Gamekeeping

The RSPB – Britain’s new gamekeeper?

October 23, 2019

The RSPB wants to get a job as the nation’s gamekeeper. It looks like it…

Antis Fieldsports News Gamekeeping

Animal Liberation Front kills thousands of pheasants

July 24, 2019

Last week, activists hit a small family game farm in Kent. They struck in the middle…

Blaser Deerstalking Gamekeeping Leica Niall Rowantree Recent short films Rifles

Summer deer management – A Year in the Life of Highland Sport part 2

May 22, 2019

For around three months of the year, red deer are off the shooting menu. Well, that…

Benelli Enforcer Decoys Gamebore Gamekeeping GMK Jack Pyke Jason Doyle Pheasants and partridges Recent short films Shotguns

Irish keeper’s day

March 30, 2019

Jason Doyle and his girlfriend Carly join the Shelton Abbey Shoot in Co Wicklow for the…

Barnes Bullets Gamekeeping Marsdens Feeds Paul Childerley Recent short films Remington Shooterking Squirrel hunting

Grey squirrel shooting tactics

March 27, 2019

Paul Childerley is after squirrels. They are chewing up the water pipes in his pheasant pens,…

Deerstalking Gamekeeping Tim Pilbeam

Life with Lyme disease

February 20, 2019

Lyme disease leaves you at your wits’ end. For deerstalker Tim Pilbeam, who has been living…

Barnes Bullets Gamekeeping Harkila Marsdens Feeds Paul Childerley Remington

The game cart – Modern Gamekeeper #6

January 30, 2019

Out shooting driven partridges and pheasants? Gamekeeper Paul Childerley explains the importance of presenting birds, and…

Barnes Bullets Gamekeeping Marsdens Feeds Paul Childerley Remington Shooterking

Keeping Your Pheasants Under Control – Modern Gamekeeper #5

September 26, 2018

Paul Childerley shows what it takes to be a modern gamekeeper. He is working on his…

Barnes Bullets Gamekeeping Marsdens Feeds Paul Childerley Remington Shooterking

The partridges arrive – Modern Gamekeeper #4

September 19, 2018

It is early September and gamekeeper Paul Childerley will be shooting in a few weeks time.…

Barnes Bullets Gamekeeping Paul Childerley Pulsar Remington Shooterking

How to introduce pheasant poults to a shoot – Modern Gamekeeper #3

August 1, 2018

It’s started. Gamekeeper Paul Childerley has taken delivery of his pheasants on the shoot in Bedfordshire.…

Crows and magpies Gamekeeping Marsdens Feeds Paul Childerley Remington Shooterking Shotguns

Crow shoot

June 13, 2018

Paul Childerley becomes ‘The Childernator’. The working gamekeeper is protecting his cover crops from corvids and…

Barnes Bullets Gamekeeping Marsdens Feeds Paul Childerley Remington Shooterking

Marsdens Feeds factory film

June 6, 2018

Here’s what to feed your pheasants. We go behind the scenes at Mardens Feeds to find…

Gamekeeping Harkila Pheasants and partridges Skinners

The Beating Line: What’s It All About?

November 29, 2017

We are out with three generations of beaters from the same family: Jack, Richard and Peter…

Foxes Gamekeeping Lamping and night vision Rifles

High-fiving foxshooters

October 18, 2017

Two shooters from Somerset are on fox patrol around a shoot when they come across a…

Gamekeeping Minox On Test Rifles Sauer Tim Pilbeam

On Test: Sauer Keeper Package

August 2, 2017

With foxes on the prowl for pheasant poults, it’s time for keepers to get out the…

Andy Crow Gamekeeping Pheasants and partridges

Best British Driven Bird Shooting

January 6, 2016

Andy Crow faces some of the most challenging partridge and duck shooting he has ever seen…

Browning Gamekeeping Rifles

Gamekeepers’ rifle day

July 29, 2015

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation gets its Midlands members on to a hillside in Derbyshire to try…

Foxes Gamekeeping George Digweed

Tidying up around the Shoot

July 25, 2015

George Digweed is a busy man. He has just won his 25th world title in a…

Gamekeeping Home

July 8, 2013

Gamekeeping

Fox plays with terrier – funny animal film

May 1, 2013

We’ve got a gamekeeper who’s a bit of an old softie. Although he has ‘dealt with’…

Dom Holtam Gamekeeping

Polaris RZR quadbike review

May 17, 2010

Is this the ultimate gamekeeper transport? Sporting Shooter editor Dom Holtam takes the Polaris range for…

Gamekeeping Pheasants and partridges

Pheasant shooting in Kent

December 7, 2009

The proof of the pudding is in the eating or, in this case, the shooting. Canal…

Gamekeeping Pheasants and partridges

Pheasant shooting at Plumpton College in Sussex

November 5, 2009

We join gamekeeping students at Plumpton College in Sussex on their shoot day. This film first…

Foxes Gamekeeping Rifles

Foxing in Devon

October 13, 2009

With the pheasant opening day around the corner, gamekeepers are out after foxes and Sporting Rifle…

Gamekeeping Pheasants and partridges

White pheasants

October 13, 2009

Canal Game Farm is producing them for estates all over the country – the white pheasant…

Gamekeeping Pheasants and partridges

English grey partridge conservation

October 13, 2009

Canal Game Farm is delivering English greys partridges at the start of the partridge shooting season…

Big game Gamekeeping Home Hunting with hounds Pheasants and partridges

Shooting Politics, episode 1, 19th August 2009

August 19, 2009

Panellists on the new countrysports webTV debate programme Shooting Politics lay into the RSPB for its…

New launch: Merkel K5 break-barrel rifle

December 5, 2019 1:00 am

by Charlie Jacoby Generally, I like the sleek, new single-shot break-barrel rifle from Merkel. The company lent it to me for a week of red hind stalking in Argyllshire (my film is at the bottom of this review). It is designed as a ‘mountain’ rifle: lightweight and with the break-barrel rifle’s reputation for greater accuracy than the bolt-action. It is Merkel’s go at matching the Blaser K95. I prefer the K95 (disclosure: Blaser sponsors films on Fieldsports Channel, Merkel does not). The K5 grew out of the K120, the rifle Merkel produced for its 120th anniversary. Compared the the K3 and the K4, the stock shape makes it look prettier. Here is Sebastian von Stauffenberg from Merkel to talk through the rifle: It is a hogback stock with a Bavarian cheek piece. The stock has a double fold. This is both goodlooking (as Sebastian says in his film) and an important consideration. You are probably going to put a scope on it. Check this stock shape works for you and your chosen scope. The stock on this rifle is in wood and has ebony finishes, which gives it a sense of contrast. Merkel has now changed the ebony to palisander wood for the finishes on the fore-end, pistol grip and the release. The trigger system is adjustable longways and sideways. It is also wider than usual Merkel triggers, which I like. Merkel has developed a silent new handcocking system for this rifle. Decocking is simple and easy and is more secure than a simple safety-catch. The gun simply can’t fired with cocking it. It has a jaeger tilted block breech which locks steel on steel. One feature is that the block is removable. You simply take off the fore-end, take out the barrel, you push back the breech, click a …
Swarovski Z8i

November 23, 2019 6:00 pm

by Charlie Jacoby This is one of the big three: the Z8i is the scope to have if you don’t want the Zeiss V8 or the Leica Magnus. With an 8x magnification, this scope takes your target from 1.7x to 13.3x. It is aimed at both short range driven hunting scope and for long ranges around 400m. Lightweight, it has a ballistic turret with a personalised ring. You take the ballistics of your bullet – the calibre, muzzle velocity and ballistic coefficient (all of these available on your box of ammo plus you can check them yourself on a range) – feed this info into the Swarovski website, pay your money, and a week later a special ring turns up for your ballistic turret in yards or metres that you can click to match the range of your target. So your zero is spot on at 100m, you rangefind your deer at 300m, you click the turret round to 300m, and the scope will hold the zero. The luminous dot is pre-set in two positions for day and night. You can dim it or increased in brightness via pushbuttons on the scope. Here is Michael Ott from manufacturer Swarovski to explain the scope: Want to see the Swarovski Z8i in action? We take it on a hind cull in Scotland: Thinking of buying a £2000+ riflescope? Have a look at our price and capability comparison here:
Swarovski EL and ELO Range binoculars

November 23, 2019 5:58 pm

by Charlie Jacoby Swarovski EL and ELO Range binoculars are designed to combine Swarovski quality with a range finding capability. They come in the standard deerstalking sizes of 8×42 and 10×42 and include an easy-to-use rangefinder. Simply point them at your target, click the button on top of the binos, release, after a couple of seconds, you get the range in metres. The ELO – the ‘O’ stands for ‘orange’ – are that colour so if you put them down on the hill you will easily be able to find them again. Here is Michael Ott from manufacturer Swarovski to explain them: Buy it on Amazon: Want to see these Swarovski binos in action? We take them on a hind cull in Scotland:
Swarovski modular ATX spotting scope

November 23, 2019 5:53 pm

by Charlie Jacoby For the big game hunter who likes to see their distant game up close, this is the Swarovski spotting scope to choose. Zoom is from 30x to 70x. This one has the 95mm objective lens. Modular means you can take the headpiece off and replace it. As you would expect from Swaro, the light transmission is outstanding. The resolution you get out of it is terrific, not only for spotting when I go hunting but also to take pictures. Swarovski sells a special adaptor for your phone that attaches it to the scope. Here is Michael Ott from manufacturer Swarovski to explain them: Buy it on Amazon:
Merkel HLX suppressor

November 23, 2019 3:04 pm

Merkel has gone into partnership with military moderator manufacturer B&T to make a moderator for the hunting market. 200mm long, it has steel baffles, which allows up to 30 consecutive shots without waiting for it to cool. It fits on every barrel with a M15x1 muzzle thread. Merkel claims its moderators reduce sound by more than 30dB. For cleaning, just soak the moderator in soapy water, rinse it out and dry it with a compressor (if you have one) or leave for 24 hours on a warm radiator. Here’s what Merkel says. Want to see the Merkel HLX in action? We take it on a hind cull in Scotland: