CATEGORIES

Licensing: facts you should know

With the prospect of a full shooting season ahead this autumn, many readers will be thinking about acquiring their first shotgun certificate. David Frost, Sporting Gun’s legal expert, offers some thoughts and advice on what to expect when you apply

All at sea

Ed Cook takes a break from doing battle with the redoubtable rabbit to indulge in his passion of freediving for lobsters at night

Bangs for the bucks

Jon Snowdon and companions keep cool heads but can’t help but be exhilarated by the roe rut

Adventures of Nick & Ted

Illness forces a change to Ted’s hydrotherapy fitness training and Nick Ridley tries to calm young Percy ahead of his show trial

How To EnHance Your Shooting

Top Sporting shot and coach Matt Hance continues his instructional series, this month turning his attention to the ins and outs of the FITASC discipline

The Lightning Thread

Subtitled Fishological Moments and The Pursuit of Paradise, this rich memoir celebrates the unique tranquility that can be found in fishing

Why our game is still stuck in a class divide

Once expensive and with barbaric laws of protection, game is more affordable today but struggles to shake off its past, says Rose Prince

Tasty, testing and English to its wing tips

A devoted parent, a conscientious mate, a strategic flyer and a joy on the table — the grey partridge gets Ed Wills’s vote for the best quarry

Gamekeeper

Looking after a wild bird estate can be a nerve-shredding experience, but it is so much more satisfying and rewarding than the reared world

Rats, rodenticides and resistance: what next?

Complacency is not an option when dealing with rodent infestations but there are plenty of ways to limit unwelcome visitors on a shoot

Stalking Diary

An early-season roar is not always the sign of a good rut and it brings back memories of a stag almost entirely lost to a steep Scottish hillside

His Master's wrath

A great deal goes into the planning of a day’s hunting so woe betide those who upset the Master in the field

Great sporting lives

Celebrating the achievements of the most remarkable Shots of yesteryear

Caring for Old Faithful

Buying sustainably is good for both planet and pocket – and it creates a bond with your clothing that fast-fashion aficionados could never understand

Double standards

There has been a much-needed overhaul of breed standards, says David Tomlinson, although show and working animals are often still worlds apart. A Slumber spaniel, anyone?

Country Diary

Almost everybody agrees that Britain needs more ponds, not least because a few teal and some mallard add fine variety to shoot days

Seeing red

Would modernising our attire help buttress fieldsports – or does it simply risk losing an important tradition for no real gain?

A battle of the HPRs

A unique team challenge will showcase the talents of 11 hunt, point and retrieve breeds; David Tomlinson takes a look at the contenders

Staring down the barrel of a gun

Don’t be distracted by the decoration – when choosing a new shotgun, barrel construction should be a top priority, too

The Flyfishers' founding fathers

Founded in 1884, the club was created for gentlemen with an interest in the art and study of fly-fishing – many of whom had ink in their veins

The state of farming

Brexit, while posing challenges, could open doors for British farmers. However, a changing philosophy around our relationship with the natural world is unleashing more powerful forces

Wine and sport came together as the beaters carefully blanked in the vineyard slopes, pushing the birds forward into a broad, grassy valley Tuffon Hall Halstead, Essex

A mosaic of carefully planned cover crops has created a testing partridge shoot as well as garnering a conservation award – and the birds here are not the only thing to fizz

To have and to hold – safely

No one enjoys staring down the barrels of a gun, so adopt best practice when it comes to carrying yours, whether or not it is loaded

Within their scenic and spacious grounds, resilience is built, pupils are equipped for life's realities and love and respect for the countryside are instilled

A curriculum that emphasises rural traditions and time outdoors better equips pupils to deal with what lies ahead – as these prep schools demonstrate

What's good for the goose...

Soldier Palmer bolsters sporting and farming relations with a successful feral greylag flight

It's game on for BGA this season

The past three years have been a rollercoaster ride for the British Game Alliance, but Matt Cross learns of its big plans for the future

Would I call this proper wildfowling? Foreshore

On his pilgrimage beyond the sea wall on opening day, Gethin Jones reflects on whether wildfowling in September is worthy of the name

Stalking Diary

After a quiet morning on the hill watching the roe, a chance to educate visitors about deer management provides a small win and a PR coup

It's all about the seductive wobble

Heading for the aptly named Pike Bay, Julian Schmechel sets out to tempt the fish to his line with the use of handmade copper spoons

The uphill struggle for Ireland's red grouse

The cackling of the ‘heather hen’ has become a rare sound on Irish moors, but people are battling for its survival, says Barry Stoffell