The GunsOnPegs Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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?

Jamie Horner, recipient of at Purdey Awards Special Commendation, shoot manager extra-ordinaire, game feed specialist and all-round good egg joins George and Chris to talk all about Iford Downs, the East Sussex shoot that will host the 3rd Order of the Garters shoot day.  Jamie shares his enthusiasm for using the shoot to create a habitat that benefits not only his redleg partridges, but up to 84 different wild bird species including some vanishingly rare ones, as well as his passion for creating strong working relationships with conservation organisations... including the RSPB.  Jamie also helps us to solve a couple of shoot day dilemmas and shares perhaps the greatest drive name of all time. Send your Whose Bird Is It Anyway submissions, Unpopular Opinions, Forgotten Drives and Memorable Drive Names to pod@gunsonpegs.com

As we enter barbecue season, Cai Ap Bryn, AKA Game and Flames, joins Chris and George. We learn how Cai, a Welshman born and bred, found himself stalking deer in the Sussex countryside and cooking game over flame for a living. Having recently been crowned 'Best Influencer' in the 2024 Eat Game Awards, and included in the Shooting  Conservation Power 100 list of the most influential and important people in the shooting world, Cai is better placed than most to inspire us to cook wild meat on live fire. He shares his eloquently expresses his passion for cooking, tells us his favourite barbecue techniques, and shares a top pigeon recipe for you to try at home this summer. He also helps us to absolve a listener of his past sins in 'Whose Bird It It Anyway?'.

New legislation in Scotland (The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act means that Estates that wish to shoot grouse will require a license. Ross Ewing, Director of Mooland at Scottish Land and Estates joins Chris and George to explain what this all means for grouse shooting in Scotland. Seen by many as a catastrophe, is the new legislation as bad as all that, and are there any positives to be taken from the process, which saw pro-grouse shooting bodies secure several important amendments to the proposals. What can the shooting community in other parts of the UK learn from the Scottish experience? Also in this episode: George shares his own Unpopular Opinion and gets stitched up by Chris, we resolve a challenging shooting/marital quandry, hear about a Forgotten Drive from the USA and discuss the logistics of shooting clays on an aircraft carrier's flight deck.

Do you ever get nervous when you're on the peg, waiting for that first pheasant to break cover? Do you tense up, or worry about what other people might think of your shooting, or have a 'bogey bird'? Do you shoot badly when others are watching? How do you get back on form when the wheels have come off mid-drive? Oliver Spensley-Corfield is a professional sports psychologist who has worked with a wide variety of professional teams and individuals. He also happens to be an enthusiastic game shot who manages a small Oxfordshire syndicate. Ollie joins Chris and George to talk about the mental side of game shooting, and how having your head in the right place can help us all to become the best game shots we can be. He also helps to absolve a listener of his chicken-related sins, and solve a taxidermy dilemma.  

We have another classic episode from the archives for you! This episode was originally recorded in October 2022 and features the one and only George Digweed, arguably the greatest shot ever. One of the reasons that we have decided to put this episode out again is because later this week Chris and I are recording an episode all about the psychology of game shooting, and how getting your head game right could help improve your shooting. As we all know, I need all the help I can get on that score, so I for one am really excited for it.    This episode with George is a really interesting chat and his passion for game shooting shines through - but we also get a fascinating insight into his mental approach to both game and clay shooting. if you haven’t heard this episode before, I hope you enjoy it, and if you heard it the first time around, I hope you enjoy listening back to it again.  ----more---- Chris and George are joined by shooting royalty, the G.O.A.T, George Digweed MBE. Despite being a World Champion clay shot multiple times over, game shooting is where it all began for George, and game shooting is still where his heart lies. George offers up his views on practicing for days in the field, greediness on the peg, defending shooting in a public sphere, and how he has maintained his hunger to compete at the top level for more than five decades.

In this episode of The GunsOnPegs Podcast Chris and George are joined by Alex Smith, an independent gunsmith based in Winchester. Alex is an expert in old English Shotguns, a dyed-in-the-wool side-by-side fan and a former Helice (ZZ) champion. He answers all the questions you've ever wanted to ask a gunsmith but were too afraid to ask, questions like 'Is it OK to cut down the stock on an inherited Holland & Holland?', 'Will my old shotgun take steel?' and 'Whoops, I tried to 'improve' my stock, can you fix it please?'. Alex also helps us to resolve The Mystery of the Missing Millionaire in Whose Bird is it Anyway?, deal with another unpopular gundog opinion and investigate Hagrid's Hairy Hole.  

In this episode we get a unique perspective on the UK shooting world. Liz and Sean Delaney own and operate Delaney and Sons, a US-based sporting agency running shooting trips to the UK, Spain and Morocco for their American clients. The pair have an immediately evident passion for shooting in the UK, and take obvious pleasure in sharing that with their guests. Liz and Sean share the things that enchant and baffle American game shots about our shooting culture, how they help visitors to these shores to navigate the intricacies and peculiarities of our traditions and customs, and we examine how land ownership and hunting laws result in a different attitude towards hunting on the other side of the Atlantic. The pair help us to solve one listener's tipping dilemma and the question of how to approach the peg draw; do you have a method? We also share the first submission about drives with unique names in 'Timbuck-Two, Timbuck-Three'. Cover photo: Sarah Farnsworth

Here's a quick teaser for the latest episode of Beyond the Hedge.  Savour the Shot: Woodcock Hunting, Cooking, and Conservation In this episode Patrick Galbraith goes out in search of the mysterious woodcock, a beloved bird of hunters, chefs and nature lovers the world over. Patrick's journey begins in Suffolk with farmer, conservationist and writer Sam Carlisle, and Sam's Hungarian Vizsla, Merlin. The trio head into the woods in an attempt to bag a couple of birds for their lunch. Later, Tim Maddams, the former River Cottage chef, offers his woodcock-cooking tips, and Sam shows Patrick his favourite way of preparing these remarkable and delicious birds. Finally, Patrick catches up with Owen Williams, a painter and woodcock conservationist. Owen discusses the complexities of woodcock management and helps Patrick to understand why the question of whether shooting woodcock is sustainable is more complicated than it might appear. How to listen to Beyond the Hedge Beyond the Hedge is available on all major podcast apps and platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.