Michael Yardley

Michael Yardley

Mike Yardley, the author of a dozen books and more than two million words of journalism, is one of the world’s best known writers on sporting guns and shooting technique. He’s a graduate of London University and Sandhurst. His books include: Positive Shooting, The Shotgun: An Instructor’s Handbook & Backing Into the Limelight and a biography of T.E.Lawrence. He has broadcast much on terror, made films on JFK and RFK for the Discovery Channel, and was a main contributor to the Oxford History of the British Army. He has 70,000+ Twitter followers. He is also on Facebook and Linked in.

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Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I Sport

The gun under our lens this month is the Sporter model of the new Beretta Silver Pigeon, designated the 686 Silver Pigeon I Sport and supplied by GMK. It is…

gun mount

Certain qualities identify a first-class shot: good, balanced stance (especially as the trigger is pulled), excellent vision and timing and, not least, consistent gun mounting. Many never learn to mount…

Clay pigeon shooting during the off season

Take your game-gun and go clay pigeon shooting in the off season. You will only improve your shooting and have fun when you practice on clay pigeon.

Do you covet a matched pair of shotguns? Michael Yardley examines the shotguns on the market and what to do when you have your matched pair.

rifle shooting

Rifles: Should they be London best or mass-produced? Mike Yardley guides us through the very best rifles on offer

Fabarm Autumn Elite 20-bore

This gun review concerns a Fabarm Autumn Elite 20-bore: a 28in-barrelled, trigger-plate side-by-side with single selective trigger. It is a bells-and-whistles version of the firm’s Autumn model, with silver nitride…

shotguns

Is your cherished old gun really worth restoring? Are you being overly sentimental about it? Would the money be better spent elsewhere? If you have decided to press ahead then…

Chapuis Armes Super Orion Artisan C140

The featured  gun this month is a Chapuis Armes Super Orion Artisan C140 sideplate, a fairly recent model from the firm and the sideplated version of the C135 (also an…

Smith & Torok .410

This test gun is a London-made 30in .410 side-by-side sidelock by Smith & Torok. It is made on the Purdey-Beesley self-opening system with a rounded action bar. Maker Alex Torok…