CATEGORIES

No time to rest on our laurels

As fewer shoots are taking place this season, this offers a chance to jump ahead with those conservation projects for the close season

Winter and all content

Most of our canine companions love snow but freezing conditions can pose a challenge for gundogs in the field, says David Tomlinson

More in hope than expectation

There are few greater pleasures than heading out with your dog for a day of mixed sport, says Mike Swan

Mallard in the flood

As a tiny brook turns into a raging torrent with the winter rains, it gives Goldeneye and his shooting partner a glorious opportunity at the duck

Guard dogs to guard dogs

With theft on the rise, let’s make life as difficult as possible for the culprits — and what they hate most is a noisy dog, says Ellena Swift

Getting a tune out of a Disco

Land Rovers have a certain notoriety but are hard to beat, insists Poppy McKenzie Smith

CZ 455 Mini Sniper .22 rimfire £842.99

A perfect blend of hunter and target rimfire, this is a great little rifle that instils confidence with every shot, says Bruce Potts

Ding dong merrily on high

For Patrick Laurie, heading out to try to bag a duck for the Christmas table is as much of a tradition as putting a fairy atop the tree

Moving the goalposts

It’s not the classic time for pigeon roosting but in a far from normal year you should take your chances when you can, says Tom Payne

Polar's express style

An evocative description by BB of a typical small shoot on an overcast November day, with enjoyment surpassing the relatively modest bag

The good life

Deer and duck turn up in numbers to add some timely variety to the freezer

High time for a cull

Stalking as a team is an excellent way to get on top of deer numbers but it can be difficult to know whom to invite, says Graham Downing

Game cookery, Roman style

Philip Womack delves into antiquity to discover how our forebears prepared, cooked and served game meat, from boar to dormice

Easy come, easy go

A new permission across three boggy woodlands offers an excellent chance to go hunting for migrant woodcock — but nothing lasts forever

Country Diary

A woodcock or two over dogs is one thing — but is it right for Guns to shoot the migrants on days when there is plenty of reared game?

A little light work

The ratting season is in full swing, when the farmyard offers easy pickings and decent night-vision kit helps Mat Manning clean up

A Low Blow To Calm A Squirming Grayling

Formerly reviled by trout anglers, the sweet-scented ‘lady of the stream’ makes for a fine sporting challenge, says Edward Barder

Keeping the faith of our fathers

Reformation, repression, recession – just some of the obstacles faced by the owners of historic houses with private chapels

Picking up the perfect bottle

A decent beer is a wonderful thing but perhaps not a serious enough libation to salute every shoot day. So which are the best wines to uncork for lunch?

The enduring appeal of the side-by-side

Often considered a ‘traditional’ sporting weapon, a relic from a previous era, the side-by-side still has plenty to offer the modern gun – once you’ve busted the myths

Art in the field

Dee Taylor combines the pop-art of Lichtenstein with the colour of the racecourse to winning effect, as he explains to Janet Menzies

Subaru XV

It once occupied the gap between the Forester and the Impreza, but does it still? The key, finds Charlie Flindt, is in the suspension

Ring out the old, ring in the new

Deeply rooted in our culture and heritage, church bells are the sound that welcomes in the New Year

Guerini Forum 32in 20-bore

Michael Yardley compares the respective shooting qualities of 30in and 32in models. How would this deluxe Forum fare? And which barrel length does he prefer?

Callie Coles

Hunting may have skipped a generation but now this keen hunter is delighted to be passing on her love of the sport to the next generation

Angmering Park West Sussex

Sheila Flavell takes the first of the day, a sublime high partridge, and soon all the guns are in action, latching onto challenging birds that set their wings at distance.

Anatomy Of An Auction

Today, there’s no need to visit an auction room to bid for a shotgun. But is internet bidding better than raising a paddle? Or visiting a shop?

High and dry

Richard takes his son, Charlie, to bag grey squirrels with an airgun, but while wildlife abounds, the boy learns about its unpredictable nature

Scraping a living on sheer brazen cheek

Life was hard for the poor in the 19th and 20th centuries, with many living on their wits — and other people’s game, says David S D Jones

Why all the very best Shots rough it at first

What is it that makes the best stand out from the rest on a shoot day? Simon Reinhold explains how to become the best possible Shot