How important is it to get more women involved in shooting? It is great that so many more women are getting involved in shooting. It promotes the sport and is slowly taking away preconceived ideas that it’s a man’s sport. I love shooting and while I am a competitive girl, it’s…
Interviews
Interview with Sir Ian Botham
How and when did you get into shooting? I’m a country boy so it was a natural thing for me to do: I was brought up in Somerset and since I was 18 I’ve lived in the rural north of England. So basically I’ve been shooting since I was old…
Exclusive: Footballer turned movie star Vinnie Jones talks smoking barrels and his love for fieldsports
Vinnie Jones, the former footballer turned actor, is famous for his tough- man image, but his love for fieldsports is less well known. Shooting Times: What are you up to at the moment? Vinnie Jones: I’m working on a new TV show called Deception for ABC in the US. It’s about…
Interview with Sir Nicholas Soames, Conservative MP for Mid Sussex
Sir Nicholas Soames reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box of matches. I wait for the cigar to follow. It would suit him, sitting there, statesmanlike in a dark blue double-breasted suit. Instead, he lights a scented candle on the table, leans back in his chair, and says:…
Catching up with the Femmes Fatales clayshooting club
How did you first get in to shooting? “I began shooting clays a few years after starting work at Gamebore – I thought it would be a good way to learn about our products. Although I didn’t properly get the shooting bug until I had a particularly fun day out with Rachel Carrie and a…
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…
My favourite bit of shooting kit – by Tim Bonner
Tim chose his Cogswell & Harrison boxlock ejector, with 27 ½inch barrels, 2½ inch chambers – and weight 5¾lb. He explained: “My great-aunt Nancy Metcalfe-Gibson, a legendary sporting lady from Westmoreland, gave it to me when I was 15, over 30 years ago. She had inherited it from her mother,…
Five minutes talking gin with Nick Radclyffe
What is the history of Foxdenton estate? The estate is based in Lancashire and was acquired by my family through marriage in 1367. Our branch of the family lived at Foxdenton Hall until the late 18th century when they moved down to Dorset; since then we have ended up in Buckinghamshire. The land was kept…
Harry Meade
Things get quieter around mid-October for you what with the end of the eventing season – presumably you chose this career to fit in with the shooting season? “Ha ha… quite right. Optimistically, we think of eventing as a summer sport but realistically we start training again in December and then we get busier the further…
5 minutes with… William Asprey of William & Son
How were you introduced to shooting? By my paternal grandfather shooting fir cones in his garden. I really can’t remember what it felt like and I don’t think that I hit anything! At that time it really didn’t make that much of a conscious impression. Where was your first shoot day and do you remember…
A visit to Hartpury College – where aspiring gamekeepers learn their craft
“Crack your flags on the right, boys…push on 20 yards… stand still… flags up on the left.” Familiar words to the ears of beaters on shoots throughout the land, but it is not often they are uttered by a gamekeeper who is only 18 years old. Hartpury College in Gloucestershire runs courses in gamekeeping and associated subject matter,…
Mark Osborne of William Powell in the hot seat
Mark Osborne was interviewed for the October 2016 issue of Shooting Gazette. Have you been out relentlessly since the Twelfth? “I was out on the Twelfth and have been out a fair bit since as we keep going as long as we need. As well as letting days, we also manage quite…
Firearms certificate changes ahead?
Firstly, how did you get the job? “I stepped up as assistant chief constable of Durham Constabulary temporarily in October 2012 and became substantive in July 2014. In a recent change as of mid July, I have been promoted to temporary deputy chief constable. As I was going through the ACC period, a number of national portfolios…
Time for change at BASC with Peter Glenser
Tell me a bit about yourself… I took over a month ago and I’ve been confirmed as chairman of BASC for the next two years. I Iive in rural Norfolk with my wife, daughter and two dogs. Professionally, I’m a regulatory and criminal barrister with a particular interest in rural matters – firearms licensing in particular. I…
Amber Hill Olympic skeet shooter in the hot seat
Amber Hill was interviewed for the July 2016 issue of Shooting Gazette. Robert Cuthbert: Congratulations on your selection for Team GB’s skeet squad in Rio. That must have been huge; can you remember where you were when you were given the good news? Amber Hill: “It was fantastic, just amazing…
A.A. Gill in the hot seat
Did you have a crack at the stags last year? “Yes I did. I haven’t missed a year for probably the last 12, no… maybe 15 years; something like that.” Do you go to the same estate each year? “I do. The estate is Letterewe, which is on the further side of…
Meet devotee of springer spaniels, Barrie Hughes
Spaniel ownership can be both enormously satisfying and extremely frustrating. I’ve survived 33 years of it, but am always full of admiration for those who have managed longer. So when I met Barrie Hughes and heard that he had owned working springers for exactly 50 years, I wanted to learn more. I…
Wilson Young Kennel Club Field Trial Sub Committee Q&A
Wilson Young was interviewed in the June 2016 issue of Shooting Gazette Amy Bates: Tell us about your picking-up? Wilson Young: “We shoot six days a week and on occasions we can have five groups on the same day, so I’m out every day hosting a party and normally have…
Sir Nicolas Soames MP for Mid Sussex interview
Sir Nicolas Soames MP was interviewed in the May 2016 issue of Shooting Gazette. Robert Cuthbert: What was last season like? Sir Nicolas Soames: “It was fantastic, a bit patchy, but I did have an amazing grouse season. I was lucky enough to shoot some wild grey partridge, but they…
Zoli of Italy: a story of success
It’s not surprising that Zoli of Italy has built an excellent reputation. The company has a 400-year history of gunmaking in Brescia and its 40 staff show a passion and enthusiasm for their work that helps their employer and its products stand out from an increasingly crowded market. The company’s history…