If you’re looking for fresh food that’s steeped in local flavour, food that comes directly from the countryside around you, pay a visit to your nearest farmers’ market. Take, for…
Graham Downing
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Muntjac – everything you need to know
Among the world’s most ancient groups of deer species, muntjac walked the earth during the Miocene epoch along with mastodons and smilodons — sabre-tooth tigers — in essentially the same…
How to store and service shooting gear once the season is over.
The season’s over now, and we have another seven months before low-ground shooting opens once more. But that does not mean that shooting kit should simply be abandoned until the…
Hunting thermals clothing: the best kit for freezing weather
There’s something exciting about packing for a special hunting trip. Whether it’s a couple of days on the hill in Scotland or a woodland stalking adventure abroad, there are guns,…
Roadkill – this is why you should NEVER eat it
So you’re driving along and there’s a freshly dead muntjac or pheasant by the roadside. Should you take the roadkill home for dinner? I recently received this query from a…
Shooting deer near houses. Is it legal?
Q: We’ve all heard of the proliferation of the deer population over the last few years. Where I live muntjac are starting to be a real nuisance in local gardens.…
Where can I shoot my air rifle? Can I take it to a public park?
A reader asks “Where can I shoot my air rifle?” Q: I have bought an air rifle, but I do not have a private garden. What is the law on…
What’s the law on inheriting a shotgun?
Some months after my father passed away the police told my mother that because his shotgun certificate had lapsed she should hand his gun to the local gun shop.
Why do we keep deer heads?
Why do we prepare and keep the heads of the deer that we shoot? Why do we measure deer heads and treasure them in the way that we do? Since…
What’s my best gun for shooting clays and game?
Can you use a clay gun on a pheasant shoot? Yes. A lot of the differences between a clay and a game gun are subtle. Ventilated and wider ribs, manual…
What you need to know about renewing your shotgun and firearms certificates during the COVID pandemic
If you’re medically vulnerable or living with somebody who is, then you’ll have had to be particularly cautious during the COVID pandemic. But what’s the deal if you need to…
Cull before the storm
‘‘For at least 20 years, deer stalking has been one of the brightest stars in the shooting firmament. Its rise has tracked the steady growth in the range and population…
How to bag rough shooting
On my desk as I write this is a rather yellowed and crumpled letter from the Forestry Commission offering an annual shooting lease over 1,003 acres at West Tofts, Norfolk,…
What you need to know about wildfowling calls
For as long as we humans have hunted wild duck and geese, we have used decoys and calls to attract them within range of a gun, bow or sling, or…
Can I set up an air pistol target range in my garden?
Would an air pistol target range at home be legal? Q: I would like to set up a simple air pistol target range in my garage. It is a secure…
Your essential guide to walked-up grouse shooting
A guide for the grouse shooting novice
How do you transfer shotguns between certificates?
A reader asked for some advice regarding looking after his friends guns. Graham Downing advises on carrying out shotgun transfer between certificates.
Keeping an eye on you
Frost still clung to the grey carpet of oak leaves that clothed the forest floor. My breath hung around me in wreaths and you could cut the silence with a…
Will my shotgun be safe with steel shot cartridges?
I would like to try steel shot for wildfowling in my 2.5in chambered gun, but I have been told by some of my friends that I cannot do so unless…
Why thermal-imaging binoculars will change stalking forever
From time to time in the stalking world there comes along some advance or technical development that is a game changer. Usually it is roundly disapproved of until it becomes…