Fieldtester looks deeper, so you choose smarter
You are left-handed, so you need a left-handed gun, right? Not necessarily, says Robin Shedden of Cluny Country Guns. Several of the big shotgun manufacturers offer their guns in left-handed versions, but those aren’t always fully left-handed, he explains. The left-handed Berettas and the Blaser F16 are built on right-handed
Everyone loves the little .410 – and why wouldn’t you? The guns are quirky and fun to shoot, and they’re cheap as chips. OK the ammo costs a little more than a 12 bore, but who’s counting when you’re smashing clays or controlling pests with a gun that’s so satisfying
youtu.be/A8DChKhmu58 They are the mid-priced BMW and Audi of shotguns – solid, reliable, good value, and they’ll go on for ever. The Beretta Silver Pigeon and Browning 525 are the biggest selling shotguns in Ian Hodge’s gunshop in the West Country. But which one is right for you? There’s just
youtu.be/Cm-q9ucYsiY You want a stylish, well-made shotgun that handles well and looks good – but you don’t want to spend a fortune. What do you buy? Dan Bibb from Shooting Sports UK recommends you take a look at the Zoli range of over-and-unders. “Zoli isn’t a brand that’s as well
Can you really get a custom-built game gun for off-the-shelf money? Absolutely, says Robbie Shedden of Cluny Country, laying out the Chapuis range on the gunshop counter. This French gunmaker is now part of the Beretta group. It offers side-by-sides and over-and-unders at prices from around £2,500 up to £6,500-£7,000
youtu.be/XvjVgU8vdTA Essex gamekeeper Geoff Garrod has set up a 60-bird clay shoot on his estate, raising money for the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation. He’s shooting with his trusty pigeon gun, the Browning Maxus, and Eley Select cartridges. He’s using the fibre version because his shoot is fibre wad only, to avoid
youtu.be/gA8sD_e6DFw Like irregulars in a war film there are gangs of different shooters who rely on semi-automatic shotguns. Wildfowlers love them, gamekeepers, pigeon and crow shooters need them, some clayshooters swear by them (and occasionally at them). Semi-autos have a lot going for them. They handle and point well, and
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OdYvNLjJ1o The Browning 525 has been around for years; it’s built a great reputation for having a solid, reliable action, and remains popular despite the introduction of more recent Browning models such as the 725 and Cynergy. The proven 525 action remains unchanged, but Browning regularly update the offering with
youtu.be/Ri24ThwPbDo The Rizzini Venus Sporting is a gun designed specifically for the female shooter. All too often ladies start shooting with a borrowed gun that was made for a male shooter. It probably doesn’t fit them properly, so it’s uncomfortable and hinders their shooting. “There’s no reason why a lady
youtu.be/VkPLBvGxBgY The BR460 EL Sporter is a serious claybusting gun, but also exquisitely made, with woodwork and engraving that lifts it above the run-of-the-mill competition shotguns. The EL in the name stands for Extra Lusso, which translates as ‘extra luxury’. “It has a beautiful piece of wood and very nice
youtu.be/BIZPLf4S2ZI How damaging is steel to a new shotgun barrel? We put 10,000 steel shells (Eley-Hawk Eco Wad) through a Yildiz Steel Sporter 12-bore at Orston Shooting Ground, then ask a gunsmith to check out the barrels afterwards. Visit Yildiz UK importer Raytrade here Click here for the Eley Eco
youtu.be/zo6NqxrAQmQ Mark from Rowland Watson Gunmakers says he’s been using steel shot in his own English gun, built in 1903, for many years with no ill effects at all. If you want to do the same, just follow his simple advice. “Take it to a competent gunsmith who can check
The Browning Maxus semi-auto has become a firmly established favourite, particularly with pigeon shooters, wildfowlers and gamekeepers. It handles well, shoots smoothly, and cycles reliably with just about any cartridge. Now in 2021 Browning have launched a new improved model, the Maxus II, claimed to be the softest shooting semi-auto
youtu.be/NqZ1DH6Ymi8 Italian gunmaker Breda has made some cracking semi-autos over the past 100 years or so. More recently they’ve turned their skills to making over-and-unders – and the Zenith is going down well with clay and game shooters alike. This one is the game model, the Zenith L. It’s steel
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQAZzp1AjiM The Mossberg Model 500 pump-action .410 needs little introduction, at least to British gamekeepers and pest controllers. For them it’s an invaluable working tool, especially when fitted with the Hushpower moderator, which cuts the sound of the little .410 cartridge down to a mere pop. “This gun is just
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o8iPrTORkk For years serious clay shooters have chosen between the two Bs, Beretta and Browning. Now there’s a third B to consider: Breda – and their Zenith Sporter is certainly attracting attention. The Zenith Sporter is a brand new design from this Italian manufacturer which has been making guns for
One glance at the Breda 930i will tell you it’s a top of the range semi-automatic shotgun made for competition clay shooting. Its distinctive looks set it apart from other guns on the market, with its stylish Italian lines, polished receiver and blue or red anodised parts including the trigger
So you’ve got £5,000 to spend on a new shotgun – lucky you! What are you going to choose? Obviously you’ll want your new gun to be future proofed, so it’ll need to be proofed for steel shot. An over-and-under is the most popular choice, for good reason. But that
Semi-auto shotguns have a lot going for them. They offer great value, along with smooth shooting and minimal recoil. A semi-auto is great for wildfowling or in a pigeon hide, but they’re also popular with rough shooters and gamekeepers – and they’re favoured by a good few clay shooters too.
It’s a surprisingly common problem for shotgun shooters. They look down the barrels and see wear and pitting, and assume they have worn the barrels out with the number of shots they’ve fired. Maybe they even blame steel shot for causing the wear. But they’re wrong. Matt Simpson, of Simpson
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,
You can spend £10,000-plus on a competition sporting over-and-under shotgun, but for a fraction of that price Yildiz offer its value Pro Black, offering all the basic sporting features. “The range starts at £1,349 for a grade 3 non-adjustable model, with the adjustable version selling at £1,899,” explains Richard
You don’t need to spend a fortune these days on a gun that will look the part and do a great job on clays, rough or game shooting. There are some excellent guns available for under £1,000 – and this stunning over-and-under Webley & Scott 912 is a great
The latest variation of the Yildiz SPZ ME is the Steel Sporter Black, which retails at under £1,000. “This is very much the SPZ ME but with a steel action,” says Richard Ryan from Raytrade. “Benefits? it will take some very heavy punishment. Anyone looking to cope with a
Once or twice in your shooting life, you will have a shotgun cartridge that’s the right bore/gauge, but it won’t fit in the gun you are using. The cartridge is too long. More often in your shooting life, you will have a shotgun cartridge that will fit in the
Do you want to buy Princess Diana’s shotgun? It’s a good quality .410 by Curry of Birmingham and it is up for auction on 8 December 2020. Her family won’t confirm that she used this gun, but the evidence points that way. Boys and girls usually start shooting with a
Paul Childerley puts the Rizzini Regal Deluxe shotgun through its paces on a driven pheasant shoot at the Mountgarret Shoot in North Yorkshire. Rizzini shotguns suit the birds, which are flying well, and Frank Boddy of Ripley Sporting puts on a lovely, relaxed day. Click here for Rizzini’s UK
Lightweight but strong and steel-proofed sums up the SPZ ME range by Turkish gunmaker Yildiz. The SPZ ME range of Yildiz shotgun has a growing following among British shooters. In Fieldsports Channel’s research, viewer Paul from the UK rates his SPZ ME five stars for looks, reliability and value
Rob Dunlea-Jones from Edgar Brothers shows us his customised XL-Evo Shotgun from Italian gunmaker Zoli. A lefty, Rob had his stock fitted for him in Italy, so it looks different to other models. But it’s got the same focus on balance. As well as owning his own XL-Evo, Rob’s
With more and more game shooters in the UK moving from their old non-steel-proof shotguns to modern steel-proof guns, what’s the best over-and-under shotgun for the money and is it proofed for shooting steel shot? Gunshop owner Ian Hodge of Ian Hodge Fieldsports talks through his bestsellers. The
What clay guns do Fieldsports Channel viewers use? There is one clear winner, one runner-up, and viewers vote up several of the smaller shotgun makes for fit, looks, customer service and value for money. First up: 87% of you who shoot clays shoot the sporting disciplines, 22% of you
You want to get a fair price for your gun or sell guns? If you’re thinking of selling your guns, how can you find out how accurate used gun values are? Gunshop owner Dan Pool from Braces of Bristol answers the question, ‘How to value my shotgun’ and explains what
Which semi-autos do the Fieldsports Channel audience prefer? We sent out surveys in March 2020 and more than 3,500 of you filled out the questionnaires (it’s as if you had nothing better to do). Of those nearly 500 semi-auto owners responded. The most popular semi-auto among our viewers is,
Thinking of getting started in clayshooting? Or simply want a cheap, knockabout shotgun? Paul Hodson from Staffordshire gunshop Shooting Sports UK gives his opinion on the best shotgun for under £500. For more from Shooting Sports UK, visit ShootingSportsUK.co.uk
What happens when a gun can’t take the cartridge you put into it? Marcus Simpson from Cambridgeshire gunshop Simpson Brothers shows off a hammergun that exploded, alongside other gun horror stories which include; a Browning with mud in its barrel, homeloading mistakes and scope mountings made from plywood. Looking
Browning calls its B525 series its ‘DNA’. Perhaps ‘favourite grandchild’ is more accurate. If you want to unlock that DNA, looks first at the B525’s locking system. There is a wide, flat bolt, under the chamber. There are two wide surfaces on the back of the hooks, which contact
The automotive industry has moved from ‘any colour as long as it’s black’ to any colour. At the same speed and over the same timescale, the gunmaking industry has moved from ‘it goes bang’ to ‘what do you want to shoot?’ When a gunmaker launches a new mass-market shotgun,
Which do you buy? World Champion Amy Easeman uses a B725 (Sporter Black Edition) for all her clayshooting and pheasant shooting. World Champion Sam Green uses a B525 (Ultra XS Pro) for all his clay and game shooting. Both guns clearly work. The B525 is the classic ‘school gun’
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
by Charlie Jacoby A post on the Lamping Foxes Facebook group got me thinking. It read: ‘My son turned 11 today, and as a dad I made a promise that when he reaches 11 we will get a o/u .410. So if anyone has any tips on what to get
Here is an exclusive first look at Browning’s new Liberty Light in action. The Oxford and Cambridge University teams try it out at Varsity clay shoot at the EJ Churchill clay ground in Buckinghamshire. Plus Richard Wilson of the Cambridge University Clay Pigeon Shooting Club explains Browning’s connection with the
Top clay shot Josh Bridges tries out the new Browning B15 ‘Beauchamp’ on the Bolton Hall shoot in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley. The 2016 World Junior Compak Champion usually uses a Browning 725 Pro Trap for both his competition and game shooting, so this is an unusual departure for him as
We are at the Browning UK press launch this week to learn about how it plans to take the world of trapshooting by storm. Browning has launched the Browning B725 Pro Trap range, including a high rib. There are also guns to suit every taste, including great quality wood on
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