When it comes to bagging birds–whether it be grouse, pheasant, partridge, woodcock, snipe or duck–your choice of cartridge and load is key.
Of course it helps if you point your gun in the right direction and give your target enough lead, but you’ll achieve the best gameshooting results when your marksmanship is aided and abetted by your choice of cartridge.
Although it’s true that 30g of No 6 shot will stand you in good stead for a fair swathe of shooting, in the long run, it pays to have a core selection of cartridges in your ammunition box. That way, you’ll be prepared for any eventuality or that sudden, unexpected shooting invitation. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t dream of being on a moor on a sunlit August morning, waiting for grouse to appear over the butts?
Grouse
During August and September, 30g of No 6 will enable you to cleanly kill grouse out to 45 yards. As the birds get stronger and faster towards the end of the season, they’re harder to knock down—particularly going away. Go for a heavier load with perhaps a No 5 shot—and, as with all game shooting, fibre or biodegradable wads only, please.
Pheasant and partridge
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
