If you are involved in shoot management in any way, do consider the following. Is there still a decent shrub layer, or has canopy closure started to starve out the sunlight that is so essential to woodland floor habitat? Aside from a few very early starters such as ravens and…
Shooting
Here are articles to help and inform all aspects of your shooting, whether you’re a novice shooter or somebody who has been out in the field every season for years. You will find pieces on how you can improve, learn new skills and hone your technique.
We also keep a keen eye out for changes to gun laws and Government legislation.
You might be a gameshooter or clays might be much more your bag.
Then there are the pigeon shooting fans and those who love nothing better than being out on the foreshore, wildfowling.
Rabbiting has a section too.
If you’re looking to see how a particular ground performed than check out our shoot reports.
Our contributors frequently write about deer stalking with guidance on different species, locations and equipment.
Finally we encourage the next generation of shooters, informing and educating Young Shots.
Are you going to shoot game or focus on clayshooting?
Driven | Walked-up/Rough | Improve your shooting |
Lamping | Improve your clayshooting | Improve your pigeon shooting
Cull before the storm
‘‘For at least 20 years, deer stalking has been one of the brightest stars in the shooting firmament. Its rise has tracked the steady growth in the range and population of our six native or naturalised deer species and has effectively resulted in the establishment of a new fieldsport. Until…
How top Shots minimise misses
Looking out of my window at a big cock bird picking his way down a hedge, just beyond my garden, it strikes me that I shot fewer days this season than in any other since childhood. In truth, it showed. Rather than getting into my stride, I frequently found myself…
How to use thermal imagers safely
Before using a thermal imager The human brain learns from birth to process a colourful, bright visual world. Our brains subconsciously assess distance, speed, size and the many other factors we see 24 hours a day. So it is key to take the time to get naturally acquainted with the…
How to tackle January pheasants
Many of the best Shots whose opinions I most respect won’t shoot a pheasant in October. For the very lucky, August and September are for grouse, October is for partridges and only in November do they start thinking about pheasants. By the time January comes round, it is supposed that…
It’s not the classic time for pigeon roosting but …
’Many of you reading this will be thinking, why is there a pigeon roosting article at this time of year? Has Shooting Times bucked the usual trend of pigeon shooting specials in February, the classic pigeon month when traditionally we can use all three methods of pigeon management — roosting,…
Shooting etiquette during COVID
Shoot day etiquette has been the cornerstone of a day in the field ever since we have been shooting game, both driven and walked-up. What with COVID-19 restrictions and the ability to buy a peg for the day, it does no harm to take a fresh look of the important…
Why the best Shots start out as rough shooters
Very often you will see a person’s true character when you drive game over them on a peg. It’s difficult for anyone to hide it. If you are greedy, lack respect for your quarry or have a tendency to moan, it’s likely to show. We can learn a lot about…
How many antler points can a stag grow? And what are they called?
Q: How many points can a red stag in the wild be expected to grow when they are at their best in this country? And when it comes to stag antlers, what makes a a ‘Royal’ and an ‘Imperial stag’? There are many variables which impact on the number of points…
Why the wild pheasant is the greatest test
’I remember the first time I was invited to a day of wild pheasants. It was a cold January morning and I stood on the edge of an old woodland filled with oaks and ash that sloped away into a deep valley where the other Guns stood waiting, nervously shifting…
Five places to go clay pigeon shooting in Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a county of high downlands combined with wide valleys and offers shooters exciting variety. If you’re after somewhere to shoot clays in the country, here’s a list of shooting grounds in Wiltshire. We’ve deliberately included diverse experiences – some grounds are small and run by volunteers whilst others…
Here’s a driven shooting lesson to get you back in the field
Whether it’s Hampshire partridges or Devon high pheasants, let’s look at the techniques you need to master in this driven shooting lesson. The warm-up I’ll start my driven shooting lesson on the first stand where I would set up a regular driven target; let’s call it a warm-up stand. On…
Best loads for high pheasants
So what is a high pheasant? And what are the best loads for high pheasants? For normal mortals shooting cartridges with say 30gm of No 6 or 5 lead shot from their standard shotgun, a distance of 40 to 45yd is generally considered to be a decently high pheasant. The…
How does the public perceive our sport?
Public perception of fieldsports At the age of 11, Robin Marshall-Ball was walking through a Welsh village with his Midland 20-bore under his arm when a police car drew up and asked him what he was doing. Robin explained that he was on his way to shoot pigeon on a…
How to start clayshooting
So you've decided to venture onto a clay ground with a view to taking up the sport. Congratulations. It's a popular pastime for good reason, as you'll discover.
Ten of the best tweed shooting coats
A comfortable, breathable, stylish shooting coat is a key part of shooting clothing. And tweed shooting coats are classic. Top tips for buying tweed shooting coats Tweed is naturally water repellent due to its lanolin content and it is also hard wearing. A good quality tweed shooting coat will last…
What’s more challenging – a driven or a walked-up day?
Driven or walked-up shooting? It’s walked-up for Robin Scott who says: Given the chance I’d pop away at a driven game any day of the week. Nothing is easier than standing on a peg shooting birds passing nicely overhead after being flushed by a whole heap of beaters. You can…
Six of the best pheasant shoots
Every shoot is different in its own way. We asked our contributors for their nominations for their best pheasant shoots from seasons gone by and here is what they came up with, in no particular order… 1. Hornby shoot, Cumbria “The best syndicate shoot I have ever visited” is how…
How to bag rough shooting
On my desk as I write this is a rather yellowed and crumpled letter from the Forestry Commission offering an annual shooting lease over 1,003 acres at West Tofts, Norfolk, for the princely sum of £50. The letter is dated November 1971, a time when my father and a group…
The latest night vision equipment reviewed
We asked two of our contributors to take the latest night vision equipment out into the field. Here’s what they thought. The Pulsar Digex N450 digital night vision riflescope – Mark Ripley The Digex scope is the latest night vision equipment riflescope from Pulsar. The main body looks almost identical…