wannabe_keeper

Hi, I run a small farm shoot in West Sussex. We have 5 days this season shooting between 30-40 birds a day, all mini driven. I am looking for additional beaters/picker ups (steady dogs only). Unfortunately we cannot afford to pay beaters however our last day is the 9th January. After this we have 2 or 3 walk round days for the beaters who have been on 3 or more of the days. These are really fun days and we often shoot as many as our driven days. Bacon rolls in the morning, tea/coffee, biscuits, sloe gin, sausages at the end of the day (usually around 9am-1pm). Good atmosphere and bunch of guys. If anyone is interested please PM me for dates and more info. Thanks.

Hi, I run a small farm shoot in West Sussex. We have 5 days this season shooting between 30-40 birds a day, all mini driven. I am looking for additional beaters/picker ups. Unfortunately we cannot afford to pay beaters however our last day is the 9th January. After this we have 2 or 3 walk round days for the beaters who have been on 3 or more of the days. These are really fun days and we often shoot as many as our driven days. Bacon rolls in the morning, tea/coffee, biscuits, sloe gin, sausages at the end of the day (usually around 9am-1pm). Good atmosphere and bunch of guys. If anyone is interested please PM me for dates and more info. Thanks.

After people for this Saturday if anyone is free and fancies a wander please PM me. Regular beaters rewarded with shooting in January.

I know the percentage looks ridiculous but it based on the fact that we have 2 very large shoots either side of the farm who release a lot of birds. They shoot 3 times a week, we shoot once a fortnight so leaving it quiet means a lot of birds turn up from elsewhere. I know the keepers and release a few birds to ensure no bad feelings for gaining a few of theirs. I'm pretty sure that sporting rights can be sold separate to the actual land itself. As others have said, I have nothing to lose. Maybe another season and I'll put the idea to the Farm owner. Thanks.

Thanks for the comment. So rather than a purchase of the 'rights' a long term lease may be a better proposition. Well it's only the shooting i'm interested in. I guess what i'm kind of getting at is where do you stand if the land is sold and the owner wants to say have horses which conflict with shooting or worse want to build on it the land or sell it off in parcels etc..

I run a little pheasant shoot over approx 100 acres. We provide mini driven days of 30-40 birds. Although a small acreage the land is almost ideal for a 'mini' shoot with little shaws, woods and copses which form the mainstay of our drives. At present it is all under mutual agreement with the farmer and no money exchanges hands between us. The first year we both stumped up some money and broke even with the days we sold so go back what was put in. The first year produced 5 days: 37, 41, 48, 29, 35 (approx 50 shot on walk round days in Jan) 300 ex layers released. This year we also have 5 days with 600 ex layers released. Anyway... the point of my post is to inquire about the cost to purchase shooting rights. I have grown fond of this little farm over the last couple of years and would like to continue my shoot in the future. The farmer is a true gent but without sounding harsh, he won't be here forever. I had an idea and there's nothing to say he will even go for it but maybe after another season or 2 to offer him a cash sum to purchase the shooting rights over his little farm so I can continue about my ways in distant future. The farmer has no children to pass the farm onto and often jokes that it will end up going to 'London Money'. I'd hate to see the farm split up or built on! Does owning the shooting rights give me any say in what happens to the land? Any idea's/thoughts/comments or what a suitable value may be would be appreciated. Thanks, WK

Beaters wanted for small private farm shoot in Ardingly, West Sussex. We are shooting 6 days only small bird days between 30-40. Small friendly day out with a good bunch of lads, tea/coffee in the morning with a bacon roll plus sausages and sloe gin for lunch. Shoot from 9am until about 2pm. We don't pay beaters but always try and get a shot for regular helpers throughout January when our sold days stop. PM me for more info.

Did this sell?

If the ground is ideal 350 acres is more than enough. I have set up my own shoot on less than 100 acres!

Well I used to want to be a keeper and now I am one....

Just a quickie - can I change my PW username?

Its my birthday at the end of this month and I want some new shooting ear plugs from the Mrs. (at least i tell her they are for shooting). Any recomendations? I prefer 'in-ear' plugs rather than ear muffs, but want something that allow normal sound in when talking but obviously block out the gun. Ive been told to look for vented ones? H.

How many do you want Paul? I'll be starting the tree work around March time so will keep some aside for you. Smaller bits of Hazel are good for propping up dead decoys too! H.

It is illegal to catch up pheasants after the season but as mentioned above, everyone does it (including me). Not one person has ever been convicted for it. Last weekend I brought all my feeders in and set up 4 x patches of straw with a bag of wheat on each. By this weekend they would have had a week feeding on this. I will then set up my 10 x 10 catchers around the food and leave open pop holes for a further week. After that i will set the pop-holes and catch up. Ive negotiated with a new game farmer to take 50 hens off me in return for 100 poults and then we will buy a further 400 at £2.95 each. Most game farms require hens so you may be able to get your eggs that way. Where are you based as I could get you some if your down my way? Alternitively drop this guy a message on eBay as he should be able to sort you out - but as mentioned before its still a bit early for eggs just yet. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30-Ring-Neck-Pheasant-hatching-eggs-PRE-SALE-/321095792497 H.

Looks like a Ranger it is! I was swaying towards one anyway which is good. I would go for a landy but i'm trying to get the best of both worlds... Something that is nice to drive on the road as well as capable of off road duties. Unfortunately most of the defenders only fulfil the later criteria

I'm looking to buy a pick-up over the next few weeks. I run a small pheasant shoot so need something capable of lugging feed around the farm as well as my pigeon gear. I only have a small budget of £5000 but am a cash buyer. I'm hoping to pick up a bargain on eBay/Gumtree or something like that. What does everyone recommend? I'm looking at the older L200's, Hilux, Navara or Ford Ranger. Probably a pre-2004 model to fit my budget - if that's do-able. Any recommendations welcome.

Fancied myself as a bit of a poet when I was younger. Here was one I wrote when I was 14 (9 years ago!). It still hangs in the 'keepers hut on the Estate I grew up on. SHOOTING. Most folk have a false impression of us shooters, They think that we are cruel, and only kill for bloodlust, this isn't the case at-all. We aren't inhuman murderers, who kill for pleasure and fun, our sport is like any other, your cricket bat is our gun. We appreciate our sport so much, like most good sportsmen do, believe me when I say, us shooters are no different to you. A 'keeper conceals himself down in a wood, to search for a shot or two, gazing out onto the fields, seeing grass covered in dew. To venture out in our camo clothes, to fields and gully's where no-body goes, can excite the heart of the shooting man, a shooting opportunity will be taken when it can. We respect our quarry and what we shoot, whether it be a duck, rabbit, pheasant or coot, we look after the country side as best we can, that is the duty of every shooting man. And the government thinks it'll ban shooting one day, well it's got another thing coming cos well have our say, we won't go down without a fight, we'll protect our sport come day or night! By Harry Batchelor - Aged 14.

Lovely looking rifle that!

PM sent.

The Bracken stands really well on my little farm. We have a bank covered in the stuff about 200 yards long x 30 yards wide and we make that into its own little drive. Shot the bag record off it season just gone with 22 pheasants in the bag (must have been upwards of 60 in there on that day!) Not really hard enough frosts down here this year to have killed it off but of course it does die back in the winter but still provides ample cover. Maybe I will try moving small clumps into the barer shaws and see if it establishes.

Do you think I can move some of the bracken as we have loads around the farm or will it just die if dug up and planted in patches throughout the wood?

In the main wood I want to improve there is some good bracken and bramble growth in the centre which is the flushing point. This has come up over the last 3 years when a glade was cleared of tree's for horses to ride through the middle of the shaw. Now that doesnt happen it has left me with a lovely open and thick flushing point. However the rest of the wood is very very bare of undergrowth and mainly hazel, chestnut, silver birch and some larger Oaks. I have been advised from a tree surgeon to do some selective thinning of some of the hazel and chestnut to let light onto the ground and dig up some of the bramble from the centre (or elsewhere on the shoot) and heel them in throughout the wood to spread. I may do this and add some laurels here and there. I will also leave all the brash from what I do cut on the deck in rows leading to the flushing point as advised above.

Yes we are fortunate to have a large shoot just across the way. But we put our own birds down and certainly dont rely on this fact, but i'd be ignorant to say that the whole 61% were 'our' birds. Im sure they shot a few of ours too! On a side-note, I would love to know how many of our released birds we shot and was thinking of tagging this years poults. Anyone got any experience of doing this? Can I buy some sort of tagging gun for leg tags like racing pigeons (ASBO style!)or is a wing tag available/better? I'd probably get depressed looking at the percentage then! H

In a couple of weeks i want to start some work on improving our woodland drives on my little shoot. I am going to begin with some coppicing of the shaws and opening up flushing points. If i do some selective clearing am i likely to see much bramble growth naturally this year? If not then i am going to have to look and bringing in plants to provide extra cover in the shaws. If this is the case what is the best (or should i say the cheapest) plant to bring in the add cover to woodland for the benefit of holding and flushing birds. Any advice greatly appreciated. Harry

Did anyone see my shoot report in the Sporting Shooter this month - page 78 We had a really great day shooting 48! Our best day of the season and to do that when the magazine guy was there was brilliant. Enjoy the read if anyone gets to see it H