So, the proposed removal of lead from game shooting cartridges within five years has got you in a panic. Not so fast! Take a deep breath and examine, with me, the options we have now and the possibilities for the future of our old guns.
When four star petrol was removed from sale in 2000, concessions in the legislation allowed for 0.5% of fuel sales to be leaded petrol, for ‘characteristic’ vehicles. The sale of this is restricted to members of the Federation of British Historic Vehicles Clubs. It means that if you have a car that really cannot be converted to run on unleaded fuel, you can keep it on the road.
The rationale is that so few of these vehicles are being used that their accumulated effect on public health is so small as to be irrelevant. I think a similar concession should be made for users of pre-WWII British shotguns. Perhaps they could be limited to cartridges sold in 2½ (65mm) cases. A certificate of the veracity of the age of the gun being used could be produced and endorsed and sales limited to 1,000 shells per annum per person. That is a solution I will be promoting in the coming years. I’m not convinced I’ll be successful.
Remember, we have five years to carry on as usual before the proposal to stop shooting game with lead begins. If we are planning to join the phase out, what are our options today?
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Esta historia es de la edición June 2020 de Sporting Shooter.
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RSPB gives mixed message on shooting
Having recently attended the RSPB’s virtual AGM, Conor O’Gorman discusses the outcome of the charity’s year-long review of game bird shooting
Causeway for concern
Alan Jarrett’s renewed interest in reading takes him down memory lane to an offshore island duck flight that very nearly ended in disaster
Through a purple patch
The Garrows Estate is taking a conservation-focused approach to restoring the wildlife populations and biodiversity on the Scottish heather moorland.
When the wheels fall off
Losing form on a day’s shooting can be infuriating, especially if you’ve been shooting like a god up to that point. Simon O’Leary looks at some common causes and how to remedy them
Beaches, books & bad behaviour!
The annual Kay family vacation to Northumberland offers a chance to give the cockers a blast on the beach – although they don’t always shower themselves in glory, as Ryan Kay recalls...
Using the Stop whistle
Now you’ve instilled the basics, it’s time to up the ante with some more tricky distance work. Howard Kirby explains how to take the core Stop whistle command to the next level
The humble teal
They may be tiny, but as far as Rupert Butler is concerned, the appeal of this little duck is huge. He recalls some of his most memorable nights in pursuit of these aerial acrobats
Fab all-rounder
Mike is impressed with the Fabarm Elos B2 Field Notte, which offers great value for money, is suited to fieldwork or clays and is future-proofed for use with steel in all choke constrictions
CALL OF THE WILD
Dom Holtam reconnects with one of the purest forms of shotgun shooting as he walks-up woodcock over pointing dogs in the Scottish Highlands
A yen for the Fens
Tony Jackson recounts a memorable duck flight over an area of Fenland in Norfolk with his friend and author, the late Alan Savory
