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.…
Shooting Times
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.…
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…
How I created my own shoot
It is the dream of many sportsmen to own their own shoot, and to provide some sort of safeguard for their shooting in the future. Due to escalating land prices…
Licensing airguns is not the answer, says BASC firearms officer
Early reports on licensing airguns in Scotland appear to show a lack of compliance — generally from an absence of knowledge rather than criminal intent. A law came into force on…
Use of airguns in England and Wales under review
The Government is being urged not to introduce additional legislation restricting the use of airguns in England and Wales, which is under review after a child was wounded in Bristol.…
Beretta Silver Pigeon I
Ever keen to keep a fresh face on long-life models, Beretta has launched the Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I with the new Game Scene engraving. The Silver Pigeon range has…
Is this the best way of “dogging-in?”
Dogging-in means using a dog to push straying pheasants from the boundaries of a shoot back into the middle. This time of year the majority of keepers face this seemingly…
Owners shocked to see wanton damage to family shoot in badger cull zone
I would like to make other shoots aware of what may happen if they are in a badger cull zone after what has happened to our small shoot. Wandering poults…
What is a true Jack Russell terrier?
The working Jack Russell was bred to bolt a fox unharmed. Eddie Chapman tells the story of how this special skill has been preserved against the odds
Rizzini Ribless round-body 20-bore reviewed by Shooting Times
The vast majority of shotguns are mass produced, with many hundreds made of each model over its lifespan. A basic design may be carried forward for decades, with a few…
How easy is it to join a wildfowling club?
Joining a wildfowling club My path to education came about thanks to the BASC wildfowling permit scheme, which provides a “suck it and see” opportunity for novices to try their…
Problems with springer spaniels and hunting
My springer spaniel’s training is coming along pretty well but I can’t get her to leave hedgerows and cover to hunt open ground for retrieves. Any advice?