As I write my penultimate Editors’ leader I’m happy to say Spring has definitely sprung in these ‘ere parts. After a week of subzero conditions, with drifting snow delivered by a prolonged Nor’easter to my corner of Yorkshire, the barometer has risen. Snowmelt has filled the runners on the hills and cliffs, and the late February sun in a cloudless duck egg blue sky has brought the songsters out in force. Blackbirds, song thrushes, and robins are battling out in the avian version of the ‘Voice’.
But enough of the purple prose – I will be handing over the reins of this fantastic sporting journal to the incoming editor after the next issue, and I can honestly say I have loved every minute of my decade tenure as editor – though it is quite sobering to think that I am currently the longest-serving editor in field sports. I would like to thank you the readers and especially the contributors who have made Sporting Rifle the first choice for stalkers, keepers, varminters, big-game hunters, amateur and professional alike for over 12 years.