There are few titles in British publishing that can trace an unbroken lineage back to 1882, delivering a weekly magazine without fail to the newsstand and subscribers. Shooting Times & Country Magazine is one of them, Britain's only weekly shooting publication and for over 144 years the authoritative voice on shooting matters, legislation, gamekeeping, gundogs, conservation and countryside life. That kind of heritage carries weight. But heritage alone does not guarantee relevance and in a media landscape that moves faster with every passing year, even the most storied titles have to evolve.
That is the context behind the historic partnership announced between BASC and Time Well Spent Group, which sees Shooting Times & Country Magazine become an official partner of BASC and a primary benefit of membership for all 150,000 BASC members. Under the exclusive three-year agreement, every BASC member, across all membership categories, will receive complimentary access to the full digital edition through a state-of-the-art dedicated online platform. Members log in using their BASC membership number, with no app download required. The platform offers an article-view newsfeed, an optional page-turner format, and a listen-to-article function, ensuring content is accessible however members choose to engage.
The deal is worth £74.95 per member, representing a combined value of more than £11.2 million, a figure that underlines just how seriously both organisations are taking this.
PRINT AT THE HEART
It would be easy to read a headline about a digital partnership and assume this is another story about print giving way to screens. It is not. The weekly print edition of Shooting Times continues exactly as it has for 144 years. The loyal subscriber base that picks up the magazine every week, that reads it in the gun room, leaves it on the kitchen table, passes it to a friend at the shoot, remains absolutely central to the title's identity and its future.
What the BASC partnership does is extend the brand's presence through an additional channel, reaching members who may not currently hold a print subscription but who are very much part of the shooting community. Some will read on a phone during a lunch break. Others will listen to an article while out walking the dogs. Many, inevitably, will discover the digital edition and decide they want the print version too. The two formats are not in competition, they feed each other.
This reflects a broader truth about how specialist media survives and thrives in 2026. The titles that endure are not the ones that abandon one channel for another. They are the ones that understand how to use every available channel, print, digital, audio, social, events, in an optimised blend that meets their audience wherever they are. Each channel does something the others cannot. Print delivers authority, permanence and the kind of deep, uninterrupted reading experience that builds trust over decades. Digital delivers accessibility, immediacy and the ability to reach people who might never walk past a newsstand. Together, they create something stronger than either achieves alone.
WHY BASC, AND WHY NOW?
BASC represents 150,000 members across every shooting discipline in the UK. It is the largest organisation of its kind, and its membership constitutes the single biggest identifiable community of people who shoot in the UK. For Shooting Times, aligning with that community as an official partner is a statement of intent about where the title sees its future, not as a passive observer of the shooting world, but as an embedded, essential part of it.
The partnership preserves full editorial independence. Shooting Times & Country retains complete control over its content, its editorial direction and its voice. The magazine's established right of reply remains in place. This is an important distinction: Shooting Times is not becoming a membership newsletter or a house journal. It remains an independent publication with its own editorial standards, distributed to BASC members as a benefit of their membership because both organisations recognise the value of putting quality shooting journalism in front of the people who care about it most.
The exclusivity of the arrangement is also significant. The digital member-access model will not be offered to any other membership organisation during the term of the agreement.
KEEPING THE BRAND AT THE FOREFRONT
BASC chief executive Ian Bell said: “I’m pleased to announce this new partnership, which will give BASC members free access to the digital edition of Shooting Times. It’s a strong addition to the overall value of BASC's sector-leading membership package, giving members direct access to one of the UK’s leading shooting publications.”
Simon K. Barr, chief executive officer of Time Well Spent Group, said: "Our focus is on keeping Shooting Times relevant for the fast-moving digital world to complement our loyal print subscribers. We see this as an historic moment to be able to grow the reach and keep the title at the forefront of British shooting media."
That ambition matters for the wider shooting world, not just for the publication itself. Shooting Times has been the connective tissue of the British shooting community for nearly a century and a half. It is where new products are reviewed, where debates are had, where the issues that affect shooting are analysed and argued over. It is where gamekeepers share knowledge, where gundog enthusiasts find their next technique, where conservation efforts are documented and celebrated. A title like that, reaching a verified audience of 150,000 alongside its existing print readership, occupies an unique position in the market.
The BASC partnership also comes at a moment when Time Well Spent Group's footprint across the shooting sector is growing rapidly. The group recently acquired the British Shooting Show, adding a major face-to-face channel to its portfolio. Combined with the Shooting Times print edition, the new digital platform, and the BASC partnership, Time Well Spent now operates across print, digital and live events in a way that no other media business in the British shooting market can match. For a sector that values personal relationships, trusted editorial and hands-on product experience, that breadth of presence across on and offline channels is significant.
Shooting Times & Country Magazine, established in 1882, is Britain's only weekly shooting publication. BASC is the UK's largest shooting organisation, representing 150,000 members. Time Well Spent Group Limited is a media company operating across print, digital and live events, whose portfolio includes Shooting Times & Country Magazine and the British Shooting Show. The new benefit is available from Monday 27 April 2026.