Konor

I agree with all that and can vividly remember pre internet rummaging through back copies of magazines for articles looking for information. Looking up the various chapters in books so that I could decide whether for example the move to 25 inch barrels would be wise. Comparing what Gough Thomas had to say compared with Michael McIntosh or any of a dozen or more chapters in the guide to rough shooting or game shooting books available in your own small library. Now with the increased affluence for some you mention it would probably be a question of just buying a XXV to add to the armoury rather than daydreaming about the possibility The benefits of modern living are vast and a great convenience certainly but I remember fondly my time searching for information whereas now we are inundated with it. The far greater amount of magazines now for example though some seem to be on the decline both in quality and quantity. I speak to working class men now who travel abroad to fish regularly in America or Mexico and I enjoy sharing their experiences second hand changed days for them to worming for salmon on small spate rivers or chasing small loch trout. Perhaps the pace was slower and the expectations not as great in the 1970s but the enjoyment was no less even if the opportunities weren’t as exotic as they are for some now.It’s different times now which can’t help but be reflected in the articles published today. PS “ as recent as the 70s” that’s like someone relating what it was like in the Second World War to a teenager in the 1990s they would probably say not so recent

I think the writers of the past were very much of their time but confronted with the issues we face today maybe town gun would be writing about opening up the chokes on his old Greener or at least patterning with steel as is and giving his verdict. I can’t imagine how old Gough Thomas would cope with the massive move away from side by sides to over and unders. I think enthusiasm for the sport is vital and necessary for its survival and I hope the youngsters today are enthusiastic enough to carry the sport forward despite the greater pressures against all live shooting including what may be an agenda driven shooting press.

Shooting is a broad church involving young and old and we should accept the differences rather than try to dictate behaviour. I have no need to realise lead is dead as I will be using it successfully for years to come as I have done for over fifty years. What you opt to do is your business but perhaps you should consider acquiring some manners rather than referring to complete strangers as old farts or is that now the modern way of expressing oneself.

I envy your ability and know how to work up loads to suit your shooting and I realise I am probably a dinosaur in comparison. I don’t hand load and have little time to spare to start now. I am happy with the performance and versatility of lead shot so that’s what I’ll be sticking with for my rough shooting. Regarding agenda driven magazine articles it may partly be a result of writers searching for something different to write about though I do remember an article a few years back extolling the virtues of simulated game shooting in preference to game shooting so even that subject has been gone over before. Perhaps the quality of writers now pales when compared to Gough Thomas, Geoffrey Boothroyd, Lea McNally, Colin Willock Arthur Oglesby and Fred Taylor etc and this makes them more susceptible to being influenced by agenda driven topics.

I used to enjoy reading Alasdair Mitchell a while back. I don’t even read his articles now. I think either his articles content has changed or that increasing age has made me more intolerant.

I have not read shooting times for as long as some here I started reading around about my last year in primary school ,about 1971. I notice now that I am less enthusiastic to read them and maybe read around half the content ,sometimes the articles appeal more one week and less another. I have noticed a more pro steel anti lead comment for a while now. David Tomlinson writing on gundog training is keen to let you know how anti lead he is. In the 13th of May issue he wrote “ Bismuth cartridges perform well in traditional game guns so those whingeing that they will no longer be able to shoot with their lovely old side by side guns are wrong” he then goes on to write that the increased cost of bismuth will be no bad thing as it will “ likely lead to more sensible and thus more accurate shooting” he was “delighted by the recent announcement by our shooting organisations that they would like to see a voluntary shift to non toxic shot within the next five years” Alasdair Mitchell on the back page has said he has moved over to steel and is a convert. I think all the comments are agenda driven. As this change is to be voluntary I will not be participating, rather I will be buying up sufficient lead cartridges to see me through my rough shooting life. While I am happy to use a non toxic mix for my 3 1/2 inch wildfowling beretta semi automatic and will probably invest in a semi 10 bore for the geese I am not prepared to put steel through my 2 1/2 inch chambered game guns.I will continue to use lead. I have taken quite a bit of woodcock and snipe with Grand Prix 7s Pheasants with Grand Prix 6s and 5s and duck and inland geese with Eley Maximum 4s.Those cartridges have given my old Damascus barrelled 12 bore a versatility that I have enjoyed for many a year and that heritage and connection to the past is a major source of my enjoyment. I won’t be giving that up to shoot a Spanish clunker that I’ve had opened up to accommodate steel shot.

The Bedside Wildfowler by Colin Willock

Too good for the shore I would be scared it came back minus the head 😀

Fantastic ,the pintail is the most elegant of ducks and though I’ve been a wildfowler since the days of WAGBI I’ve never bagged one . On holiday at Saint Michaels in Chesapeake Bay I visited the duck decoy museum at Havre de Grace I think you would have loved it. As well as many decoy exhibits there was also a mock up of the Ward brothers workshop and paintings of all the ducks unlimited duck stamps. I envy your talent ,thanks for posting

Thanks, the second from bottom is a Parker reproduction built in the Olin-Kodensha factory where the Winchester 101 was produced , not so common over here.

Thanks Walked up ,it has a cracked stock at the top tang though hence my ability to afford it . A bit of a gamble but I’ll save a bit and hopefully have it repaired ,fingers crossed. It’s my retirement present for next year and so far has cost me the price of a secondhand 687

This picture is a bit clearer three shots and three birds down ,hasn’t happened before and happy to have it happen once . The light weight allows me to get in front of the bird better especially with snap shots when you have little time. Detail of the 12 bores engraving

The beretta is at the bottom poor picture but gives you an idea

It’s got nice lines. I shot last season with a straight handed stock beretta o/u 20 bore and it improved my shooting. I’ve just bought another straight handed stocked 12 bore so hoping that shoots well for me too . It will take a few weeks to arrive with ongoing Covid problem. I’ll try to post a couple of pictures