For some certificate holders applying for a renewal, it seems to come as an unpleasant surprise that doctors want payment for conducting the requisite scan of medical records on behalf…
Alasdair Mitchell
When you don’t do social media
A friend of mine had difficulty when she applied for a store card, because she didn’t exist. Or at least, that’s what the credit rating agency seemed to think. She’s…
Fabricated allegations of violence, aggressive behaviour or poor gun security
You hear a lot of stories about gun owners being dropped into the ordure by a disgruntled ex, who then contacts the police and makes fabricated allegations of violence, aggressive…
No man plants an oak for himself
You’d think rewilding would be pretty simple, wouldn’t you? Just leave some land alone for long enough and it will revert to scrub and woodland. In practice, self-sown saplings tend…
Should Nelson the seal have been shot in the first place?
The story of the seal that installed itself at a small coarse fishery in Essex is a parable of our times. Nobody knows how the seal got to the five-acre…
Livestock units are all very well but what about human impact units?
The concept of a piece of land’s carrying capacity for livestock or wildlife is long established. Parts of my farm are subject to stocking rates laid down by Natural England.…
If the country’s largest police force cannot vet its own firearms officers properly, how can the shooting community trust the police to vet us?
Every so often, a political commentator will bewail the way certain institutions — the Army, judiciary, church or whatever — fail to reflect the composition of society at large. Traditionally,…
Why do some countryside activities get approval when shooting doesn’t?
The British countryside is a crowded place. All sorts of outdoor interests jostle for priority. But some countryside activities are more likely to bask in the warm glow of official…
Are gamedealers the unsung heroes of the shooting community?
As you splutter over your cocoa, let me tell you about a professional deer manager I used to know some years ago. He was always complaining about his gamedealer. This…
Riflescopes and kit envy
I recently felt the need to get a new riflescope. The definition of ‘need’ is, of course, subjective. But you know what I mean. In the midst of a cost-of-living…
Insects feel pain too
For years, fishing enthusiasts claimed that fish don’t feel pain. This has since been shown to be an over-simplification. The fact that fish can feel some sort of pain doesn’t…
Culling deer: what is the best way to dispose of them?
Some years ago, legislators in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg had a debate about exploding cows. Local farmers had been using small charges of dynamite to break up the carcasses…
Installing an intruder alarm to secure your guns: is it worthwhile?
I have one of those smart doorbells, recording the area inside the back door, where we feed the cat. We tend to leave dry food out and the mog comes…
Hoods or hats for stalking?
In the world of hunting apparel, the hood is everywhere, usurping the good old hat from its rightful position. I don’t mean to sound rabidly anti-hood; I cherish an ancient…
What happened on the day I shot a white pheasant
I treasure my annual invitation from my brother-in-law for a day’s driven pheasants at Hopetoun, an exceptional shoot a few miles west of Edinburgh. Last year, I managed to down…
Well done Tony Juniper, for challenging more public access
There were rumbles of discontent among the access lobby recently when Tony Juniper, the pragmatic chair of Natural England, declined to support calls for yet more public rights of access…
Whether we like it or not, the future is likely to be largely lead-free at some point
During the battle to save hunting with hounds, some hunters alienated chunks of the shooting community by claiming that shooting was a less humane method of fox control. They even…
Firearms licensing: why do police forces focus on the gun calibre rather than the gun owner?
Some years ago, a firearms certificate holder complained that the police had allowed him a pistol for the humane despatch of sick or injured livestock, but insisted that the magazine…
Barbed wire blight
I hate fences. They are unsightly, inconvenient and potentially dangerous to man and beast alike. Unfortunately, they are also necessary for the management of livestock. In order to keep sheep…
Something needs to change in our firearms licensing system
Any journalist knows it is easy to ask a good question, but much harder to provide a good answer. Yet part of the process of solving a problem is recognising…