Monthly Archives: August 2014

COILLTE WARNING SIGNS

Coillte Warning Sign 2011

Coillte Warning Sign – Click to enlarge

All persons hunting wild deer on Coillte forest property are reminded of the requirement to post Warning Notices in the form prescribed by Coillte Teoranta, at all forest entrances while stalking.

The signs must be a minimum size of 400 m.m. wide, 600 m.m. high.

Murphy Signs of Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny can supply signs at a cost of €9.50 plus VAT @ 23% (no minimum order size). Some volume discount may be negotiable subject to quantity ordered.

Contact Ken Murphy, 059 972 4206, mobile 086 261 6286, email murphysigns@eircom.net.

This notification is posted by Deer Alliance as an information service to HCAP-Certified hunters and others.The Deer Alliance has no commercial or other interest in the supply of signs by Murphy Signs or any other provider.

 

OPEN SEASON & COILLTE CODE OF CONDUCT

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Fallow buck (click to enlarge)

With the new stalking season 2014 – 2015 about to open on 1st September, it is appropriate to remind all persons hunting wild deer on Coillte forest property, including all HCAP-Certified stalkers, of the conduct expected of all. This is set out in the Coillte Deerstalking Code of Practice. You can access the Code by clicking on the link below and all stalkers are encouraged to remind themselves of the content of the Code.

Remember – safety in the field should be the guiding principle, together with careful selective culling and respect for deer at all times.

Coillte Deerstalking Code of Practice 2014

 

IRISH TROPHY COMMISSION AT BIRR GAME FAIR, AUGUST 2014

G. Gossip GM head 24.8.2014Joe Murphy, Irish Trophy Commission (left), photographed with George Gossip at Birr

(click to enlarge)

Well-known countryman and all-round game-shooter George Gossip, Galway, joins the elite ranks of Irish stalkers whose trophies have achieved Gold Medal status with a fine Red deer shot in the 2012-2013 Season in Co. Meath. George is seen here with Joe Murphy of the Irish Trophy Commission, who measured the head as an accredited ITC measurer at the recent Game Fair at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly. The Irish Trophy Commission, whose directors include Liam Nolan (who also administers the Deer Alliance Hunter Competence Assessment Programme), Liam McGarry (currently President of the Irish Deer Society) and Joe Murphy (currently Chairman of the Wild Deer Association of Ireland),  was established in 2012 and measures trophy heads principally for the three Irish deer species, Red, Fallow and Sika, and awards certificates and medals based on the CIC (Conseil International de la Chasse et de la Conservation du Gibier) International Council for Game & Wildlife Conservation and Rowland Ward measurement criteria, further developed by the ITC to take account of needed refinements. Joe Murphy is one of a number of trained and fully-accredited measurers in Ireland. All ITC measurers are fully trained, accredited and experienced in the task of measuring trophy heads. Trophy measurement is utilised to track the quality, including the genetic quality, and outcome of selective deer management and as part of the ITC contribution to education and research in the matter of wild deer in Ireland.

SUCCESSFUL ROUND OF ASSESSMENTS BY DEER ALLIANCE IN 2014

 

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Red deer stag in Connemara. Photograph by Paul Wood. Click to enlarge.

The Deer Alliance has completed its round of Hunter Competence Assessment Programme (HCAP) MCQs and Range Tests for 2014, resulting in another 120 candidates joining the ranks of HCAP-Certified stalkers who have completed the programme, now totalling some 2000 licensed hunters.

HCAP was introduced in 2005 following four years of development and enters its tenth year of operation next year. All hunters wishing to hunt wild deer on Coillte forest property or to hold forest properties under licence from Coillte are required to be HCAP-Certified. The Deer Alliance this year added Training Workshops as an adjunct to the programme, with Workshops and MCQ Assessments centralised in Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny. All Range Tests are held at the Midland National Shooting Centre, at Blue Ball, Tullamore. The Workshops in particular have proven highly successful, according to Liam Nolan, Director/Administrator of HCAP, who presents the Workshops. Guest speakers at Workshops have included Barry Coad, Deer, Game & Sporting Rights Manager of Coillte, Wesley Atkinson, Eastern Regional Manager of the National Parks & Wildlife Service, Liam McGarry of the Irish Deer Society, Joe Murphy of the Irish Trophy Commission and Damien Hannigan of WDAI.

The Deer Alliance programme for 2015 will be announced early in the New Year. An announcement is imminent concerning the proposed Deer Alliance Food Safety Module, in compliance with Regulation EC 853/2004, which covers safe game meat handling requirements.

Intending HCAP Candidates can apply online on the Deer Alliance website, www.deeralliance.ie. The Deer Alliance Stalker Training Manual can also be purchased through the “Online Applications” section of the website, and further announcements can also be accessed through the blog section.

 

HCAP-CERTIFIED CANDIDATES, 9th AUGUST 2014

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The following Candidates (total 37) are certified as HCAP-qualified, having passed the HCAP Range Test held on 9th August 2014, and are now listed on the Register of HCAP-Certified Persons registered with Coillte Teoranta and National Parks & Wildlife Service.

The Deer Alliance Hunter Competence Assessment Programme is now in its ninth year of operation, having been commenced in 2005 following four years of development.

Date of Certification: 9th August 2014.

Britton, Christopher, 2014/0085
Byrne, Thomas, 2014/0113
Callan, Noel, 2014/0095
Cleary, Pat, 2014/0080
Colfer, Michael, J. 2013/0081
Crotty, Paul, 2013/0077
Cullen, Brian, 2014/0044
Dalton, David, 2014/0056
Darcy, Ken, 2014/0097
Doherty, Edward, 2014/0105
Doherty, Seamus, 2014/0106
Downes, Kevin, 2014/0096
Doyle, Michael, 2014/0117
Duignan, Ciaran, 2014/0109
Fahey, Adrian, 2014/0103
Fallon, James, 2014/0102
Horan, John, 2013/0096
Kane, Mark, 2014/0086
Keenan, Tommy, 2014/0100
Keenan, Tony, 2014/0098
Maher, William, 2014/0087
Manley, Joel, 2014/0111
Manley, Richard, 2014/0112
Mannion, Peter, 2014/0107
McCormack, Pat, 2014/0114
Murphy, Pat, 2014/0092
O’Brien, David, 2014/0091
O’Brien, Eddie, 2014/0082
O’Rourke, Paddy, 2014/0093
O’Sullivan, Stephen, 2014/0084
Phibbs, Owen, 2014/0115
Roche, Darragh, 2014/0081
Ryan, Stephen, 2014/0110
Schots, Auke, 2014/0075
Treacy, Johanna, 2014/0104
Van Steenis, Marius, 2014/0083
Wemyss, Eoin, 2014/0116

PROCEDURES AT HCAP RANGE TESTS

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MAPS TO MIDLANDS NATIONAL SHOOTING GROUNDS – CLICK TO ENLARGE

PROCEDURES AT HCAP RANGE TESTS

All HCAP Candidates are required to note the following matters in relation to Range Tests conducted at the Midland National Shooting Grounds (“MRC”), at Blue Ball, Tullamore, Co. Offaly:

1: Only Candidates who have passed the HCAP MCQ may take the HCAP Range Test.

2: Candidates must use a rifle of calibre legal for hunting deer in Ireland, i.e. minimum legal calibre .22/250.

3: All firearms must be transported in sleeves or cases. The firing bolt should be removed and carried separately. Firing bolts should be inserted only when preparing to shoot. At all times when not actually shooting, the bolt should be removed and a breech flag inserted.

4: All Candidates are required to carry fully adequate Shooting Insurance and must provide evidence of insurance to MRC on the day of any Range Test. Current Countryside Alliance, IFA Countryside or NARGC membership all satisfy the insurance requirement.

5: The law requires that a valid firearms certificate must be carried when using or transporting any firearm. The firearm certificate covers the “use, possession or carriage” of the firearm. MRC require HCAP Candidates to exhibit their firearm certificate before proceeding to the Range Test.

6: All Candidates are required to sign in at the main MRC check-in desk on arrival at the Range, and before proceeding to the Windmill Range on which the HCAP Range Tests take place, and to exhibit evidence of insurance and firearm certificate on request. No insurance, no Range Test; no Firearms Certificate, no Range Test.

7: Sound Moderators are permitted only where MRC Range Officials are satisfied that the Moderator is factory-fitted and that the firearm in question is in proof.

8: Following experimentation over a number of Range Tests, Deer Alliance HCAP has adopted the following procedures in respect of Range Tests:

a)      All Candidates will be listed alphabetically (surname first) and allocated to firing details accordingly.

b)      Each Firing Detail has up to 16 positions (up to 16 Candidates to each Detail).

c)      The first Firing Detail will always kick off at 10 a.m. sharp, with approximately 45 minutes allowed for each Detail.

d)     All Candidates are urged to arrive at MRC not later than 9.30 a.m. on the day of any Range Test, to allow time for registration procedures as set out above.

e)      Thereafter, HCAP Range Officials will allocate positions on each Detail according to alphabetical order and actual presence on the Range.

f)       Deferrals must be notified in writing (email to deeralliance@gmail.com or text message to 086 1927 845) to the Deer Alliance not less than 3 days before any Range Test. “No-shows”, i.e. non-attendance without notification, may result in loss of entitlement to complete the HCAP Certification programme.

g)      The Range Test consists of accurate grouping of three shots in a four-inch circle at a distance of 100 metres, taken in the prone position; followed by accurate placement of six shots in the heart/lung area of a life-size deer target (two shots prone or sitting at 100 metres, two shots sitting or kneeling at sixty metres and two shots standing at 40 metres). Normal stalking aids may be used e.g. slings, bipods/tripods or stalking sticks. Candidates are permitted two attempts at the grouping target followed by one attempt at the deer target or one attempt at the grouping target and two attempts at the deer target.

h)      After shooting, each Candidate, pass or fail, is given a slip with his or her name on it and indicating pass or fail, and attempts taken. This slip (pass or fail) must be presented to the HCAP Administrator Liam Nolan before leaving the Range in order to receive the HCAP Certificate and/or to register for any subsequent Range Test.

i)        Candidates taking two or more attempts at the overall Range Test on any given day are required to pay a Repeat Fee of €25.00. The Repeat Fee if taking the Range Test for a second or further time on any subsequent Range Test day is €50.00. Repeats on the day of the Range Test are entirely at the discretion of the designated HCAP Range Officials.

j)        Safety is paramount at all times and any lapse will be severely penalised. All Candidates are issued with the Deer Alliance “Safe Stalking” safety leaflet and. copies will be available at each Range Test. It is the responsibility of each Candidate to ensure that best practice safety procedures are followed at all times.

Enquiries by email to deeralliance@gmail.com.

 

HCAP RANGE TEST SATURDAY 9TH AUGUST 2014 – ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES

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The following Candidates are eligible to participate in the HCAP Range Test taking place at the Midland Rifle Range, Blue Ball, Tullamore, Co. Offaly on Saturday 9th August 2014. The list includes Candidates still eligible to participate from previous dates (*asterisked). All Candidates are reminded of the “180-day Rule”, which provides that Candidates are required to complete the HCAP process, including their Range Test, within 180 days of sitting their first MCQ. Failure to complete within 180 days without notice and reasonable excuse may require the Candidate in question to start the process again, including re-sitting the MCQ.
Candidates are listed to shoot alphabetically, in Firing Details of 15 shooters at a time. The Range Test will commence at 10 a.m. sharp and Candidates are required to be present at the Range not later than 9.30 a.m. in order to register to shoot and to receive a Safety Briefing. Candidates are required to sign in at the Range, to produce a valid Firearms Certificate in respect of the firearm to be used and to produce evidence of valid insurance cover.
Approximately forty minutes is allocated for each Firing Detail and Candidates can estimate their likely start time on this basis. However it is recommended that all Candidates be present on the Range from 9.30 a.m. as places will open up on each Detail where eligible Candidates fail to appear on time or at all.
Candidates are reminded that zeroing of firearms is not permitted on the day of the Range Test.
A full rundown of procedures followed at HCAP Range Tests together with a location map will appear here separately.

ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES

Britton, Christopher, 2014/0085
Byrne, Thomas, 2014/0113
Callan, Noel, 2014/0095
Cavaliere, Riccardo, 2014/0101
Chubb, Patrick, 2014/0088
Cleary, Pat, 2014/0080
Colfer, Michael, J. 2013/0081
Crotty, Paul, 2013/0077
Cullen, Brian, 2014/0044*
Dalton, David, 2014/0056*
Darcy, Ken, 2014/0097
Doherty, Edward, 2014/0105
Doherty, Seamus, 2014/0106
Downes, Kevin, 2014/0096
Doyle, Michael, 2014/0117
Duignan, Ciaran, 2014/0109
Dunne, Jonathan, 2012/0066*
Emmett, Christopher, 2014/0089
Fahey, Adrian, 2014/0103
Fallon, James, 2014/0102
Finn, Tony, 2014/0090
Horan, John, 2013/0096*
Kane, Mark, 2014/0086
King, Patrick J., 2012/0073*
Keenan, Tommy, 2014/0100
Keenan, Tony, 2014/0098
Maher, William, 2014/0087
Manley, Joel, 2014/0111
Manley, Richard, 2014/0112
Mannion, Peter, 2014/0107
McCormack, Pat, 2014/0114
Mulvany, David, 2013/0009*
Murphy, Pat, 2014/0092
Neill, Paul, 2014/0108
O’Brien, David, 2014/0091
O’Brien, Eddie, 2014/0082
O’Rourke, Paddy, 2014/0093
O’Sullivan, Stephen, 2014/0084
Phibbs, Owen, 2014/0115
Roche, Darragh, 2014/0081
Ryan, Stephen, 2014/0110
Schots, Auke, 2014/0075
Scully, Declan, 2013/0024*
Treacy, Johanna, 2014/0104
Van Steenis, Marius, 2014/0083
Wemyss, Eoin, 2014/0116

 

HCAP MCQ, 26 JULY 2014 – RESULTS

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The following candidates (numbers, followed by mark achieved) were successful in the HCAP MCQ held in Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny, on Saturday 26 July 2014 and are eligible to participate in the HCAP Range Test to be held at the Midlands Range on Saturday 9 August 2014.

 2014/0085, 96%, Pass

2014/0113, 92%, Pass

2014/0095, 96%, Pass

2014/0101, 94%, Pass

2014/0088, 94%, Pass

2014/0080, 94%, Pass

2013/0081, 84%, Pass

2013/0077, 92%, Pass

2014/0097, 88%, Pass

2014/0105, 94%, Pass

2014/0106, 92%, Pass

2014/0096, 96%, Pass

2014/0117, 94%, Pass

2014/0109, 94%, Pass

2014/0089, 96%, Pass

2014/0103, 90%, Pass

2014/0102, 96%, Pass

2014/0090, 90%, Pass

2014/0086, 90%, Pass

2014/0100, 92%, Pass

2014/0098, 96%, Pass

2014/0087, 96%, Pass

2014/0111, 92%, Pass

2014/0112, 94%, Pass

2014/0107, 98%, Pass

2014/0114, 92%, Pass

2014/0092, 92%, Pass

2014/0108, 96%, Pass

2014/0091, 80%, Pass

2014/0082, 84%, Pass

2014/0093, 88%, Pass

2014/0084, 90%, Pass

2014/0115, 92%, Pass

2014/0081, 88%, Pass

2014/0110, 86%, Pass

2014/0075, 92%, Pass

2014/0104, 80%, Pass

2014/0083, 98%, Pass

2014/0116, 96%, Pass

 WELL DONE, ALL!