Fieldsports magazine... for game shooting & fishing field sports enthusiasts the essential quarterly magazine. Fans of field sports such as shooting and fishing will love it. Field sports for all.
Leading field sports artists, known for shooting and fishing pictures, featuring shooting and fishing scenes, are featured. Along with the best shoots and fishings and the great sporting estates where field sports abound.
Field sports fans love eating the fruits of shooting and fishing adventures, so game cookery is big in Fieldsports magazine. And Fieldsports also features top restaurants which offer pheasants and salmon in their menus.
Lots of fishing too. Salmon, trout and sea-trout - fishing all around the UK will appeal to field sports enthusiasts. Fieldsports magazine is for them too. A very high percentage of game shooters also fish in the summer.
Not forgetting field sports, both shooting and fishing, around the world. Partridge shooting in Spain, pheasants in Hungary, elephants in Tanzania and game bird shooting in Tanzania. Again Fieldsports magazine has it all.
Shooting instruction with invaluable shooting tips, and experts on new and old guns. A full guide to shotguns is included. Side-by-side-shotguns and over-under shotguns. Fieldsports looks at all the recommended makers.
Wild pheasants and partridges always appeal to field sports enthusiasts. Fieldsports magazine has shoots that have grown from practically nothing.
In other words every field sports enthusiast will love Fieldsports magazine. Fieldsports is a must.
Fieldsports magazine is the essential quarterly title for all who enjoy game shooting and fishing.
Features include field sport grouse shooting, partridge shooting, pheasant shooting and shoot conservation, It is an essential read for shooting enthusiasts, with much more editorial than any other shooting magazine.
Leading sporting artists who focus on game species such as woodcock and snipe are also featured. There are articles on the best shoots around the country and also the great sporting estates.
Game cookery is also a key element in Fieldsports, along with restaurants serving game dishes.
For the fisherman there are authoritative articles on salmon, trout and sea-trout, with fishing in all parts of the UK and overseas. A very high percentage of game shots enjoy to fish in he summer and Fieldsports is for them.
Not forgetting sport abroad in our fist issue there is partridge shooting in Spain, pheasants in Hungary, elephants in Tanzania, and game birds in Zululand.
Leading authorities talk about shooting instruction with invaluable shooting tips, and there are experts on new and old guns. The new issue has a comprehensive guide to buying an over-under gun. Many side-by-side shotgun users are now thinking about the over-under 12 bore and 20 bore, and the Fieldsports guide looks at all the recommended gunmakers.
Developing a shoot for wild pheasants and partridges is another key subject area with two stories of partridge shoots that have been established from virtually nothing.
In other words, a big, entertaining and informative read for the shooting and fishing sportsman. Fieldsports is a must.
OVER THE COUNTER With Bill Elderkin
Elderkin Gunmakers were founded in 1750 and Bill Elderkin (48) is the fifth generation to run the business at their present Spalding, Lincolnshire, shop premises. The business has in recent times been voted the UK's Best Gunshop in the Shooting Industry Awards.
Guns or clothes?
We are first and foremost a gunshop, but have seen the upturn of interest in the likes of Dubarry boots, Schoffel coats, Really Wild etc. You regularly see country clothing on the High Street. It is a welcome add-on to our business.
Do you take in repairs?
This is a big part of our business as we have five full time gunsmiths in our workshops. It is something which most shops do not offer.
The most common repairs?
There are three - misfire (usually a broken firing pin), poor ejection (often big brass cartridges unsuited to the gun) and single trigger guns not engaging to the second barrel (possibly dirty chambers - could be very light load).
Is there a demand for English guns?
For the top three or four names there is a very strong demand - but it may be deceiving and due to so few guns coming onto the market. Production has always been in small numbers, and many of the guns made in he 60s and 70s went to the USA. Best guns therefore are holding their values well.
Have side-by-sides gone out of fashion?
If anything, they are becoming more popular again. Most people nowadays learn to shoot with an over-under on clays, but then later the idea of a side-by-side appeals to them, particularly an English gun.
Are 20 bore sales still buoyant?
Yes, but the 28 bore is pobably even more so. I suppose people use 20 for a challenge, and the next logical step is the 28. The 16 bore has also made something of comeback.
Is there more awareness of gunfit?
Definitely. This is another important very big part of our business. Having a gun properly fitted makes a huge difference. 1/4" on the stock equates to 6ft a 30 yards. Also a fitted gun will be kind to the user. I tell customers to think of Mike Tyson - if there is a gap between you and him he will hurt you, but if you are close the most he can do is push. The gun stock should be a snug fit into the shoulder and cheek. Often the make of gun is blamed, whereas the problem is simply down to gunfit.
What gun do you recommend to newcomers?
Very hard to give an answer. Budget is the decider - they should buy the best that they can afford. In over-under this will be the big three - Browning, Miroku or Beretta. Or for side-by -side AYA are still make very good guns. English boxlocks too are available at sensible prices.
What shooting do you prefer?
The anticipation you get on a wild pheasant drive on the fens. The beaters bring in 200 acres of ground. Birds glide forward into a strip of cover, the beaters get gradually closer and you never know what will happen next! After all these years I still find it very exciting.
What gun do you take with you?
I would like to say my late father's Purdey, but I don't shoot as well with it as him, so until I get a round bodied Boss single trigger with 29" barrels, I will opt for a Browning B2G 20 bore with 30" barrels.