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South East Scotland
South East of Scotland Branch Update - October 2011
Professor Jim Simpson at the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, Bush Estate is looking for samples of any unusual lesions found in wild deer to help with a study he is completing. Please take a picture of the lesion using your mobile phone and (if safe to do so) collect a sample of affected tissue either fresh if delivered quickly or kept frozen or in formalin where there is a delay. Please send picture and short statement of what you have found to . Once contact is made he may be able to identify the lesion or may request submission of the sample for analysis. The aim is to help stalkers identify abnormalities in wild deer for their own interest but also to build up a library of common diseases and lesions in wild deer, for training purpose and publication at a later date.
Unless otherwise stated Branch meeting will take place in the Education Centre with Dalkeith Country Park starting at 7pm (enter Dalkeith Country Park from Dalkeith High Street, take first turning on left and Education Centre is 50 yards on the right).
History of Deer Parks The South East Deer Society enjoyed an interesting talk by Chris Badenoch on the evolution of Deer Parks in Scotland. Chris is a well-known expert on all aspects of countryside management, having worked for NTS, SNH and other like organisations. His insight into this subject gave a whole new meaning to how we look at Deer and Deer Parks in Southern Scotland. These Parks were much more common than we would have thought, with many Estate's involved in the tincheal that is the driving of deer over a wide area and the hand to hand slaughter of wild deer as an entertainment. Many thanks to Chris for this entertaining evening. Deer in Eastern Australia On Tuesday 6th September the Branch meeting was attended by Roger Thornback who was visiting from Melbourne, Australia. He very kindly gave those present an impromptu presentation on deer in eastern Australia covering different types of species, habitat, firearms legislation and access to hunting grounds. One of the most surprising facts was that the various organisation who support field sports in New South Wales had formed an alliance to form a political party and as a result they now had two MP's in the upper house protecting the interests of all those involved in field sports. Perhaps something the UK field sports organisations should consider? Reloading Steve Baldry provided a very thorough presentation on the art of reloading on Tuesday 6th September. With the emphasis being on safety Steve covered topics such as types of loads for different targets, pressure variables including overpressure signs, brass sizing, headspace, powder and ballistic programs. As a follow up to this presentation a practical workshop will be arranged to take those interested through preparation of a set of cartridges for their own rifles. Scottish Inter Branch Shoot The Scottish Inter Branch Shoot took place on 28th August at the Jubilee Range, Blair Atholl. Much to the surprise of all the Branch members who were present the South East of Scotland not only came in second place to Highlands Branch on the team competition (best placing for a number of years!) but John Bremner got the top gun prize with John Campbell-Smith a very close second. Well done to the team! - John Campbell-Smith (Capt), John Bremner, Tony Manktelow, Dougie Sibbald,
Wilf Cross Trophy 2011 The results of the competition were:
Many thanks to the RCO's John Campbell-Smith and Steve Baldry for ensuring the event ran smoothly. The Branch Clay shoot took place on 7th June at the Lammerlaw Gun Club, Macmerry. Congratulations go to John Mckenzie for his win with Calum Abernethy in second and a joint third between Mark Telfer and Fraser Abernethy. All members and guests who attended had very enjoyable evening with many thanks to the Lammerlaw Gun Club who hosted the event and David Laidlaw who organised the evening.
Presentation on Diseases in Deer by Ken Urquhart Ken Urquhart provided an extremely interesting and very thorough presentation on diseases in deer to the Branch on 5th May. Ken was able to provide very clear photographs of some of the types of diseases a stalker may find with the emphasis being on most diseases and very rare. He also showed some photographs of the malformation in deer he has come across in his stalking career. Reloading Discussion Forum A reloading discussion forum was held on 5th April which was well attended by Branch members. A good discussion ensued covering various topics from basics in reloading thru to the finer points of tuning a round. Various members who are interested in starting to do their own reloading attended and found it very interesting. Game Management in South Africa As a prelude to the AGM on Wednesday 2nd February Chris Pike (a qualified conservationist and practising game ranger from South Africa) gave a lecture on the history of game utilisation and management in South Africa from the early colonial days up to the present. The emphasis was on how modern day game management practises with private game ownership had fundamentally changed the face of game and ecosystem conservation. As well as an overview of the significant advances being made, he explained the current management practises including capture and relocation, genetic breeding and utilisation of various game species. This was an excellent lecture which was fully enjoyed by the audience
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