If you wanted to start an argument at a game fair, you couldn’t go far wrong with initiating a discussion about what the perfect Labrador should look like. Even the…
Shooting Times
Bettinsoli X-Trail Camo Max-5
There was a time when I would have shunned a camouflage-painted gun. It would have been dismissed as a home-bodged effort by some diehard wildfowler on a worthless firearm. That…
English and Welsh roe review 2017 and other species
The CIC’s trophy measuring system has had another good year. Newly qualified UK measurers got into their stride throughout 2017 at home and at shows around the country. And senior…
Should deer stalkers have to be qualified?
Soon after I accepted my first invitation to shoot in Germany, a small package arrived. Inside were the instructions and forms required before I would be allowed to join the…
Rizzini RB EM 20/28
Combination guns do add a bit of diversity to your gun cabinet. You don’t always want to use your 12-bore and, at the opposite end of the scale, the .410…
Which is the best night vision scope for the money?
Pulsar’s N550 digital night-vision rifle scope was a game- changer in the world of late-night pest control and subsequent updates have continually evolved. The closely associated Yukon brand has run in…
Crate training your puppy – how to do it right
I have decided on crate training for my new gundog puppy Briar. When she whines to go out I will hear her. I will also find it easier to teach…
Can I buy a Purdey or Holland & Holland on a budget?
Is it possible to buy a Purdey or Holland & Holland side-by-side on a budget of between £2,000 to £3,000? If so, would it be reliable for gameshooting all the…
The rise and fall, and rise of roughshooting
The roughshoot has been sidelined by driven shooting. John Humphreys argues that this is a loss to the foundations of the sport in this country
Are English guns the best?
English guns, best in the world. Holland & Holland, Boss, Purdey, William Evans, Westley Richards — names that are coveted around the globe, the finest examples of the gunmakers’ art.…
Does a gamekeeper really need a degree?
This is my eighth season being a headkeeper on an estate in the Cotswolds. Having entered the gamekeeping profession full-time at the age of 23, my initial knowledge came from…
GWCT launches SAMARCH salmon project
The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has launched a new project, SAMARCH (Salmonid Management Round the Channel), to provide vital research on rapidly declining salmon and sea trout populations.…
Can a working gundog also be a family pet?
Am I taking a risk having my working labrador as a house dog?
ATA Arms SP Silver
ATA is a Turkish company that grew from one man’s abilities and skills, with its first over-and-under shotgun being produced in 1973. The company has been better known in recent…
Do Guns appreciate the planning that goes into a shoot day?
I wonder if people appreciate the amount of work and organisation that goes into planning a shoot day? The day starts way back in the summer when your poults first…
Annual Woodcock Club dinner to be held at Hatfield House
We are delighted to announce the location and date of the 34th annual Shooting Times Woodcock Club dinner. The hotly anticipated event will be held at the Old Palace at…
Lincoln Vogue HSX Sporter 12-bore reviewed by Shooting Times
The Lincoln Vogue HSX is the latest development of the Vogue game gun. The HSX, or Hunter Sporting Cross-over, is designed for clays as much as for game or rough…
What better way to clear a farm of rats?
The first rats came fizzing out before anyone was ready. Even Jay, the very model of lurcher sharpness, was taken by surprise as the rodents fled their burrows and made…
Plastic pollution in the ocean – what can we do about it?
I recently saw a shocking image highlighting one of the perils of all that plastic litter that is drifting around our oceans. The photograph, which showed the skeletal remains of…
Two new pheasant recipes from Rose Prince
Rose Prince writes: Pheasant meat has a truly interesting flavour, with notes of its foraged diet and corn, which, when the birds are at their plumpest, lends a lovely colour…