Page 29 - The Bugle Autumn 2016 Issue 12

Deer Stalking Certi cate Level 1
On the weekend of the 15 Dec 15, nine members of the Ri es Company embarked on the challenge of attending and passing the Deer Stalking Certif- icate level 1 Course (DSC L1). Run by Paul Crehan and Jamie Allen through the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), DSC L1 is a 3 day course that teaches the fundamentals of hunting within England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The course is broken down into a number of stages. Pre-learning takes place a minimum of 4 weeks before the course, and the weekend itself consists of classroom based learning, a practical safety assessment, a recognition test and a shooting test. The main aims of the course are to show you how to shoot and identify species, and to think about the rami cations of your actions as a stalker. Deer management should always be done humanely, and this theme ran throughout the course.
It was a slightly early start on the rst day; even though the course didn’t kick off until 0900hrs (until 1700hrs daily), everyone headed off early to make sure they arrived in plenty of time. Apart from Capt Hugh Hemsley & Capt Kenji Ara who were obviously enjoying each other’s company in the Ri es Cottage a little too much, as they decided to join the course 20 minutes late. While the rst two days were the longest in terms of time spent in the classroom with Paul & Jamie on permanent send, they were made even longer, but at times more enjoyable, by Paul spinning dits about his time in the Police Force and endless years as a ghillie in the Scottish Highlands. It was a massive amount of information, covering the laws in Scotland, England and Wales as well as animal identi cation and the characteristics of each species, and the inspection, preparation and correct handling of game meat.
On the nal day the course departed for Light- water Valley, a local amusement park that was (luckily) closed for the winter. (This was even more fortunate due to the large amount of offensive of cer tweed at caps on show by various members of the team!) Here the shooting test and safety stalk were conducted before sitting down for one nal time to conduct the nal written assessments and complete the visual recognition test. By late on the Sunday everyone had completed all of the course paperwork, been briefed on the process of retest should it be needed and then sent away to eagerly anticipate the arrival of the certi cates.
I’m pleased to report that all nine passed the safety and shooting tests with ying colours and that everyone managed to get well over 90% on all of the written assessments. By the end of the rst week in January 2016 all received DSC L1 certi cates.
The Yorkshire McNab
A ‘’McNab’’, namely to stalk a Red Deer, shoot a brace of Grouse and catch a Salmon all within one day, is derived from the famous novel by John Buchan under the title ‘’John McNab’’. Members of the Ri es Company embarked on the Yorkshire version, consisting of stalking a roe deer, shooting a brace of duck and catch a trout all within one day. On Thursday 24 September 2015, Capt Harry Jenner and WO2 (Lanny) Lansdowne along with another two members of 1ITB G7 embarked on what was to be a memorable day of sportsmanship.
The DSC L1 shooting test
Capt Jenner and WO2 Lansdowne headed for the lakes at Ripon for around 0830hrs whilst the other 2 team members began slightly earlier ( rst light) with their stalk on a roe deer. Within minutes of arrival at the lakes on a gorgeous sunny day WO2 Lansdowne had caught three decent sized rainbow trout, almost certainly beginners luck, and Capt Jenner had been beaten and lost every sh that had come near him. At midday everyone met for a home cooked lunch of venison stew, fresh quiche and cake before joining forces and heading out to get our brace of duck. Once again Sjt Major Lansdowne’s luck was in taking 2 brace, and Capt Jenner was unlucky again, only ring 1 shell at a pigeon that he missed! This took the majority of the afternoon, again stopping for some excellent scoff before the evening brief was delivered and we departed on our stalks.
We stalked separate areas of the Ripon countryside, with not much being seen apart from the odd pheasant and rabbit scattered across the elds. It was only during the last 20 minutes of the stalk, just as the light was fading to an amount that was only just acceptable to shoot, when WO2 Lansdowne glanced over and identi ed a group of three roe deer already in their winter coats and grouped together. Jamie informed him of his cull animal, a fair sized buck that was moving in and out of cover from left to right. Another 15 minutes passed as he eagerly waited for the moment to release the round. Then it came, 87 yards from the standing supported position from shooting quad sticks. A large thump was heard as the round struck the deer, and he ran but then dropped to the oor. After a few moments a follow up was conducted and the carcass inspected; it was a good quality roe buck.
Everyone returned to the Bolton Arms pub to meet the others where WO2 Lansdowne was informed that he could gloat slightly as he was the only member of the team who completed the Yorkshire McNab. Capt Jenner returned home fairly downcast after a shocking 24 hours!
WO2 Lansdowne, CSM Ri es Company
CAPT JENNER RETURNED HOME FAIRLY DOWNCAST AFTER A SHOCKING 24 HOURS!
Members of the DSC L1 course
THE RIFLES
TRAINING 27