I looked back through the haphazard filing system on my PC, searching for the first article I penned for Shooting Times on the subject of non-toxic shot and biodegradable wads.…
Richard Negus
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The future of our sport laid bare
You would be forgiven, if you had just witnessed the huge crowds over the three days of the Game Fair, all beaming smiles and bearing bags stuffed with sporting goodies,…
News this week: Land access could cause problems for ecosystems plus concerns about rising costs for clay shooting businesses
Problems for ecosystems Richard Negus reports: Wildlife could suffer under a proposed new countryside access act, leading conservationists warn. News that a future Labour government would legislate for a “default…
Firearms licensing changes plus Defra’s Sustainable Farming Incentive
Firearms licensing changes The shooting community breathed a massive sigh of relief last week, as the long-awaited announcement on proposed changes to shotgun licensing laws was released with an eight-week…
Is rough shooting about to get a boost?
When the UK voted to leave the EU on 23 June 2016, the winds of change in the British countryside shifted from strong to gale force. The majority of UK…
Using livestock for conservation
If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise. Well, you are if the woods belong to Matt Chatfield, because his are full of sheep.…
Shooting boots: four of the best
Big boots are still of great importance to us shooting types. Our sport takes us off-piste, into the realms of knee-high heather and peat hags, marshy bog or impenetrable scrub.…
King of the countryside
Despite some 30 seasons passing, I remember the day with crystal clarity. Hounds met at Lowesby, the grassy heart of the Quorn Friday country. The bitch pack looked their usual…
RSPB CEO Beccy Speight interview on shooting and conservation
My vehicle’s windscreen once sported three car stickers. Beneath a Game Conservancy partridge and a Back British Farming tractor, an avocet in a white roundel delved into the letters R,…
The challenges of creating a sustainable population of grey partridges
In less you are one of those lofty types for whom an invitation to shoot at Sandringham, Arundel or Hilborough is the norm, most of us have little need to…
Every shooter should try duck flighting
Ducks are the wallflowers of the bird world. I have met plenty of ornithologists who will write entire books dedicated to the glories of willow tits, hen harriers or curlew…
Lightweight shooting sticks reviewed
High seats, while a vital tool making for safe, scent-free, silent shooting, are by their very nature static and bulky. This is of no consequence when shooting deer on rides…
The role of the wild-bird keeper in rewilding
As I lay hedges, my mind is prone to wander into flights of fancy. I had a daydream recently as I was wrestling with the spiky matter of a blackthorn.…
Details of long-awaited land plans welcomed
Defra has finally released full details, including actions, payment rates and timescales, of its ambitious new Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs). This wide-ranging programme of financial support for farmers and…
Is the future looking up for England’s grey partridges?
Despite avian influenza causing devastating declines in some UK native and migratory bird species, some shoots have reported that the 2022-23 season may have been successful overall for the grey…
When pheasants won’t show over Guns as they should
The little dog turned to me, ears cocked, awaiting my command to ‘hunt on’. We had scrub to blank-in and an hour in which to do it before the Guns…
How to make your own duck call
Three mallard appeared in the grey skies inland from Breydon. They flew straight, every second becoming larger. I picked up my gun and peered through the reeds until my eyes…
Woodland squirrel control
Few would deny that ambushing squirrels on a peanut feeder is the best tactic for controlling the grey pests. But let’s be honest, it’s often a test of patience rather…
Bird flu – what shoots can do to help
I had a meeting a fortnight ago with one of my farming customers. We had presented him with his hedgerow management plan, as some 53km was set to come under…
Wildfowling cartridges for ducks and geese on test
Investigating cartridges for ducks and geese Now my Hatsan Escort is consigned to pest control duties, a Zabala Hermanos 3 ½in magnum has filled its place as my coastal gun.…