Indice dei contenuti per February 2023 in Sporting Gun

Bird flu is continuing its grip on the UK and Europe. New cases continue to be reported in the UK, with counties in the east of England – Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex – the hotspots. Since our January edition, mandatory biosecurity and housing measures for all captive birds and poultry came into effect in Wales on 2 December. The move by the chief veterinary officer for Wales brings the country in line with the guidelines being observed in England. France continues to be ravaged by the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, with 40 French departments now having confirmed cases over the past six months. In the UK there have been 140 confirmed cases of H5N1 since 1 October, with 127 of those in England. Overall, there have been 260 reported…

12 January BASC Sustainable Duck Flighting Experience, Rettendon, Essex 14 January Coley’s Winter Series Registered 100ESP, Ian Coley Sporting 14 January AGL Sportrap Series Registered 100STR, Atkin Grant & Lang, Hertfordshire 14 January Normanhurst Shoot Syndicate Young Shots Game Day, Battle, East Sussex 16 January NCSC Winter Series Registered 100OT, National Clay Shooting Centre 22-24 January Scotland’s Speciality Food Show, SEC, Glasgow 25 January Burns Night, Worldwide 26 January West London Shooting School Syndicate Sim Day, Great Tew Estate, Oxfordshire 2-3 February Intermediate Deer Course, Thoresby Estate, Nottingham 6-8 February BASC Shotgun Coaching Award Course, Gleneagles Shooting & Fishing School 17-19 February The British Shooting Show, NEC, Birmingham 11 March CPSA Awards, The Hilton, St George’s Park, Burton-on-Trent A round ten: Guns from Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland met up…

This is set to be a year to remember and it all begins away from the stands, with the CPSA’s annual award ceremony returning on 11 March. South Wales 2000 and Orston Shooting Ground in Nottinghamshire will then share the honour of hosting the first major shoots of the year, as they hold UTR Grand Prix and English Open (EO) Compak on 1 April. As the EO season begins in earnest, we will see the EOESP at Eriswell on 17 to 21 May and the EOSTR at Barbury on 2 to 4 June. Bywell’s DTL weekend will return on 9 to 11 June. Then it’s the EOESK and EOOTR at East Yorks on 10 to 11 and 17 to 18 June respectively. Finally, the National Clay Shooting Centre will conclude…

Atkin Grant & Lang, three names that carry huge historical significance. These legends of the 18th-century gunmaking scene made an incomparable impact on the industry that we are still feeling today. But while we all love a fine side-by-side from the 1850s, there’s nothing worse than a shooting ground that feels like its stuck in the 1980s. Fortunately, the Atkin Grant & Lang (AGL) of the 21st century is continuing in the finest traditions of the innovative smiths, by looking forward while still respecting the past. “The brand does have an exceptionally rich history,” explains club coordinator Karli Dunstan, “with the current owners becoming part of that history when they took on the ground in 2013, opening with just six Sporting stands in April of that year. “Fortunately, we had…

We will have put away our summer and autumn kit and prepare for less pleasant weather, shooting predominantly over rape. We have some red clover here too and I’ll be keeping an eye on that to see if it presents a day’s decoying, but the pigeons will be mostly be feeding on rape. From hot to cold The autumn drilling has finished and there was only a slight chance of some winter corn being put in if the farmer got caught out by wet weather. I don’t know of a single pigeon shooter who doesn’t miss the warm days decoying over late summer stubble in a T-shirt, but the only other option to shooting in the cold is to stay indoors and not shoot. That’s an easy decision for me…

The shortlist is now in, so it’s over to you, the voting public, to pick the winners for the Great British Shooting Awards 2023, which returns for its fifth year. The Awards aim to give recognition to the products, organisations and people that make our industry tick. From cartridges to clothing or scopes to shotguns, they represent excellence in every corner of the market. We have received hundreds of nominations and, thanks to our dedicated judging panel, we have whittled the competition down to just five shortlisted entries per category. For 15 of the 16 categories the winner will by picked by you, the shooting public; this includes rifles, ammunition, optics, night vision and thermal, as well as the gamekeeper and stalker of the year. Last year you selected Mike…

TONY BELAS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, DAYSTATE The BSS is the premier fieldsports indoor event for the UK: no show is bigger or better. Daystate, along with its sister companies BRK-Brocock and MTC Optics, has been attending the BSS since its days at Newark Showground in Nottinghamshire; the show has progressed almost beyond recognition over the years and we’re delighted to return for 2023. JAMIE RANSOME UK SALES DIRECTOR, HAWKE OPTICS Hawke sees the BSS as the must-attend event in the UK’s fieldsports calendar. It allows us to showcase our entire range of optics, including the latest releases, to the shooting community, under one roof. The show offers an invaluable experience, a significant opportunity to engage directly with our customers and potential new customers too. EDWARD KING MANAGING DIRECTOR, ASI We…

Meet the team FRAN ARDLEY GUNDOGS Owner of Tarncrag Gundog Training, with more than 10 years’ experience. NEIL MCINTOSH VETERINARY A keen shooter and a practising vet in Scotland. TONY BRACCI TUITION Bisley Shooting Ground’s deputy shooting manager and master gunfitter. DAVID FROST LEGAL SG’s legal expert and author of Sporting Shooting and the Law. PETER THEOBALD PIGEON Pigeon-shooting expert; author of Woodpigeon: The Ultimate Quarry. ROBERT MORGAN ANTIQUES Arms and armour valuer at Holts Auctioneers. ED COOK RABBITS Professional rabbit catcher working over 30,000 acres. TOM SYKES PEST CONTROL & WILDFOWLING Sporting photographer, wildfowler and pest controller. IAN SWEETMAN GUNSMITHING Owner of I S Sweetman Gun & Rifle Makers and former gunsmith at Purdey. RICHARD ATKINS TECHNICAL Expert on the technical aspects of ballistics and shotgun performance. GUNDOGS Cross…

Ariat Abbey waterproof boots Ariat is one of my go-to brands for stylish, highly functional footwear. The handcrafted nubuck upper is fully waterproof, and the ATS sole system offers superb support and comfort. The Spanish-inspired tassel takes these boots from practical to fashionable, suited to dog walks, coffee dates and everything in between. Price: £180 ariat.com Schöffel Thistle roll-neck ladies dress For comfort, a jumper dress is hard to beat. This dress is the ideal garment for days at home on chilly winter weekends. Pair with cropped wellies and a waterproof coat for a quick walk to the pub. Crafted in chunky ribbed knit from a soft yet hard-wearing blend of wool, acrylic and polyester, with added elastane for stretch. Price: £99 schoffelcountry.com Waring Brooke Signature Curious Fox scarf This…

The Milwood coat from Alan Paine is designed mainly for driven shooting — it is smart, has cartridge pockets, hand-warming pockets and so on. The ‘action back’ is designed to give freedom of movement and the elasticated inner cuffs keep out the weather. But what sets this apart from a lot of shooting coats is the outer shell fabric. Made from polyester, cotton and nylon, it has a luxuriously soft feel to it, rather like chamois leather. Also like chamois leather, though it might be soft to the touch, it is tough. I went through brambles and hedges wearing this coat and it didn’t snag at all. Waterproof There is more than meets the eye with this coat because, despite its luxury feel, it is fully weatherproof, with a hydrostatic…

The brand name of Tikka has long been synonymous with high-quality Finnish hunting rifles and this month’s Blast from the past looks at two older Tikka models, the M590 and M690, which nevertheless remain highly respected and sought after to this day. They are, effectively, the same gun, but the M590 was designed as a short-action rifle and chambered for calibres ranging from .17 Remington up to .308 Winchester. The long-action M690 catered for a number of popular hunting calibres, and also came in a Magnum version for 7mm Remington Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum and .338 Winchester Magnum. As a result, the range of rifles appealed to a wide variety of shooters, from vermin controllers and deerstalkers to those who sought larger and more potentially dangerous quarry. These rifles were…

SNAPSHOTS As it’s the new year we wanted to showcase all the new products coming to market in 2023 in our Great British Shooting Show supplement. We will have a stand at the show, so come by and meet the team and renew your subscription. We would also like to hear what issues you want to see discussed within our pages. At our stand there will be free magazines on offer. Not just Sporting Gun, as we know you will have that already, but other titles in our shooting portfolio, such as The Field, Shooting Times, and Airgun Shooter. Finally, just to let you know that Robin Scott will return again soon. He has got a bit of back trouble at the moment. Until next time, safe shooting.…

Following her phenomenal year and the conclusion of the ISSF’s Target Sprint Grand Prix Series 2022, Emily Shawyer has officially been confirmed as the world’s top Target Sprint junior woman. To get to the top of the board, Emily had to battle through six international events across the globe, competing against the very best the world had to offer. She claimed the maximum available points at three of those events, and scored consecutive gold medals in the Swiss, Hungarian and Serbian events. “This was a long, hard-fought season and I have been privileged to compete alongside many talented athletes from around the world,” said Emily following confirmation of her position. Emily is now the UK’s most successful Target Sprint athlete. All eyes will be on her in 2023 as she…

The prospect of having a heart attack is so unpleasant that many of us prefer to ignore it, to treat it as something that happens to other people someplace else, not us. In any case, help is just a 999 call away, right? Well, read on. That ambulance? It’s not coming – not in time, anyway. As I write this piece at the tail end of 2022, it’s been revealed that suspected heart attack victims are, on average, waiting for more than an hour for an ambulance to show up. If you’re lucky enough to live in the beautiful county of Cornwall, your good fortune will be sorely tested by a wait of up to two hours. The situation is similarly dire in parts of Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Somerset and Bristol.…

For us here in Northumberland, whilst we hope to have at least come close to our management plan cull, the month of February is a critical period. As an aside there may be some of our readers who recall that the roe cull used to finish at the end of February. Due to the deer population increasing this was changed and the roe doe open season now ends on the 31 March, a month later. Many at the time did not agree that it was necessary to shoot female deer after February. In fact, I still have clients who have been coming for years that do not come up in March for that reason. Roe does are obviously very pregnant at that time. They are likely to give birth to…

The whitefronted goose is very much a winter visitor to the UK, breeding in Greenland and Siberia before moving south in search of a more clement climate. Arriving here from October onwards, the Greenland birds head mostly for Ireland and the west coast of Scotland, while those from Siberia spend the winter further south. Overall, more than 15,000 whitefronts overwinter in the UK and Ireland — roughly half the world population of Greenland whitefronts every year. Rather smaller than a greylag but larger than a pinkfoot, the whitefront is another of the grey geese that are most widely distributed. It can be easily identified by the large white patch above the base of the beak that provides its name. Overall, it is a greyish brown, with a light grey breast…

There are all sorts of reasons we take up shooting and this article, while I hope also being informative, highlights the therapeutic side of the sport we love. Meet my friend, Shelly. Shelly is a country girl with dogs, horses, and two teenage girls. She found herself widowed with little or no warning and, as you might think, was finding life a bit of a challenge and sinking into the depths. I was walking our dogs with her one morning when she announced she’d always wanted to shoot. Here was I, a shooting instructor, who’d just suffered two heart attacks and lost any ‘mojo’ that I used to have. And so our journey began. Having a go We arranged to go to our local shooting ground at Kibworth and have…

Tickets for the BSS are split into three categories: adult, child (up to 18 years of age) and group (only available for a block of 10+ people). ADULTS: £20.83 per ticket + 50p booking fee + VAT CHILD: £12.50 per ticket + 50p booking fee + VAT GROUP: £16.67 per ticket + 50p booking fee + VAT NOTE: Tickets can be bought at the door but advance online booking is recommended. The BSS runs between 9am and 4.30pm on each of the three days. The cost of a single day ticket is the same whether you visit on the Friday, Saturday or Sunday of the event, at the following prices: For more information and to purchase tickets, visit shootingshow.co.uk For support, contact 01258 857700…

Communications CALTTA DMR TWO-WAY RADIOS POA justcom.uk Designed for use in the remote outdoors where mobile phone reception is poor, and with a host of safety features – including ‘lone worker’ and ‘man down’ protection as standard – complementing its in-built GPS, these durable two-way radios (the PH600 and PH660) are ideal for gamekeepers who are working a long distance from home and in hazardous weather conditions. Shotguns EJ CHURCHILL CROWN From £7,995 ejchurchill.com A sideplate boxlock ejector available in single and double trigger, featuring a high-grade, made-to-measure walnut stock, deep scroll engraving, a choice of pistol or straight-hand grips, and high-performance steel proofed barrels in a range of bore sizes. The price includes a gun-fitting session and the manufacturer’s leather compact ABS case. Optional extras are available for an…

Training Within reason, I look at getting a new puppy when my youngest dog is about two-and-a-half years old. My theory is that it takes me about two years to get a puppy trained ready to go into the shooting field. Ted will be coming up to eight years old and Percy will be coming up to five when Twig is hopefully ready to make her debut behind the gun. Mrs R often accuses me of ‘forgetting’ the older dogs when I have a new pup to train and, to a degree, I have to put my hands up and admit that can be true. It takes a lot of time and effort to get a gundog to a good level and I do enjoy the challenge of training up…

What you can win An Alan Paine Combrook men’s coat and Ilkley shirt worth £474.95 – or a Combrook ladies’ coat and Bromford shirt worth £464.90 – could be yours when you enter our competition. Colour choice on these items is dependent on stock. The competition is FREE to enter, so you have nothing to lose. HOW TO ENTER This time we have moved our entry system online so that readers from Northern Ireland can take part. Visit our website ShootingUK (shootinguk.co.uk) or go to Sporting Gun’s Facebook page and click on the link there. ANSWER ONE SIMPLE QUESTION What type of dog is a lurcher? Sighthound Lap dog Guard dog ABOUT THE COMBROOK COAT ■ Waterproof – heavy rain protection ■ Durable membrane – AP EX technology…

The rather humble-looking brass-mounted flintlock pistol pictured here is actually extremely interesting, as it follows the design of the Pattern 1796 ‘Prince de Bouillon’ pistol manufactured by the famous gunmakers Durs Egg and Henry Nock for the aforementioned prince. This particular pistol differs from the standard pattern in that the lock marking has the maker’s signature ‘D EGG’ and not the usual Crown GR Tower device. Also, its calibre is .56in and not the normal .59in of the Ordnance pattern. It has a wrist escutcheon, which the Ordnance pattern does not. This pistol was produced by Egg, possibly for commercial sale and almost certainly for a naval officer, but more of that later. Two hundred pairs, believed of the regulation pattern pistol, were produced jointly between Egg and Nock under…

ISSF welcomes new president After a leadership contest in which accusations of war profiteering and corruption flew between supporters of the two contenders, the ISSF has announced Italian politician Luciano Rossi as its new president. Mr Rossi has replaced Russian oligarch Vladimir Lisin with immediate effect. Squirrelpox red alert A case of squirrelpox has been reported in North Wales, prompting concerns from conservationists about the red squirrel population. The case was discovered at Treborth, an 18-hectare botanic garden on the shores of the Menai Strait and owned by Bangor University. Reports say that tests confirmed the red squirrel died from the squirrelpox virus. The virus is spread by the invasive grey squirrel but only affects reds. It is highly infectious and most often fatal. The worry is that the virus…

Owners of working gundogs take note. The deadline for entries for the gamekeepers’ classes at Crufts 2023 is nearing. The classes, which are hosted by BASC, are open to gamekeepers, owners of working gundogs, gundog teams and young handlers, and will be held on Gundog Day, Thursday 9 March 2023, at the NEC in Birmingham. Postal entries close on 9 January but you can enter online until midnight on 23 January. The gamekeepers’ classes are rooted in the history of Crufts, and the outstanding individual dogs will go head-to-head in the main arena for the Best in Gamekeeping class title, the winner being presented with the Northesk Memorial Trophy. Glynn Evans, BASC’s head of game and wildlife management, said: “Crufts provides a window through which the wider world can see…

Helpline for gamekeepers The Gamekeepers’Welfare Trust (GWT) has launched a new scheme that allows a gamekeeper or their family to speak or meet online with a trained nurse. Health provision in rural areas has particular challenges in that GPs often have a wider area to cover, and there may be a lack of out-of-hours care such as walk-in centres available. Helen Benson, chief executive officer of the trust, said: “Many of us will have experienced difficulty in accessing advice and appointments, and that’s without factoring in that some of us are very restricted in when we can make time available for personal appointments. Our new nurse advice clinic will provide people with an opportunity to talk to a healthcare professional on the phone or online, at a convenient time, from…

As I turned the engine off and stretched, I contemplated whether or not I wanted to get out of the car and gear up. I was feeling rather tired on a cold, dark morning. I slurped the dregs of my coffee to boost my dwindling energy levels. The numerous days chasing pheasants combined with plenty of early starts means wildfowling can, on occasion, leave me feeling a little fragile and longing for my warm bed as opposed to the freezing cold mud. Despite that part of me that often wants to hit the snooze button, I regret not going shooting more than I ever regret dragging myself out. With Goose in the car and looking as keen as ever, I mustered up the enthusiasm to get my backside into gear.…

Pest control I grew up in rural north-west England and recall with great fondness sitting and observing red squirrels playing outside our house and gazing at them through the patio windows. Around the mid ’80s a grey appeared in the garden. Needless to say, it didn’t last long. However, that was the last time we ever saw a red squirrel. As the tide of greys advanced, the reds seemed to evaporate. Greys are now firmly established and cause damage to forestry, native wildlife and shooting interests. These days I work part-time on a trawler and recently I watched many migrating songbirds passing us at sea and in some cases landing on the boat exhausted, or even sitting in the wheelhouse. They seem to lose their fear of humans in such…

It might help us get higher scores if we better understand what we are shooting at and how they are launched. In this article we will be looking at the variety of targets (clays) as well as the types of traps that throw them. Size matters Targets come in four different sizes. A standard target is 110mm or 4½in in diameter and is the most common target. The midi is 90mm or 3½in in diameter. The new kid on the block is the super mini which is 70mm or 2¾in. The mini is only 60mm or 2⅜ in. Rabbit and battue targets are both 110mm (just over 4in) but are a very different shape. The battue is almost flat and thin and the rabbit is thicker around the edges to…

Welcome to the Sporting Gun guide to the 2023 Great British Shooting Show (BSS), the UK’s largest trade and retail shooting event, due to be held at the NEC, Birmingham, on 17 to 19 February. The iconic West Midlands venue has been the home of the BSS since 2018, with this year’s event promising to be another cracker, aided and abetted by some of the leading names in the UK and foreign gun trades. Spread over 500,000sq ft of exhibition space, the BSS has long sought to bring together hundreds of brands representing a range of shooting interests, with experts on hand to guide visitors through their extensive ranges, along with the chance to get their hands on brand-new products being shown publicly for the very first time. From clay…

THE NATIONAL GAMEKEEPERS’ ORGANISATION (NGO) The NGO is really excited about this year’s BSS, and is looking forward to chatting with many of our current members and also anyone else looking to join. We have just celebrated our 25th anniversary, and work hard to defend and promote gamekeeping, help gamekeepers meet the high standards expected of our sector, and educate the public about the work that gamekeepers do. At the BSS, our development officers will be on hand to discuss and address any concerns people might have about next season, as well as offering an avian influenza help desk and advice. Our dedicated firearms licensing liaison officer will be on hand to help with any licensing queries. Members of our deer branch will also be there alongside the CIC/ Trophy…

CRKT Septimo multitool Comprising Phillips and flat head screwdrivers, bottle opener, glass breaker, belt/cord cutter and adjustable wrench, this handy, pocket-sized multitool will be a lifesaver for gamekeepers who need reliable kit for intricate jobs. Price: £69.99 edgarbrothers.com Farlows ¼-zip knitted lambswool jumper Made in Scotland from 100% lambswool, this jumper has an extended cuff that can be folded back. A useful mid-layer, whether worn under a thick shooting coat or shooting vest on warmer days. Price: £139.99 farlows.co.uk Le Chameau dog coat With luxurious looks and crafted from durable materials, this adjustable, fleece-lined coat offers dogs fantastic comfort and handy features such as a hole through which leads can be threaded. Machine washable. Price: £35 lechameau.com Schöffel Country Teigh sock Super-soft and strong thanks to a merino wool, acrylic…

I have used a pair of Steiner 12x42 binoculars for most of my hunting trips abroad, from the wet forests of Europe to the heat of the Kalahari. They have never let me down, so the new Steiner Ranger riflescopes certainly took my interest, especially this new R8 version with an eight-power zoom ratio from four to 32x. Steiner originated in 1947, when Karl Steiner started a one-man workshop in Bayreuth, Germany. His first success was the development of the Makrolon material for binocular housings that saw considerable orders from the German military, and to this day Steiner’s military contracts are strong. It was also the first company to have its binoculars filled with nitrogen, and the first binoculars with an integrated rangefinder, with the highest standards in light transmission…