Deerstalking Fair, 9th/10th April 2016, Border Union Showground, Kelso

jamross65

Well-Known Member
We have been getting a few messages asking about this years fair and thought we better highlight some of the plans for the event.

The delay in announcing the format has actually been down to trying to finalise sponsorship, prizes and a few other changes we are hoping to make to ensure the event keeps 'fresh'. Some plans still haven't been concluded as yet but we know enough to make an announcement thus far and updates will follow.

Firstly, we took on board the constructive criticism regarding the seminars and demonstrations that were run in the rear hall. There has been problems in the past with the acoustics, sound system and noise pollution from the surroundings meaning it was sometimes difficult to hear what was being said. Other events at this venue have utilised the dining area next to the kitchen as a dedicated lecture area, so that's what we will be doing this year also. It means a bit of a nightmare for the caterers as all refreshments will now be through in the smaller hall. But it does mean that a good lecture seating area can be provided and the doors shut to ensure little disturbance for those doing the talks.

This year we have already secured Iain Watson from the CIC in doing a presentation on trophy assessment and the changes that have been made to scoring heads. Glynn Ingram, who recently took over as training officer with the BDS will also be present to do a presentation on preparing a head for mounting. This is something a lot of folk struggle with in making a decent job so given his experience a few handy tips could be learned. There will also be butchery best practice demos going on throughout the day instead of at set times so folk can take in as much as they want, whenever they want. Cookery demos will be running alongside the butchery and it looks like we will also have 'Born in the Borders' there selling and allowing tasting of all their locally produced and sourced foods, beer and wines! Those products will feature in the cookery demos. We are hoping to have reloading demos and a Q&A session on that subject as well.

Another point that was made following the 2015 event was the desire to see more rifles at the fair. It's difficult to get large retailers to attend if they don't actually sell many items and thereby struggle to cover costs. However, we have been delighted with the response to our efforts in remedying this. Viking Arms will have models from Ruger, Merkel, Haenel and Magtech as well as a comprehensive range of other shooting related products they distribute. We have been careful to ensure that retailers carrying the stock that Viking Arms distribute will also be in attendance so products will be available to buy or order. Alan Rhone is back this year with rifles and shotguns from Krieghoff, Lynx and Shultz and Larsen. He will have a large stock of other accessories including scope mounts and moderators. It's also hoped that Moray Outfitting will have a stock of rifles for sale and a good display of the latest Sauer models too. Castle Gunmakers are attending with rifles and shotguns as is Game and Country. Cluny Country Store will be back, as they have done every years since the first fair with a large stock of rifles, shotguns and optics from all the major manufacturers. We also have James Clark from Jager SA and Brock and Norris there again with their selection of custom build products. Brock and Norris and Game and Country will have a good stock of reloading equipment and components on their stands too.

The CIC will be there over the two days and will score heads over the weekend while visitors wait.

There is a lot more to mention but hopefully this will suffice in the meantime.

Once we have the finalised list of exhibitors and products drawn up, it may be worth contacting them if your after something specific as they are all willing to bring along items visitors are particularly interested in.

Prices will remain the same as previous years, Adults £10, under 16 free as is the parking for visitors within the grounds.
 
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Brian - really looking forward to it. I'm sure the old-hand traders will be thrilled that the 'night acoustics' will be back in balance with Mike Norris there :D
 
Always enjoy it and you do listen to constructive feedback. Will be there in April thank you.
 
Will miss this one Brian will be out on the bucks but if I got one early might take a run down after.
 
Thank you to all the traders and exhibitors who came along to support the event.

We know that there will always be some who complain no matter what, and it's been highlighted on another thread on here one or two have done so on Facebook. We don't take that personally but if the comments aren't fair then we need to reply as others will be looking in and a balanced argument should be available.

To compare the Deerstalking Fair to a game fair is just silly. A game fair nowadays is a completely different event to those I went to 20 years ago, and far removed from what we put on at Kelso. We always try and get on board what the demand is for, like more rifles which I think we did this year. We try and avoid filling the fair with tat and will always look at new and innovative products that may be of interest. The use of drones for example in estate management is a relatively new concept but covered at the fair as was the expanding world of thermal and night vision. I know a lot of deer managers using it now for numbers counting.

The problem we have is with the venue being relatively small as we want to keep it indoors, we need to make best use of space. One or two call offs and suddenly a gap appears thats difficult to fill with short notice. We are hoping that the rear hall is going to be given a face lift soon and if that happens we will make better use of the extra 400+sq metres that provides.

Unfortunately we were let down badly with 4 days notice on the butchery and venison cookery demos. We had chased those doing this for several weeks and were assured it was still on, including being told a week before the event all was fine. I'm afraid 4 days notice of them deciding then not to come gave very little opportunity to cover that. However, after a day and a half of frantic calls looking for stand ins, the upside is several of those spoken to, including a 2 star Michelin chef all want to get involved next year! This means that we may have a fairly comprehensive demonstration of the use of venison in cooking.

We regularly get approached by those exhibiting offering ideas for the next one and an idea that's sprung up between the BDS and CIC for the next event is being looked at.

Anyway, another year to try and keep this innovative and ensure there is fresh ideas at the fair to keep the interest going.

As the organisers, we were absolutely delighted the young lad who won the binos was as chuffed as he looked in the photo when presented with his prize by Alex Hogg, chairman of the SGA!

Last thank you goes to Viking Arms and their team, who sponsored the event with the prizes and for bringing along a cracking display of rifles and optics. They also had one of the most sophisticated shooting ranges up and running which was very popular, except with Andy and John from The Stalking School, who tried to get them to fit a suppressor to the sound system!!!!
 
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The lucky winner of the bins on the Saturday at the Deerstalking Fair, being presented with his prize by Alex Hogg, Chairman of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association and Graham, from Viking Arms who sponsored the event. All involved were delighted the prize went to a young stalker who will now have a superb pair of Meopta Binos to use. It was the highlight of the weekend for us.
 
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