As Shooting Gazette's newest gun and resident clotheshorse, that is, the only one in the office stupid enough to gladly spend more than £80 on a tie, I'm really looking forward to smartening up for my first day's shooting.

The problem I've got is I'm not sure what I should be purchasing to make up my 'essential shooting kit'.

Obviously I have some idea of where to start (Wellingtons - check; cap - check; gun - check..etc), but what I lack is the knowledge more experienced guns have gathered over the years as to what goes into making up a sturdy shooting wardrobe - a list of must have's if you will.

And this is where you come in. What should I be buying?

Is there a particular jumper you swear by to keep the frost out on those cold winter mornings?

Can you recommend an 'old faithful' that has stood the test of time and one worthy of hefty investment?

Are designer labels the way to go when looking into waterproofs or should I opt for something I can get down the market for half the price? Is it all just a case of common sense?

Ultimately, I'm not naive enough to turn up at a partridge day wearing wingtips and a top hat in a desperate attempt to impress the shoot captain, but like any debutant, I want to make a good impression by putting a bit of thought into my outfit.

Hopefully people will be more willing to complement me on my shooting rather than my attire as a result, but your suggestions would be most welcome! And by the way, I only wore that tie once.

Martin Puddifer
Staff Writer

Another season and another five months of sporting bliss. With only a few days to go until the start of the partridge season, the excitement is already building in the Shooting Gazette office, and it won't be long before we have gun in hand and a brace of partridges in the other.
The summer months, despite the awful weather, saw us out on the clay ground a few times, and even our Art Editor, Neil Syer, re-kindled his passion for shooting with an admirable display on a charity clay day. Also, in his game shooting debut season, Martin Puddifer, will be trying out his shooting skills as he puts all the lessons he enjoyed into practice and bags a bird or two. Editor, Will Hetherington, will also be showing his prowess in the field, and hopefully I'll be able to put in a good performance too. Either way, there won't be any shortage of banter and mirth. And last, but by no means least, our excellent editorial assistant, Alex Terry, will also be enjoying the sport - especially after putting in an awesome display on a clay ground over the summer.
It's the time we've all being waiting for, and, regardless of the weather and its determined efforts at putting the kibosh on everything, the shooting community is as strong as ever. Have a great first day, and here's to many more!

The Sporting Gun Show saw good weather and a decent attendance and gave us a chance to enjoy something of the game fair atmosphere.

I was there on Saturday August 11 and was really impressed with Althorp as a venue. It is incredibly convenient as it is such a central location and very close to the M1. Obviously as the burial place of Princess Diana and the home of Charles Spencer there is a very topical interest but we were not there to dwell on these issues.

Following the cancellation of the CLA Game Fair this was our first chance of the summer to meet readers in a show context and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The event is nowhere near the same scale as the CLA Game Fair but as with many smaller shows the atmosphere was very relaxed and the smaller size means getting around is so much easier.

Things were certainly helped by the fact that the sun shone, a rare occurrence in summer 2007. We got the chance to meet many readers on the stand who were also able to take advantage of a great subscription offer and meet cartridge collecting aficionado Tom Grange - an ever-present with Shooting Gazette. As ever The rest of the team on the Shooting Gazette stand worked hard and the feedback was very positive.

The whole event went some way to dealing with the withdrawal symptoms after the cancellation of the CLA Game Fair but it also made me look forward to the Midland Game Fair at Weston Park, Shropshire, on September 15-16 with even more relish.

There will be a great subscription offer at the Midland and we look forward to meeting as many readers as possible there. For more information click on the link below and see the September edition for details of the brilliant competition to win a beautiful Ian Greensitt snipe sculpture in bronze worth more than £2,500.

Midland Game Fair