At Flea Barn, I have developed a now cherished routine. First, I check the grey partridges nesting in their pens and then the traps. After that, I take a stroll…
Richard Negus
How to tie fishing flies with dog hair
The Roman author and teacher Claudius Aelianus is credited with being the first to record the use of artificial flies in angling. Writing towards the end of the second century,…
Social media and fieldsports
In times of fairly recent memory, the mainstream media (MSM) talked about the goings-on in the countryside in a markedly different way to what we see today. Phil Drabble appeared…
Walk on the wild side
Have you ever discovered that you have become fashionable by accident? Wildfowlers shared this experience a few years ago when metropolitan young men intentionally started sporting beards and looking unkempt.…
What did our tester make of the latest ‘eco-cartridges’?
Margaret Heffernan, the writer and entrepreneur, said: “For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument and debate.” Shooting has had this in spadefuls of late, largely…
The gun every shooter should have in their gun cabinet
I give my shotguns names. My AYA No 3 I dubbed ‘Lazarus’ because, thanks to my friend Adam Bragg’s craftsmanship, it was brought back from the dead. My Lincoln Premier…
Conservation in the age of coronavirus
I write this at a time of uncertainty and trepidation for all. COVID-19 has utterly changed our lives in a few short weeks. What the ramifications will be, both financial…
How to service and store a shotgun at the end of the season
Storing a shotgun The usual way I care for my shotguns when I put them away at the end of the game season is as follows: Intermittently strip the gun.…
Our reviewer tried out two steel shot cartridges. What did he make of them?
Last week I shot on a friend’s syndicate. I took my AYA No 3, its woodwork now repaired and resplendent. What about the cartridges? My cartridge belt held Jocker Bio…
Raise a glass to the Brewery
The rustle, crack and crackle of beaters’ flags cut sharply through the crystal air. Frost, the first one of the year, clung to the heads of teasels, dusting them with…
A hopeful future for wild partridges
Grey partridges are an addictive and infuriatingly mercurial benchmark of conservation success — or failure. The moment you take an active role in their welfare and the enhancement of their…
A wildfowler tried a new electric jacket from Harkila. Essential kit or just a fad? Here’s what he thought.
Just down the road from me lies the pretty little village of Mendlesham. It has a pub, a school and a few streets of ancient timber-framed houses, so commonplace in…
Are flightponds actually ethical?
I like ducks. While geese are masterly and waders noble, the duck is affable. My warm feelings for them may sound incongruous. Much of my spare time is spent trying…
Is this the ultimate shooting coat? The Schoffel Ptarmigan Pro review
The Schöffel Oakham fleece gilet was once the uniform for a select few — mainly land agents and traders of fine wine. Today, however, the “Cirencester life jacket” — and…