It was around half a century in the making. Engraving took 2,915 hours and a decade was devoted to its production. The result is one of the most stunningly original rifles of all time. The ‘First Spear’ double rifle The seeds for the ‘First Spear’ double rifle were sown when…
When to start training a gundog puppy is the million-dollar question. Janet Menzies believes that putting in the groundwork to establish the basics will pay dividends in the field later on
The featured gun this month is a Chapuis Armes Super Orion Artisan C140 sideplate, a fairly recent model from the firm and the sideplated version of the C135 (also an extra-finish gun). Chapuis has been owned by Beretta since 2019 and its guns are distributed here by GMK. The C140…
My house sits in the middle of a farm surrounded by forestry. We love to see the wildlife in our garden but are unable to have flower beds as the muntjac and fallow deer come and help themselves. As we don't want to fence the garden are there plants we…
Q: I live near a shoot, and my garden is inundated with pheasants celebrating the end of the shooting season and enjoying the calm. Every year they arrive and wreak havoc with seeds, vegetables and plants. What am I entitled to do with these marauding pheasants? A: The law says…
This pigeon shooting calendar will help you plan your pest control for the entire year. (Read The Field’s Guide to pigeon shooting here.) When can you go pigeon shooting? Pigeon shooting can be carried out all year round – provided you are shooting within the terms of the General Licence…
The Browning 825 Prestige was well suited to fast driven work
This test gun is a London-made 30in .410 side-by-side sidelock by Smith & Torok. It is made on the Purdey-Beesley self-opening system with a rounded action bar. Maker Alex Torok is one of a team of ex-Purdey men who set up independently in 2013. Sadly, Mike Smith died a few…
This review focuses on the aesthetically modified, version of the well-established and popular Beretta EELL over-and-under. Designated the 687 EELL ‘Classic’, the gun under the spotlight is a 20-bore with 30in, multichoked barrels. It weighs in at 6lb 3oz, so might be classed as a lightweight by modern standards. The…
It is, perhaps, the most disappointing two hours of my life. I am sitting in a cafe in Bedlington, the old Northumberland mining town after which the eponymous Bedlington terrier and scourge of the rat community is named. While the full English is excellent, I am actually waiting for what…
