Fish and Game

Jake is a bit crook this week, so Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner are joined by Richard Prideaux to talk about something everybody assumes they have covered until it all goes wrong: staying safe outdoors.Richard spent years working in mountain rescue, outdoor safety and risk training, but this isn't about turning a day's fishing or shooting into a special forces operation. It's about working out what can realistically go wrong, what actually matters and what you can do about it before you leave the house.  They get into the difference between likelihood and consequence, why experienced people can become more complacent than beginners, the idea of thinking "left of bang", telling somebody where you're going, first aid, group dynamics and why sometimes the safest thing you can do is tell one of your mates to stop being an idiot. There is also a beater who is specifically told not to go near a mine shaft and promptly goes to look at it, 25 people and 17 dogs wandering over to have a look, spaniel emergencies solved by mars bars and Richard explaining why the last time he nearly died was on a boat and definitely wasn't his fault. In this episode:  Why experience can sometimes make you less safeLikelihood, consequence and how we actually judge riskThinking "left of bang" before something goes wrongWhat to think about when shooting, stalking or fishing aloneThe mine shaft incident and the problem of secondary casualtiesFirst aid for people and dogs in the fieldWhy group dynamics can make sensible people do stupid thingsNear misses, shortcuts and learning from other people's mistakes Useful links:  - Support SideCountry on Patreon Part of the SideCountry Network.DISCLAIMERViews are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

Why doesn't Britain have its own MeatEater?This week Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner are joined by SideCountry producer and conservationist Amy Green to compare British field sports media with one of America's biggest hunting brands.They look at why MeatEater reaches beyond people who already hunt, how adventure, ecology, food and storytelling make field sports feel more accessible, and whether British shooting still presents itself through too much tweed, tradition and exclusivity.  The conversation also gets into wild food, rough shooting, conservation, the difference between explaining and defending field sports, and whether British media has forgotten to show why people enjoy doing this stuff in the first place. In this episode:- Why MeatEater works beyond an audience of hunters- The difference between British and American field sports media- Whether UK shooting looks too elitist and inaccessible- Why adventure, ecology and food make a better story than just the kill- What British field sports could learn from MeatEater- Why shooting media may spend too much time defending itself- Talking to the neutral majority rather than committed opponents- Showing where wild food actually comes from- How Fish and Game could tell better stories about the countrysideUseful links: - Support SideCountry on Patreon- Fish and Game on SideCountry- MeatEater- MeatEater Shows- Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing- SideCountry Part of the SideCountry Network.DISCLAIMERViews are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

A gundog is not, as Sam points out, a dog with a gun.This week Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner get into the dogs that make a day in the field possible, from pointers and setters to spaniels, Labradors and the assorted pets that somehow find themselves in a beating line.They look at the different jobs gundogs have been bred to do: finding, flushing, pointing and retrieving game, and why the perfect dog for one job might be completely wrong for another.But this isn’t really about perfectly trained demonstration dogs. Most people have a dog that spends far more time being part of the family than working on a shoot, so how much should we actually expect from them?There are spaniels that won’t retrieve, Labradors that can apparently straighten corkscrews, dogs that know when there’s absolutely nothing in the cover you’re trying to send them into, and the occasional reminder that a badly behaved gundog can ruin a drive remarkably quickly.They also talk about picking up, beating, peg dogs, steadiness, recall, trusting a dog’s nose and the work that goes into building a partnership between dog and handler.And eventually it comes back to the reason most of us have them in the first place. They might be muddy, stubborn, expensive and occasionally embarrassing, but a day in the field is almost always better with a dog.In this episode:What actually makes a gundogThe different jobs of pointers, setters, spaniels and retrieversFindy dogs, flushy dogs and fetchy dogsThe difference between a working dog and a family pet that also worksWhy expectations matter when your dog only shoots a handful of days each yearHPRs and the hunt, point, retrieve combinationCockers and springers in the beating lineLabradors and the art of picking upPeg dogs and what makes a good oneWhy recall and a stop whistle matter so muchSteadiness around game and other dogsWhat makes a useful beating dogWhat makes a good picking-up dogLearning to trust your dog’s noseWorking dogs in water and on wildfowling daysWhy some dogs are simply better suited to certain jobsThe reality of owning a spanielWhy the relationship between dog and handler matters more than perfectionThe memories you build with working dogsWhy a day in the field is nearly always better with a dogUseful links:– Support SideCountry on Patreon– The Game Fair: Dogs and Gundog Events– The Game Fair: Home International Gundog Competitions– Royal Kennel Club: Field Trials and Working Gundogs– Royal Kennel Club: New to Field Trials?– Royal Kennel Club: Gundog Training Days– The Gundog Club: Graded Training SchemePart of the SideCountry Network.DISCLAIMERViews are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

How do you get into country sports when you didn't grow up around them?Listener James has recently moved from a major city to rural Wales with his young family. He wants to get involved in country life but has no shooting or fishing background and nobody locally to show him the ropes. So where do you start? Apply for a shotgun certificate? Buy a fishing rod? Book a shoot day? Join an organisation? Or simply find somebody who knows what they're doing?Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner reckon the answer is much simpler: don't rush out and buy all the kit. Go beating.They explain what a beating line actually does, how to find a local shoot, what you need for your first day and why listening to the keeper and watching the people either side of you is considerably more useful than trying to learn all the lingo beforehand.But beating is also about much more than moving birds towards a line of Guns. For somebody new to an area, it can provide an instant community and a route into dogs, clays, game shooting, pigeon shooting, fishing and the wider rural world. It can also involve flags, radios, sausage rolls, chocolate-based bribery and, apparently, free sloe gin from 9.30 in the morning.There are also stories of children disappearing into bogs, beaters quietly starting to support the pheasant after enough Guns have missed it, and the particular satisfaction of coming home wet, tired and covered in brambles after a day spent outside with good people.And, as James has now proved, they really do read the emails.In this episode:How to get into country sports when you have no previous experienceWhy you probably shouldn't buy a gun or fishing rod straight awayWhy beating is one of the easiest ways into the shooting worldWhat a beater actually doesHow to find a local shoot and introduce yourselfWhat to wear and what to take on your first dayUnderstanding the beating line and listening to the keeperTaking children and family alongBeaters' Day and getting your first experience on the gun lineHow beating can lead to dogs, clays, pigeon shooting and other country sportsWhy chocolate, sausage rolls and port can make you surprisingly popularThe social side of joining a shootFavourite memories from the beating lineUseful links:- BASC: Beating- Fish and Game: From Zero to Salmon - sort of- SideCountry NetworkDISCLAIMERViews are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

What does The Gentlemen actually get right about a driven shoot?Season two of Guy Ritchie's Netflix series opens with a grand shooting party at the Horniman family estate. There are aristocrats, international guests, matching guns, loaders, helicopters, business deals and some fairly questionable CGI birds.Spoiler warning: this episode discusses the opening episode of season two of The Gentlemen.But if this was your first glimpse of driven game shooting, how much of it resembles the real thing?Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner go through the shoot scene and separate the television flourishes from the surprisingly authentic bits.They look at why shoot days are such social occasions, the difference between an invitation from a mate and the shooting equivalent of a corporate box, and why the gamekeeper remains in charge regardless of how wealthy or important the Guns might be.There is also etiquette, loaders, picking-up teams, gun choice, hot pegs, the final bag and what someone going on their first driven day should actually expect.And because a Guy Ritchie crime drama cannot be allowed to pass without consequences, Sam finishes with a quiz asking Jake and Avian to distinguish between varieties of pheasant and varieties of weed.In this episode:What The Gentlemen gets right about driven shootingWhat television inevitably gets wrongWhy a shoot day is about more than pulling the triggerInvitations, networking and the shooting equivalent of a corporate boxWhy the gamekeeper runs the dayShoot etiquette and knowing how to behaveGuns, loaders and picking-up teamsGreedy shooting and sporting behaviourWhat happens at the end of a driven dayWhat to expect from your first shootWhy syndicates can be a good way into game shootingCGI birds and suspiciously summery shoot daysWeed or pheasant?Useful links:Netflix: The GentlemenThe Code of Good Shooting PracticeSideCountryPlease note: If you are new to game shooting, seek appropriate instruction, listen carefully to the shoot briefing and always follow current firearms law and safety guidance.Part of the SideCountry Network.DISCLAIMERViews are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.