Government tightens antique firearm laws
The government has made changes to firearms laws it says will close ‘loopholes’ exploited by criminals. The new rules affect exemptions for antique firearms that allow collectors and dealers to own and trade in old guns. The government says these exemptions are being exploited by criminals. Seven ammunition types will no longer be described as […]
Fieldsports Britain – five deer down
Paul has a job on his hands. David follows him out culling deer on his ground – a single day’s work that culminates in stalking four species of deer: roe, muntjac, fallow and Chinese water deer, with five animals on the ground. Meanwhile, Charlie is on a mission to find out about pheasants and what’s […]
A day in the life of a deer manager
youtu.be/-T_A5WyO1gk Shooting deer is hard work. Paul Childerley has his work cut out thinning the various deer species on his ground in Bedfordshire. Paul is also putting Sako products through their paces, shooting a Sako Powerhead Blade round in .308 and Sako S20 rifle. In the end he shoots five animals from four species: fallow, […]
Grouse go to Westminster – Fieldsports News, 13 January 2021
Here are the links:Parliament sets date for driven grouse debate – GWCTWildlife celeb caught twisting truth – again – Twitter This is incorrect. We have not said this. — National Farmers' Union (@NFUtweets) January 11, 2021 Some antique guns obsolete and illegal under new firearms rules – Fieldsports NewsSabs salivate over two-year-old Countryside Alliance doc […]
Lockdown walked-up pheasant shooting
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wrCQvp6fUs We can go walked-up shooting – it’s part of a healthy lifestyle, says the government, and it is OK in England and Scotland, even during this January 2021 lockdown. So that’s what we are doing with Tom Davies in Devon, on a shoot on the edge of Dartmoor. But what of the pheasants that […]
Swarovski updates its dS riflescope to gen II
by Charlie Jacoby The Swarovski dS scope is growing up. The technical marvel that is the gen II dS has a slimmer look, though the same 40mm tube, a choice of six reticles, and more customisable features such as the ability to switch off the wind bars. It comes with an alignment indicator, which gives you […]
Swarovski updates its CL pocket binos range
by Charlie Jacoby All the expensive optics manufacturers have the same problem: should they launch cheaper models? If they do, it opens them to the charge of going downmarket. Also, they may have to cut costs in the manufacturing process, which could bring with it a quality issue. All of the expensive optics manufacturers worry […]
What’s the best rimfire rifle package for £500-£700?
So: you’ve got your Firearms Certificate, you’ve got permission to shoot rabbits on a local farm, and you’re itching to go shooting. There’s just one hurdle left: you need a rifle and scope that are up to the job. So what’s the best rimfire rifle package for a reasonable price, if you’ve a budget of, […]
Browning B525 Ultra XS Pro shotgun – review
Is there such a thing as the all-round shotgun that will do everything and still look the part, from knocking over vermin around the farm to bringing down rocketing driven pheasants or bagging the silverware at a major clay shooting championship? There’s no-one better to ask than Sam Green, a true all-rounder. A […]
Savage B17 rimfire – review
Why buy a Savage B17? Half of the Fieldsports Channel audience (who own a rimfire) own the Czech-made CZ/Brno rimfires – check out our rimfire research. However, drill down those numbers and you find that the Czech rifles are getting elderly in the hands of our viewers (the average age of the rimfires you own […]
We can go roughshooting, wildfowling and deerstalking
Here’s what lockdown means for shooting sports. On 6 January 2021, shooters were resigned to the new coronavirus lockdowns stopping most UK recreational shooting for the rest of the season. However, the anglers in England negotiated an exemption for their sport on 7 January and, later in the day, the shooters in England did the same. […]
Fox and squirrel shooting
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8KvExA1K0 It’s a multi-storey job. Roy Lupton is looking for deer and foxes at ground level, squirrels in the trees and feral pigeons under the eaves of farm buildings. To do that, he has a Sako 85 in .25-06 and a Brocock Commander XR air rifle in .22. Aimpoint Acro Aimpoint.comBrocock Commander XR Brocock.co.uk Buy […]
Fieldsports Britain – Roy’s woodland pest control
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyAu4breozo Roy heads for the woods of Sussex armed to the teeth. He has a Sako 85 in case of deer and foxes, and he has a Brocock Commander XR air rifle for squirrels and ferals. Find out what he shoots – and how he avoids bumping into the large numbers of public now rambling […]
How to watch not listen to clay targets, with Sam Green
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SanXirGqSGQ Sam is instructing two shooters on a teal target. One of them needs to lower his hold point to see more of the target, the other is moving too fast, reacting to the sound of the trap not the movement of the clay. Sam teaches them to watch the clay not listen for it, […]
Driven gameshooting cancelled – Fieldsports News, 6 January 2021
Here are the links: Lockdown stops driven shooting in the UK – Fieldsports News ITV News wages war on trailhunting – ITV Antis expose West Country farmers who support hunts – Innocent Badger Vegans mark Christmas by attacking butcher – Fieldsports News Celeb Packham challenges Scottish beaver cull – The Times Police investigate man killed […]
What’s killing off the capercaillie?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMHf83s9U54 by Ben O’Rourke In the 1970s, there were more than 20,000 capercaillie in the UK. “Now there might only be 1,000,” says Ian Coghill, chairman of the Coordinated Upland Partnership. The RSPB goes even further. In 2022, it released figures claiming there were only 542 capercaillie left. The responsibility for that lies at the […]
Northern Ireland mulls foxhunting ban – Fieldsports News, 30 December 2020
Here are the links: Antis push for Northern Ireland ban on hunting with dogs – Fieldsports News + video from Facebook Irish coursers annoyed after lockdown ban – Irish Coursing Club Scottish Green Party wants to replace foxhunting ban – Aberdeen Evening Express Scottish charity ‘bullied’ into refusing game meat – Aberdeen Press & Journal […]
Ferreting an old people’s home
The South Somerset Ferreters – that fun-loving group of ferret owners from Ilminster – have found a new spot. It’s an old people’s home that wants a vegetable patch. But there will be no veg while Peter Rabbit and his gang own the garden. Jaf and the gang unleash nets, dogs and ferrets on […]
Fieldsports Britain – fallow and ferreting
We’re on Dartmoor on a meat hunt, culling fallow deer for the freezer. Tom Davies of Dartmoor Deer Services is out with Ollie Williams from Cornwall (where fallow deer are an exotic animal). Plus they show when to and when not to use a thermal spotter. Just over the county line, the South Somerset […]
2020 Fieldsports News review
It was meant to be the year of the gamekeeper. Instead, 2020 was they year of the armchair environmentalist, as people confined to their homes took to their keyboards to vent their frustrations. News editor Ben O’Rourke looks back on the ‘year of the epidemic’ and forward to what 2021 will hold. Stories we […]
Alliance politician wants Northern Ireland hunting ban
The Northern Ireland Assembly is to consider banning foxhunting in 2021. Anti hunting MLA John Blair, backed by the League Against Cruel Sports, plans to propose legislation banning hunting of all wild mammals with dogs after 12 February 2021. Although the law he wants to pass is aimed at foxhunting, in its current form it […]
How to shoot and eat a pheasant
Out with a gun and a dog, gamekeeper Paul Childerley is keeping an eye on his ground while enjoying his shooting. It’s all the best bits about gamekeeping. Plus he stops in the woods and cooks up the birds he has shot. To go shooting with Paul, visit Instagram.com/paulchilderley or Facebook.com/childerleysporting Here is more […]
Fieldsports Britain – old-fashioned walked-up shooting
A gentle walked-up day with Paul, looking for pheasant and maybe woodcock on his shoot in Bedfordshire. He is shooting an old side-by-side with new steel-shot cartridges, and cooking the pheasants in the woods. Staying on food (it’s Christmas), game meat specialist Jack Hills provides his recipe for venison sausage rolls. And as it’s Christmas, […]
Animal rights extremists release terrorist handbook
Ben O’Rourke Elliot Gold is a vegan who wants you to know who he is and what he does. He regularly campaigns outside shops selling fur in London, engaging customers and passers-by who wear fur or might want to. Regardless how loud he chants into his loudspeaker at the thousands of people walking past […]
Bloopers 2020
It’s our outtakes and mistakes from filming during the extraordinary year that was 2020. Well, coronavirus or no coronavirus, we have still been making blunders – and here they are, laid bare.
Venison sausage rolls – easy recipe
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcd_Vl_HeWE Ingredients 1lb venison mince1lb beef mince2 tbsp seasoning, (salt, pepper, herbs of your choice)2 large eggs, beaten2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce2 tbsp chutney2ft/60cm square (rolled out) of puff pastry How to make it Kneading is all important here. Mix the two minces with your hands, add the seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, one of the eggs […]
Pointless council trailhunting bans – Fieldsports News, 23 December 2020
Here are the links: Council trailhunting bans are ‘sad’ not ‘landmark’ – Fieldsports News Celebrity dog owners attack BBC over ‘puppy farming’ documentary – Pink News Antis urge royals to stop gameshooting at Sandringham – BASC Farmer banned from Tiktok over dead pheasant video – Twitter Sabs shocked by young shooters – Facebook Denmark digging […]
FORM Chieftain custom air rifle stock – review
A new stock could transform your trusty air rifle, improving accuracy and ease of use and giving it a whole new lease of life, not to mention a stunning modern look. If that’s your aim, look no further than this pistol grip style thumbhole FORM Chieftain air rifle stock, available for the Air Arms […]
Council trailhunting bans are ‘sad’ not ‘landmark’
Councillors across the country are debating banning trailhunting on council-owned land. Anti-hunting councillors claim the release of a webinar animal rights activists claim exposes the activity as cover for actual fox hunting. We covered that story about the Hunting Office webinar here. Last week, Cherwell District Council in Oxfordshire threw out a proposed ban on […]
The evolution of the airgun – Fieldtester, episode 4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeVqLp-iYAQ In this month’s Fieldtester show, our kit gurus Roy Lupton, Johnny Muston and Tim Pilbeam come together with host David Wright to discuss the evolution of the airgun. That’s not all. Johnny Muston from R&J Stockcraft says how to choose the perfect airgun pellet, and shows off his shooting skills putting holes in Polo […]
Best airgun pellet for 2021
This is the Fieldtester survey where we asked you to tell us about your kit back in 2020, and you responded: 3,500 completed surveys came back to us, 10% of which are about PCPs, 10% of you told us about your airgun pellets, only 5% are about spring-loaded air rifles, which is why springers didn’t […]
What do you buy a shooter for Christmas?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RhcXPwLtA0 Just what do you buy a shooter? It’s a question Ian Ho-Ho-Hodge gets asked many times a day as the festive season approaches. He runs Ian Hodge Field Sports – a physical and online shop based in Cornwall – so he’s put together a list of the ideal stocking fillers with everything from new […]
Pellet power and performance: putting a hole in a Polo
Johnny Muston from airgun shop R&K Stockcraft is supergluing Polo mints to the top of a wooden batten. Why? To check his accuracy with his airgun of course! A pellet can just pass through the hole in the middle, but he’ll have to be super-accurate. “This is part of my mis-spent youth,” he jokes. But […]
Airgun law UK – what you can shoot in your garden
Airgun law UK: What can you shoot with your airgun in your back garden in the UK? It’s a garden, it’s a private premises where you have permission, and you are happy with your backstop and that backstop is in your garden. What birds can you shoot? We will come to those in a […]
Zeiss DTI 3/35 thermal spotter – review
Thermal imaging has become an essential tool for gamekeepers, pest controllers and deer managers. From almost none a couple of years ago, there are now a huge variety of products to choose from. The old man of traditional optics, Zeiss, planned a grand launch for its first entry into the thermal market in the rpsing […]
General licences
Police team up with locals for poacher patrols in Northumberland
Ben O’Rourke “They try to intimidate you, they look for a rise from you… they’re confrontational, looking for trouble, shining lamps in your face so you cannot see anything,” says local farmer Paul (he wants to keep his surname anonymous) of the poachers who have been hitting parts of Northumberland. “I’ve had run-ins with […]
Delicious roast venison squashes – easy recipe with Tim Maddams
Top chef Tim Maddams shows how to cook delicious butternut squashes stuffed with venison, in a cream and mushroom sauce, while Country Food Trust chief executive Tim Woodward gets in the way – and explains the work of the charity, feeding the nation with game meat. Ingredients 2 butternut squashes 1 large onion, finely […]
Vegan tries deerstalking
Katie Hargreaves goes deerstalking with Paul Childerley. What’s unusual is that Katie is a vegan. She sees sustainable hunting as part of her veganism. Paul and Katie are out after Chinese water deer in Bedfordshire. Katie is also a wildlife artist, drawing her inspiration from deer and other animals. Here are some of her […]
Fieldsports Britain – we’re a little bit veggie
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQHbdG4I_g0 Paul Childerley takes a vegan out to shoot a deer. Katie Hargreaves is a properly woke wildlife artist – but she is connected enough to the augment to understand that hunting has a place in veganism. Find out how she gets on shooting her first Chinese water deer. Taking the deer process further, we […]
Gun price changes after a no-deal Brexit
What are WTO rules and how will they affect UK shooters? When it comes to buying guns, Simon West from the Gun Trade Association spells it out: the World Trade Organisation tariff on importing guns is 3.2%. The tariff on imprting gun and ammunition parts is 2.7%. These are prices that the gun trade […]
Leupold BX4 Pro Guide HD binoculars – review
Out of 3,500 responses to our 2020 kit survey, 600 Fieldsports Channel viewers got back to us about binos. It is clear from the results that Leupold is a well-loved brand, if not widely purchased. Only 3% of viewers own Leupold binos. In Fieldsports Channel’s research, Leupold binos score highly for ease of use, […]
Do you need a cheek piece for your rifle?
Purists look at foxshooting doyen Robert Bucknell’s set-up and are appalled. Until recently, he had a CAM rifle, which is in ‘practical rifle’ territory and not the usual foxshooter’s choice of heavy barrel with bipod. And, to make it a more comfortable fit, he built up the cheek pad with gaffer tape. Yes, gaffer tape… […]
H&M owners abandon roots to ban trailhunting in Wiltshire
The family behind fashion chain H&M is banning trailhunting over 16,000 acres it owns in Wiltshire and Berkshire. The ban is the latest move in a media campaign by ITV News to force landowners to ban trailhunting in England. Former H&M chairman Stefan Persson is behind the ban. Persson’s father Erling Persson founded the shop […]
Leupold Gold Ring 12-40×60 Spotting Scope – review
A good spotting scope is a vital tool of the trade for Mike Robinson, professional deer manager and game chef. “I’m selecting wild deer which I harvest and put through my Owl Barn larder, and which then goes to my award-winning restaurants” – (yes, he says “award-winning”) – “as well as some of the […]
Wharfedale gamekeepers to thank for hen harrier sightings
Anti-shooters who spot hen harriers on the Denton Park estate in Wharfedale can thank gamekeepers for the conservation work that brought them back. A story in the Yorkshire Post suggests that shooting is banned at Denton Park. The newspaper quotes convicted animal rights extremist Luke Steele, saying: “It’s fantastic to see these magnificent birds of […]
Fabulous duck flighting at dusk
Gamekeeper Paul Childerley goes duck shooting. There’s a pond on his shoot in Bedfordshire that’s away from the main duck ponds, and it is attracting wild duck, including widgeon and teal, which are a delicious addition to the Christmas dinner table. He calls them in then, as it gets dark, takes his thermal spotter […]
Cattyshack Wayne’s amazing squirrel shot
It’s world-class precision slingshot hunting, as Cattyshack’s Wayne Martin and friend Matt Lower go out for pheasant, dove, rabbit and squirrel on a permission in Sussex – and Wayne gets a stunningly (literally) good shot on a squirrel. For Wayne’s catapults, visit Cattyshack.co.uk
Fieldsports Britain – expert catapult hunt
Wayne is one of the country’s top slingshot hunters – and he shows off his skills with his buddy Matt Lower. They are on a mooch around a Sussex farm permission looking for a pheasant for the pot, squirrels, rabbits and feral pigeons. That’s not all. Bedfordshire gamekeeper Paul Childerley completes his rounds with […]
BBC flogs puppies for fun – Fieldsports News, 9 December 2020
Here are the links: BBC exploits lockdown dog price hike – BBC and petition Bird flu prompts Britain-wide ‘protection zone’ from 14 December – government press release Pressure grows on arrested Liverpool mayor to go – Fieldsports News Thousands of fish die after canal breach – Leicester Mercury Pet flea chemicals are poisoning rivers […]
