Throughout the UK and Europe, driven shooting has become one of the most popular facets of our sport. According to BASC, of the 600,000 people who hold shotgun certificates, more than 55 per cent shoot driven game. The release of game for sporting purposes, involving pheasants and mallard, began in…
Popular reads
How to tackle common species when walked-up shooting
Successfully walking-up any quarry and making the most of your opportunities is not as as straightforward as people often think. Here I will go into specific details about how to tackle commonly encountered species. The most frequently made mistake among would-be rough Shots is to head to the local clay…
Protecting the red squirrel
I’m Jerry Moss and I have been a red squirrel ranger for 14 years. My responsibilities involve conserving and protecting the UK’s only native squirrel, especially from the threat of the alien grey. I am also a trustee of the Penrith & District Red Squirrel Group (P&DRSG), a charity committed…
How to sell your game without going through a game dealer
Last year the game market was one of the best to date for game dealers selling into home and international markets. Across the south of England the three main dealers were reporting that they were short of pheasants. The economics of the game market are complex but game dealers, despite…
A good day’s ratting
It was about 4am with rain falling hard from the London sky and people spilling out of nightclubs on to the greasy streets. As I sat waiting for the red signal to change, I noticed a man slumped against the traffic lights. Then movement at his feet caught my eye,…
Five top tips for cooking game on a barbecue
Although he now lives and works in London, Joe Carhart has proper country credentials and grew up on a family farm in the West Country where shooting was a part of life. He’s always been a keen game cook and early on started running game barbecues for his friends. Everything…
Has the Land Rover had its day?
As the king of off-roaders celebrates its 70th birthday, some unwelcome guests have gatecrashed the party. There are plenty of other 4×4 manufacturers eager to snatch its muddy crown. So has Land Rover taken a wrong turn? Problems with oil leaks Opinion is divided. In 1948 the Land Rover had…
Do you know the collective nouns for birds?
Most of the collective nouns for birds date back to the mid 15th century. And here are some of our favourites: A wake of buzzards A confusion of chiffchaffs A chattering of choughs A commotion of coots A murder of crows An asylum of cuckoos A curfew of curlews A…
27 of our favourite photos of the 2017/8 shooting season
All good things come to an end and so has the 2017/8 shooting season. We hope you’ve had some excellent days out in the field, enjoying excellent cameraderie, watching well-trained gundogs perform their tasks and sitting down to delicious meals of game afterwards. Here is a selection of our favourite…
How to create your own shoot – what you need to know
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 around the country this dream may result in owning just a few acres, but with careful planning and hard work…
Are these the best shoot lunch ideas of all time?
The shoot lunch conjures up scenes of steaming plates, cottage pies and treacle puddings but in fact a shoot lunch on the grouse moor in August should be very different from the shoot lunch in mid December. Here are some new shoot lunch ideas for the cook and host to…
Bordeaux red blends to accompany game dishes
Bordeaux‘s signature grape varieties have traversed the globe, to the extent that Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have risen to the summit of the world grape planting league in the past two decades. What’s in a Bordeaux red blend? A Bordeaux red blend usually combines two or more of the classic…
10 of the most challenging drives in the British Isles
Beeches, Brixton Deverill, Wiltshire This shoot is one for the connoisseurs and Kim Beddall has any number of fine drives across three beats. Shooting Gazette correspondent John Walker said: “While Abyssinia may be the most famous, it is the Beeches drive on the Sutton Veny beat that will test the…
The woodcock – so elusive
As both a challenge of shooting skill and a delicacy for the table, the woodcock is regarded by many shooters as an elusive and highly prized trophy. It is certainly one of the most mysterious birds among our quarry species. Most encounters with this secretive and interesting wader are of the bird on the wing. Disturbed from its…
An interview with Liam Bell, chairman of the NGO
What did you do before becoming a keeper? I went to school! I never really wanted to do anything else. I remember my father, who was a chemical engineer, saying I’d make a good gamekeeper when I was 10 or 11 years old. I found out what one did and was hooked. It sounded like a…
When should you take the shot?
Leaving aside the stalking skill, knowledge of the quarry, correct rifle mount, stability of position, breath control and all the other disciplines needed for an accurate shot, what do I wait for in those few seconds before the message is despatched to squeeze the trigger? Period of calm With the scope crosshairs on the target,…
Shooters contribute £2.5 billion to the economy annually. So why aren’t they applauded?
Shooting’s massive contribution to the British economy has already been well stated. But it never hurts to keep repeating. Without the £2.5 billion shelled out by shooters each year, many countryside communities would be in financial queer street. You only need to look at my market town to see what shooting brings to the area. Local businesses do…
The modern cartridge vs the flintlock
If you have ever fired a flintlock, you will know that it feels as if the world has suddenly slipped into slow motion when you compare the experience to that of firing your modern shotgun. When you pull the trigger on the flintlock, you are very aware of a sort of “click – fizz – bang”…
5 minutes with Patrick Galbraith – the new editor of Shooting Times
SUK: Welcome on board Patrick. So tell us, where are you from in Scotland? PG: I was brought up in Edinburgh and learned to shoot during summer holidays in Dumfriesshire. I started my shooting career, as so many people do, going out after bunnies with an old BSA air rifle. I…
What gun for a novice shooter – who’s also a big, rugby playing lad?
Q: I have recently taken a real interest in shooting through my girlfriend’s family. I will be looking to get myself a gun for next season and was wondering what to get. I am 6ft 2in and 104kg, so a relatively big, rugby-playing lad. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.…