Says Joe Dimbleby, Editor of Shooting Times: “I hope you enjoy the changes, which aim to refresh while staying true to the magazine’s incredible heritage. The keepering column will rotate with four keepers in different parts of the country: Liam Bell in the Midlands, Jamie Osborne in the South, Lindsay Waddell…
News
Agricultural shows report a record season, despite demise of CLA Game Fair
According to the Association of Shows and Agricultural Organisations (ASAO), which represents many of British’s food farming and countryside events, both big multiple-day shows and smaller events are reporting a successful season. The Cheshire County Show has had a steady increase in attendance figures recently and this year’s were spectacular,…
Managed heather moorland helps Scottish honeybees thrive
Across parts of Scotland honeybees and honey producers are flourishing thanks to the red grouse, going some way to counter concerns of a bee decline across the country – with the poor summer this year not helping the situation. Heather is central to the red grouse’s diet There are encouraging…
New gamebird figures challenge RSPB claims
New BASC research has challenged RSPB claims that the shooting industry releases 50million birds into the wild each year. Real figure closer to 34.9million The paper, Impacts of gamebird release, says the real figure lies closer to 34.9million birds and describes the significantly higher estimate as being “based on unreliable…
Scottish wildlife crime falls by 20 per cent
A 20 per cent decrease was welcomed by Scottish Land and Estates who said that this momentum needed to be maintained. The government and police should continue to devote resources to the issue, especially in offences linked to organised poaching. Douglas McAdam, chief executive of Scottish Land and Estates, said:…
Scottish Government accused of threatening rural economy and conservation
Douglas McAdam, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Climate Change Committee and said further due diligence was needed to prevent ‘perverse outcomes’ from the legislation. “The Scottish Government has failed to undertake an economic impact assessment” In its written evidence…
Rare storage case triples price of 1952 air-pistol
The estimate for the rare .177 barrel-cocking air-pistol, model ‘Senior’ circa 1952 by Webley & Scott, was £400-600 and the hammer price exceeded everyone’s expectations. “Incredibly few cases were sold” “To understand this price a little more one has to look deeper into the product itself,” explained Holt’s Auctioneers’ Chris…
Scottish champion shooter wins prestigious sponsorship
Jonny recently became the 2015 Gallery Rifle Centrefire and 1500 Smallbore National Champion. He adds this to a string of recent wins in the shooting pistol discipline, having won events at the Phoenix, Gallery Rifle National Championships and the Irish Open. Now aged 29, Jonny is from Angus in Scotland,…
Firearms licensing lapses are “inexcusable”, says HMIC
Many police forces are not implementing firearms licensing systems consistently, putting the public at risk, according to a report published last week by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC). HMIC, the independent body that assesses police forces and policing, undertook a review of firearms legislation in England and Wales, with…
What is the future of the red squirrel?
This week is Red Squirrel Week (Sat 26 Sept – Sun 4 Oct) It’s a travesty that we’ve allowed grey squirrels to out native reds in much of England and proliferate to such an extent that their numbers have now reached an estimated 2.5million. Thanks to squirrel pox spread by greys,…
Rural communities highlight importance of grouse shooting
A new report published today shows the importance of grouse shooting and moorland management in supporting fragile rural communities. Created by Scotland’s Rural College and the University of the Highlands and Islands’ Centre for Mountain Studies at Perth College it focuses on two areas of Scotland – the Angus Glens…
Champion clay pigeon shooter loses firearms certificate due to Facebook prank
Police have alleged that 24-year-old Mr Burn was standing in a wooded area dressed in underpants, Wellington boots, cap and holding a shotgun which he pointed at the sky before announcing that he was shooting pigeons. The allegation continues that he then broke open the gun, put it on the…
Why have crossbred gundogs become so popular on shoots?
Are we guilty of overlooking crossbred gundogs? Felicity Winters thought so, and was inspired to write to the editor of Shooting Times, urging us to take more notice of the growing number of crossbreeds working on shoots. Felicity has a point: there are certainly far more springadors (springer x Labrador)…
What are people saying about the demise of the CLA Game Fair?
Overall, the general mood and tone of the comments is that the event became too expensive to attend, both for the general public and for the stallholders. What do YOU think?
Grouse moors fledge more hen harriers than other areas
Five of the twelve nests were monitored either by local raptor workers or a combination of organisations including Natural England and the Forestry Commission, and with the full cooperation of the private landowners all were successful in fledging chicks. However of the remaining seven nests monitored by the RSPB, one…
Government comes out in favour of grouse shooting
Dr Avery’s petition is founded on his premise that: “Grouse shooting for ‘sport’ depends on intensive habitat management which damages protected wildlife sites, increases water pollution, increases flood risk, increases greenhouse gas emissions and too often leads to the illegal killing of protected wildlife such as hen harriers.” The shooting…
More rural support coming
All four UK governments have now pledged increased support for rural communities following separate announcements in recent weeks. In England — which was granted around £3billion for its Rural Development Programme (RDP) in February — chancellor George Osborne and environment secretary Elizabeth Truss jointly authored the paper “Towards a one…
New Labour leader appoints vegan as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
An interesting appointment and one that is certain to spark plenty of debate, appointing a vegan to deal with Britain’s farmers is nothing if not controversial. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has reacted quickly and has already asked for an urgent meeting to discuss the Labour Party’s…
Lead Ammunition Group slammed after leak of “anti-lead” report summary
The Lead Ammunition Group (LAG) has been criticised for a perceived anti-lead bias, following the publication on its website of a letter from group chairman John Swift, summarising the findings of the as-yet unpublished or peer-reviewed LAG report. The correspondence is a copy of the cover letter, dated June 2015,…