A-Z of Useful Information

By popular request I am pleased to give details of my own recipe for "Bullshot". It is best mixed the previous evening and left to marinade overnight.

Sufficient ingredients to make a "brew" for 9 guns: approximately 3 litres

2 No. 400 g tins: Heinz Oxtail Soup

5 No. 415 g tins: Baxters Beef Consomme

1 No. 200 ml bottle: Schweppes Tomato Juice cocktail or V8 is even better

2 tablespoons of Geo Walkers Mushroom ketchup

A few drops of Lea & Perrins Worcester Sauce

A few less drops of McIlhenny Co. Tabasco pepper sauce

A pinch of paprika or cayenne pepper (or both if it is a very cold day!)

Then leave covered overnight. Heat up around 6.30 a.m. when you are half awake!

Bring to simmer and stir in 1 No. heaped tablespoon Knorr Beef Bouillon paste and 1 twisted table fork of Marmite

Stir well and bring to simmer then add Croft Original Sherry to taste. Do not spoil it with Vodka or similar

Store in a thermos or similar container until required.

I may try a few additional ingredients each season! I look forward to hearing how you all get on with this as getting the quantities right is the key to a good brew!

All proceeds from our daily sweep, non-shooting guest lunches and fines are donated to our Shoot Charity Fund. Each season we raise in excess of £15,000. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust GWCT receives a major part, with the remaining distributed to worthy causes allied to Field Sports, or local to the Shoot.

Contact Malcolm Birkett

Tel: 01423 603 144 Mobile: 07359 084 101 E-mail: malcolm@theyorkshirechauffeur.com  

Guns are most welcome to bring their own dogs, however it is most important to keep them pegged during a drive if you feel there is any possibility of them running in. Once the drive is over the dogs (and owners) may do whatever they wish provided they keep count of what they have picked. Although we have a very experienced team of pickers up, guns will always have the opportunity to work their dogs provided they work closely with the pickers up.

At the end of each shoot day each gun will receive a pack of pheasant or partridge breasts ready chilled for the oven or freezer. You may take as much game in feather as you wish at the end of a shoot day. Could you please advise the Shoot Host at the start of the day the number of species of game in feather required.  

We have released a number of white pheasants at Mountgarret shoot. If you shoot a white Pheasant, a fine of £100 to £150 will be levied and donated to our Charity Fund. Fines may also be levied by the team on the day for habitual use of mobile phones and other trivial offences!

There should be nowhere on our Shoot where you will get your feet wet if you are only wearing boots. That is of course unless you wish to cross a stream, I have not worn wellingtons on our Shoot for over ten years and recommend boots and gaiters to be an ideal combination.

When you buy a new pair of gloves they may keep you warm but are uncomfortable and awkward until you have worn them in to fit you. The same applies to your shotguns. You may buy a shotgun and find the stock to be the ideal length for you so you feel you have the right gun. You may shoot well with it. However if the stock had been finely adjusted to fit you, you may well shoot even better. If you have never had your gun actually fitted for you, I do strongly recommend that you do this. It is not expensive and can make your favourite gun even better.

Local gunshops and shooting accessories suppliers

The Brown Trout Co., 26 Cold Bath Road, Harrogate HG2 0NA

Contact: Tim Brown 01423 709741 sales@brown-trout.org   www.browntroutonline.co.uk

Northallerton Shooting and Countrywear. The Paddocks, Breckenbrough, Thirsk YO7 4EL

Contact: Tom Bell 01845 587207 northallertonshooting@btconnect.com

We are able to land helicopters - please contact us for details.

DLS Aviation for all your VIP travel needs to the Shoots or arriving into the Country , We arrange world wide travel on private jets and our fleet of helicopters.  Also Range Rovers for chauffeur on the Moor and the airport runs, We also have loaders too.  Contact: Dawn Smith 01642 640544 or 07548 730466 or Liz Dennison 07548 730466     https://www.dlsaviation.co.uk

It is becoming more and more difficult to find someone able to repair gunslips and other leather items. I can recommend:

Newfields, Galphay, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 3NT

Tel: 01765 658565

E-mail: nigelmcconnell678@gmail.com

As we may be under more stress without our phones than with them, all I ask is that they are used with the minimum of disruption to the other guns, preferably in the vehicles between drives and certainly not during a drive or at lunch. Suitable fines may be imposed on habitual offenders with all proceeds to our Charity Fund!!

I have no objections to peg sharing, however I suggest alternate drives. Unfortunately this may not give an equal number of shots. Both guns shooting is possible but I suggest 10 shots each and change over – not alternative shots as two guns recently tried!!

For real quality products such as silver and gilded drinks tumblers, peg place finders, gun bag and gun sleeve straps:

Should you be considering a new suit for shooting, business or any other sporting clothing, I can strongly recommend Jeremy Shaw at Carters Countrywear, 

7 The Market Place, Helmsley, YO62 5BH. 

Tel: 01439 770688.

We also have an excellent gentleman's tailors and outfitters in Harrogate. Jeremy Wood Beaumont at: 

Rhodes-Wood, 56 - 58 Parliament Street, Harrogate, HG1 2RL

Tel: 01423 505878 

E-mail info@rhodeswood.co.uk

Dalesport is a RFD so we are able to store your firearms at a cost off £15 + VAT per week.

A very good friend Nick Radclyffe supplies the Shoot with excellent Sloe, Damson and Plum Gin which are produced for us from a unique ancient recipe. I now much prefer Damson to Sloe. We often mix with Champagne, for Sloe with champagne it makes a “Sloegasm” for Damson with champagne it’s “A Dam Shame”. Bottles are always available for sale on a shoot day or you can purchase direct.

Foxdenton Estate Company Limited, Northfield House, 162 High Street, Winslow, Bucks, MK18 3DQ.

Tel: 01296 713306

If you require a bird or fish mounting for display:

Brian Lancaster, Manley Farm, Masham Road, Bedale, North Yorkshire DL8 2SE

01677 423358

Edward James Taxidermy Ltd, Cleveland Way, Helmsley, North Yorkshire YO62 5AT

07774 369219 info@ejtaxidermy.com

D.H. Taxidermy: Dave Hornbrook

Redlands, Reid Terrace, Guisborough, Cleveland, TS14 6EB

Tel: 01287 630940. 

Mobile: 07809 004783.

E-mail: dave@taxidermists.co.uk 

Website: www.taxidermists.co.uk

Mike Gadd

Hollydene Cottage, Padmans Lane, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire LS23 6BR

Tel: 01937 844580

E-mail: mike@taxidermy.co.uk

Web: www.taxidermy.co.uk

As supplied to the Shoot and installed in the Mountgarret Shoot Yard:

James Keyser Products.

Tel/Fax: 01285 712206

Web: www.jameskeyserproducts.co.uk

Guidance for young people as advised by North Yorkshire Police Firearms Department

There is no minimum age to acquire a shotgun certificate but there are certain restrictions that apply:-

It is an offence for a person under the age of 15 to have an assembled shotgun with him/her unless

• He/she is either under the supervision of a person aged 21 or over.

• The gun is covered with a securely fastened gun cover so that it cannot be fired.

• Persons under the age of 15 may NOT accept a shotgun as a gift.

The aim of the provision is to ensure that before they reach the qualifying age children should not be given shotguns of their own which may tempt them to shoot without supervision. It is in the interest of safety that a young person should be properly taught at a relatively early age. For further information please view our website www.ripleycastleshoot.com under “Important Information”.