Shooting animals is wrong, except for royalty
Every kid should have a hobby. It just so happens that Prince William prefers crawling through heather to blow away a red deer
Terence Blacker
16 April 2002
Stalking is back in the news but, on this occasion, the story is not about some sad psycho with a creepy obsession for Britney Spears, Hugh Grant or Channel Five's latest newsreader. It is stalking in the traditional sporting, let's-go-out-and-shoot-a-stag sense.

It seems that the Prince of Wales has decided to give his older son a rather smart new rifle. To mark Prince William's achievements in his first year at university � not getting photographed face down in the gutter, not punching his uncle on the nose when he tried to film him, not making a fool of himself with a female undergraduate � Prince Charles is spending around �20,000 on a .243 stalking rifle, handmade with a gold inlay by a master gunmaker called Michael Lingard.

It was suggested that the royal crest should be engraved somewhere on the gun, but William, such is his simple, self-effacing humility, insisted upon a modest "W".

There will be mixed reactions to this news. Some will read it as yet another grievous blow inflicted by the Royal Family against the rights of animals. Others will see it as emblematic of the generous sensitivity that makes the newly tearful Prince of Wales so different from his unpleasant father. Most readers, I suspect, will find the whole thing tiresomely irrelevant. Here � and I write as one of the relatively few Independent columnists actually to have shot a stag � I would beg to differ.

Every kid should have a hobby. Some like skateboarding or computer games or going to football matches or raves. It just so happens that Prince William prefers crawling through the heather with a view to blowing away a very large red deer.

It is a teenage thing, a rite of passage. William bagged his first stag at the age of 14, and has been hooked ever since. The usual gang of obsequious royal correspondents claim that he is a good shot, but then they are hardly likely to write that the heir to the throne could not hit a barn door from five paces.

Personally, remembering how he shot a large white sacred ibis, believing it to be a duck, while out shooting in Kenya, I would not advise anyone to take their horse out for a ride near Balmoral while the lad is trying out his new rifle.

I am similarly sceptical about William's rationale for his enthusiasm. He shoots and hunts "not because I actually enjoy massacring other creatures," he has explained. "I deeply revel in nature; I really do enjoy animals as such."

It is a familiar argument � "I love animals so much that I just have to kill them" � and it is no more convincing here than when hare-coursers profess admiration for the brown hare or matadors reveal their profound affection for bulls. Doubtless no one loved otters quite as much as those who once hunted them to extinction in these islands.

As to whether William "deeply revels in nature", one is permitted to doubt whether someone unable to tell a duck from an ibis enjoys animals as such with any degree of seriousness or knowledge.

But the problem is not the deer � stags have to be culled and, if the very rich are prepared to pour thousands into the local economy in return for their bloody thrill, it seems a sensible arrangement. In this case, it is the stalker I worry about.

In spite of the evidence of the past month, during which a startlingly large proportion of the population revealed itself to be as unhealthily hooked on monarchy-worship as ever, the Windsors are facing change. The trappings of class and privilege with which they have ring-fenced their family down the centuries have been seen to instil a kind of blinkered, willed stupidity in each generation. The admirable Prince Edward tried to break free, but was punished and driven back into his cage by the press, who depend upon a dysfunctional Royal Family. It is now time for the next generation to take up the challenge.

William should go out and shoot his stag. With a bit of luck, the memory of its death will haunt him as he grows older. The ancient sika stag that posed sleepily in front of me in a wood in Northern Ireland while I was in my teens did not die in vain. Far from being elating, the experience put me off shooting, an important step towards my claiming my own life rather than one that was expected of me.

It is perhaps a useful, small test for the Windsor family. On the one hand, Prince William, as he takes his course in environmental studies, can behave appropriately and allow his new present to gather dust in the gun cupboard. On the other � and this seems more likely to happen � he can emulate his grandfather, who blithely combined the international presidency of the Worldwide Fund for Nature with a passion for shooting large numbers of animals. At that point, the monarchy itself will be in the bag.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

The size of Prince William a 243 seems a tad small.

If only. What a clown.

I'm surprised that he didn't invoke "Princess Diana spinning in her grave at the thought of Willy killing."

I agree with Saeed's sentiment though..."Way to go Prince Charles!". Sure nice to see someone with influence that is not hiding his passion for hunting, for fear of public reprisal.

Canuck

http://argument.independent.co.uk/regular_columnists/terence_blacker/
Terrence Blacker sure does like to play to the "class wars" angle. Just my two cents worth...

-Bob F.

JohnTheGreek

However... nothing personal against the honest, died-in-the-wool gun lovers from the United Kingdom on this board, but... A LOT OF YOU BRITS SUCK! At least the Prince bought his kid a rifle instead of a video game. The guy obviously has some redeeming values I can respect... but this "hopefully, William will get it out of his system" guy needs to go.

And 20,000 pounds for a rifle? Obviously not a Wal-Mart blue-light special.

Just a 'W?' Oh well. Personally, I'd have gone for the crest.

Russ

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"Out here, 'due process' is a bullet!" -- John Wayne, "The Green Berets"

[This message has been edited by Russell E. Taylor (edited 04-17-2002).]

Safe Shooting!
Steve Redgwell
303british.com

quote:

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Originally posted by Russell E. Taylor:
I presume a Brit wrote the article. As a Yank, I sure appreciate you Limeys jumping into the fray over in Afghanistan -- among various other hotspots that you've helped us with over the many years. I'm personally glad you don't seem to be holding 1776 against us.

However... nothing personal against the honest, died-in-the-wool gun lovers from the United Kingdom on this board, but... A LOT OF YOU BRITS SUCK! At least the Prince bought his kid a rifle instead of a video game. The guy obviously has some redeeming values I can respect... but this "hopefully, William will get it out of his system" guy needs to go.

And 20,000 pounds for a rifle? Obviously not a Wal-Mart blue-light special.

Just a 'W?' Oh well. Personally, I'd have gone for the crest.

Russ

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Russell - Amen to all that.

But 20k for a Bolt gun? H&H "only" charge �14k. There must be some fancy engraving on this piece.

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Regards

Richard

Seems lunacy to choose 243 in a rifle to be used exclusively for Highland Red Stags (can't imagine HRH culling hinds)Most estates do not allow or at least actively discourage 243 for stags allthough some professionals have liked it with the 105/100gr RN.The classic Scottish calibres are 30-06, 7x57, 270 and latterly 6.5x55/25-06.

That should be interesting.........J

This reporter, like all those hypocrites who are happy to tuck into a nice juicy steak, but stand against hunting, do not like to the facts of life.

I like the old saying:

For every living creature to survive another day, another creature has to die.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

quote:

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Originally posted by CGB:
His grandma is no slouch either! She made the news here a while back for wringing the necks of a couple pheasants (in front of the cameras no less!)that her labs had retrieved during a driven shoot. I believe she was just handling the dogs and not shooting at the time.
C.G.B.

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Yup. The Queen is an exceptional gundog handler.

quote:

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Originally posted by Russell E. Taylor:
Just a 'W?' Oh well. Personally, I'd have gone for the crest.

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I guess the crest is OK - it's his - but the plain "W" is a bit classier.

quote:

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Originally posted by CGB:
His grandma is no slouch either! She made the news here a while back for wringing the necks of a couple pheasants (in front of the cameras no less!)that her labs had retrieved during a driven shoot. I believe she was just handling the dogs and not shooting at the time.

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Classy lady.

Russ

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"Out here, 'due process' is a bullet!" -- John Wayne, "The Green Berets"

And this article is just another example of "Royal knocking". The media wants the English Royal family to be just as inane, hypocritical, self seeking, and superficial as the ex-blonde bimbo, Pricess "Di".

Good on Charlie in giving his son a traditional gift, his own rifle.

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John
alias Nitro

NitroExpress.com
communities.msn.com/NitroExpressCom

Good luck and good shooting

The problem with places like Scotland is many of the hunters rarely actually pull the trigger "in anger" at game. and so are very inexperienced. An example includes a foreign hunter who used his drilling. Fired his shotgun barrel and not the rifle barrel underneath (why was his shotgun was loaded anyway ????)

Scottish stags are generally on the smaller side (in body size) if compared to New Zealand, Australia, Eastern Europe etc.

Still a large deer of course.

But you are right in that generally most people would say for red deer, a .25 with a 115 gr bullet and up is preferable. One of the best combinations is a 6.5mm and a 125 or 140 gr bullet. Personally I use either a 6.5 or my trusty .30-06 with 150 grs.

But there is no reason a good experienced and/or disciplined shot couldn't use a .243. A .243 sounds like a wonderful calibre for a young bloke to start off with, to learn real shooting. Before progressing to all these crap Ultramags, WSM, Dakotas and Weatherbys.

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John
alias Nitro

NitroExpress.com
communities.msn.com/NitroExpressCom