Shooting Times & Country

Since its launch in 1882, Shooting Times & Country Magazine has been at the forefront of the shooting scene. The magazine is the clear first choice for shooting sportsmen, with editorial covering all disciplines, including gameshooting, rough shooting, pigeon shooting, wildfowling and deer stalking. Additionally the magazine has a strong focus on the training and use of gundogs in the field and, because it is a weekly publication, the magazine keeps readers firmly up-to-date with the latest news in their world.

Natural instincts

Staff made redundant by the leading anti-shooting charity • The League Against Cruel Sports has removed its investigations team amid official reports that show the organisation is struggling for funds

Crackdown on rural crime

Warnings over rodenticides

To do this week

‘Muted’ grouse season now drawing to a close • Relatively good numbers of chicks enabled a modest amount of shoot days, although the impact of the 2021 breeding season was keenly felt

Small increase in bird flu cases among gamebirds

Woodcock arrive in number

NEWS IN BRIEF

Shooting Times & Country

LETTERS

Country Diary • A late stubble offers the chance to relive teenage adventures, but when cold bites and pigeons fly on, one realises that those days have gone

Upland keeper • The Scottish government doesn’t seem to be looking at the wider environmental picture, which could have devastating consequences

Stalking Diary • It sometimes surprises the public that stalkers have so much respect for the deer they hunt, but Chris Dalton thinks it makes perfect sense

JOTTINGS FOR WILDFOWLERS • Wildfowling on the Burry Inlet in South Wales will be severely affected by a recent set of restrictions imposed by Natural Resources Wales

Magnificent Severn plans • Wildfowling clubs play a vital role in local conservation and helping to safeguard the future of the sport, as Jack Bell discovers

Clustering together • A driven wild bird day in Suffolk shows how modern agriculture and traditional gamekeeping can go hand in hand to benefit biodiversity and conservation

Into the wilds of Scotland • Will Martin navigates the Grimersta lochs in the hope of a salmon before the season’s end

Walking into a problem • Following bumper puppy sales during Covid, more owners than ever are turning to daycare services, but Ellena Swift urges caution

Spotting a horror under the hammer • Auctions have become an internet-driven retail environment, but there are pitfalls to be aware of before you bid, writes Diggory Hadoke

Semi-autos: is it time to break tradition? • Simon Reinhold asks if the fieldsports community should take a bold leap forwards and embrace the use of semi-automatics on driven days

Start them steady • All dogs learn at different paces, and it’s important not to overface a youngster during their first shooting season, advises Ellena Swift

The waiting game • Jim Old is impatient as the weeks tick by slowly after applying for his shotgun certificate, but it gives him time for some market research

Simple to use, yet very effective • The Pulsar Talion XQ38 riflescope’s easy operation and clear thermal viewing help Mat Manning harvest a few pesky rabbits for the bag

Finding solace in the country • With a friend of Charlie’s staying for a few days, Richard Negus treats the pair to a Saturday morning of gamekeeping and sheep-wrangling

Stalking for sandwiches • Leon Challis-Davies goes on his first stalking adventure for fallow deer, which results in a superb lunch for a few hungry farm hands

How early is too early? • October driven days can sometimes feel too soon for young pheasants, but ex-layers could be the way to...