The knight errant is not a concept one hears discussed much these days, which is a pity in my view, because the idea of a gentleman wandering about the vicinity rescuing maidens, slaying dragons, righting wrongs and generally being something of a good egg to all and sundry is an…
Shooting Gazette
Chapuis Armes C135 Artisan Super Orion
You might be forgiven for having never heard of Chapuis Armes. While this French firm has a fearsome reputation for producing double rifles of enviable quality from its factory to the west of Saint Etienne, its shotguns have very rarely found their way across the channel to the UK. Master gunmaker Stephane Dupille of Stephen & Son is now hoping to…
Perazzi HPX shotguns: John Jeffries interview
What’s the most radical change you’ve ever had made to your shotgun? There are lots of alterations a gunsmith can make to give us a better picture of our target, but how about gluing on a reversed rib? That might sound a little fantastic, but it’s exactly the kind of…
Off-road driving: Tips for shooting parties
For a large number of those who go shooting, whether to beat, pick-up or actually point a gun, one of the great joys of our sport is that we get to use our 4x4s for off-road driving, the purpose for which they were designed. For 300 and something days a…
Benelli 828U
This new over-under shotgun represents something rather rare in the world of sporting shotguns: the new and unusual. Of course, all gunmakers continually innovate in shotgun design and manufacture, but most changes tend to be incremental. The 828U offers something completely different. It is the first ever over-under shotgun from its maker Benelli, the Italian manufacturer known for its range of semiautomatic shotguns.…
Browning B725 20 bore
The Browning B725 had a lot to live up to in replacing Browning‘s ageing but extremely successful B525. Thankfully, the Belgium-based company produced a gun which has proved popular with the public and critics alike since its launch in the first half of 2013. I was suitably impressed when I tested the 12 bore Hunter (game) model, finding a gun with…
Phil Spencer talks game shooting firsts, mentors and heroes
Shooting Gazette: What was your first shotgun? Phil Spencer: “My first gun was an AYA 28 bore which was my reward for passing my Common Entrance exam aged 13.” SG: Where was your first shoot day? PS: “Two years later, on our family farm near Canterbury in Kent. The bag…
Browning Heritage
With the arrival of the B725 in 2011 it seemed that the long, celebrated life of Browning’s 525 line of guns would come to an end. With a new, slimmer action and consistently good sales since launch, one would be forgiven for thinking the young upstart B725 had surpassed the master from whom it took so many design and styling…
Beretta SV10 Perennia 20 bore
Gunmakers are often criticised for attempting to reinvent the wheel with each of their new releases, each increase in model number hiding a tiny change in designs which have been around for over 100 years. Beretta’s SV10 was something of a departure on its release five years ago, by virtue of being a wholly new gun. Browning has since followed…
Perazzi HPX RSR Ultimate
As I stated in my review of the MX8 (June 2013), there really is no better way of entering into the world of bespoke guns than with a Perazzi. These guns are astonishingly successful on the clay circuit and with good reason – they are good looking and shoot like a dream. In fact, the MX8 is easily…
Drumlanrig: Partridge shooting in Dumfriesshire
It’s hard to know exactly what the grandees of shooting in the late Victorian and Edwardian era would make of the Whirlpool drive at Drumlanrig, or the Bothy for that matter. At the Whirlwind the guns are warned beforehand by unflappable Drumlanrig shoot host John Duncan and irrepressible headkeeper Rab…
Shooting insurance: what are your options?
Game shots have a unique relationship with the weather. While others cower inside, a line of guns will happily stand in the pouring rain, the familiar smell of damp tweed curling into their nostrils as they wait for the birds to fly over. Yet fortitude is not always enough, and…
Which is the best stalking rifle on the market?
Stalking rifle: Sako, Ruger, Anderson Wheeler, Browning, Hollands, Westley Richards, Sauer, Remmington, Rigby, Blaser and more are all here. What is your favourite stalking rifle manufacturer?
Grinkle Park, pheasant shooting from North Yorkshire
Set some 14 miles from the coastal town of Whitby, Grinkle Park is billed as one of North Yorkshire’s premier shooting destinations and rumoured to be the only commercial shooting estate with an integrated hotel in the country. The estate, which pre-dates the Industrial Revolution, is the former home of…
How to sell a shotgun through Holt’s Auctioneers
Nick Holt has never been in a house more insane than this one at Aynhoe Park in his life, or if he has, he isn’t going to tell me about it. I’m watching the 50-year-old auctioneer as he perches on a red leather chair bearing the Royal Cypher of Queen…
How to make a complaint about a shoot
Our sport is possibly one of the most evocative of any pastime, and good memories from the season linger throughout the summer, sometimes enduring for years when a chance reminder brings the moment back to life again. On the whole, we are very positive about our sport, and the casual,…
Best shooting instructors in the UK
Whether based at West London Shooting School, E.J. Churchill, Royal Berkshire Shooting Ground or Barbury Shooting School, the UK is home to some of the world’s best shooting instructors. Many of the top 10 shooting instructors listed below have been at the top of their game for almost as long…