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.
Shooting
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…
“A love of the outdoors and a desire to be self-sufficient brought me to stalking”
Stevie was stuck; there was no getting around the soft ground so, to reach the deer, he had to go through it. The small hard composite pads on the end of his prosthetic legs sank in and the mud closed around them. Stevie gritted his teeth and pulled, pushing down…
Is British shooting in danger of selling itself short?
The television series Jack’s Game was first screened on Channel 4 in 1983. In one episode, the cameras follow Jack Charlton, two of his friends and their dogs as they walk-up some wild and wonderful land on their rough shoot. Jack ruefully points out that the money they spend on…
Are today’s Shots less accomplished?
Driven shooting has been an established sport in the British Isles since it was introduced by the mid-Victorians. The sport of shooting had previously been largely a matter of a gentleman walking-up game over his dogs. His firearm of choice was a muzzle-loading shotgun, until the advent of breechloading pinfires…
Estates should act to limit the number of dead poults
Too much pheasant roadkill In the early years of my shooting career, pheasants were far too valuable to use for retrieving practice. I didn’t shoot many and those that I did bag were destined for dinner. This became second nature and, even today, I don’t like to use a shot…
Finding the best position for rifle shooting
There are various positions from which you can shoot a rifle. But which is the correct position for rifle shooting for you? Let’s take a look at some options and see how you can improve. Remember you should not immediately expect 1in groups at 100m from these positions. Check and…
Do shooters ‘go soft’ as they age?
Flicking through the dog-eared pages of an old shooting diary is a pleasant way to spend a spare half an hour. The further back the stories go, the better. Only recently I found a small, hardback volume from my youth. Its entries, mostly relating to pigeon shooting exploits, are sporadic…
The best overtrousers, trousers and treggings for the field
Seeland Crief Overtrousers: These overtrousers must have been designed by someone who has struggled to get into waterproofs while wearing walking boots or wellies.
Shotgun jargon buster
Even Guns who’ve spent many seasons standing on the peg or walking along hedgerows are sometimes unclear about some shooting terminology. For example, whilst most shooters will know what the action on a gun is, they might be a little less sure about what the top strap is. (Answer below.)…
12 things you should know about tipping on a shoot
Tipping on a shoot is a time-honoured part of a shoot day. It gives you the chance to show your satisfaction with how the day was run. It also says a lot about you personally. Unless you are the employer it is considered very bad form not to tip and…
Giving the very high birds your best shot
High bird shooting is a specialist subject. Some devote themselves to nothing else, but is there an optimum barrel length for it? It might surprise you to learn that the fashion for long barrels is nothing new. Take a look at any of the fowling 4- and 8-bore shotguns from…
How to shoot high pheasants
There aren’t many shortcuts in this game — shooting high pheasants takes practice. The only way to become really good at taking on those tall birds is to spend hours standing underneath them. That said, there are a few tricks of the trade that will set you on the path…
11 of the best ear defenders for shooting
Shooters of a certain age often have hearing issues because wearing ear defenders for shooting wasn’t much of a thing back in the day. We’ve all been out in the field with somebody who says: “Sorry, deaf as a post. Never wore any ear protection when I was younger.” Just…
How to find affordable rough shooting
Robin Scott investigates how to find affordable roughshooting and what it costs
10 shooting tips you need to know
To avoid frustration when out shooting in the field this season, follow these ten shooting tips.