It’s only when you drive down a country road and you have a pigeon fly parallel with your moving vehicle that you come to appreciate its true cruising speed — and it’s not, as published, 35mph. When last I glanced at my speedometer in this situation, it read 48mph and…
Advice
Our magazines – Shooting Times, Sporting Gun and Shooting Gazette answer your fieldsports questions with advice from experts at the very top of their field.
Our tips include help with gundog training, gun maintenance, shooting skills, legal issues, licensing, technical gun information, ammunition advice, cooking tips, shooting etiquette.
New to shooting?
If you’ve just started shooting you’ll find answers to questions like what is the best first gun or how to buy a gun second-hand. Also what to wear shooting and the legalities you need to know about.
Or do you have a good few seasons under your belt?
If you’re a more seasoned shooter you might have questions about your shooting technique and how to improve it. Or queries about the legalities of gun cabinets and shotgun licences.
Beating and picking-up | Gundog queries | Starting shooting | Shooting etiquette | Shooting clothing | Shotgun certificates and firearms licences | Gun cabinets | Legal answers | Shooting answers|
Should I use a sound moderator on my airgun?
Q: I’m planning to buy an air rifle to keep down the rabbits in our pony paddocks. I notice that a lot of airgun shooters fit their rifles with sound moderators — surely there isn’t much need to reduce the volume of an air gun’s muzzle report? Is a sound…
Should I start to close an eye when shooting?
Q: As an older Gun I sometimes struggle with my eyesight. I shoot off my right shoulder but my left eye is strong and my right eye is getting weaker. I have always shot with both eyes open but I am wondering whether I should start to close one eye…
Why predation control needs an integrated plan
Let’s start by noting the words ‘predation control’, rather than predator. In managing game and wildlife, how many predators you kill is of no great relevance; rather it is the predation that you prevent that matters. As a consequence, shooting odd random predators is of no great moment. What is…
Where should I keep my gun cabinet keys safely?
I have recently acquired my shotgun certificate and become the owner of a Silver Pigeon shotgun. I have set up a gun cabinet in my home according to the law but I was wondering about gun cabinet keys. Where should I keep the main set and the spare set? What…
Can a local registered firearms dealer ‘confiscate’ an air rifle?
All responsible airgunners should know their airgun law correctly so that their activities don’t put the sport into disrepute. But what happens if an air rifle is confiscated by a firearms dealer? Here’s what our legal expert advised when a reader felt he had a justified complaint as to how…
Can I find a steel-proofed English spec side-by-side?
Q: Much has been said about the steel shot debate and it looks inevitable that many old, and often hand-made, guns will be scrapped or become obsolete ornaments. While there are a huge number of steel-proofed over-and-unders, does anyone make a steel-proofed side-by-side to an English specification for less than,…
15 reasons to date a female Gun
Female Guns are confident. They are used to handling live weapons, they are self-assured and unafraid to ask for what they want. A female Gun appreciates important and interesting conversation about cartridges, the difference between brands and loads and pellet size. She will even join in with and appreciate your…
Want to get involved on a shoot day next season? Here are some of the jobs you could do
Wondering how you can get involved in shooting? Thinking about becoming a beater or a picker-up next season? The most common way to help out during the shooting season is to join a beating team. This can evolve into other jobs on a shoot day and to helping out of…
13 New Year resolutions for shooters
Encourage more people to eat game. This is one of the most important ways we can support our sport and ensure its future. Cook game whenever you can and encourage people to try it when they’re shopping in supermarkets – after all, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and Sainsburys all stock game…
Choke options for shotguns – just what are they?
The issue of shotgun chokes and which combinations are winners raises its head regularly in the shooting world. For some, it is a subject worthy of hours of deliberation and debate. For others, it is far less concerning. As a youth I recall a farmer who had a Mossberg pump-action…
How to think positively on a shoot day
We’ve all been there. We were shooting perfectly well and then, on one drive, we inexplicably have the equivalent of a batting collapse. Just as perfectly competent batsmen seem incapable of performing even the most basic functions under increasing pressure and are sent back to the pavilion, so we cannot…
Am I rushing my second shot?
Q: I have started to struggle with hitting two birds on the trot with a slight gap between them. I often kill the first bird and miss the second, is there anything I can do that will help? A: You are clearly doing something right as you say you are…
How can I reload my shotgun swiftly with cold, frozen fingers?
Q: Can you recommend a way to reload a shotgun quickly that does not compromise safety? I’m all thumbs when the weather gets colder and was wondering if a stuffer or a reloading aid would be a good idea? A: This is a question I am asked time and time…
Why do you miss when shooting?
You will probably have heard it at some point on a clay ground from the back of the cage: “You’re behind it, mate.” While it is meant well, there is little more irritating than this kind of unsolicited comment. Another supposedly self-evident truth that is trotted out repeatedly on a…
How to address pheasants at different heights
Q: Can you give me any tips about how to avoid addressing straight driven pheasants too early? Whenever I saw a bird flying towards my peg last season, I mounted too early, took forever to get beyond the bird and then missed behind. A: The timing of shooting driven pheasants…
Can I load ammunition for a friend?
Q: I enjoy loading my own ammunition for my .223 and .243 rifles. I have been asked to do some reloading for a friend. Is this legal and would I need to inform my firearms enquiry officer (FEO)? The law on reloading A: There is nothing in law that says…
19 ways for shooters to keep occupied during Lockdown II
As current Government COVID rules stand, you won’t be able to go out driven gameshooting in England until 3 December 2020. In addition target shooting ranges and clay grounds are also closed until then. However BASC advice states that: “Rough shooting, wildfowling and deer management may continue during the lockdown…
How to move on from clay pigeon shooting to gameshooting
So you’re considering taking a step from clays to game? For many, the world of gameshooting is an interesting, if rather daunting and intimidating place. You may be comfortable on the clay ground, but how do you take the next move, to bridge the gap between shooting an inanimate object…
What do when faced with protestors on a shoot
What are the practical measures you can take to maintain safety and de-escalate a situation if you are unlucky enough to be confronted by protesters on a shoot day? Confrontation and intimidation Remember that extremists amongst animal rights groups frequently work to the same agenda – that of confrontation and…