When it comes to game birds, for many shoots around the UK, last season was one of mixed results, much influenced by the exceptional weather we experienced or, in many…
Shooting Gazette
Browning Maxus
It seems unlikely we’ll ever see the day they become an acceptable sight on the peg, if Browning continues to create products like this one they may become a far more…
Poor drives on commercial shoots: poor excuse or unfair demand?
In the world of commercial shooting, is it good enough to explain a poor drive by saying it was the first time through? The Paying Gun, by Matthew Alexander As shooting…
What does a gamekeeper do on a shooting estate?
I have visited a lot of shoots for Shooting Gazette and interviewed and photographed many a gamekeeper, but I have never spent the entire shooting day with a gamekeeper seeing…
April 2016
Welcome to the gundog issue of Shooting Gazette. If you love your four-legged shooting companions then you’re in for 30 pages of fantastic features, essential products, cutting edge interviews and…
Whatever happened to the British countryside?
Years ago, if you went from Walsall towards Litchfield on the No.6 bus, crossed the Shire Oak traffic lights and carried on for a couple of miles, you would come…
Can you put a price on well-behaved gundogs?
Whilst writing about British gundogs, an American gundog trainer was extolling the virtues of how “these extraordinary gundogs perform with such style and drive yet remain absolutely calm and under…
Cocking Shoot, West Sussex
Technology is a wonderful thing. I have an app on my iPhone that marries OS maps with GPS, so I can say with absolute certainty that the guns shooting Triangle…
Beretta Silver Pigeon I Sport 20 bore
Even those with only a passing interest in the world of shooting are likely to have heard of the Silver Pigeon. Indeed, my first proper shooting lesson after a childhood spent…
Professional gundog trainers and amateur gundog trainers
Field trials are, by any reckoning, a very distinctive sporting activity. Nobody pretends they are not a sport in their own right, but neither would anybody be reluctant to acknowledge…
Lindsay Waddell NGO chairman interview
Robert Cuthbert: Did you find shooting or vice versa? Lindsay Waddell: “I spent a lot of my formative years with my aunt and uncle, a shepherd in the Angus Glens…
How guns can impress the beaters
I have spent a few days on the other side of the hedge this past season and it has been, let me tell you, very instructive indeed. It is easy…
March 2016
The shooting world never sleeps – just ask your local gamekeeper. Even while these countryside custodians are busy taking their end-of-season holidays they are often secretly plotting the way ahead…
Game shooting etiquette: what does a “low bird” mean?
Talk about a can of worms; this one landed on the in-tray with the pin out ready to drop me right in the deep water. How low can you go…
How to get both a firearms and a shotgun certificate
Q: I would like to get a firearms certificate as well as a shotgun certificate. What will I have to do to obtain one? A: It’s not unlike the process…
William Evans: a London gunmaker with a Continental twist
Providing clients with a combination of quality, value and variety has always been the goal for William Evans, an English gun manufacturer involved in making quality sporting arms since 1883.…
Beretta Silver Pigeon Classic
What are you getting for the money? The Beretta Silver Pigeon Classic is the most expensive gun in the current Silver Pigeon range, with the ‘1’ selling for around £1,500…
Shredded crispy “wild” duck pancakes recipe
Ingredients Duck breasts Sesame seed oil (or any oil that’s handy) Soy sauce Garlic powder Pepper Chinese five spice powder A large pan of water Wok (or frying pan) …
A day in the life of a gamekeeper
Gamekeepers: From long hours to relentless predators, there are many aspects to a gamekeeper's job description.
Fosseway Game: Partridge shooting at Sutton shoot, Warks
How can I start to tell you about 39-year-old Joe Smith, the current leaseholder of the Sutton shoot and owner of Fosseway Game on Manor Farm in the North Cotswolds?…