Table of contents for January 2022 in Sporting Gun

Sure enough, Mark had me hitting the long crossers I dread within minutes. The secret was to keep my eyes on the target. I knew looking at my barrels and not the target was going to result in stopping the gun, but it took an expert to diagnose where I was going wrong and show me what to do about it. In sport focus is everything. Whether that is focusing on your target, or preventing your mind from worrying about the shot you have just fluffed. In this issue James Simon talks to sports psychologist Jess Thom and reveals how our mind can sabotage our shooting. Read more about that on page 58. Finally, it only remains for me to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy…

The Court of Appeal has dismissed a challenge by the RSPB and Mark Avery, naturalist and Wild Justice co-founder, questioning the legality of Natural England’s hen harrier brood management programme. The programme sees hen harrier chicks removed from high density nests and reared in specially built aviaries before being re-released into the wild. The brood management scheme is part of a six-point programme that aims to return hen harrier numbers to favourable conservation status. The challenge to the scheme by the aforementioned was first made to the High Court in 2019 and was rejected. Two years on the Appeal Court reached the same decision after the original ruling was challenged by the RSPB and Mr Avery, who was formerly conservation director at that organisation. BASC welcomed the Court of Appeal’s…

I have been enjoying my walked-up shooting for longer than I care to remember. It ticks all my fieldsports boxes. However, one man’s game meat is another man’s poison. Let me explain. As if to underline my enthusiasm for the walked-up days I share with my friends and companions, I invariably upload a film to YouTube showing the highlights of our day. When I do, I will inevitably get a message from a ‘concerned’ viewer that the shooting is ‘unsportsmanlike’, which also mentions that the birds will be inedible because they have been shot too close and that we have no respect for our quarry. I always take the time to reply and to try to educate anyone who misunderstands or has never had the opportunity to experience the challenges…

I have just completed a carcass prep day. We do not do that many due to the limited time available and the necessity of a guaranteed availability of a carcass for a particular day. It is invariably the case that when you need a carcass, going into the woods to stalk a deer often does not work out as you would like. That said, I work with two small parks and it would be a very bad day indeed if I could not remove a deer from that environment. Nonetheless, it is not as easy as you might think. The fact that the deer are in a park does mean that I know exactly where they are, which helps, but they are wily, whether in a park or in the…

The little treasure has decided that she likes to push her way as far into thick cover as she can. When this is tracking a shot deer it is a real bonus, except for muggins here who, by the way, happens to be somewhat larger than she is and isn’t sausage shaped. Muggins doesn’t fit well into tiny tunnels through undergrowth, nor does he relish crawling through bramble tunnels on all fours for miles. It’s not the piercing thorns drawing blood that bothers me. It’s how do I get back up on my feet at the end. I will have to train her to detour around rather than through. Fat chance!…

Clay grounds live or die by their topography. You can have all the disciplines in the world and a wide variety of interesting targets, but if the grounds are dull and sightlines poor, then it will fail to excite the imagination. Paintmine Woods, in the heart of Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the north-west corner of Lancashire, could never be considered dull. Here, the ground’s rich industrial past provides terrain you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else in the country. Colourful past “As the name suggests, our shooting ground stands on the site of a 19th-century paint mine,” explains Sam Steward, the youngest member of the Steward family, who own and manage the grounds. “I believe they were originally looking for tin, but when they couldn’t…

What happens to our brains when we try to focus? It seems that as soon as we start to bring our attention to one thing, we immediately become distracted with something else. Within seconds our mind will wander to past thoughts such as: ‘how did I miss that last shot?’ And future anxieties: ‘if I don’t hit this I’m done for’. It’s the nature of the human mind. Simplistically, our brains comprise a number of regions that are collectively known as the default mode network or DMN. The DMN enables us to call up memories from the past and contemplate the future, which are useful skills for problem solving. However, it also lets us ruminate endlessly over fears, regrets, anxieties and other everyday stuff. It’s the DMN that’s constantly disrupting…

Mounting and zeroing a rifle scope is straightforward enough, but far too many people regard it as something of a black art. It isn’t, and here is a simple guide for anyone doing it for the first time. Mounting your scope There are various systems for fixing a telescopic sight to the rifle. Most comprise separate bases and rings. The twin bases, or perhaps a rail system, fix directly to the top of a rifle’s receiver, which is usually pre-drilled to accept them. Some rimfires or air rifles may only have dovetail grooves; mounts such as this, which only have to withstand low recoil, may be one-piece. The mounting blocks must be right for a rifle – your gun dealer will be able to advise, if necessary. Ensure that all…

VETERINARY A common disorder Although he appears otherwise quite well, my golden retriever’s left eyelid appears to be drooping. Any thoughts? Neil says: It is most likely that he is suffering from Horner’s syndrome (oculosympathetic paresis), a fairly common, unilateral neurological disorder of the eye, which occurs as a result of damage to a nerve. You see paralysis of the third eyelid (in the inside lower corner of the eye), which can make it look like the pupil is out of position. Additionally, there is ptosis (drooping of the eyelids), miosis (constriction of the pupil) and enophthalmos (recession of the eyeball into the socket). Unilateral wastage of the facial muscles may become obvious over time. Possible causes include: middle ear infections producing head shaking and loss of balance, recent jugular…

On a driven shoot, the C35 Super Orion Classic is far more likely to catch the eye of fellow Guns than something three times the price. With a grade 3, oil-finished walnut stock and some rather nice laser-engraved game scenes on the coin-finished round-body action, this gun from French company Chapuis Armes is a looker. What is more, at £3,245, it’s not going to break the bank. Looks and performance In addition to looking good, it also performs superbly. I used it on several stands at Ian Coley Sporting and shot well with it from the get-go. For a relatively light gun, there wasn’t much felt recoil with 24g cartridges. It was slightly barrel heavy, with the balance being ¼in forward of the hinge pin, which I normally don’t like…

CHARLES SMITH-JONES SAYS:“The advent of pump-action shotguns heralded the end of lever actions for hunting” This shotgun is from a bygone firearms era and has been out of production for around a century. It remains an important example of shotgun history, however, because not only was it the first of John Browning’s designs to be produced by Winchester, but it also represents one of the first successful repeating shotguns. Browning had originally suggested that his new shotgun design would be better as a pump action but Winchester, ever mindful of its reputation as a ‘lever-action company’, decided that the gun should also be lever action for no other reason than simple brand recognition. As a result, Browning designed a breech-loading, rolling-block mechanism with a five-round tubular magazine, although Winchester did…

Collectors of antique and historic arms often wish their guns could talk. Even where provenance is known, it is understandable to wonder where the individual carried or used the gun. Did they have to use it in anger? Did it save their life? Such information is rarely known, so it is always a pleasure to handle something of historic importance that we know not only to whom it belonged but where and how it was used. The rifle pictured on these pages is such an animal, and it is also a good example of how looks can be deceiving. To the untrained eye, it would appear to be a ‘sporterised’ World War I period Enfield No 1 Mk III that someone has crudely hacked the fore-stock off and fitted with…

Steel shot kills as effectively as lead up to a range of 50 yards, a new ballistics study has shown. The study was commissioned by BASC and the Gun Trade Association (GTA) and undertaken at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire. It tested the theories behind moving two shot sizes larger when transitioning from lead shot to steel shot by comparing No 3 standard steel and No 5 lead when shot into a block of ballistic gelatine. The findings showed lead shot penetrating on average 10mm deeper than steel shot against bare gelatine, but when it was tested against a gelatine block wrapped in pheasant skin and feathers, simulating the real environment, the two materials performed equally. Peter Marshall, BASC’s head of training and education, said: “These findings show that standard steel shot…

The British Olympian was invited to shoot at the event in October as the ISSF’s third ranked Men’s Trap shooter of 2021. Coward-Holley finished the qualifying round in second place and was top of his field in the semi-final events. The gold match saw him compete against rivals Jiri Liptak and David Kostelecky, both of the Czech Republic. Matt appeared to be on target for gold, before wobbling on the fifth round and, in a repeat of his Olympic performance, finished with a bronze medal. Kostelecky took top spot and Liptak silver, a swap of the Czech pair’s Olympic placings. The President’s Cup saw the return of Amber Hill, the British Skeet shooter, who missed the Olympics due to coronavirus. At the President’s Cup she dropped two targets in qualification,…

The seemingly never-ending legal to and fro between Wild Justice, the wildlife campaign group, and assorted rural organisations and the Government continues unabated. The latest episode has seen Wild Justice appeal against a recent ruling by a High Court judge, who dismissed the group’s attempt for a judicial review on Defra’s recent burning legislation in England. The review had sought to disrupt the Heather and Grass Burning (England) Regulations 2021 that bans heather burning on protected sites with peat of more than 40cm, unless under licence for beneficial circumstances. Mr Justice Dove weighed up submissions from BASC, the Countryside Alliance, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation and the Moorland Associations as well as Defra in counter to Wild Justice’s claims. He ordered Wild Justice to pay Defra costs up to £8,900 and…

New procedures for the grant and renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates came into force on 1 November. They will in affect all certificate holders but some more than others. They are a modified version of what was originally proposed by the Home Office in July 2019. I say modified because some of the original proposals were outrageous. The system now being introduced should be workable but is unlikely to be of any real benefit to certificate holders, though it may marginally benefit public safety. The principal change is that verification of your medical history will now become a legal requirement when you apply for a grant or renewal. Some forces have been demanding this for a long time but in doing so they were flouting Section 26 of the…

Many aspects of fieldsports bring me pleasure, one of which is the ability to use hand-crafted elements to create success in the field. I am forever experimenting in the man cave to conjure new equipment or improve store-bought designs to aid my shooting adventures. Having a successful day with something I have created gives me a great sense of fulfilment. Creating a decoy that imitates creatures and convinces quarry to come within striking range is amazing and something that I think everyone should try. This season I have been making and testing Canada goose silhouette decoys to aid my adventures on the foreshore. Undeterred Charlie, my recently appointed wife, would be quick to tell you that I have enough decoys and shooting equipment for an army of avid sportsmen. However,…

Southdown Gun Club DISCIPLINES Sporting, FITASC, Compak, Skeet and DTL. ADDITIONAL FACILITIES Axe throwing, a gunroom and a café. MOBILITY Hard-standing car park leads to solid pathways to the stands. Wheelchair users are advised to call ahead to discuss requirements. WHEN IS IT OPEN? Thursday to Sunday, 9am-4pm The grounds will also be open seven days a week between Christmas and New Year. PRACTICE ROUNDS A Claymate system allows for solo practice across all disciplines. Clays are set to £0.42, or £0.36 for members. TUITION One-hour, one-to-one lessons are available from £91, excluding cartridges. Have-ago sessions are available from £35 for a 15-target session. MEMBERSHIP Membership is available from £120 pro rata plus £10 for a photo ID card, with memberships renewing in January. Membership benefits include reduced rate clays,…

There are no shortcuts when it comes to cultivating mindfulness, but Jess can recommend techniques that make self-awareness easier. “Some British Shooting athletes use a traffic light system, which enables them to check-in with where their focus lies. “Green means that my focus is on the present, what I’m going to do this second. “Amber may signify that my attention has gone to what has just happened, possibly a failed shot. Or it could be that I’m thinking about the future, an ambition to win the competition perhaps. “Red means that my thoughts have gone somewhere completely irrelevant. What I’m going to have for lunch, where am I going on holiday and so on. “Using this traffic light system, I can start to check-in with myself. Am I green, amber…

The new generation of Zeiss V8 Riflescopes Zeiss V8 riflescopes deliver more successful moments on the hunt than any other riflescope from Zeiss. Outstanding optical quality, an extra-large eye box for fast target acquisition, and the finest illuminated dot in the world make it an unsurpassed companion in any hunting situation. Despite the elegant new design and narrow main tube of only 30mm or 34mm, the new Zeiss V8 riflescopes are extremely robust and reliable. Learn more: zeiss.ly/new-v8-scopes…

There is one aspect of the countryside that is the bane of every gundog owner’s life – barbed wire. I doubt there is a shoot in the country that doesn’t have some of it festooning the tops of the fences and walls. I rarely get through a season without one of the dogs catching themselves on the stuff. Over the years I have witnessed some horrific injuries when a dog has tried to jump a fence and caught itself on the barbs; it makes me shudder even to think of it. If you have a larger gundog then it may be OK for it to jump a sheep netting fence, but not barbed wire. There is a train of thought that if you never teach or encourage your dog to…

The one that got away I have only missed one issue of Sporting Gun and that was the very first one from more than 40 years ago. I have enjoyed every one and I find it amazing you keep it so entertaining after all this time. The photos of clay shooting articles from February/March 1978 show that Sporting Gun has returned to its roots since incorporating Clay Shooting. Long may it continue. I’m a game shooter and occasional clay shooter. I have just read Patrick Hook’s article on the Vulpine Mk3 (SG November 2021) and wondered it compared with much more expensive dedicated models as I am about to update my Pard 007. Anthony Butler, via email Ed – We will ask Patrick for you, Anthony Priceless lesson I was…

Zeiss took a while to join the thermal imaging scene, but it was perfecting its vision of what a good thermal imager should be. The new DTI 3/25 is also available in 3/35, the difference being the size of the objective lens in mm made from germanium. This model retails for £2,150. It was designed in Germany but made in China to Zeiss’s exacting standards. What you have is a portable, sensitive thermal viewer that has a high-resolution HD LCOS display, which delivers detailed images ssssfor detection of any heat source. The unit has an array of onboard enhancement settings and detection modes as well as a useful photo and video capture. “The DTI 3/25 is not only great for hunting but also as a wildlife observer and security tool…

CHARLES SMITH-JONES SAYS:“One of the more compelling reasons to own a ‘Victorian’ is its excellent accuracy” In 1966 a new gun appeared in the catalogue of Sturm, Ruger and Company that flew in the face of conventional wisdom among the firearms manufacturing industry. Based on a falling-block mechanism that had been out of favour for half a century, it was a single-shot rifle that harked back to the long-gone days of blackpowder and should have been a massive commercial failure. In many ways it might have been likened to a manufacturer of modern audio equipment trying to persuade the buying public to accept an old-fashioned gramophone player. Against all the odds, though, it was a resounding success, which can be measured against the fact that Ruger is still manufacturing the…

John Tipping has been named Young Gamekeeper of the Year by the Gamekeepers’ Welfare Trust (GWT). John, 10, was presented with his award by Helen Benson, the trust’s chief executive, at a recent ceremony at Whatton House, Leicestershire, John’s home county. The award was devised by Lady Scott, a GWT trustee, who wished to recognise the families of gamekeepers who give support to shoots and estates. John helps his father, a gamekeeper of over 30 years’ standing, with hatching and looking after the pheasants, as well as being described as “second in charge on shoot days”. GOT ANY NEWS? PLEASE TELL US ABOUT IT: Post: Sporting Gun, Future PLC, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP. Email: sportinggun@futurenet.com…

At long last the BBC says it’s going to stamp out bias and make television presenters toe the line. After a root-and-branch review of the corporation and its practices, bosses now promise ‘an impartiality revolution’ that will benefit millions of viewers and its staff. The action plan means anyone who breaches impartiality standards under the new rules could be sacked. Managers can also be “challenged to represent audiences from all parts of the UK, both on and off screen”. This is music to shooting’s ear because its priceless contribution to the environment and conservation has routinely been ignored by programmers and presenters for years. It now means that front-of-camera people such as Chris Packham can at last be held to account for any future on-screen bias shown towards the sport.…

I have watched an awful lot of pigeon shooting clips on YouTube. Most are posted by amateurs but a few are professionally made. What strikes me in almost every instance is how the presenter stresses the importance of creating a ‘pattern’ with your decoys, often tweaking it several times during the session to ensure the pigeons commit with confidence. Dogs can be seen racing out from the hide every time a bird is shot and great care is taken to ensure no dead bird is left lying on its back. There is also a determination to ensure you use the right colour camouflage net with which to make your hide and, even then, to decorate it with vegetation so that it blends in with the available cover. Much of this…

Venison and kidney bean casserole Slow cooked Ingredients 1 chorizo ring cut into ½in pieces 1 tin kidney beans Oil, sunflower, but could use olive oil 1lb stewing venison, cut into bite-size pieces 1lb leeks cut into ½in pieces 1 bay leaf ¼ pint venison or beef stock 1 clove garlic skinned and crushed salt and pepper to taste Method Drain the kidney beans and give them a good rinse. Heat the oil in an ovenproof casserole and cook the chorizo until the oil starts to run. Remove to a plate and brown the venison pieces in the same oil. When browned, place them on the plate with the chorizo. Next, soften the leeks in the same oil. Return the chorizo and meat to the casserole and add the drained…

DISTRIBUTION: Found across most of the Northern Hemisphere mainland and as far south as Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Introduced to some Mediterranean islands, the Azores, New Zealand, and Sao Tome and Principe. UK DISTRIBUTION: Widespread across mainland Britain; also present on Anglesey, the Isle of Sheppey, Isle of Wight and the Scottish islands of Bute and Skye. Not present in Ireland or some offshore islands. IUCN RED LIST STATUS: Least Concern. FOOD: Voles and mice make up the majority of the diet, though they take small birds, eggs, insects and amphibians, as well as fish, rats and young rabbits. HABITAT: Found in most habitats including woodland, lowland pasture, moorland, marshes and urban areas. BREEDING: Weasels live solitary lives and come together to breed in the spring. At other times males…

High-tech devices such as thermal spotters and night-vision scopes can help the nocturnal foxer, but the alert shooter can also benefit by keeping his or her eyes and ears open for natural indicators. By this I mean the movements and sounds produced by the area’s resident wildlife. As humans we cannot compete with deer, foxes or rabbits where smell or hearing are concerned. However, by understanding their behaviour we can often get advance notice of a fox heading our way. One night, for instance, I was watching over a meadow where a hare was happily munching away at the tasty vegetation. However, he suddenly sat up, sniffed the air and rocketed off into a hollow where he threw himself flat on the ground, clearly trying to hide from a potential…

Shooting’s a mind game. How often have you heard that saying? Whether you’re out on the hill, on the rifle range or busting some clays it’s a phrase that crops up frequently. But what does the phrase actually mean, and how can we start winning this so-called mind game? Take any shot, shooting any kind of discipline, at any location with any type of gun aimed at any form of target or quarry and there’s only one certainty with regards to their state of mind – it will be different to the Shot standing right next to them. We’re all different, we all exhibit diverse emotional characteristics that themselves are in constant flux – feelings that may be influenced by something as fundamental as our genetics or as trivial as…

The pheasant shooting season might have started on the 1 October but many shoots would have held off shooting until November. This could have been for a number of reasons. If the shoot has partridges, shooting could have started in September and continued into October, letting the pheasants mature and become stronger flyers. Another possibility is that if a shoot is located predominantly in woods, there would still have been quite a lot of leaf left on the trees throughout October, making the shooting harder than it would have been a month on. There is an argument to say that it would be better to put the pheasant season back a month if we could continue shooting into February, but I can’t see that happening. Different shoots have various involvements…

Step 1: At 25 metres, fire a single shot aiming at the target centre Step 2: Clamp the rifle with the crosshairs on the point you just aimed at, then, without moving the rifle, adjust them to cover the shot hole Step 3: At 100 metres, aiming at the target centre, fire three careful shots Step 4: Adjust the scope using the elevation and windage dials. The target is gridded in 1in squares, so if one click moves the sights ¼in at 100m, here you need to go eight clicks right and four clicks up…

Vet’s advice Neil McIntosh SG’s gundog health expert Ah! The right question for the time of year. Like a lot of aspects of pet ownership, there are many reasons. I will give some. Preoccupation There is so much more than normal to occupy our minds at this time of year that we tend to lose our concentration. We focus on the presents, the tree and the food but forget the basics. Take Humphrey, for example. This chocolate labrador swallowed more than he could cope with when his owners absentmindedly left the door to ‘The Good Room’ open, allowing the big chap to enter hitherto uncharted waters. Humphrey proceeded to attempt, in a thoroughly labradorian way, to consume the contents of the coal bunker. While not in itself toxic, coal is…

Slug it out with steel I have recently been given a semiautomatic 12-bore by a friend who has given up shooting. The gun came with a few boxes of 12-bore cartridges. Those stored in his old leather cartridge belt have some corrosion around the brass cap – interaction with the damp leather, I assume. Nothing to worry about and they will clean up easily. However, it led me to thinking about corrosion and the issue of steel shot. Has any thought been given to the fact that steel does corrode, and does so quite quickly? Is it possible for steel shot to corrode into a solid slug of pellets if cartridges are stored in near damp conditions? And will this be another consideration to add to the already-complex areas of…

We made a welcome return to the Game Fair this year, though the heavy traffic en route to Ragley Hall was not so appreciated. However, my mood soon cheered once I was walking around the grounds of the Warwickshire stately home with my husband, John. We watered the dogs and treated ourselves to an ice cream and then made a beeline for the Perazzi stand, as it is my brand of choice when it comes to guns. Then we passed the Longthorne stand. John suggested we have a look, though I felt a little bit out of place entering the premises of such a posh gun manufacturer. The guns were impressive, even the ‘basic’ ones, though you cannot really call any Longthorne gun ‘basic’. “All the guns and their parts…

Model DTI 3/25 Dimensions 187L x 60W x 65H mm Weight 410g (0.90lb) Focal length 25mm Aperture F 1.0 Sensor Resolution 384 x 288 Display Resolution 1280 x 960 Thermal Sensitivity (NETD) =<50mk Frame rate 50 Hz Display Type LCOS Effective range 880m (960yd) Field of View at 100 m (yds) 26m (78ft) Optical and digital magnification (in 0.5x steps) 1.8 Optical, 4x Digital Battery Li-Ion, run time 10 hours Internal Storage 15GB Photo/video resolution 384 x 288 Operating Temp -10°C to +40°C Other Features Live stream function Distributor Zeiss UK 01223 401500 Price £2,150…