john b

I had an air rifle as a kid and was a pretty good shot, but with nowhere to shoot and no hunting mentors it never really went anywhere.

I really came to this hunting lark properly quite late - only getting my first shotgun when I was about 30 for shooting clays. From that I was introduced to beating and everything else just flowed from there. Like anything it's really about the people you meet; the places they take you and the things they teach. Now I trap, snare, ferret a little, shoot with shotgun and rifle, grow a bit and forage a bit too. My latest foray is into wine making which I am enjoying very much.

I've always been fascinated by traps though, right from very small. I can remember digging pits on my dad's allotment when I was about 6 or 7 and covering them them with sticks and leaves. I used to be bitterly disappointed not to catch anything.

I think traps appeal to the engineer in me and I love working out how they operate, making them and trying to improve the designs.

I do get out and do a bit of trapping but there are other lads on here doing it day in, day out. By no means do I consider myself to be an expert and I am learning all the time.

One thing I've never been into though is working dogs - again just not had the exposure I suppose so you never know ......