The first and market-leading rifle shooting mag in the UK, Sporting Rifle covers rifle sports of all kinds, from rimfire rabbits to big game overseas and everything in between. With the very best writers on board, we cover foxing and UK deer stalking extensively in every issue, with tips and tricks as well as stories from the field to help your outings be more successful.
Cull or not to cull • Editor-in-chief Peter Carr looks forward to the fast-oncoming start of the doe and hind seasons
Great British Shooting Awards 2020: Vote Now
MEET THE JUDGES
THE SHORTLISTS
HAVE YOUR SAY ON GENERAL LICENCES
GAMEBIRD RELEASE UNDER REVIEW
LEAD: “FURTHER RESTRICTIONS ARE LIKELY”
TOUGH SEASON FOR GREY PARTRIDGE
Mailbag • Send us your letters – or email colin.fallon@futurenet.com for a chance to win a great prize
DEBATE OF THE MONTH • More restrictions to the General Licences are planned in Wales
Precision Mania • Will O’Meara feels his Precision Rifle addiction grow with a trip to the series final – and learns some invaluable technique tips while he’s there
Hind and hound • All Chris Dalton’s stalking and dog handling skills are called upon during a red hind cull stalk on the Kinnaird estate
Fallow in the frost • David Barrington Barnes on the challenges, opportunities and quirks that hunting in November presents
Rut reports 2019 • Calling bonanza or frustrating failure? Sportsmen from around the country weigh in on how the 2019 roe rut was for them
Savage speed-test • Mike Powell tests a Savage semi-auto the best way he knows how: By expending large amounts of .22LR ammo
Head measuring • With the Midland Game Fair closing off the summer season, James Sutcliffe rounds up the latest heads to be measured
Six of the best blades • If you’ve got plenty of carcase prep work to do this winter, make sure your knife is up to the task…
SHARPEN UP YOUR ACT • A SHARPER KNIFE IS A SAFER, BETTER KNIFE. KEEP YOUR BLADES HONED WITH THESE THREE SHARPENING TOOLS
ASK THE EXPERTS • Our team of experts solves five more of your burning questions, from cabinets to camo
Sporting Rifle’s Experts
Stalking debutant • Paul Childerley meets Imogen – who has never stalked before and doesn’t even eat meat – and gives her a sporting introduction on his favoured species, the Chinese water deer
Patience pays off • Robert Bucknell proves the value of persistence as three foxes appear just as he’s given up on a night-time excursion
The foxing year that was • As summer gives way to the colder months, Mike Powell assesses whether 2019 has been a good year for shooting and for foxers in particular
Vulpine epidemic • Mark Ripley is much busier than he anticipated, enduring multiple fox raids at a once-quiet farm, the local zoo and even his own garden
NV on the cheap! • Who says night shooting has to be expensive? Here’s some NV, IR and even thermal gear that will set you back less than £1,200
Cull countdown • With the roe doe season about to begin, editor-in-chief Pete Carr recalls a last-minute stalk from the very end of the 2019 doe season
The calibre hunter • Byron Pace pits the .30-06 against its universally used rival, the .308
Target News • Email your target news to colin.fallon@futurenet.com
Bountiful barrels • The 6mm BR Norma is versatile enough to work with a wide range of barrels and chambers. Here’s a run down of the choices
Trust your trigger • We take a look at all the technology that’s packed into TriggerTech triggers, making them precise, consistent and dependable
Buffalo in the deep • With a body weight of over one ton, the Argentine water buffalo is the largest huntable...