Deer gralloch – how to manage mistakes
Deer expert Niall Rowantree shows how to solve deer gralloch problems. His DSC2 student, Dr Cathy Mayne, has just shot a fallow doe and they are gralloching it in the field. 
This is part of our Alien & Natives series, visit Fcha.nl/aliens-and-natives This item is sponsored by Blaser rifles Blaser.de To go […]
Trout – catch and cook
Game chef Cai Ap Bryn is hauling in brown trout and cooking them on an open fire. He is on a hunting trip with his mate Trigger Sondheim in Norway, and the lake below the cabin is full of fish. He shows how to rustle up a feast with trout, lemon, butter and basil. To […]
Fieldsports Britain – how to manage a fallow deer herd
Deer expert Niall Rowantree is known for his red deer, his sika and even his roe. Less well-known is the herd of 100 fallow deer on the ground he manages at Ardnamurchan in the Scottish Highlands. He and ecologist Dr Cathy Mayne go out to stalk two fallow does, as part of his management plan. […]
RSPB slammed over plan to put power station on nature reserve in Northeast England
The RSPB has come under fire again for agreeing to a plan to put a power plant on one of its nature reserves. The Statera Energy natural gas plant will be built on a section of Saltholme reserve near Middlesbrough in Teesside. Local MP for Stockton North Alex Cunningham said he was “personally disgusted” about […]
Royal salmon fishing on the Thurso, Scotland
On the last day of a Macnab challenge all keen fisherman Dom Holtam has to do is catch his first ever salmon on the River Thurso in a single day. With guidance from Head Ghillie, Dougie Reid, plus a chance to fish the exclusive Private beat, a favourite of The Queen Mother and Prince Charles, […]
Most shoots will happen this season, says research
Finally, some good news. Most gameshooting will go ahead. A survey of more than 800 shoot owners, manager and gamekeepers across YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by Fieldsports Channel finds that 61% of pheasant shoots are going to happen, 21% are mothballed and 18% are yet to make up their minds. It’s the crucial time […]
Magpie shooting in Wales under threat – Fieldsports News, 15 April 2020
Here are the links: Wild Justice aims at Welsh general licences – Crowd Justice Shooters back NHS charity raffles: John Rothery, Jack Pyke, The Shooting Diary Qualify as a GWCT ‘shoot operator’ for free – GWCT Poaching incidents in Gloucestershire – Twitter Sell guns on the roadside, says USA – Time New hunting land for […]
How to age and measure Chinese water deer
Deer manager Paul Childerley shoots a lot of Chinese water deer on his ground in Bedfordshire every year, plus he has stalking clients he takes shooting, too. He is an expert on what makes a good CWD trophy – and he explains it all here. Paul is sponsored by: Sako Sako.fi Zeiss Zeiss.com […]
Code of Bad Shooting Practice
There’s a pheasant shooting film out on YouTube that has angered the rest of the UK shooting community. A couple of weeks ago [25 March 2020], a man from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire put up a film that he made about rough-shooting. He and his friends obviously had a lovely day out – but his […]
On Test: steel shotgun cartridges on rabbits
Steel has well-documented benefits and drawbacks for shooting pheasants and pigeons – but how about rabbits. Simon Whitehead tries out steel shotshells on ground game at his home in North Yorkshire to see how they perform, plus he cuts open the rabbits to look at the terminal ballistics of both steel and lead shot. Cartridges […]
Fieldsports Britain – Steel-proof Rabbits
In the big country of North Yorkshire, top rabbit man Simon Whitehead has a rabbit problem. His problem is: what’s the best steel shot to shoot them? All his life, he has used lead shot, but now he wants to look at alternatives. He puts steel cartridges up against lead cartridges to find out. Staying […]
How fieldsports is helping the NHS and carers
Since the coronavirus crisis started, the fieldsports community and farmers have been reaching out to help people with everything from free meat to moral support for the National Health Service. Check out the video below to see what we mean: View this post on Instagram Our farmers x Our NHS #thankyou #heroes #nhs @countryside_alliance_ca @farmersweekly […]
Police charge man with serial poisoning of birds of prey
Police in Dumfries and Galloway say a 64-year-old man has been charged with “a number of wildlife crime offences”. He is believed to be involved in agriculture and not gamekeeping. A post on the constabulary’s Facebook page says the suspect may have killed more than 20 birds of prey and other wild birds in the […]
Germany exempts shooters from lockdown
The German federal government is allowing shooters to break the coronavirus lockdown and carry out wildlife control. According to German interior minister Horst Seehofer, ‘the Federal Government regards exemption of hunters from a general curfew as justified’. A letter to the German Federal Hunting Association, the Deutsche Jagdverband, from civil servant Stephan Mayer sets out […]
Fieldsports Britain – Crow does Argentina
Pigeon expert Andy Crow tries out dove shooting in Argentina. It’s massive. Millions – maybe hundreds of millions of birds throng Cordoba, feasting on crops of maize, sorghum and peanuts. Andy is in a prime position to shoot as many as he can. But how does this measure up to the humble English woodie? Crow […]
Doves vs Woodpigeons – Andy Crow’s in Argentina
Which is best? A big day decoying and shooting British woodpigeons or a monster day roost-shooting Argentinean doves? Andy Crow travels to Cordoba and back to Kent to to find out. Thanks to Jack Pyke for making this happen JackPyke.co.uk To go shooting with with Frontera wing shooting, visit FronteraWingshooting.com
What will happen to the 2020 shooting season in the UK?
To shoot or not to shoot is the dilemma facing a game industry under lockdown. “No one knows whether to go ahead or to cancel,” says James Crowther of Upperwood Estate, talking about uncertainty among shoot organisers. The 2020 shooting season starts with grouseshooting on the Glorious 12th August 2020. Grouse are wild […]
South Somerset Ferreters’ 2019 season
Dramatic footage of ferreting – and fun approach to the sport marks the South Somerset Ferreters’ YouTube channel. You should subscribe on YouTube. In this film, our YouTube member and shareholder Jaf Jefferson reviews the 2019 season, lets us use some of that footage and talks about problems facing the UK’s rabbit population, including myxomatosis […]
Hedgerow food you can pick: pilewort and pennywort
Going for your daily walk? Bushcraft expert Jonny Crockett has a couple of plants you can pick and eat: lesser celandine or pilewort and centella or pennywort. Follow Jonny’s instructions: eat pennywort raw and pilewort cooked Jonny’s website is SurvivalSchool.co.uk
HS2 rolls on – Fieldsports News, 8 April 2020
Packham’s bid to save woodland derailed – Daily Mail and Fcha.nl/hs2 Gamekeepers left out of coronavirus relief – Fieldsports News Rewilders’ tree plans will release greenhouse gases – BBC Top airgun maker launches NHS fundraiser – Just Giving Cops called in after sheep slaughtered – Facebook Farmers can close footpaths – NFUOnline Vegans bully […]
Fear and fantasy: how officials use coronavirus to crack down on fieldsports
At a time when panic-buying could potentially lead to social disorder, the government has decided to target the very people who protect the nation’s supply of meat and crops. In Scotland, the refusal of local lawmakers to include gamekeepers and shooting-related businesses in a financial aid plan appears to have been the tip of an […]
DEFRA asks court to dismiss Wild Justice judicial review
DEFRA has asked a court to refuse Wild Justice’s request for a judicial review seeking to restrict gamebird releases. DEFRA has described the request as “vexatious” and “pointless” and is also asking to be awarded its costs. The government’s move has is being described as extremely positive news by four leading shooting membership organisations. DEFRA’s […]
The British Countryside #athome – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 32
What’s going on in the British countryside during the coronavirus? Charlie finds out. Thanks to: Garry Doolan at BASC BASC.org.uk Gamekeepers Welfare Trust video on Facebook Tim Pilbeam, Rucksack & Rifle Simon Whitehead PakefieldFerrets.co.uk Frederic Hanner at Blaser Blaser.de Jon Bailey at Bailey’s Shooting & Countrywear BaileysShooting.co.uk Rob Fickling, Beyond The Divide BeyondTheDivide.com.au Here’s […]
Fieldsports Britain – Magic of Roe Deer
The roebuck is one of the most attractive deer we look after in the British countryside. As the roebuck season gets underway in the UK – with few of us allowed to go stalking – Niall Rowantree tells the story of the roe deer, its natural history and even its mythology. While most of us […]
Aliens & Natives, with Niall Rowantree
Deer expert Niall Rowantree discusses Scotland’s four deer species, two aliens and two natives, their natural history and how to manage them. Niall starts with the roe deer. What makes the animal so loved by deerstalkers and even wildlife-watchers? He looks at roe deer management and hunting, natural history and even some of the stories […]
How to assess deer fertility
Deer manager Niall Rowantree is in the larder playing wildlife detective. He’s in the middle of assessing the health of the roe doe he’s just shot. She’s thin, has a low fat score, and he hasn’t seen her with young for 2 years. So was her condition too poor to carry young? By looking at […]
‘Send us cash or the baby animal gets it,’ say wildlife charities
Animal charities like to put up images of young wildlife, then demand money to ‘save’ them. But what does ‘save’ actually mean? Ben O’Rourke goes into forensic financials to find out. He talks to Richard Taylor, who knows how to read a balance sheet, and shows the discrepancies between what organisations such as the League […]
How to deep clean your rifle scope
Paul Childerley shows how to wash your scope and keep it in tiptop condition. Paul Childerley is sponsored by Zeiss www.zeiss.com To go hunting with Paul, email paul@childerleysporting.co.uk
How to make a hunting knife
Master knifemaker Alan Johnson talks through the process, including choosing steel, cutting a shape, grinding an edge, making and fitting a handle, and the leatherwork to make a good sheath. He runs Danum Blades in South Yorkshire, the home of British steelmaking, comparable with Solingen in Germany for its knife making heritage. For Danum […]
Hunt sabs ignore coronavirus lockdown – Fieldsports News, 1 April 2020
Here are the links: Hunt sabs warned against breaking lockdown rules – press release Aussie guns and ammo sales ban Cops hunt for destructive moorland bikers – Facebook British Game Alliance in the soup Birds of prey ‘poisoned’ in Derbyshire – newspaper Prince’s red squirrel sanctuary plan hits snag – Daily Mail GWCT slams BBC […]
Speedy fallow stalk and suspended gralloch – Fieldsports Ireland, episode 19
Sometimes, things just go right. Jason is suited and booted, ready for an epic stalk. Just 10 minutes from the car, a shot presents itself, so he takes it. He then chooses to do a suspended gralloch – as he rarely does them – and he needs the practice. He talks us through what he […]
Coronavirus chatshow – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 31
It’s shooting sports in the time of coronavirus. What’s going to happen to the 2020 gameshooting season? Chris Horne from GunsOnPegs and gamekeeper / sporting agent Paul Childerley explain what’s happening to shoots. Niall Rowantree from West Highland Hunting talks about how the Highlands of Scotland are coping. What is the world of shooting […]
Scottish government refuses to help ‘shooting’ businesses
The Scottish government is using the current C19 crisis to force rural businesses from farms and estates to gamedealers out of business. Using coronavirus payouts as cover, the Scottish government under Nicola Sturgeon is trying drive rural businesses involved in shooting into bankruptcy. BASC calls the Scottish government’s decision to exclude deer forests, game larders […]
BBC partridge numbers cock-up
The BBC figures on the numbers of grey partridges are wildly inaccurate. That’s the response from the GWCT to a programme on BBC Radio 4, which claimed “today there are only about 100 grey partridges left in the UK”. The programme Short Cuts on 24 March 2020 tried to monster game shooting by putting the […]
Countryside calendar changes
Coronavirus has changed the shape of spring and summer events. Game fairs are moving dates. The Royal Windsor Horse Show is to ‘go virtual’. Here’s what’s happening: 17 July – 14 August Virtual Hound Show VirtualHoundShow.com Cancelled: 22-23 August Galloway Country Fair is cancelled Cancelled: 28-29 August Northern Shooting Show, North Yorkshire is now not […]
C19 hits shooting sports – Fieldsports News, 25 March 2020
Here are the links: Coronavirus hits shooting – read our story Packham’s pandemic prediction backfires – Facebook Shooterking offers 500 protective suits for free – Shooterking Love Island hunter back in the news – YouTube Gamekeepers put out Peak District heather fire – Facebook Sussex estate reintroduces beavers after centuries of extinction – Sussex […]
Fieldsports Britain – How to survive at home
We’re all in the cooler now. And bushcraft experts Jonny Crockett, Cai Ap Bryn and Sergio Couto show us how to make the best of it. Cai is making a venison bone broth, Jonny picks hedgerow plants to add to it, and Sergio has helped set up a new UK-wide service delivering game meat to […]
Bone broth recipe
Ingredients 1.5kg venison bones 2 large onions 1 whole garlic bulb 4 celery stalks 3 carrots 2-inch piece of ginger 2-inch piece of turmeric 3 litres of water 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
Shooters hand out free meat to NHS workers
Need meat? Shooters can provide. With butchers and supermarkets across the country seeing panic buying, deerstalkers and pigeonshooters are offering free meat to the needy. Using Facebook to bring together both the customers and the providers, Game Relief already has 500 members – and it is growing fast. One of the admins, Sergio Couto, a […]
Fieldsports Britain – Paul’s Sako Strapondeggtomy
What’s a Strapond
tomy? Find out here. It’s Paul Childerley’s test for rifle recoil. Put an egg between the rifle butt and your shoulder. If it breaks, you have a kicker. That’s one of the ways he tries out his new Sako S20 rifle, plus he takes it deerstalking. He got it a month ago […]
Coronavirus and the British gun trade
As coronavirus sweeps the UK, what’s happening to the gun trade? We’ve all seen the scenes in the US of people queueing up outside gun shops, eager to get their hands on weapons, ammo or both, in some sort of “end of times” precursor. In Britain, we’re not quite there… yet. Ben O’Rourke visits gun […]
On Test: Sako S20
Paul Childerley has been using the Sako S20 for a month and has shot more than 80 deer with it. It’s time for him to give his views on how it shoots and whether he likes it. To go stalking with Paul, email paul@childerleysporting.co.uk For the new Sako S20, visit Sako.fi This film […]
Legal battle over gamebird release – Fieldsports News, 18 March 2020
Here are the links: Legal battle over game-bird release – BASC website West of England Game Fair scrapped – Facebook Pandemic ends hunting early – Hunting Office website Northern Shooting Show shift – Northern Shooting Show website Owners warned about dogs attacking New Forest deer – Bournemouth Echo Culls save trees, says forestry chief – […]
Packham pushes grouse back into Parliament – Fieldsports News, 11 March 2020
Here are the links: Parliament to ponder driven grouse ban – again – Wild Justice press release BASC says no game bird deal with supermarket – Facebook Dachshund Maisie sweeps top Crufts prize – Facebook Thieves make off with Paul Childerley’s dog – Facebook Deer gets plastic bag stuck on head – Twitter Otter […]
‘Shot’ peregrine killed by car
When newspapers reported the death of a peregrine, they copied and pasted the press release from animal rights activists. It had been shot, they said. Ben O’Rourke visits Belper in Derbyshire and finds out that it had been run over. It may have had lead shot in it as well, but that could have been […]
Thermal sights: are they sporting?
Cai Ap Bryn and Tim Pilbeam go deerstalking with thermal. They know that it’s amazingly effective – but is it too effective? Join their debate and leave your answer in the comments below. For Pulsar in the UK go to ThomasJacks.co.uk
Smoke, terriers and a fountain of rats
Rats, terriers, children, the elderly – throw them all into a farmyard and the rats won’t survive the encounter. See what happens when we join the Kent & Sussex Ratters. Find the Kent & Sussex Ratters on Facebook Kent & Somerset Ratters terrier portraits
Fieldsports Britain – Ratting Riot
One of the Kings of England named ratting as his favourite sport. It’s easy to see why. We’re out with the Kent & Sussex Ratters as they take apart an old farmyard. It’s a haven for rats, and their dogs work hard to despatch as many as they can. Plus we are deerstalking with […]
‘ZERO consultation’: Gamebore/Lyalvale Express reinforce lead phase out claims
Cartridge maker Lyalvale Express has joined Gamebore in reinforcing their statement a week ago they were told nothing about a planned lead phase-out out declared by shooting organisations on 24th February. Lyalvale Express said it “stands firm on all points” in the statement, that Eley Hawk and Hull Cartridge also signed. Earlier on Friday, Gamebore […]
‘Greyhound’ Facebook group reacts to our Midlands poaching story
Mixed reviews of our video exposing the poaching gangs terrorising farms in the Midlands. Some are revelling in the coverage, while others are complaining about media from the closed Facebook group getting leaked.