Shooting essentials for the season ahead

As the shooting season gets underway, you may have come to the realisation that your shooting gear is not up to snuff. Perhaps the clothes moths have been at work on your breeks, or your shooting coat no longer quite fits (let's be charitable and assume that you've been on a fitness drive!), or maybe you feel your shooting wardrobe just needs a bit of a refresh. 

I spoke to Jack Gregorie, Product Manager at the iconic Pall Mall-based shooting and fishing store Farlows, who offered me his advice on what the well-dressed and well-prepared man or woman on the peg might be seen in this season, and picked out some items from the retailer's new A/W collection.

"Shooting style is both timeless and ever-changing" says Jack. "While Tweed will always be king - it’s the original performance material isn’t it? - these days advances in textiles technology, combining traditional materials with modern high tech fabrics and new production practices have brought shooting clothing into the 21st century. We have added three new patterns to our in-house collection of Teflon-coated tweeds for this season, as well as launching several new products and updating existing ones.”

He adds: “We're proud that our own range of products are British made. With the exception of Italian suede and Austrian loden, we source all our fabrics from the UK, and our rigorous manufacturing and quality control processes ensure that you can have the utmost faith that Farlows products will stand up to the challenges of life in the field for years to come. The collection also includes leading brands from the shooting world, such as Schöffel, Laksen, Harkila and Seeland."

What to wear shooting this season

One of the most iconic items of shooting apparel is breeks - an absolute must-have for anyone shooting game in the UK. "Our shooting breeks are available in tweed patterns and colours unique to Farlows," explains Jack.

Farlow's A/W22 collection contains two new tweeds, Burgundy Club Check for men, and Heather Check for ladies

"They're milled by Lovat Mill in Hawick, Scotland, before being sent to finishers and washed in waters from the River Tweed itself, then coated in a fine layer of Teflon coating for further water repellency, ensuring that all but the worst rainstorms are kept out. The finished bolts of fabric are then sent to our experienced master trouser makers in the Midlands where they are marked, cut, and sewn by hand." 

For ladies, so often underserved when it comes to shooting style, Farlows is proud of their ladies' shooting collection. "In addition to our collection of breeks specifically cut for ladies, available in tweed, moleskin and cord, we are excited to launch our tweed culottes," says Jack. "They offer an elegant silhouette as well as a wonderful range of motion and are a brilliant alternative to breeks, for the lady shooter who is after a little more style whilst out in the field!"

Tweed field coats and high-tech shooting coats

In addition to the range of men's and women's tweed legwear, Farlows has a wide range of shooting coats available, from their own Men's Litchfield and Ladies Burghley tweed field coats, to offerings from Laksen and Schoffel. The tweed field coats are available in the same Teflon-coated tweeds as the breeks and culottes. 

The Ladies' Burghley Fieldcoat in Heather Check

“All of our tweed and Loden fieldcoats are made with a waterproof membrane to ensure 100% waterproofness,” says Jack. “The Burghley has a flattering cut along with an adjustable belt which ensures a perfect fit, and both the men’s and ladies’ have roomy cartridge pockets and all the other key details that you should be looking for in a shooting coat such as high collars that can be worn up or down and fleece-lined hand warmer pockets.” 

“Our fieldcoats have Alcantara trimming in high wear areas,” adds Jack, “And a luxurious military twill lining with a heavy weave cotton drip strip which helps further with rain protection. The snaps are rubberised, meaning you won’t damage your gun stocks on them.”

Not all tweeds are created equal, and the choice of fabric is key, explained Jack: “Our new tweed for this season for men is the Burgundy Club Check, which is a lovely golden/bronze ground with a smart burgundy red overcheck. It's a mid-to-heavyweight tweed, with fantastic working capabilities. For the ladies, our all-new Heather Check tweed is a Saxony cloth, so it’s dense and feels robust, but has a fantastic drape to it when worn. With moss green/lovat ground and a rich heather narrow double windowpane, it certainly looks the part. It weighs 600g per running metre so it's a serious, hard-working tweed but offers the style and luxury that is needed”.

Men's Litchfield shooting coat in Burgundy Club Check

In recent years I’ve been seeing more and more Norfolk-style shooting coats about, and Farlows has just launched a striking Norfolk jacket in a new Dark Olive Houndstooth tweed which sits alongside its brother in their green herringbone cloth.

“The Norfolk is the perfect shooting jacket for a smarter estate shoot. Based on the original Norfolk jacket design which was belted, this is a half Norfolk meaning it is essentially a modern take.” Jack explained. “The half belt back gives the perfect fit, and with cartridge pockets and fleece-lined hand warmer pockets, it makes a great alternative to a full-on fieldcoat. We also make matching breeks and a Nehru collar shooting gilet in the same Dark Olive Houndstooth tweed to complete the shooting suit.”

Farlows' Norfolk Jacket in Dark Olive Houndstooth 

For those who prefer a technical field coat to a tweed shooting jacket, the Schoffel Classic Ptarmigan combines excellent freedom of movement and breathability with all-weather capabilities, ensuring you’re warm and dry in even the very worst weather.

These fieldcoats are almost as ubiquitous on shoot days as their famous fleece gilets and for good reason! “An even more technical option is the Schoffel Ptarmigan Pro II,” says Jack, “which is a Gore-Tex Pro shell shooting coat. It requires layers underneath for warmth, but it is a super tough, hi-tech option for the regular shooter.”

New to the Farlows collection this year is the ladies' Belgrave Biker Jacket, which still has the key features of a shooting coat - big cartridge pockets, a turn-up / turn-down collar and fastenable cuffs, but is made in an 80:20 mix of Merino and Alpaca Austrian loden, which makes for warmth, comfort and durability, while the shoulder epaulettes and waist belt make it a striking alternative to more traditional shooting coats.

“The Belgrave biker is a wonderful mix of a proper shooting coat, with all the shooting features you'd expect, but also a very stylish piece that doesn't look out of place on a country walk, or even on the streets of Mayfair,” says Jack.

“All of Farlows own field coats are marked, cut and hand sewn by our master coatmakers in Northamptonshire,” boasts Jack. “Which ensures not only that the coats drape well and meet the shooting performance requirements, but that they also meet our exacting quality standards.” 

Shooting vests and waistcoats

Layering is a great way to ensure that you’re comfortable in the field. We tend to think of shoot days as bitterly cold, wet affairs, and that’s often true but being too warm can often be as miserable as being too chilly. With more people giving walked-up shooting a go in recent seasons, when you can work up quite a sweat, the shooting waistcoat has found many fans. 

“Shooting waistcoats are so versatile,” says Jack. “On a milder dry day they have the practical essentials of a shooting coat like big cartridge pockets and shoulder pads, without causing you to overheat, but on colder days they can be worn under a fieldcoat for added core insulation. Being tweed or Loden, they are naturally a great piece to be worn in a layering system under a coat.”

Along with Teflon-coated tweed shooting waistcoats for men and shooting vests for women, stand-out additions to the Farlows collection for this year are the two suede shooting vests. The men’s suede shooting vest comes in a dashing ‘chocolate’ brown suede, while the ladies’ suede vest is in a vibrant but very chic ‘cognac’ colour. 

The Italian suede is both soft and supple, ensuring maximum comfort when worn, but is also naturally incredibly hardwearing. The suede shooting vests also have another great feature which helps their performance capabilities further - they are lined with Austrian loden, produced entirely from merino wool. This helps give the garment a further layer of warmth and practicality. I'm not usually a fan of shooting waistcoats - just personal taste - but I love how different these are from others on the market. 

Woollens and knitwear

I tend to prefer a jumper to a vest or waistcoat. One reason I prefer them is that they can be worn in day-to-day life too, as comfortable in the office or the pub as they are on the peg. They’re also good in draughty shoot rooms and barns and when the mercury drops towards the back end of the season. 

Last season I saw more than one person sporting something similar to Farlows’ lambswool roll-neck, and I remember thinking how good they would be for morning or evening duck flights, the high neck helping to keep icy winds out.

I’m also a fan of the Farlows Merino ribbed shooting jumpers, with their heavy knit and Alcantara patches at the shoulders and elbows. I like the chunky round neck and the range of muted country-appropriate colours. A very practical piece of knitwear.

Bridging the gap between a shooting vest and a jumper is the Laksen Isla felted wool fleece vest, which comes in a very fetching ‘sky’ blue and although it lacks cartridge pockets, it would make an excellent layer beneath your coat.

Shooting Accessories

Among the other shooting wardrobe essentials are the accessories. Socks and garters are so key to a shooting outfit that they barely count as accessories. For a while, there was a trend towards loud or even ‘comedy’ shooting socks, but this takes a certain something to pull off. A safer bet are traditional design such as those offered in the Colonsay Broad Rannoch Sock and garter set. If they seem a little too staid, then the Chunky Argyle socks have a bit more going on, with their blown-up Argyle design, but are still traditional enough not to raise eyebrows.

Top row (L-R): Men's chunky Argyle Sock; Men's Colonsay Broad Rannoch
Bottom row (L-R): Ladies Fairisle shooting sock; Lady Glenmore Cable shooting sock

If you’re feeling frivolous, the Laksen game counter, otherwise known as a Norfolk Liar, is a fantastic little gadget. Worn around your neck, it enables you to keep track of what you shoot on a day out in the field, with four dials for Pheasant, Partridge, Grouse and Duck you are pretty much covered for all eventualities.

182 years of experience

Whether you’re looking to replace a key item, add to your collection, or completely revamp your entire shooting wardrobe, Farlows is a pretty good place to start. When I lived in London I would sometimes drop in just to have a look around the Pall Mall store and would invariably enjoy a pleasant chat with the shop’s knowledgeable and friendly staff, and more often than not ended up leaving with a few ‘essentials’, whether a new item of clothing or just a few fishing flies. 

With more than a century of experience in outfitting fieldsports enthusiasts, you can be confident that you’ll leave with exactly what you want and maybe one or two things you didn’t know you needed! Of course, if it’s tricky to get to London you can always order online.