to have caused a few waves within the club ( my opinions and arguments have always been first and foremost for the benefit of the club ) Find a member and ask !

I will defend my club and what it stands for to the limits of my beliefs and my ability, and, I would respectfully request that you and any other lady / gentlemen referring to my club do so by using the correct name, I see no justifiable reason for mockery

That`s my grumpy old man bit over with

Bob
A pair of club members caused a few waves on the Arran scheme, I seem to remember, causing them to be referred to by all on the island at the time, as "Herberts" great hilarity ensued, but I do recognise that not all members of your respected club are of the same ilk.;)
 
I thought I'd just mention that one of the things that's happened from my perspective between when I first took an interest in shooting and now is that it's all become much more accessible to those who don't come from a shooting background. I grew up with no contacts and no cash to make up for it. I read some great books by the likes of the late John Humphreys advising people like me to knock on doors, befriend farmers, go beating, that sort of thing. Except that none of those options exist in the city. So from my perspective, the opening of "closed shops" be it in stalking or wildfowling has been a great boon. Of course, I still don't have vast amount of money to throw at this. The biggest change has been the ability to develop contacts in the shooting community via the magic of the Internet. But without doubt accessibility has improved which doesn't necessarily seem like a great development from the perspective of those who previously enjoyed privileged access to sport.
 
I thought I'd just mention that one of the things that's happened from my perspective between when I first took an interest in shooting and now is that it's all become much more accessible to those who don't come from a shooting background. I grew up with no contacts and no cash to make up for it. I read some great books by the likes of the late John Humphreys advising people like me to knock on doors, befriend farmers, go beating, that sort of thing. Except that none of those options exist in the city. So from my perspective, the opening of "closed shops" be it in stalking or wildfowling has been a great boon. Of course, I still don't have vast amount of money to throw at this. The biggest change has been the ability to develop contacts in the shooting community via the magic of the Internet. But without doubt accessibility has improved which doesn't necessarily seem like a great development from the perspective of those who previously enjoyed privileged access to sport.

+1. Been shooting for many years but when I started out, stalking in particular seemed to be very difficult to break into. Whilst it may now be less gentlemanly and more expensive, there is no doubt that it is more accessible for those with the cash to pay for it.
 
it is more accessible for those with the cash to pay for it.

It's worth mentioning that this isn't necessarily a lot of cash. But beforehand, I just had no idea beyond the top end commercial stuff. People would put classifieds in Shooting Times that were just a phone number, no details, no prices. That's pretty daunting. Making the commitment to blow your entire budget based on absolutely no information was ridiculous. So I didn't do it.
 
It's worth mentioning that this isn't necessarily a lot of cash. But beforehand, I just had no idea beyond the top end commercial stuff. People would put classifieds in Shooting Times that were just a phone number, no details, no prices. That's pretty daunting. Making the commitment to blow your entire budget based on absolutely no information was ridiculous. So I didn't do it.

Agreed. The internet has helped enormously. I started shooting full bore rifles with my dad at Bisley but when he left home I had no opportunities and having purchased my first rifle (Parker Hale in .308) most of the next decade or so was simply an exercise in ensuring that the open nature of my certificate was retained. I did go stalking once from an advert in the Shooting Times but that was it until I purchased my own ground.
 
It all went to hell when woodland stalkers lost hope of finding Meryl Streep beneath their deer seat and swapped their loden for DPM

The+French+Lieutenant's+Woman+4.jpg


K
 
It's worth mentioning that this isn't necessarily a lot of cash. But beforehand, I just had no idea beyond the top end commercial stuff. People would put classifieds in Shooting Times that were just a phone number, no details, no prices. That's pretty daunting. Making the commitment to blow your entire budget based on absolutely no information was ridiculous. So I didn't do it.

I fully agree with you pine marten, as a lad I always wanted to try fly fishing but by making an assumption that it was a rich man's sport and only ever seeing a few of adverts similar to the ones you described above, I avoided it for many years - the years when I had no family commitments to be precise. Now as a married man with kids and very little free time I spend moe time kicking myself that I didn't pursue it earlier in life.
 
Good afternoon folks, having stalked for such a long time since taking a deer without permission some 60years ago I quite agree with our friend that it has become mainly a question of big money,unless like me your are fortunate enough in your dotage to have friends with land. Having been an employed professional stalker I suppose I have been very fortunate in my lifetime to have enjoyed what others couldn't. Bob you are a good man defending the SH Club, I remember it well and taking out many young would be stalkers (who shall remain nameless but write a lot on here) in Thetford. Sadly those days are gone as are most of my contemporaries and you are not left with a lot. Keep the faith Bob and stay cool, hope the PG results were Ok but just keep giving the Ungodly some stick and join the other grumpy old gits.
I`m not trying to dodge the issue but it`s not for me as a member of the club to discuss it`s politics on this site, I get into enough trouble already, without trying, so don`t want to upset the applecart by voicing my opinion and saying something that`s not 100% correct

As for using the U in future, that would be very much appreciated, Thank you

Out of interest where did the photograph you mention originate from ? book? magazine? would be interested to know as It`s possible I may know him

Sorry to hijack your thread .... so to carry on with your point ,

I have read your post over and over and I couldn't agree with you more, stalking is nothing like what it used to be, It`s now driven by quite a lot of greedy people, making big money from shooting large numbers of deer that, if they were to be managed properly they would not be shot when they are! Ker-ching comes first and the welfare of the deer seems to now come a poor second, NOT IN ALL CASES, BUT IN A LOT!

Now that should liven up your thread a tad :stir:



Bob
 
Back
Top