Shooting Times & Country

Lots of us cut our teeth on clay pigeons but that staple of the shooting world might be about to undergo a dramatic rebrand. Some say it’s future-proofing while others say it’s crazy. The Clay Pigeon Shooting Association (CPSA) is asking its members

Unburned plots of land release by far the most methane, but burning enhances nutrient content for grazing animals. A significant report into the ecological impact of muirburn for moorlands has released its halfway results. The 20-year study is being

Black grouse populations have been in decline in Britain for more than 200 years, so you might think that plans to reintroduce the birds to Ashdown Forest in East Sussex would be welcomed by local birdwatchers. But initial reactions have been critica

The ban on lead ammunition could be a disaster for thousands of gamekeepers, vermin controllers, farmers and target shooters. This is because finding acceptable ammo for the basic .22 rimfire rifle is tricky. The .22 rimfire is an accurate, cheap to

Spring comes earlier now we are a dairy farm — or so it seems. When we had a beef suckler herd, we didn’t start calving until April. The change to calving in February has made us shake off winter’s hibernation lethargy two months earlier. The seasona

Alan Edwards is conservation manager at Bywell, a Purdey Gold Award estate in Northumberland The scent of late-afternoon air hastened my footsteps as my stick crashed through dense cover. The last day of the season was drawing to a close. My mind and

Davy Thomas is a professional deerstalker and estate manager in the Highlands It has been much publicised lately that there are some areas of Scotland that have come to loggerheads between private landowners, community landowners and charity trust or

While away with work, I was invited out for a flight on the floodplains of the River Dee by friend and colleague Dr Matt Ellis. The original plan was a low-key evening flight, so we set off in search of evidence of ducks on what was left of the rapid

In his 1957 classic, Tales of a Wildfowler, Arthur Cadman recounts the exploit of a friend who completed a morning flight on the west coast of Wales and an evening flight on the east coast of England in one day. This remarkable feat, achieved by Regg

As I lay hedges, my mind is prone to wander into flights of fancy. I had a daydream recently as I was wrestling with the spiky matter of a blackthorn. In my imagination, I had been invited to dine, as a last-minute replacement guest, at a new and not

Although I am a fan of best guns, fine guns and one-off builds, my own cabinet isn’t filled with them. Instead, it is full of old guns, bargain guns and completely knackered guns. Like many of you, I am a bargain hunter. The market is currently stuff

It’s 6.30am. Time to get up for the most important and stressful day of the season — beaters’ day. Beaters’ day is a chance to say thank you to people who have given up holidays, weekends and more to help out over the season, be it lugging wheat, mak

I recently learned the hard way that Scout doesn’t like swimming retrieves with Canada geese. She took to the water with her usual enthusiasm: a sprint to the edge of the channel followed by a care-free dive. The bird was floating and she powered acr

When I first started stalking in earnest a few years ago, I was rather wrapped up in the romance of it. Striking out on an adventure, rifle slung over one shoulder, binoculars around my neck and a rucksack containing a flask of coffee and some food.

The vast majority of dog owners will understand the importance of researching a breed before purchasing a puppy. Throughout history, every breed was at some point bred for a specific purpose. These purposes vary massively, and for a lot of breeds the

The rangefinding binoculars showed a distance of 536 yards. I glanced to my left to check the faint breeze caressing the longer blades of grass next to me and felt confident that only a slight adjustment would be needed to send the 143-gr Hornady ELD

As a metaphor, it’s rather confusing. How badly do drains shoot? And do they occasionally excel? But, whatever the origin, we all know when our performance in the field is akin to that mysterious gutter pipe — and it’s a miserable feeling. Loss of fo

There has always been something very alluring about a single-shot rifle. It combines a traditional sense of sportsmanship — you have to be a good marksman with only one shot to hand. You also can appreciate the fine-handling, lightweight characterist

It may be the case, at this time of year, that you are wondering what to do with a freezer filled with game. During the season I eat as I go, and at least half of the bags I bring home are consumed in short order. I have admitted my approval for the

The second half of January is a rush of catching up, late-season invitations and the last of our shoot days at home. And while I miss the buzz and camaraderie of shoot days, it is quite nice to get into February and make a start on our list of jobs.

I DON’T THINK THAT the legendary Victorian hunting enthusiast, the grocer John Jorrocks, would have enjoyed living in 21st-century Britain, for he wasn’t very politically correct. One of his most memorable quotes was: “There’s nowt so queer as scent,

Remembering the experience that ignited a lifelong passion for stalking Brian Hughes was familiar with pretty much every firearm going, from a .22 rimfire to a .500 double rifle. As a wildlife ranger in Southern Rhodesia, he had hunted most game spec

These days, my shotgun hardly sees any action. It would be wrong to say I’ve never shot pheasants before, deer being the bulk of what I do, but it’s been a long while since I shot game. So when I received an invitation to join my fellow Shooting Time

WISDOM AND TRADITIONS GATHERED OVER A LIFE AT THE COALFACE, THIS WEEK WITH DAVID WHITBY Some 50 years ago, I travelled from Swansea to Cork by ferry on my first trip to Ireland. I had barely gone five miles when the vehicle was brought to an abrupt h

I have been fascinated by wild boar since the late 1990s, when — on one of my very first food writing assignments — the national newspaper Daily Express sent me to deepest Dorset with a stalker to look for them in some woodland. I only saw, or think

CELEBRATING OUR BEST WRITERS Surrey is a lovely county; what a pity it is so badly off for gamekeepers. Never have I seen so many carrion crows and magpies, and even the pigeons appear to shun the beech woods and rolling downlands. But what a place i

THE ULTIMATE SHOOTING QUIZ TEAM BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns Airgunner and journalist from the West Country Vintage gun expert, firearms dealer, author and journalist Shooting Times rifle reviewer and stalker Conservation exp