The GunsOnPegs Podcast

This episode marks yet another transitional moment for the GunsOnPegs Podcast, with the blooding of not one, not two, but THREE new hosts. George is joined by Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner, who will be taking on some of the hosting duties, giving Chris a bit of headspace to focus on other projects.

The chaps check out some follow up correspondence from recent episodes, and look deeper into the topic of peg numbering systems and the traditional number of guns on a shoot day (if there is one!). The also discuss the relative merits of taking on that high pigeon on a driven day...

Oliver Preston is one of the UK's leading cartoonists. His work has graced the pages of leading rural publications as well as numerous books, including the much-loved and ubiquitous 'How to be Asked Again' by Rosie Nickerson. As a lifelong observer of the nuances and peculiarities of the shooting world, he is well placed to help Chris and George tackle a couple of thorny Unpopular Opinions. He also shares some insight into his creative processes, and tells us why he believes that cartoons are not only far more powerful and important to British culture than we might suppose, and why the downstairs loo is really a place of honour.

Despite some questionable gun safety practices and even more questionable morality, will the new TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's Rivals bring more people into the British countryside? What is the correct proceedure when your dog starts a fight on a shoot day, and should Beaters' Days take place in October instead of January? What would happen if you shot a pumpkin at 30 yards, and how can we help gamekeepers to tell their stories and showcase their work in the media. As always the GunsOnPegs Podcast asks the big questions, this time with special guest Camilla Swift to provide the wisdom.

As a brand new pheasant shooting season gets underway George Davis, game farmer and head honcho of the Game Farmers' Association, joins the podcast to celebrate these magnificent birds. We learn about the bird's origins, the various strains of pheasant, what makes the 'perfect' pheasant and how the breeding and rearing of pheasants has changed over the years.

George also helps us to resolve a listener's dilemma - this time, what to do about a deaf spaniel - and we have our first MacPodcast submission from a listener.

Chris laments his lack of September shooting opportunities and invents a (questionable) new drink, and George reports back after his adventures cooking with fire.

Richard Prideaux is a survival and wild food expert with a passion for spending time in the countryside and harvesting his bounty. He joins Chris and George to talk about all the wonderful fruit (and more) to be found in woods and hedgerows at this time of year, and to share a drop of his vast knowledge. The trio discuss the intricacies of blackberrying, the origins and truths behind some of the received wisdom when it comes to making your own sloe gin, and Richard explains why sloe gin is only the beginning.

In Whose Bird is it Anyway the boys become career guidance councellors and in Unpopular Opinions we discover if sausage rolls are a human right for beaters.

As we head into a brand new shooting season George and Digby delve into the results of the 2024 Game Shooting and Shoot Owner Census to answer the biggest questions in shooting: How much does a pheasant cost this year, and how does it compare to last year? What is the average bag size that guns shoot, and has that number changed over time? And, perhaps most importantly, what is the most popular fine for shooting the white pheasant?

Does shooting etiquette, clothing and tradition matter?

Giles Catchpole is a fieldsports journalist and humourist whose work has graced the pages of numerous magazines over the years. His Shooting Types books - collaborations with renowned sporting cartoonist Bryn Parry - are found in downstairs loos in the right sort of houses up and down the land, owing to his His unique combination of sharp-eyed observation and a witty style. Writing as 'Uncle Giles' in Shooting Gazette, he was a guide on matters sartorial and ethical for many a shooting man and woman for years. 

All of this makes Giles the ideal chap to join Chris and George for a chat about some of the finer points that the conventions, codes and customs of the shooting world throw up, and answer the question that will ring down the ages: why does any of it matter?'

Live from the Game Fair 2024! 

What does the new Labour Government mean for shooting and the countryside? The day after the King's Speech Tim Bonner, head honcho at the Countryside Alliance, joined us at GunsOnPegs HQ to give his take on this question and many others surrounding the change of government. Tim looks into his crystal ball and highlights a few potential storm clouds on the horizon, but also a few rays of hope as well.

What does it take to bring Grey Partridges back from the brink of local extinction? Our guest for this episode, Charlie Mellor, is Head Gamekeeper at the Norfolk Estate in Sussex, where he manages the Peppering Project, the Duke of Norfolk's widely lauded effort to do just that.