Keeping the pressure on

Mat Manning shares his box of tips and tricks for keeping destructive grey squirrels in check during those challenging summer months

Cold game: a hot topic

Using dead game for training and competitions is bad PR for the sport, says David Tomlinson, who’s pleased it’s falling out of favour

Lunch like a Victorian

Tim Maddams asks if our great-grandparents would recognise the game dishes of today and investigates what we can learn from the past

Chasing ghosts among the trees

Charles Hartley is finally given the permission he seeks and gets the chance to stalk an apparition haunting the woodland close to home

The future of the coney in Great Britain

Adam Hart explores the shifting fortunes of our most recognisable mammal and asks what the countryside would be without them

For whatever the weather

With technical fabrics constantly evolving, Graham Downing puts four jackets to the test to find out if any of them tick all boxes

When onservation is a fine art

A muntjac stalk through Constable Country is a stark reminder that we are all just stewards of an ever-changing landscape

Is rough shooting a dying art?

There's a certain skill to a walkabout through a bog that you just can't learn while standing on a peg, says Jamie Tusting

JOTTINGS FOR WILDFOWLERS

Lots of us have different guns for differents occasions, a gun for geese on the mud and a gun for duck flighting, but is best to stick with one?

Stalking Diary

An impressive stag taken during the 2022 rut leads to some interesting thoughts and conversations about not being too hasty with culling

Gamekeeper

Foxing gives ample opportunity to keep an eye on wildlife at large, and an experiment with jackdaws produces some interesting results

Country Diary

Spring is in full swing, and it’s a good time to contemplate the state of the natural world just before the turn of the season is upon us all

'Catastrophic decline' in foxes following ban

More than 100 vets are calling for a scientific review to address the current situation, as fox populations continue to fall across the UK

Is farming to blame for Europe-wide bird decline?

There are 550 million fewer birds on the continent than there were 40 years ago, with research suggesting that agriculture is the main culprit

Serious matters

Why has Britain’s humble coney seemingly disappeared from our countryside?

Game Cookery

Offal can often be tricky to use up, so Tim Maddams shares a recipe for miso pheasant hearts that can be ready as a snack in just 45 minutes

The new recruits

A meeting to open up the organisation to new candidates leaves some handlers disappointed, but three hopefuls progress to the next stage

It's not such a 'lousy' nut after all

The perennial pignut is a culinary delight, says John Wright, although acquiring one can be a rather tedious task in truth

How the keeper's kennel has evolved

Man’s best friend has always been at our side over the years, but Lindsay Waddell investigates how breeding priorities have changed

When it's time to say goodbye

It’s never an easy decision to make, but there’s peace to be had in remembering the good times, says Solider Palmer

One handler, one dog?

Professionals may well raise trialling standards, but David Tomlinson asks if it is fairer for handlers to be restricted to one dog per person

Be careful what you wish for

Simon Whitehead looks at the nature of ferrets and worries that we might be breeding out their hunting instinct

Waging war on these parasites

In the first of a two-parter, Al Gabriel investigates the rise in our tick population and the risks they carry

Online dating, but with a difference

The internet is a hugely powerful tool, not only for meeting folk across the world but also for promoting our sport, writes Guy Maddocks

Conserving an iconic indigenous species

Nathan Little takes on the heat and mountainous terrain of Mallorca as he learns the story of the Balearean boc and a new hunting culture

Boots for big adventurers

A high lace-up boot is just the ticket for crossing country while shooting says Richard Negus, who rounds up four of the best on the market

We need to look at the bigger picture

Game shooting is under close scrutiny, so it’s vital that management decisions consider the broader environment, writes Mike Swan

Dropping in for some spring sport

The weather doesn’t dampen any spirits — or the action — as a last-minute visit results in a successful woodland stalk for roebuck and muntjac in the gloom

British Deer Society launches birth survey

The society hopes the research will highlight how deer are reacting to changes in their environment and if birth dates are being affected

Shooting community hails King Charles III in Harrogate

A gun salute celebrates the coronation in style, while there are big plans to grow the Northern Shooting Show for next year’s event