Archives

Best break-barrel airguns for 2021

This is the Fieldtester survey where we asked you to tell us about your kit back in 2020, and boy did you respond. 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 […]

Gun ownership stays steady in England and Wales

Attacks on shooting sports by the anti-gun and animal rights lobby are having no effect on gun ownership in England & Wales.   According to the latest statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates (England and Wales: April 2019 to March 2020), there were 159,483 firearm certificates on issue as at 31 March 2020, a 0.2% […]

Assault on legal gun ownership by fear-mongering UK media

This weekend saw local newspapers across the country take aim at the shooting community. Dramatic headlines declare: ‘Hundreds of the “most dangerous” firearms owned legally in (insert county here)’, in a coordinated exercise in fear-mongering. The articles appeared mainly in the north and online news sites run by JPIMedia.   In the Halifax Courier‘s chilling […]

Red or dead: how killing invasive grey squirrels boosts threatened reds

  Ben O’Rourke “Most military strategists will tell you that if an army seeks to simply hold a fortress and only has its control in the fortress area, eventually that fortress will be overrun by the enemy.” Standing in his garden in the Preston area, David Alan is answering a question about squirrels. The fortress […]

Best Dogfood 2020

It’s the results of our massive dog questionnaire, covering dogfood, dog breeds and dog boxes, and thanks to all who took part in it. Our Fieldtester surveys prompted 3,500 responses, which has given us some of the most comprehensive information about who owns what and what they think of out that the shooting industry has […]

Actor’s mad rant against pro-hunting scientist – Fieldsports News, 22 July 2020

  Here are the links: Actor says hunters are like paedophiles – Fieldsports News New vegan vandal attack on Brighton butcher – Facebook Goshawk killing ‘was on Queen’s land’ says newspaper – Yorkshire Post BBC bigs up grousemoors – worth a watch – BBC2 Newspaper gives TV star Phil Spencer a hard time for hunting […]

Rabbit shoot: rain stops play

  Poor Matt Turley. You invite a team of guns to come and shoot rabbits – and the bunnies don’t want to play. They don’t like to come out when the ground is wet. To prove he has rabbits, Matt goes out in the late afternoon after the ground has dried in the sun and […]

Deer Box launch: venison from woodland to your freezer

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYnVM6lzlSg It’s a haunch launch. Deer Box promises to post your frozen boxes of venison for your freezer. The brainchild of Ben Heath and restaurateur Mike Robinson, it aims to breath life into the venison market. In order to explain it, Ben takes Ollie Williams (off Love Island) out to shoot a muntjac for the […]

Copper bullets – terminal ballistics

  Firearms expert Andrew Venables and deer manager Ben Heath put two copper bullets head to head. Commenting on YouTube, several viewers give their favourite copper rounds. They are .243, 80-grain “80-grain in .243 sounds good and it will be interesting when Andrew goes with the .308 110-grain and 120-grain rounds on fallow,” says Colin […]

Fieldsports Britain – Ollie Williams hunts a muntie

  Ollie Williams is stalking muntjac with Hampshire deer manager Ben Heath. Ben is about to launch a new venison-in-the-post service called Deer Box. Plus he advocates copper bullets, which means we have to talk to firearms expert Andrew Venables (it’s in the rules – talking about copper? talk to Andrew Venables). Over in Somerset, […]

Actor Peter Egan compares trophy hunters to paedophiles

Actor and Downton Abbey cast member Peter Egan has launched personal attacks on a conservationist and compared trophy hunting to paedophilia in angry Twitter posts. In a long online argument with Amy Dickman, who has about two decades of hands-on conservation experience, the actor turned activist attacked Dickman and questioned her credibility. “You clearly are […]

RSPCA backs law-breaking antis in gamekeeper smear campaign

The RSPCA has voiced support for claims by antis that gamekeepers in the Peak District broke the law. That’s despite police saying the gamekeepers did nothing wrong. At the same time, the charity says it’s not going to try to prosecute the gamekeepers. For weeks, animal rights extremist group ‘Hunt Investigation Team’ has been persecuting […]

Decathlon bows to animal rights extremists

A sports retail chain has removed products from its UK website following pressure from animal rights extremists. French retailer Decathlon sells a wider range of hunting and shooting kit via its Decathlon.co.uk website than its chain of shops in the UK. After a Tweet by birds rights activist Ruth Peacey, it has withdrawn its nine-shot […]

Nesting season clearfell shock

  Ben O’Rourke On the main street in Harthill is a welcome sign with a picture of a man wearing a helmet, a nod to its history as a coal mining town. About half a mile north there’s a line of wind turbines, which some see as a sign of cleaner, greener times. Shooter and […]

Fieldsports Britain – Andy Crow’s Bubble on the Stubble

  With crops cut and pigeons still piling in to neighbouring standing wheat, Andy Crow calls in help. He sets up for a big day’s shooting with bubbles/hides dotted everywhere and willing helpers in place with slabs of cartridges. We take a close look at those cartridges with the results of our survey. Find out […]

Best shotgun cartridges 2020

  We surveyed you for shooting kit in March 2020 and 3,500 of you told us what you use. We had more than 1,800 responses to our surveys for clay, game and pigeon shotgun cartridges, and here are the results: We asked you to give us a star rating for your favourite cartridge’s killability, its […]

Green Party shame – Fieldsports News, 15 July 2020

    Here are the links: Anti welcomes Charlton death – Fieldsports News RSPB plots largescale shooting sports ban – Infographic PDF  – Summary PDF – Shooting community interviews PDF BASC budgets for future fights against antis – Fieldsports News Dog theft increasing in Ireland – Facebook and local newspaper Lammergeier sighting sparks persecution claims […]

On Test: Barnes Varmint Grenade

  Andrew Venables has cooked up what he reckons is the perfect copper varminting cartridge, using the Barnes Varmint Grenade. He looks at how the Varmint Grenade works and how to get the best from it. Click here for Andrew’s film about the perfect copper deer bullet. For more from Andrew, visit WMSFirearmsTraining.com

Pigeon Harvest Festival

  Andy Crow has cut a couple of crops, so it’s time to set up for a pigeon shooting day on the stubbles. He puts friends and family in hides all over the farm and they end up shooting more than 700 pigeons. Plus he explains why shooting over stubbles is essential pest control under […]

Jack Charlton death ‘good’ says anti

A councillor and former lord mayor of York caused outrage when he welcomed the death of Jack Charlton because of the World Cup winner’s involvement in shooting and angling.   Animal rights activist and Green Party councillor Dave Taylor later apologised for causing offence after he posted controversial comments on Facebook. Leeds United and England […]

BASC moves against Wild Justice ‘legal warfare’

BASC is launching a new legal fighting fund. The account will hold ring-fenced reserves of £1 million+ that will enable the association to push forward with what it calls ‘proactive legal initiatives’ to help secure the future of shooting. In addition, it will enable BASC to launch defences to disruptive legal challenges that could, says […]

Western Australia breaks rules to maintain animal rights purity

Western Australia has sacked a civil servant because he goes hunting. Jewell Crossberg was appointed acting district manager at a WA wildlife agency. After pictures emerged of a hunting trip to Africa Crossberg went on in 2010, local politicians put pressure on the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction, which sacked him. Even though the […]

Fieldsports Britain – Cai’s thermal rabbit hunt

  Rabbits are in trouble. Cai Ap Bryn has a thermal scope that he’s trying out on the range, and then on the bunnies. It’s the Pulsar Thermion, and it is devastatingly effective. Plus crows, rooks and jackdaws are piling in to an orchard in Somerset, and Matt Turley is there to shoot them. We […]

Shoots set to boom – Fieldsports News, 8 July 2020

  Here are the links Loosened lockdown leads to surge in shoot interest – GunsOnPegs Pheasant poult prices hold, despite lockdown – Fieldsports News Gamekeepers enlisted in Cairngorms capercaillie project – Strathspey Herald Spitting sab victim donates compensation to hunt – Countryside Alliance Science sheds new light on heather burning – Moorland Association Prime minister’s […]

Crow shoot: big day over apples

  Matt Turley is back – and this time he is shooting crows, rooks and jackdaws over an orchard. He is protecting the apple crop from the birds with decoys. Plus he and his mate Nigel test steel shot at range to see if it’s as good as lead. Since our last film with Matt […]

Traps, tricks and terror: how animal rights extremists try to take down gamekeepers

  Ben O’Rourke All Darcy Smith wanted was to be a good gamekeeper. After years of dedication and hard work, he ended up at Moscar Estate in northern England’s Peak District. But in early June, 2020, he quit his ‘dream job’. He is one of the latest casualties in the escalating war between the fieldsports […]

On test: Pulsar Thermion lights up the rabbits

Cai Ap Bryn has a rabbit problem. Happily, Thomas Jacks has a new thermal unit that’s refit for shooting rabbits. Cai gives it a go on the range and then takes it out on live rabbits. For the Pulsar Thermion, talk to ThomasJacks.co.uk Click here for all our films with Cai In this film, Cai […]

Best PCP airguns for 2021

It’s the results of our massive airgun questionnaire and thanks to all who took part in to. Our Fieldtester surveys prompted 3,500 reponses, which has given us some of the most comprehensive information about who owns what and what they think of out that the shooting industry has ever seen. 10% of the survey results […]

What’s the outlook for pheasant poult prices?

  Demand for pheasant poults has gone down, supply has gone down, prices have gone up a little: coming out of coronavirus lockdown could be a lot worse, says a top game bird vet. Dr Kenny Nutting BVetMed MRCVS of St David’s Game Bird Services, which has practices across the Midlands and south of England, […]

Mirror starts hate campaign against one of hunting’s national treasures

Legendary British gunmaker Paul Roberts had more than 1,000 hate messages and death threats after the Mirror.co.uk whipped up its readers against him. The online newspaper ran a story about how the 78-year-old enjoys hunting big game overseas. Mirror writer Nada Fahoud has run a series of stories promoting a new ebook by the head […]

Shooting seagulls: how Natural England has got it wrong

Ben O’Rourke It’s a sunny Friday afternoon in the sleepy seaside town of Hunstanton, Norfolk. With the end of the coronavirus lockdown in sight, families are out on the beach, enjoying the loosening of government restrictions. But Gary Baxter is in no mood to celebrate. “Can somebody at Natural England please tell me what is […]

Best shotgun chokes for pigeon shooting, by Andy Crow

  It’s a lovely afternoon’s pigeon shooting. Some birds are close – some are far away. So how does a pigeon shooting expert like Andy Crow choose his chokes? Here is his guide. Using a decent cartridge on decoys, Andy uses quarter chokes in both barrels. He is shooting long birds with that, out to […]

Best hunting binoculars

  It’s our Fieldtester binoculars survey. We sent out the survey during coronavirus lockdown and got more than 3,500 responses. Of these, we had over 600 responses to our binoculars survey. And the results? You certainly spend money on optics. Around half of you own one of the three most expensive brands: Zeiss, Swarovski, or […]

Countryfile’s ‘race hate’ charge against country people – Fieldsports News, 1 July 2020

  Here are the links: BBC Countryfile accuses countryside of racism – Fieldsports News British venison survey from the NGO – click here Media attacks on UK gamekeepers spread – Scottish Mail on Sunday RSPB under fire for Orkney traps practice – Facebook UK government accused of backtracking on badger culls – anti badger cull […]

Stock dove or woodpigeon? Andy Crow’s guide

  Crow is shooting pigeons over a bean crop. His big problem today are the stock doves. Even though they outnumber the woodpigeons ten-to-one, they are protected. So how can you tell what’s a stock dove when it is flying towards you at over 30 miles per hour? Plus what does he do with the […]

Fieldsports Britain – a gentle afternoon shooting pigeons

  It’s Crowman and Camoboy – two pigeon shooting superheroes out in a hide to protect a bean crop from the grey horde. Today, Crow tackles the problem that most of the birds coming in are stock doves, which are protected, so he has to take his shots carefully. Plus we have the results of […]

BBC Countryfile accuses countryside of racism

The BBC has come under fire for suggesting non-whites are not welcome in the countryside. A report on its flagship TV show Countryfile says that blacks, Asians and other minorities don’t feel welcome in rural areas, with some claiming they have experienced open racism. In Sunday night’s programme, explorer-turned reporter Dwayne Fields reacted to recent […]

Animal rights vandals smash Brighton butchers ‘in memory’ of dead Canadian activist

Canadian activist Regan Russell was killed by a truck full of pigs on its way to Fearmans Pork slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ontario on June 19. The 65-year-old was an animal activist for more than 40 years and arrested several times for civil disobedience. She frequently gave the pigs water while the trucks stopped at the […]

Chris Packham and the ‘hen harrier 300’

When Chris Packham criticises grouseshooting, the BBC reports what he says. In the absence of balance, we expose three fibs the anti grouseshooters like to trot out. There should be 300 hen harrier pairs in England This comes from a JNCC report (February 2011 PDF, 1.6mb) that says there should be 2,514–2,653 pairs in the […]

Best shotgun 2020

Got your shotgun licence? Want to buy a shotgun? Baffled by the choice? Here is what the viewers of Fieldsports Channel shoot. We put our Fieldtester survey in front of you in March 2020 while lots of people were twiddling their thumbs in coronavirus lockdown, and 3,500 people got back to us. Our shotguns survey […]

On test: Aimpoint Acro – see more, shoot more

  Sometimes you shoot an animal at a good range and you are pleased with the result. Sometimes, the animal emerges from the bushes just in front of you. And occasionally, both can happen at the same time. Swedish gunsight manufacturer’s her Aimpoint reckons it has found the solution. We head to the the Fieldtester […]

Fieldsports Britain – Bouncing Tyre, Laughing Pilbeam

Tim Pilbeam is learning to shoot sideways. He has the new Acro red dot sight from Aimpoint to play with. It’s a sight you can clamp to your scope so you can still take long-range shots and, when the animals get up close, you can twist your rifle and shoot through your Acro. He shows […]

Wild Justice tries to close down pheasant shooting – Fieldsports News, 24 June 2020

Here are the links: Wild Justice granted judicial review into gamebird releases – Fieldsports News Shooting banned at Britain’s wildfowling ‘birthplace’ – Fieldsports News ‘Golf sabs’ spring up as anti-hunt groups diversify – Fieldsports News Gamekeepers mull political party amid anger about mountain hare protection – Fieldsports News Paul McCartney wants meat taken off school […]

Gun dancing: it’s now a thing, judging by videos from Russia and Australia

Warning: this may offend people with good taste. Russian Instagramer Ekaterina Subbotina has posted video of her ‘dancing’ with her shotgun at a shooting range in Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan.   View this post on Instagram   If you don’t wanna see me dancing with @glotov_94 don’t show up! #perazzihightech A post […]

Meet the ‘golf sabs’: antis hit soft targets during donation drought

Hunt saboteurs are trying to reinvent themselves and widen their support base by going after golf courses. The move coincides with a slump in donations to worthy causes – and sabs – due to coronavirus lockdowns. North Dorset Hunt Sabs issued a call to action on Facebook on 17 June 2020 telling people to spam […]

Wild Justice wins judicial review into gamebird releases on protected sites

Chris Packham’s anti-shooting group Wild Justice is celebrating approval of its request for a judicial review into the release of gamebirds on nature conservation sites. According to a post by Mark Avery on the group’s blog, the court hearing will be held before the end of October. “If we were to be successful then this […]

How to make a crow decoy

Do you have old, out-of-shape pigeon decoys? Do you have anything even vaguely crow-shaped you can use instead? You can use it to make your own crow decoy, says our viewer Tim in Essex. You need a black bin liner and black insulation tape. That’s the hard part. Cover the decoy in the black plastic […]

Scotland’s hare ban madness – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 37

The antis ambushed Scotland’s political process and, in under a week in June 2020, they pushed through a ban on catching or killing mountain hares, likely to come into force after the 2020 season (starts 1 August), which goes ahead as normal. The world of wildlife management has been left reeling. Scottish wildlife manager Niall […]

On Test: Winchester Blindside

Sporting Shooter magazine editor Dom Holtam takes the Winchester Blindside shotshells out for a roadtest on some pesky geese. Andy Crow has been suffering from 150 geese plundering his young crops. But they are wily birds and every cartridge has to count. This item appears in Fieldsports Britain, episode 265 Fcha.nl/fieldsportsbritain265

Scotland bans hare shooting

youtu.be/7MuTQFu37p0 This is also available as a podcast   Animal rights activists have pushed a ban on mountain hare shooting through the Scottish parliament, even though the animal is in pest proportions in some areas. Green MSP Alison Johnstone lodged an amendment to the Animals and Wildlife Bill at Stage 3 requesting that mountain hares […]