Don't miss this week's bumper 148-page Christmas special packed with fantastic seasonal features, our superb eight-page gift guide and plenty to keep you entertained until long after the turkey's run out!

Including: A day in the life of a Highland gillie: Hugo Campbell learns the ropes at Atholl Pintail recounts a punt-gunning adventure of epic proportions on the Dee estuary A great pretender: ST's Christmas tale uncovering one Shot’s true colours ST journeys north to enjoy a day on a farm shoot in Northumberland Bruce Potts tests the latest offering from Ruger, the M77 Hawkeye Lust is in the air: why gamekeepers are the new pin-ups of the silver screen Otters are returning to some areas of Britain, but Charlotte Lycett Green asks if numbers are sustainable? It could be crunch time for Phil the Pheasant as he encounters an airgun Culling rabbits on a golf course is a tactical challenge for Pete Wadeson Woodcock Broadcast: news of early migrants bodes well for the season Catlow settles on his trusty bucket for the first flight on his new pond Blue Zulu tells the real reason why we love the sport of shooting so much Beater exercises his right to rant on what beaters hate most out shooting Christmas past: in the times before commercialism gripped the community Plus much more, including our spectacular eight-page Gift Guide with 101 present ideas for the UK's shooting man, woman or child!