Shooting Times & Country

Since its launch in 1882, Shooting Times & Country Magazine has been at the forefront of the shooting scene. The magazine is the clear first choice for shooting sportsmen, with editorial covering all disciplines, including gameshooting, rough shooting, pigeon shooting, wildfowling and deer stalking. Additionally the magazine has a strong focus on the training and use of gundogs in the field and, because it is a weekly publication, the magazine keeps readers firmly up-to-date with the latest news in their world.

Follow the science

Red grouse on the decline, while red kites are booming • The newly released 2022 Breeding Birds Survey gives an accurate insight into the UK bird population, with some interesting figures

Wildfire could be UK’s largest

General licence expires

To do this week

Bird flu concerns stay mostly in background • Avian influenza is still present but there seems to be little effect so far on chick and poult prices, though there is not a surplus in availability

Criticism over sentencing of poisoning pensioner

Reinhold beside-by-side himself

NEWS IN BRIEF

Shooting Times & Country

LETTERS

Country Diary • A visit to Finland, where black grouse and capercaillie are plentiful, highlights just how shooting and conservation can go hand in hand

Gamekeeper • Many landowners are once again taking a more regenerative approach to farming, and there are great lessons to be learned from the past

Stalking Diary • The quarry is the only familiar sight and sound during a stalking trip in South America, as a red stag leads the group on a three-day epic

JOTTINGS FOR WILDFOWLERS • A blank fishing excursion is a reminder of other outings that didn’t quite go to plan, including a four-hour round trip to the estuary

Non-lead shot for the small but mighty • They might be lacking clout in the marketplace, says Simon Reinhold, but fans of the 16-bore are a committed group and there is a demand

Racecourse rabbiting • With the crafty coney damaging turf and crops, a change of tactics is needed to keep reducing the local population over the warmer months

The ruffians of the avian world • An impressive pattern of decoys is just the ticket to lure in those wily crows feasting on maize seeds, says Mark Ripley

The true cost of a part-trained puppy • As more owners seek to buy a dog with the basics already in place, Ellena Swift investigates the work that goes in behind the scenes

Of ticks and men • Al Gabriel looks at the correlation between deer and tick numbers in the UK and how we can manage these arachnids

My first deer • For Charlie Blance, two species in one day was enough to push her to pursue a stalking career

Birds in the back garden • There’s nothing as quintessentially English as the woodpigeon, says Graham Lorne, but their behaviour has changed markedly

A taste of what we do • Intrigue often leads to understanding, says Will Pocklington, who finds that food is just the way to get the conversation started

Christensen Arms Ranger .22LR £1,199.99 • The Ranger is an accurate, lightweight and consistent rifle that offers everything you could want from a rimfire, writes Bruce Potts

Serious matters • A simple bird call crystallises the problems of the countryside

Conservation is a three-legged stool • The ‘balance of nature’ isn’t always as it seems, says David Whitby, and predator control must work alongside habitat and food supply

Pulling in the birds • After running out of luck with whirlers and flappers, Blue Zulu goes back to decoying basics and ponders on recycling his claret bottles

Is ‘cocker rage’ real? • New research on the health of cocker spaniels...