Browning B525 – what goes into it?
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 bottom of the receiver. […]
Browning B725 – review
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, it has to cover all […]
Browning B725 vs B525 – review
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’ you will be lent at […]
All you need to know about riflescopes
All you need to know about riflescopes youtu.be/YgcwiZ-mvco Can you buy a decent riflescope for under a grand in 2022? Absolutely says Dan Bibb of Shooting Sports UK – and he pulls three examples off the shelf to prove his point. Each one offers terrific optical performance and will almost certainly outlive your rifle if […]
Corvid Patrol
Fieldsports Nation member Alex Sorisi so liked the look of Matt Turley’s crow shooting set-up, he asked if he and his sister would have a go. We asked Matt to move him to the top of the queue and off went Alex, armed with a camera. These are the results.
On Test: Aimpoint Acro + roebuck stalking
You have a buck in your scope at 200 yards, and you call it in to 50 metres. It’s time for the Aimpoint Acro to swing into action. The new sight from Aimpoint sits on the side of your scope, ready for you to take a snap, action shot. Roy Lupton tries it out […]
Fieldsports Britain – Short-Range Buck Shooting
Here’s how to call in bucks and shoot them at close-range. Roy Lupton uses his expert calling skills to bring roebucks from 100s of yards to a few metres, so he can swap between his riflescope and an Aimpoint Acro gunsight, mounted on the side of his scope. Plus Fieldsports Nation member Alex Sorisi […]
How grousemoors prevent flooding
News editor Ben O’Rourke talks to grouse moor owners about how they are reversing the post-war drainage of the UK’s moorland. He shows that Wild Justice’s claims grouse shooting causes floods is fake news. You can read more about James Mawle and his moorland management in the GWCT’s publication, Moorland Conservationists. Download it for […]
Local newspaper failure over gun figures – Fieldsports News, 29 July 2020
Here are the links Legal gun ownership under fire from fear-mongering UK media – Fieldsports News Deer ‘escape’ from Green Tory Goldsmith farm – Daily Mail Dead sea eagle was poisoned, say police – The Scotsman RSPB faces complaints – Courier and The Times Red squirrels rising in northern England – Fieldsports News […]
How to Deal With Antis
What do you do when confronted by a sab in a black balaclava when you are out shooting? Hosted by Charlie Jacoby, a panel of experts discusses how to deal with antis on your shoot, both on shoot days and visiting in the night, plus how the way you deal with them will help […]
On test: Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 thermal spotter
Rabbit shooting just got easier, as Andy Crow finds out. The Pulsar Helion 2 makes nighttime ‘like daylight’ says Mrs Crow, so when Andy is out shooting, he can see just how bad his rabbit problem is. Click here for the Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 at Thomas Jacks
Fieldsports Britain – Crow lights up the rabbits
When it comes to wildlife numbers you can trust the bloke whose job is to manage it… or can you? Andy Crow gets his hands on the Pulsar Helion 2 thermal spotter and it’s a revelation. He can see the rabbits that other night vision won’t let him see. And now he’s worried. He […]
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 […]
