Most farming units harbour a few resident rats throughout the year — especially if pigs or poultry are present — but numbers usually increase as autumn arrives. Many of these incoming rodents will have spent the warmer months in open countryside, foraging a relatively natural diet. But things start to…
Air rifles
FAC air rifles – why you should still focus on fieldcraft
Of all the many questions I get asked about airguns and airgun shooting, a huge number relate to high-powered airguns. Most people who wish to know more about the subject are relative newcomers to airgun shooting. It is natural to want an advantage to give your results a boost when…
Top 10 reasons to keep an airgun
Using an airgun regularly, especially a springer, can improve your marksmanship. This will also improve your shooting skills with any rifle, even a full-bore. If you can manage the adverse recoil of a spring-powered airgun and shoot accurately with it, you will find shooting a full-bore rifle a cinch.…
The history of airguns
Once the playthings of the aristocracy, later silent military killers, airguns have been around in one guise or another for some time. Bill Harriman looks into their history
BSA Mercury airsporter reviewed
In the 1970s, when I was a teenager and mad keen on air rifles, there were two camps you fell into. You were either a British BSA or Webley shooter or a German Weihrauch or Feinwerkbau user. I was defi nitely in the Teutonic camp as my Weihrauch HW35 went everywhere I did. However, as pocket…
Ministers debate airgun safety
The comments were made by CA head of shooting Liam Stokes following a debate about the use of airguns by under-18s that took place in Parliament earlier this month. The Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill was passed in July 2015, making it illegal to possess an airgun without a licence in Scotland after 31 December this year. Its introduction was…
Scottish owners have 50 days left to apply for air gun certificate
Scottish air gun owners are being reminded that from today they have 50 days left to apply for a certificate to ensure that they can keep their weapons when the new laws come into force on 31 December 2016, if they have not yet received a decision on their application.…
Back to basics with your airgun
“The more I practice, the luckier I get,” is a saying most commonly attributed to golfer Gary Player; but whoever said it first, the principle is just as important for those of us who shoot rifles. Particularly powerful rifles. We all pay lip service to the need for practice, practice and more practice but very few of us…
Own an airgun? Planning on visiting Scotland?
A: The Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 comes into force on 1 January 2017. After that date, a visitor to Scotland who wants to bring his or her air weapon with them must apply to the Chief Constable of Police Scotland for a visitor permit and will have…
Shooters decry airgun licence fee
The Scottish Government has finally confirmed that the new airgun licence fee will be £72 for new applications. Visitor permits will be £20, while there will be a £5 charge for existing shotgun and firearm certificate holders. Shooting organisations, which opposed the introduction of the new legislation, have once again voiced concerns. “While…
Scottish airgun licences required by New Year
It will be illegal to hold an airgun without a licence from 31 December, but BASC says that the “lead in” period is shorter than anticipated and could place an extra burden on the police. Apply for a certificate from 1 July The Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Michael Matheson, last…
The Jackal Woodsman air rifle
Bruce Potts reflects on the Jackal Woodsman, an accurate and powerful air rifle from one of the most innovative gunmakers in Britain
Second-hand Webley Patriot
All you need to know about a secondhand Webley Patriot, including how this high-powered air rifle with impressive pellet strike shaped shooting
Airgunning in the cold
A lot of airgunners are fair-weather shooters; they take to the fields and the woods when the temperature is warm and the days are long, then pack their rifles away as soon as the chill of autumn sets in. As lovely as it is to enjoy our sport when the…
Fancy having a Gun from the Royal Gurkha Rifles on your shooting team?
On Friday 11 December there will be an open day and charity shoot in aid of the Gurkha Welfare Trust’s Nepal Earthquake Fund at the Highland Shooting Centre, by Lairg, Sutherland. The 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles will be in attendance Events taking place on the open day will include rifle…
Is shooting rooks a crime?
When reader Ian Taylor emailed to say he was being charged with shooting corvids, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Corvids such as rooks are on the general licence and may be shot for crop protection, protecting wild birds and a number of other reasons. The licences specify the methods which…
Rabbit shooting with classic rifles
An early morning start, with a light breeze, is an idyllic start to any day’s stalk. But on this occasion it was not an eligible roebuck that I had in mind; it was a humble rabbit. I love rabbit shooting. It was the way I learned to shoot on my uncle’s…
Our expert reviews three of the best PCP air rifles and reports back
Bruce Potts tests three 10-shot repeater pre-charged pneumatic air rifles for around £500.
Scotland passes airgun bill despite big drop in airgun crime
The Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill was passed last week, despite newly published Government figures showing a 73 per cent drop in Scottish airgun crime since 2006-2007. Anyone who owns an airgun could unwittingly be committing a criminal act should they fail to obtain a licence after April next year.…