Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2016 i Shooting Gazette

SHOOTING AND conservation groups have expressed their disappointment at the RSPB’s decision to withdraw its support for the Hen Harrier Action Plan less seven months after it was introduced by DEFRA. In a blog entry posted on July 25, the RSPB’s conservation director Martin Harper expressed the society’s frustration at the low number of successful hen harrier nests being established in England, and stated that the illegal killing of the bird “remains its most significant threat”. Mr Harper cited incidents of hen harrier persecution in the Peak District, and added that the licensing of driven grouse shooting was the only way to protect the hen harrier in the future. Liam Stokes, head of shooting at the Countryside Alliance, said: “This retreat from the task of saving the hen harrier appears…

A YOUNG British woodworker who has just graduated from the prestigious Chippendale International School of Furniture has completed the restoration of a dilapidated shotgun, and is setting up his own woodworking business in Suffolk. The restoration by 19-year-old Adam Bragg took over 50 hours to restore both the gun’s mechanism and its wooden stock and fore-end. Since he was young, Adam has always had two main passions – country sports and woodwork. He first started woodworking from a young age and, aged 13, inherited his grandfather's lathe and began making small turnings, which have him the inspiration to pursue woodworking as a career. He is now setting up Adam Bragg Craftsmanship in Bury St. Edmunds, with a view to designing and making bespoke furniture – and offer a shotgun restoration…

Mick Lett posted: “I know several folk in their 80s who've been eating game all their lives! Besides, well-shot game has very few, if any, pellets in the meat to be eaten. Toxic? Rubbish.” John Tatton posted: “Chris Packham paints the countryside like an animated Walt Disney film instead of telling it how it is like that proper countryman and farmer Robin Page, who is no longer allowed much media exposure thanks to the extremely biased BBC. He also fails to acknowledge the vital work of gamekeepers that so benefits the wildlife of the countryside as well as game birds. Remember the “rogue badger” as he quickly put it on Springwatch a while back that absolutely decimated a whole load of Avecet chicks and nests on a wetland scrape in…

With the grouse season upon us and the hills glowing pink with heather flower, this is a fine moment to look at one of the best and most comprehensive books on moorland management. John Phillips’ book covers every aspect of the heather hill, providing an easily readable introduction to the complexities of balancing sheep, grouse and conservation interests. It is easy to misinterpret large grouse bags as the simple result of good predator control, but while the book hammers home the value of efficient gamekeeping, the real emphasis is on habitat – creating a fruitful, productive home for game, livestock and wildlife more broadly. John Phillips worked as a hill shepherd in Galloway, a cattleman in Midlothian and a farm manager in Perthshire, latterly training with the GCT (now GWCT)…

Q: I went to see my GP recently about some minor matter and mentioned that I would have to renew my shotgun certificate shortly. He said that he would charge me a fee if I wanted any letters from him to the police. I thought all this had been sorted out and that no fee was payable. Do I have to pay him? A: No, you don’t. Well, at least not for the first letter which is all that’s required in about 98 per cent of cases. New guidance came into force in April of this year. The Home Office said that a fee would only become payable if there had to be any work beyond the initial response. This position was agreed by the Home Office medical evidence working…

“A mixture of gorges, tight river valleys, rolling hills and far-reaching views.” Things started, as they so often do, the night before. There is a lot to be said for a team get-together on the eve of shoot day, and while things can get a little fuzzy if you forget your self-discipline, vivid memories as pleasurable as a left and right or perfect retrieve to hand can be conceived whether there are five or 50 in the group. On these occasions in the past I've picked apart Michael Douglas’s performance in Wall Street with a hedge-fund manager over port and cigars in a Scottish lodge at 3am, almost burned my eyebrows off watching French farmers cook mussels on a white-hot pyre of hay, and even proved not all Welshmen can…

“Success depends on an almost bullish approach that regards any safe shot as an opportunity.” For the past few years, I have been invited to shoot grouse on a small moor in Angus alongside some of the large, high-octane operations that are currently enjoying a period of prosperity. The moor is looked after by a part-time keeper, and I first made contact with the place on account of their interest in blackgame. Always keen to spend time around black grouse, I was thrilled to be asked up to provide some support and advice on habitat management, and even more thrilled to be invited back a few weeks later for a walked-up day early in September. The sporting tenant is an Englishman from the Home Counties with a real love of…

Tuck’s good fortune was legendary. He left a pub early, shortly before it was hit by a random bomb that killed several RAF colleagues. He baled out four times, on one occasion his parachute opening just 500ft above the ground. On another he floated in the English Channel for two hours before being picked up by a coal barge. He crash-landed twice, the second time in France where, gliding towards an open field, he was fired at by a 20mm cannon. He fired back, and one of his rounds went straight down the barrel of the German weapon, blowing it apart like a peeled banana, killing the crew. Expecting to be dispatched on the spot, he was surrounded by soldiers praising his marksmanship, and before being sent to Stalag Luft…

“These guns are ultra-rare... Boss has built 11 double rifles since the 1890s.” What does the name Boss & Co mean to you? Superb quality side-by-side guns of course, along with over-unders and single triggers. You certainly don’t think of double rifles (the firm specialised in sporting shotguns), yet occasionally, Boss & Co built hammerless ejector double rifles, albeit in tiny numbers, and during the research for my book Boss & Co, Builders Of Best Guns Only, I encountered only 11 such rifles in its ledgers. To put this into perspective, Boss & Co has built around 4,000 hammerless ejector guns since their introduction in the early 1890s, hence any one of these 11 double rifles is a very rare beast indeed. As the firm’s logo states, Boss & Co…

Cartridges for full bore rifles were expensive. One way of keeping down costs was to use a Morris Tube instead. Richard Morris took out patent no. 1773 on April 25, 1882, for a removable barrel tube insert for full bore rifles, subsequently taking out 12 other patents along similar lines. The tube consisted of a small-calibre rifle barrel that could be fitted into the bore of a rifle with a self-centring adjustment at the muzzle, enabling it to be locked easily and correctly. The main intention behind the Morris Tube was to enable the army and volunteers to use short ranges in built-up areas and to enable recruits to handle and familiarise themselves with service weapons at a fraction of the cost. On account of this, the Morris Tube was…

“Rabbits produce 6lbs of meat on the same feed and water that a cow needs to produce 1lb.” They provide sport and food for many but destruction, cost and even bankruptcy for others. Rabbits have been a mixed blessing for Britain. At one time we were led to believe it was the Normans who introduced them to our shores, now evidence points to the Romans. Rabbit bones were found at a Roman site in Lynford, Norfolk, so this puts their existence in Britain as being some 2,000 years – 1,000 longer than previously believed. Remains found at Boxgrove in Sussex show they actually existed here 500,000 years ago, but like certain other animals such as fallow deer, they succumbed to the last ice age. Whether you are thankful for their…

The handling was a real surprise to me and the instructors at Grange Farm Shooting School, as it was clearly barrel heavy. While this could have been down to the multichokes, there was some speculation as to the impact of the density of the wood in the stock. Though you might expect to find the point of balance forward of the hinge-pin, here it was a good 2” forward. As a result, this gun required a deliberate style to shoot well, with a strong forward movement needed for a consistently clean mount. It felt quite different from the Classic tested previously. Once in the shoulder the gun moved extremely well and certainly did not feel its 7lb 4oz weight. It dealt with recoil impressively and muzzle flip was not noticeable,…

In the mid 1970s, my father bought a Toyota Crown estate. It was a huge orange testament to the ambitions of the Japanese motor industry and the failings of the British one. The hero (or villain if you were a car mad boy) of the piece was my father’s friend John, who convinced him to buy the thing. He was an otherwise entirely sensible chap who went shooting with him, but he was the possessor of some very strange, verging on evangelical, views on motor cars. Nearly every shoot has a John. While everyone else turns up in the normal mix of Land Rovers and Audis, there is always one chap who is convinced that his Satsuma Fannymagnet XR2i Turbo is faster/more economical/ better off-road/cheaper/more reliable by far. Sometimes, in…

The Brass Joyce from Joyce of London (1880); The Brass Case from J.F. Mason of Eynsham Hall (1900); The Brass Rocketer from Palmer & Sons & Co of Barnet (1900); and The Bass Case from Westley Richards of London (1900). The Brass from Westley Richards & Co of London and Birmingham (1910); The “Club” from Fussell of London, Abergavenny, Port Talbot & Newport (1910); The “Cardiff” from Cross Brothers of Cardiff (1922); and The Pheasant from Alfred Jackson of Abergavenny (1927). The Standing Woodcock from C.W. Norton of Newtown (1910); The TT Super from Towy-Tivy Farmers of Llanwrda, Pumpsaint, Llansawel & Lampeter (1926); The “Victor” Rabbit from Daniel & Morris of St Clears (1926); and The Castle from James Beddoe of Pembroke (1926). PEDDLING WARES FROM WARE There’s nothing chequered…

How did you get to where you are now? When I was seven and my brother Richard was six, we saw an old gamekeeper carrying a rabbit. We asked him what he had been up to, but he wasn’t forthcoming, so we decided to follow him around, which we did until about the age of 14. We soon knew where he was putting his traps and setting his snares before he did. We learnt a lot just by watching him. We had to go to school but as much as we could we tried to stay away – if there was an inch of snow and the school bus couldn’t come, we were off. That was on the Middleton Estate where we were brought up, but the Settrington Estate keepers…

Q I take my new dog out to socialise it, and it meets new people each day, but we live on a farm and I am not sure this is enough? A I don’t know how old your new dog is but getting it fully socialised at a young age is hugely important. This sounds obvious but it can be a minefield, especially if you live in relative isolation or keep the dog in a kennel. We are fairly lucky with the general good nature of gundogs but it’s best to cover all bases. The obvious ones are people of all ages, sizes and races, plus other dogs – as many as you can find and as different as they come. A few trips to the local town…

IN A BID to raise awareness, the Sussex Spaniel Association (SSA) set a new record for a mass gathering of the endangered dog breed at the Sussex Country Show held at Parham Park. The remarkable gathering took place in the main arena where an official photograph was taken, which will now be submitted to the Guinness Book of Records. Back in 2010, 73 Sussex spaniels from all over the UK gathered at the event, but the SSA smashed that record this year. SSA vice president Sheila Appleby explained: “It was a unique event to see all 126 Sussex spaniels in one place with their golden liver coats and wagging tails – something none of us imagined would happen. I had thought we might be able to get 100 together, but…

Airborne outdoorsmen Whether you call it forward allowance or lead the principle is the same, you have to shoot where it’s going not where it’s come from and, as Ian Morton explains, never was this more important than during the Battle of Britain. Sweet sixteens For Giles Catchpole the 16 bore is the ultimate choice, giving the perfect blend of the larger 12 bore and smaller 20 bore. And he is not the only one as he discovers in this piece on the resurgence of the 16 bore.…

A NEW website set up by wildlife ecologist Dr Dave Butler is aiming to help restore populations of the iconic wild grey partridge to its former strongholds using techniques developed during his Wild Greys Project. Dr Butler originally established the project to rear grey partridges suitable for reintroduction through his wildlife management consultancy Perdix Wildlife Solutions. Though able to supply eggs and parent-reared broods to reintroduction projects across the UK, Dr Butler was well aware of the problems that project managers faced in attempting to reintroduce the threatened bird. The website has been established to offer project managers expert advice, online tools and resources, including mapping tools, as well as legs rings stamped with unique identification codes to help with counts. Dr Butler hopes that the data collected will give…

£70,000 Amount raised during ‘Best of British’ at North Lodge Farm, Widmerpool, Nottinghamshire, for the GWCT, Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance and Nottinghamshire NSPCC (GWCT). 950,000 Acreage that the now 38 WES accredited estates cover in Scotland 16 Number of ramblers from Bradford CHA Rambling and Social Club who recently learned more about grouse management on Ilkley Moor during a tour with headkeeper Simon Nelson (Countryside Alliance). 60 Page length of BASC’s new wildfowling permit scheme booklet (BASC).…

A good shoot day is all about pace and timing – it can’t be crash, bang wallop all day long. And the elevenses break comes as the perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on the privilege of spending a day in the field. So in recognition of this most excellent of sporting traditions we have teamed up with Foxdenton, makers of traditional drinks for the perfect elevenses and famous for their Goliath bottle, to select one shoot to feature in excellent elevenses each month. And our winner this month is the Downton shoot in Shropshire. Shoot elevenses normally consist of home made soup freshly made that morning by Pippa Vlok the shoot cook, served in china mugs with the offer of a drop of Tanners dry sherry to taste. Sandwiches…

As everyone from Boadicea to Andrea Leadsom has discovered, in this life timing is everything. So it was that leading up to the grouse season we were treated to opportunistic activities from that triumvirate of birders Chris Packham, Martin Harper and Mark Avery. Packham, recognised for his antagonistic and wildly inaccurate spittle-flecked rants about predation and natural balance, is now a vice president of the RSPB. One of the hollow vessels fronting the BBC’s metropolitan stance on all things rural, his recent outburst that grouse are toxic and should not be eaten, and the BBC’s regular responses to complaints about him – that he is a freelance presenter and allowed his own views – do not sit well with the broadcaster’s charter methinks. Mark Avery was the RSPB’s conservation director…

So, you’re due to open your own restaurant soon? “It is likely to be spring next year. It has always been in the back of my mind to do it. It was just a matter of time trying to find the right site but we have got something good now, so we are just getting it all organised.” Did you manage to shoot much last season? “Yes I did. Shooting is something I do when someone invites me. It’s not something I organise myself. It’s really just friends and family shoots; days like that. I have always shot as I grew up in the countryside on a farm in Northern Ireland, near the Giants Causeway in Co. Antrim. Shooting was a pest-control activity there” Who first asked you to come…

The RNLI in Whitby received a huge boost in June following a charity event at Warter Priory in east Yorkshire. It raised, at the time of going to press, over £160,000 to help this worthy cause purchase its new D-Class lifeboat. The event consisted of two charity clay days either side of the seventh annual Bush Beaters’ Ball. Both shoot days were attended by 24 teams of eight guns, each of which tackled some interesting targets, including the infamous Gnat, a remote-control plane, across Warter’s stunning topography. Both days concluded with an auction and raffle, with all proceeds donated to the RNLI. Away from the clay shooting, guns could also try their hand at archery and airgun shooting, with Sloe Motion, Carter’s Countrywear and the artist Coral Rose feeding those…

TRAVEL The Downton shoot is not connected in any way to a certain popular TV series, and therefore is nowhere near north Yorkshire and has no connection to Highclere Castle. It is, however, around six miles to the west of the A49, which feeds into the M50 and M49, both of which lead to the M5, making the journey in and out a pleasant one. Don’t be concerned with not being able to find the shoot lodge on the satnav, simply tap ‘Downton-on-the-Rock’ into your system and keep your eyes peeled when you’re a few hundred metres away from it. Bucknell to the west and Ludlow to the east are the nearest railway stations. STAY The obvious choice for guns looking to stay near the shoot would be Old Downton…

How long have you been a BASC member? Nearly 30 years. Over-under or side-by-side? Side-by-side. .243 or .308? .275 Rigby. Driven or walked-up? Must I choose? If pressed walked-up over pointers. Favourite UK location for fieldsports? Scotland. Thoughts on taxidermy? I like to eat what I shoot but I might keep the head if it’s particularly good. I have my daughter Georgia’s first grouse – shot with a .410 when she was 12 – in pride of place at home. Thoughts on trophy hunting? Not particularly my bag, for me hunting is more about the food. I don’t choose to shoot predators apart from for control reasons, so I wouldn’t be interested in shooting Cecil the lion for instance. However, people have different interests, we are a broad church and…

DON’T MISS THE SPECIAL 300th EDITION OF SHOOTING GAZETTE 140 pages of sporting bliss to herald the start of the pheasant shooting season THE ULTIMATE NEW SEASON GUIDE • 10 best game guns • Top game shells for pheasants • How to look the part on the peg with our superb clothing guide PLUS PRINCE ALBERT’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH BAMORAL How the Highlands stole the Royal Consort’s heart THREE OF A KIND Top shoots from Scotland, North Yorks and Exmoor MOORLAND DOGS ON POINT Full report from the champion pointer and setter stake THE OCTOBER ISSUE GOES ON SALE ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29…

An important factor in creating the style and quality of Boss guns was the manufacturer’s use of Sumner engraving from the earliest days until 1939. There were four generations of Sumner engravers, confusingly all called John. The first John Sumner was born in 1806, the second in 1835, the third in 1859 and the fourth in 1886. The eldest John Sumner began the engraving business in around 1837 at 10 Queen Street, Soho, and it was to him that Thomas Boss went for his guns to be engraved. Boss continued to use the various generations of Sumners but it is to John James Sumner III (1859-1909) that credit must go for creating the distinctive and beautiful rose-and-scroll engraving that instantly identifies Boss guns. When John Robertson acquired Boss & Co…

“We had 100 on the clicker by the time we gnawed at the pies from the village shop.” On my way to collect my son Henry from Aberdeen Airport, I diverted to meet Andy Hill, our friend and pigeon guru. His reconnaissance had found the one field in the area that had been combined and he invited me to take a look. As Andy and I watched from the gateway in the shadow of the trees, it was a joy to behold. Only about a quarter of the 60-acre field had been harvested and baled. Pigeons appeared as specs in the blue sky, having come a long way before stooping to join about 400 birds on the golden stubble. A constant stream from all directions heralded what could be very…

I first got my hands on this delightful custom Beretta in the April 2015 issue of Shooting Gazette. On first look the differences are purely aesthetic: the Classic we tested last year had fully scroll-engraved sideplates, but this month’s gun is engraved with game scene vignettes. And despite almost identical specifications between the two guns, one small difference ticked on the options list has had a marked impact, creating a gun with almost unrecognisable handling characteristics. More on that later. The intervening months have done little to dull the appeal of this Beretta – it remains a tempting prospect as an entry into the world of high-end guns. Somewhat puzzlingly, variants with game scene engraving as seen on our test gun are actually significantly cheaper than the scroll-engraved gun reviewed…

Q I normally shoot with 30" barrels but should I use a gun with shorter barrels for September partridge shooting? I have struggled in the past to react to coveys bursting over hedgerows with the longer barrels. A This is one of the reasons why when I help a client to purchase a gun, I ask what it is they specifically want to shoot? I then break this down into percentages in order to try and get the correct gun for the majority of the shooting they are likely to do. Far too often I see people buying what is fashionable rather than what is fit for purpose. It has become the trend in recent years to shoot longer barrels, with 30" guns becoming the norm, there are also…

THE UNITED Retriever Club Hants & South West Area held a novice working test at Knowle Farm near Salisbury by kind invitation of Angus and Jane Mann, writes Wendy Bardsley. There were 33 entries, with several undertaking their first working test. The judges were Jane Mann, Isobel Whitford and Mell Brookes. The team enjoyed planning a variety of tests, including a mix of blind and marked retrieves. The location was superb and provided great opportunities for tests on water and open hilly ground. Some of the tests gave the handlers a challenge and their dogs were put through their paces as the day progressed. Mell Brookes who judged on the day said: “There was a good variety of dogs, which highlighted the different standards of novice. Some of the handlers…

SKINNER’S PETFOODS has added two hypoallergenic products to its Field & Trial Range – Puppy Duck & Rice and Junior Duck & Rice. Both are formulated to offer optimum nutrition for the most crucial life stages through a puppy’s development into young adulthood. Skinner’s Field & Trial Puppy Duck & Rice is completely hypoallergenic for puppies with sensitivities or allergies and can be fed from weaning up to approximately nine months of age (depending on the breed). It’s the perfect way of ensuring that puppies receive all the proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and oils essential for steady growth. As well as containing MOS (mannan oligosaccharide), a natural digestion enhancer derived from vegetable sources to help maintain a healthy digestive system, it also contains marine algae. It offers enhanced levels of…

THE GOVERNMENT has decided there are no grounds to ban the use of lead ammunition following its consideration of the controversial report submitted by the Lead Ammunition Group (LAG) chairman John Swift last year. In a letter to Mr Swift, the then environment secretary Liz Truss MP said the report findings, whether concerning human health or wildlife, “did not show that the impacts of lead ammunition were significant enough to justify changing current policy”. Ms Truss also stated there would be no change to the FSA’s current advice on eating lead-shot game, which states regular consumers of game wishing to minimise the risk of lead intake should simply reduce their consumption. “Following receipt of your report, the FSA sought independent scientific advice from the Committee on Toxicity about the human…

How were you introduced to shooting? With an air rifle when I was about seven or eight, then I moved on to a shotgun and pigeon shooting as I got a little older. Where was your first shoot day and do you remember your first bird? It was pigeon shooting on a local farm. I shot two pigeons and remember both as if it were yesterday. What was your first shotgun? A single barrel 20 bore, one where the barrel is hinged so it can fold down completely, I always got my fingers trapped under the barrel in the excitement of the moment. What do you shoot with now? I'm very lucky as I am able to use a variety of Holland & Holland shotguns. At the moment I use…

Roast partridge, pear & honey SERVES FOUR PEOPLE Ingredients • 4 oven-ready partridge• 2 pears• 50g blue stilton• 50g hazelnuts• 30g honey• Cornish sea salt• Milled black pepper Method Season the partridge and sear in a hot pan for two minutes each side. Place into a hot oven and roast for 10 minutes at 220°. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Cut the pear in half and remove the core with a spoon to make a hole. Place the pear into the partridge pan with a little butter and cook until caramelised. Remove from the heat onto some kitchen paper. Fill the pear with the stilton and hazelnuts. Place the partridge and pear onto a serving plate. Drizzle over a little honey and serve.…

Dear Uncle Giles, I have been invited to shoot partridges in September. Bearing in mind how warm it can get even well on into the autumn these days, what attire would you advise for a chap on such an outing? LRB, by e-mail Uncle Giles writes: Planning for the weather conditions at this time of year is an increasingly chancy business, I grant you, but I think that the one thing we can safely agree on is that it will not be cold. It may not be hot but there is no chance, these days, of the bone-chilling temperatures of Christmas and beyond. So I think we can leave out the tweed. Unless, you happen to have a 5oz cotton cashmere mix lurking in the back of the wardrobe. And…

For your 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, Time Inc (UK) Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF or email: will.hetherington@timeinc.com. Arsenal legend Bob Wilson hosted a day at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School to raise money for the Willow charity. The event saw more than £54,000 raised for the charity, which was set up by Mr Wilson and his wife, Megs, following the death of their daughter Anna, aged 31, from cancer. Willow is the only national charity working with seriously ill young adults aged 16 to 40 to provide uplifting and unforgettable Special Days.…

“The government does not consider any further restrictions on lead shot to be necessary.” It was way back in 1999 when the use of lead shot was first restricted in England for shooting over the foreshore, specified SSSIs, and for the shooting of duck, geese, coot and moorhen, wherever they occur. Since then Wales has followed suit while Scotland and Northern Ireland have a slightly different approach where lead is banned for shooting over wetlands, but not universally for waterfowl. Don’t ask me why there are differences; it doesn’t make sense but that’s the law. You can shoot a duck with lead shot on the Scottish side of the border, as long as its not over wetlands, but you can’t on the English side of the border. Go figure! Anyway,…

On the letters pages in the August issue Colin Edwards wrote about having trouble checking into a hotel with a shotgun. I have to ask why is Mr Edwards so obviously displaying the fact he is carrying one by walking into a hotel with his gun sleeved. Presumably he means that it is over his shoulder in a gunslip? Surely the answer for Mr Edwards, and indeed anyone else who regularly travels with shotgun or rifle, is to invest in either an ABS or aluminium case. Such gun cases are not particularly expensive. They are merely plain, discrete, ubiquitous, boxes that could contain anything - provided, of course that one resists the temptation to cover them with either manufacturer's or shooting ground stickers... My own guns are regularly transported in…

Game shooting experience could pay off against an enemy aircraft from the ground, too. Like many civilians unsuitable for military service but still wanting to do their bit, Norman Mursell, headkeeper of the Duke of Westminster’s Eaton Hall estate in Cheshire, joined an anti-aircraft regiment to protect vulnerable locations. One night, posted with a Lewis gun on the roof of the Leyland motor works, he spotted an approaching aircraft flying low without lights, contrary to British procedure. His response, quoted by author Duff Hart-Davis in Our Land At War, reads: ‘Swinging the gun right round and giving the target a good lead like a high-flying pheasant, I pulled the trigger... The magazine was loaded with every fifth cartridge a tracer, so I could see where I was shooting, and the…

Human One. Two. Three. Aaaaaaahhhhh! One. Two. Three. Oooooooooohhhhhhhh! Can there be anything quite as cute as a row of fat springer puppies curled up against the warmth of their mum? All puppies are cute, of course, but those wee brown and white blobs with their confused expressions and occasional little yips of concern as they tread all over one another? Let’s say it again, “Aaaaaahhhhh!” Right, that’s enough of the sentimental tosh, we are not interviewing for a birthday card model and we are certainly not plotting to go viral on YouTube any time soon. What we are looking for is a hearty English gundog that will hunt till it drops in thick cover, jump five bar gates with a buck hare in its teeth, retrieve pheasants from raging…

As an introduction to the world of premium guns you can certainly do a lot worse than the Beretta 687 EELL Classic. Staying within the world of Beretta guns, the next model in the range starts at a heady £14,750, and once you move up into the world of sidelock guns you are looking at spending the better part of £40,000 for the SO6 and over £70,000 for the SO10. A pair of 687 EELL Classic guns, meanwhile, have a premium of about £1,000 per gun, meaning you could get yourself a pair of beautiful guns fit for the best shooting in the land for under the price of just one Jubilee shotgun. For guns with custom dimensions and those who shoot left-handed, there is about a six-month lead time,…

It is still early days in the rural property market to really understand what trends are emerging post-Brexit. I was somewhat surprised to see that in mid summer more land was offered for sale on the open market than the same time last year. I had assumed it would not be until later in the year we might have seen a few more acres come for sale. Farm and estate sales obviously take a little longer to both bring to the market and generally conclude a sale than a typical residential sale, so I suspect it will also not be until later in the year when we can truly analyse exactly what the impact has been. I am not aware of many pre-Brexit agreed farm sales falling through but I…