Passion and Pragmatism in a Changing Landscape

Since the close of the pheasant season this February, the shooting industry has once again found itself navigating challenge and change.

The months after the season are always a time for reflection, but this year the conversations have felt sharper. Headlines have been dominated by the repeated government’s announcement that lead ammunition will be phased out. Proposed restrictions being laid out in 2026, with a full transition over the following three years. For many, this raised anxieties: about the availability of competitively priced and effective alternatives and about whether their cherished guns could adapt.

At the same time, avian influenza has cast a long shadow over our industry. With biosecurity warnings issued in August and new mandatory measures for gamebird release, shoot owners and rearers have had to rethink how they protect their birds, their land, and their livelihoods. These are not the easiest of times.

Yet what I see across our Sport is something more powerful than uncertainty: resilience. The very same resilience that carried us through the challenges of COVID, the bird flu outbreaks of previous years, and the early fears over shot alternatives. Once again, shoots have adapted. They have trialled new suppliers, invested in habitat improvements and tightened biosecurity. They have done what countryside people have always done found a way forward.

At Sportarm, we’ve seen this spirit reflected in our clients. Sportsmen and women are not standing still. They are preparing. They are proofing their guns for steel, commissioning alterations and investing in the smaller bores they’ve always wanted. The attitude is clear: if change is coming, we will be ready. And readiness, as ever, is part of the enjoyment, knowing that the tools in your hands are prepared for the day ahead.

There are opportunities here too. Industry estimates still show shooting contributes billions to the rural economy and sustains tens of thousands of jobs. Shoots that embrace change, adopt best practice and lead with passion will not only survive but thrive. Clients remain eager and their enthusiasm is infectious. We see it in the demand for new kit, in the conversations in our Gunrooms, in the simple joy of planning another day in the field.

The future, I believe, lies in pragmatism paired with passion. We must accept that regulation will tighten, that diseases will test us and that supply chains will shift. But we must also hold fast to what makes our Sport so compelling: tradition, community and the shared pursuit of days well spent in the countryside.

As I look ahead, I see more shoots investing in their own rearing, more collaboration across the industry and a growing recognition that sustainability and shooting must go hand in hand. These changes will not diminish us; they will define the next chapter of our story.

Our Sport has always been one of passion. A strong feeling of enthusiasm and excitement, a burning desire that gives meaning and direction. Today, that passion must walk hand in hand with pragmatism. If we embrace both, the years ahead will be every bit as rewarding as those behind us.

Kevin