Game & Gun Gazette

An immersion in British Countrysports

Last year British correspondent and Editor-at-Large John Gregson described in great detail the importance of the annual CLA Game Fair on the calendar of British countrysports (see “All the Fun of the Fair,” May/June ’07). Comparing the annual three-day event—the granddaddy of all game fairs—to a requisite pilgrimage, Gregson wrote that “. . . missing the Game Fair would be unthinkable and the omission would cast a long, dark shadow over the start of the shooting season on the Glorious Twelfth of August.”
    In 1958 the Country Landowners Association (CLA) initially helped launch an exposition and show to promote country-sports, including hunting, fishing, riding and all manner of related rural interests. The idea proved popular, attracting more than 135,000 enthusiasts in recent years. The Game Fair is undoubtedly the largest shooting event in the UK, with 180 shooting-related exhibitors, including gunmakers, gun dealers and retailers. A complete line of clays stations nearby allows visitors to try out the merchandise.
    But last year’s Game Fair—the 49th, scheduled for Harewood House, in Yorkshire—was not to be. Torrential summer rains in England made a soggy, flooded mess of the estate, and organizers strained at the decision to allow tens of thousands of participants and their vehicles onto the grounds. The day of reckoning came, organizers pondered, and the rain again poured down, washing away what is essentially a countrysports holiday and an estimated $70 million of economic activity tied to the Game Fair.
    On then to the 50th Anniversary, to be held, as if to compensate for last year’s loss, at Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire—an extraordinary estate, World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill—among Britain’s greatest palaces. The show will spread over 500 acres of the grounds Friday through Sunday, July 25 to 27.
    Americans considering a visit will find special packages in the visitors’ information section of the Game Fair Website (www.gamefair.co.uk), offering help with airport transfers, hotel accommodations, entrance to the show and complementary use of the CLA Members Enclosure, with its first-class facilities. For more information, call 01144-1256-389767 or e-mail gamefair@cla.org.uk.   —Ed Carroll


Owens Hunter Dog Box

Dogs travel in a variety of ways—everything from riding shotgun in the passenger seat (not the safest method) to curled up in a hard-plastic crate to lounging in a custom trailer that I would be happy to call home. But for the average hunter who is interested in transporting his dogs comfortably, safely and fairly often during the season, it’s hard to beat a traditional dog box.
    This past fall we tested one of the Hunter Series Dog Boxes—the Model 55009—from Owens Prod-ucts. This is a two-compartment box with outside dimensions of 48" (w) x 45"(d) x 26" (h). The box is made of welded aluminum with a double layer on top for extra strength, and the exterior diamond-tread pattern adds strength as well as hides scratches. The two slam-latch doors are lockable and contain “storm covers” with removable panels. Side air vents measure 7" (h) x 10" (w).
      Each of the two dog compartments measures 24" (w) x 44" (d) x 25" (h) and is lined with corrugated plastic as an insulating barrier between the dogs and the aluminum. (Owens also offers rubber mats as well as 2"-thick, water-resistant, Cordura-covered foam pads as flooring.) A barred opening in the partition between the compartments allows for cross-ventilation.
    We ordered the box early last fall in time to load it into SSM Ad Sales Rep Jeremy Hatch’s Toyota Tundra full-size pickup for a drive to New Brunswick. Jeremy’s two medium-size German shorthairs would share one compartment and my larger wirehair would occupy the other. The box was light enough (about 95 pounds) to be lifted by its handles and placed in the truck bed by one person. Straps then were run from the handles to the bed to secure the box.
    During our trip the box worked very well,Original Art Befi as the dogs had plenty of room and seemed comfortable. We didn’t encounter extreme weather, but there was some early season heat and we were glad to be able to open the side air vents. We also removed the front storm panels, and this resulted in one of our few criticisms: that there is no place to store them. Of course if we had ordered one of the many models that Owens offers with top or bottom storage, this wouldn’t have been an issue. (A real plus to these panels, by the way, is that they do not completely cover the door openings, so dogs can never be sealed inside entirely.)
After our hunt Jeremy continued using the box, and it served well into the late season. When temperatures eventually dropped, he simply put blankets in the box for added insulation. And when the second compartment wasn’t in use, it came in handy for storage.
    Owens offers a variety of boxes with different numbers of compartments for everything from trucks to ATVs. (Regarding sizing, the company recommends that a compartment be wide enough for a dog to comfortably turn around in and lay down but not high enough for the dog to be able to stand throughout a trip.) The SRP on our box—the Model 55009—is $624.
    For more information, contact Owens Products, Inc., 800-726-9367 or 269-651-2300; www.owens-pro.com.  —Ralph P. Stuart


Wingfield:  Wingshooter's Paradise

It seems a shooter’s dream come true—to buy a home and not only receive with it a bespoke “best” gun but also to be able to walk out of the back door and enjoy sport in one of the nation’s most exclusive and finest shooting areas.
    What promises to be one of North America’s most impressive life-style communities based around wingshooting and fieldsports is taking shape in southeastern South Carolina. Wingfield, located just off of I-95, is planned as a 1,900-acre low-density residential resort community featuring a 100-acre English-style shoot-ing ground; dove and quail fields; waterfowl impoundments; fishing lakes and river access; a Continental tower shoot; rifle and pistol ranges; and hunting programs for wild... Read More »

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