Shooting Gazette

One of the biggest, most frustrating and lingering misconceptions about game shooting is that it’s an exclusive sport enjoyed only by a select few in society. Over the next 100 or so pages we will not only prove that viewpoint to be false but also il

The Legacy Funded Scholarship Programme run by BASC to help people interested in developing their knowledge of conservation, land management or gamekeeping is now open for this year’s applications. The scheme, launched in 2019, offers successful appl

It is with great sadness that I am writing to you about the death of my father, Brian Male, writes Tony Male. He was well known in the shooting, hunting and fishing community, and purchased hundreds of shooting magazines over the years he. My father

The pandemic may have brought the game shooting season to a halt but it has not stopped Longthorne Gunmakers from unveiling its trigger-plate boxlock range. The range, developed and made in the UK, features the gunmaker’s innovative patented barrels

For the chance to win a bottle of Taittinger Champagne for Picture of the Month, send us a team photograph or a picture of something unusual from your shoot. Send high-resolution images or prints with captions to Shooting Gazette Gallery, Future PLC,

The name Michael Dawnay, who has died of COVID-19, is synonymous with that splendid bird the woodcock, writes John Batley. Mike knew and loved his quarry as only the true hunter does. Mike grew up in Suffolk and later lived in both Perthshire and Pem

COURTESY OF PREPARATION TIME: 45 minutes COOK TIME: 150 minutes SERVES 4 PEOPLE • Butter, for greasing• 285g self-raising flour• 125g suet• 1 tsp baking powder• 225ml water • 1 large onion, diced• 3g salt• 5g garlic puree• 2g chopped thyme• 2 large c

Nobody said that managing the countryside was easy. Some less rational groups who don’t have that responsibility believe that they know more about the job than everyone who has ever come before and demand to have their views trumpeted, often at a vol

My shooting experience prior to Glad Rags was on the beating line trying to keep our three small children and one quite badly behaved dog under control. It all changed one sunny afternoon while at a friend’s farm when I tried clay shooting for the fi

Adam Hudson and Mark Eddon set up Sporting Situations on the latter’s family farm near Pickering, North Yorkshire, in late 2019. Alongside the shoot’s let days are ones which will be of interest to anyone interested in participating in game shooting,

Director for Wales, Countryside Alliance Most of my days are spent at the desk promoting and protecting shooting in Wales. To be given the opportunity to escape from the desk for my perfect day’s shooting is indeed a dream right now, and I would have

It’s safe to say the majority of shoots nowadays release birds bought in from a reliable game farmer at six to eight weeks of age. Some estates do, of course, maintain laying pens and collect eggs from the stock therein before incubating, hatching an

As the 2020/2021 shooting season came to its end, sadly more with a whimper than a bang, the thoughts of shoot managers, game processors, game dealers, game farmers, agents, veterinarians and Guns turned to assessing where they were and, more critica

Earlier this year, Shooting Gazette and other magazines published by Future PLC launched the ‘Why We Shoot’ campaign. It is no surprise. Those who are passionate about shooting are eager to publicise its many benefits to the economy of our countrysid

BASC council member “Despite general misconceptions about the elitist nature of fieldsports, it is actually a welcoming and inclusive community. I speak from personal experience as an ethnic minority. The image of shooting is changing: social media i

FROM JUST £21.49* Enjoy these great subscriber benefits: • NEVER MISS AN ISSUE WITH CONVENIENT HOME DELIVERY • SAVE UPTO 30%*, WITH EVERY MONTHLY ISSUE • PHOTOGRAPHY AND WRITING THAT TAKES YOU TO THE HEART OF THE SPORTING ACTION Choose from 3 simple

In the annals of shooting history, several great innovators stand out. In 1818, the gunsmith Joseph Manton gave us the tube lock, which transformed the flintlock and made it a much more compact and well-balanced proposition for sportsmen. A century l

During a Yuletide made more fractured and a deal less pleasant by the various constraints placed upon us by the Government, The Back Gun fell to thinking how he had got into shooting in the first place and how he might undertake that challenge today.

Many moons ago, when I would busy myself by hanging around on the BASC stand at some show or other, it was possible to guess what people would want to ask. If the wind was in the right direction and we’d had a good breakfast, we would even know the a

Twelve months ago, on the Petworth estate, we were faced with three choices when lockdown was first announced: proceed with business as usual, reduce the number of birds we released or close the shoot, either permanently or for the season. We ended u

Solving training problems, celebrating success and much more In conversation with BASC Young Shots Journalists Presenting the poshest rough shoot in Hampshire The gunmaker using his skills to raise funds for mental health support THE APRIL ISSUE OF S

On 3 February 1877, Henry Tolley took out patent no 461 encompassing various improvements such as a self-cocking gun. It also included the famous Tolley Giant Grip locking mechanism. During this period there were many inventions to provide additional

I just love the name Giant Grip, which was given by J&W Tolley to the top fastening on its big-bore guns – it conjures up the image of something immensely strong, secure and permanent no matter what the charge is. With a name like mine, I also love t

In 1885, Lt Col George Fosbery VC took out a patent for a rifled choke to create a versatile gun/rifle for use across the British Empire, allowing the gun to be used as a normal shotgun or as an accurate rifle. The portion of the choke that was rifle

The Volkswagen Group is a mighty behemoth, even by the standards of the automotive sector, producing everything from Ducati motorbikes to MAN trucks, Lamborghini supercars to Skoda runabouts as well as Audis, SEATs, Porsches and Bentleys. And, in all

Q My 11-year-old son is ready to move on from the .410 he used when he started shooting. He comes from a family of tall, broad-shouldered men so will rocket in height and stature over the next few years. What are his options so far as guns are concer

If you are a novice beater or picker-up with a gundog struggling to find a shoot that will accept you, or if you are a shoot which wants to give something back to your community but aren’t sure how, then draw inspiration from the work currently being

Q I am struggling with direction work with my spaniel. He seems to get it sometimes but struggles to follow my commands on other occasions. What can I do to improve this situation? A Direction work can be quite difficult to get right when you are ins

For your chance to win either a Pintail Explorer II smock (bottom left) or a Torrent III jacket (right), email high-res images to martin.puddifer@futurenet.com. Please put ‘Gundog Picture of the Month’ in the subject line. The winner will be chosen b

By Ben Samuelson Our sport suffers from more than its fair share of stigma. In the days when I wrote CVs, I would happily put shooting on my list of interests. Now, I’m not so sure. Shooting is perceived as being exclusively for middle-aged white men