Back to basics

Regular readers will know that I’ve confessed to some fairly unimpressive shots-to-kill ratios of late. My game diary shows that in 13 outings since March I’m averaging 19 birds for 46 empty cartridges per outing. Put another way: 41%. Or phrased another way: pretty embarrassing.

None of us would argue that shooting is only about pulling the trigger and hitting the target. Fieldcraft, camaraderie, conservation and crop protection, of course, are all much more important. But if I’m privileged enough to be published alongside the likes of Will Garfit and Tom Payne, I think I really ought to aspire to figures more like their percentages at the wily woody. I’m sure they don’t miss six out of every 10 birds.

So last week I headed back to school with the nearest person north Essex has to a shooting guru: Mr Robert Radcliffe