If you were to look at the hierarchy of gundogs in the shooting field, you would more than likely consider dogs that work in the beating line at the bottom of list. But, in fact,…
Sporting Gun
Cogswell & Harrison Windsor game gun
Cogswell & Harrison (C&H) is a company with a wealth of history. It can be traced back to 1770 and is the oldest gunmaking firm to have evolved out of London. I use the word…
Protecting grouse moors
With around 75 per cent of the world’s heather moorland located in the UK, tied with the fact that heather moorland habitat is in a more critical condition than the rainforests, it is clear that conservation and…
The Sauer 404 bolt-action rifle
The 202, the predecessor of the 404 was launched in 1993 and was seen as one of the best rifles around. However, the new 404 has many mechanical improvements over the 202, one being the…
Teal and Mallard on the Foreshore
Wildfowling on the foreshore, Tom and Goose head out to shoot some mallard and teal.
Fruit-loving Labradors
Neil says: Clever boy indeed to be skinning his bananas himself! Patience with food such as this is unusual in Labradors. Yes they will eat anything. A Labrador patient of mine recently made a valiant attempt to eat…
Three secondhand Sporters
Miroku MK60 Universal Grade 5 In the 1980s a type of gun for the Sporting disciplines was just evolving. All too many Continental manufacturers were trying to palm us off with slightly modified…
Clayshooting lesson – high, slow-driven clays
Sean Ponting of Widdington Shoot has pretty much been there and got the T-shirt as far as Sporting and FITASC clayshooting goes. He has had 20 years of coaching experience, and has won competitions at county, regional and national…
Teal and Mallard on the Foreshore
Wildfowling on the foreshore, Tom and Goose head out to shoot some mallard and teal.
How to make a venison burger
Ingredients 600g coarsely minced venison 1 red onion, finely chopped 1tsp chopped thyme Sea salt Ground black pepper 1 parsnip 2 carrots 1 celeriac 4 slices blue cheese 4 buns…
The firearms licensing system could do better
In September 2015 HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) published its report into the efficiency and effectiveness of the firearms licensing system. It had the infelicitous title “Targeting the Risk” which rather suggests that legitimate firearms owners are…
Clayshooting tips for the game season
Clay shooting is in full swing, so why is my mind already turning to the new game season in just a few weeks time? Good stead for game As we are based in…
Second-hand 20-bore game guns
Browning B725 Hunter 20-bore, target price £1,500 A basic, Grade 1 version of the Browning B725 Hunter may weigh anything between 7lb and almost 7½lb, depending on barrel length (tubes of up to…
The risks of a dirty gun
A shotgun is an investment that needs to be cared for to look beautiful, but also perform to its full potential. So where do you begin? Does it need to be cleaned after every outing…
A closer look at the terrier
There is no doubt that the terrier breeds are the “hard men” of the canine world, ready to take on their quarry above and below ground. Most terrier breeds were developed in Great Britain and…
Grouse counts with cocker and springer spaniels
There I was stretched out on a sun-kissed beach drinking cold rum and cokes when all of a sudden I could hear a high pitched shrieking – it was my alarm. As I slowly opened…
Remington 1100 – the best gun I never had
The year 1963 may not seem so long ago, but in truth the world then was rather different to the present day. There was no colour TV, the few computers that existed were laboratory toys,…
Early season fowling
Having shot my local marshes for numerous years, I have a good understanding of where the best chances lie, depending on the time of year and weather conditions. I decided…
Ducks on an early morning flight
Wildfowling expert Tom Sykes gives an early morning view from the marsh.
How to introduce a new dog to your picking-up team
At this time of the year many of us are looking to either buy a new pup or a slightly older youngster. I tend to look two years ahead as…