Anyone can make a mistake

The maxim for all shooting sports is to kill your quarry humanely and efficiently. Inevitably, despite your best endeavours, there are occasions when this does not happen and the beast or bird is wounded. Your immediate responsibility then shifts to locating the unfortunate and swiftly ending any suffering.

This is why for most wildfowlers the idea of going out on the foreshore without a gundog is akin to venturing forth wearing a polka-dot bikini and snorkel — something that you just don’t do. Game Shots on driven days are supported by a team of pickers-up and their dogs, whose sole job is to ensure dead game is retrieved and the winged are speedily accounted for.

So it is interesting that, when it comes to deer, how many stalkers embark upon an outing without a dog. Most stalkers, particularly those who shoot