Shooting Times & Country

Cancelling the Great British Shooting Show Liverpool cost the city £5million, according to an email obtained by Shooting Times. The show was cancelled in October after the intervention of city mayor Joe Anderson. The Great British Shooting Show had b

Anti-shooting groups have launched a series of attacks on the sport as the publication of the Scottish government’s Werritty review on grouse moor management approaches. The animal rights group OneKind, headed by former RSPB investigator Bob Elliot,

In a few days’ time the Aberdeenshire town of Ballater will be remembering the catastrophic effect Storm Frank had on it four years ago. Homes and businesses were flooded and for most it was the most unimaginable way to spend a Hogmanay. The communit

When this issue lands on your doormat, or arrives at the newsagent’s, we’ll have been welcoming guests on our pocket wild bird shoot for the highlights of the Christmas holiday week, and indeed the whole shooting season. Accommodation all around the

Alan Edwards is conservation manager at Bywell, a Purdey gold award estate in Northumberland Motionless, I sat in cover waiting for the rapidly setting sun to slide below the horizon. The twilight that follows is a key time for ducks to flight; my a

In the first article of this series, Patrick Galbraith visited Hull on a wildfowling pilgrimage. He paid tribute to Stanley Duncan on whose headstone are inscribed the words, “Not for One but for All” (20 November). For at least 100 years before Dunc

As I write this on a late November evening, August feels a very long time ago. Regular readers may remember that back then I was in the midst of a journey to become a part-time gamekeeper at the helm of a syndicate (Keeping the faith, 28 August). At

It’s Christmas Day and I never want to see a parsnip, chipolata, or helping of turkey ever again. My youngest cousin has just shot me in the face, not for the first time, with his new Nerf gun and my mother is still shouting round the house that the

It is hard enough to qualify for the International Gundog League (IGL) Retriever Championship, let alone actually win. The 2019 fixture was held at the Glenalmond estate by very kind permission of Astrup-Fearnley. This incredible ground provides chal

I speak to an ever-growing number of part-time/amateur keepers and shoot helpers who so prefer their keepering activities to their usually fairly mundane day jobs that they wish they’d had the opportunity to become keepers earlier in their careers. B

DR MIKE SWAN IS HEAD OF EDUCATION AND THE SOUTHERN REGIONAL ADVISER FOR THE GAME & WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST Shooting is good for conservation, right? Yes it is, and if I were not convinced of that, I would not still be part of the GWCT advisory

The Merkel Helix rifle is made in Germany, with Viking Arms as the sole UK importer. Viking has done a good job promoting these rifles and you see more and more of them in stalkers’ hands these days. The Helix is a straight-pull, bolt-action rifle sy

Our little rough shoot is typical of so many, where a small syndicate has come together and shot together over a number of years. One morning in December was what I can only describe as putty coloured and neither cold nor warm, at least to start with

IT’S AN IRREFUTABLE fact that the older you get, the quicker the year seems to go by. The reason, I’m sure, is that each succeeding year represents a smaller proportion of your life. Anyway, 2019 went by in a flash, though it did have its special mom

In January I look east for inspiration, for colour, the fresh taste of citrus and food that gives me energy during the post-festive healthy eating splurge. I love to make broths and eat meat or shellfish with rice noodles, chilli oil and soy. I love

Q I have a show-bred Labrador bitch that gives a good account of herself as my peg dog but has shortcomings because of the way she is bred. If I mate her to a successful field trial champion will I negate her failings and get the best of both worlds

RRP: £625 Musto.com This tweed jacket has waterproof and windproof protection as well as breathability. There are large bellow cartridge pockets and soft fleece hand-warmer pockets with retainer straps. There is also a front storm flap, an adjusta