Tell me how these Driven Days

[Mungler]

Nope, but they certainly spend like one . Anyway, im not debating it, just voicing a personal opinion. If i had 'their' money, i still wouldnt be paying it.

 

 

What so if you had £10 million in the bank you wouldn't cough for a 200 bird day, ever?

 

I suppose you also wouldn't buy a luxury car, after all a Toyota Prius would still get you from A to B and deliver economical motoring

[MM]

Nope. If i had £10 million id own my own shoot, stock it and let friends shoot for free.

[Dunkield]

That's probably one of the many reasons you will never have £10 million, nice thought though...

 

As footballers would say "at the end of the day"... it's up to us what we do with our money, they choose to spend it rather than sit on it that's fine, it is investing in the countryside we enjoy, so it's all good

[Breastman]

Correct me if i'm wrong but if you get 8 guns that means the cost each will be £106.25 each plus say £10 tip? For 200 birds?! I'd be snapping their arm off!

 

£126, thats about the bill for an all-day bank holiday drinking sesh, which back in the freedom days would rarely end with going home with a pair of such 'tasty birds'!!

 

Mark

[the_commoner]

Nope. If i had £10 million id own my own shoot, stock it and let friends shoot for free.

 

thats probably why you will never have £10mn..................

 

ps - i am strictly in 'the fool' camp

[groach1234]

Well, if you think that's expensive try booking a days driven Grouse shooting..

 

I can't understand why people moan about the cost, the going rate for driven birds is around £25 a bird upwards, if you can't afford it, don't pay it, it's that simple.

 

Cat.

 

Dont get me wrong I know you can pay a lot more for shooting all im saying is its not cheap at £30 per bird and if you know the right people you can come across a gun on a 500 bird day on a top yorkshire shoot for £1000 a couple of days before the shoot (my dad has shot one and been offered another so far this season). I get taken on days by my dad when people drop of his syndicate days short notice and i understand its an expensive pass time and if you think its too expensive don't pay and i absolutly love it and the only thing that tops a days game shooting for me is a day stalking stags on the hill (you feel you have earnt it more) I have shot with people who shoot 100 days a season doing at least 1 day a week as a "500" bird day at water priory and i dread to think what he spends a season in tips

 

George

Edited October 19, 2010 by groach1234

[al4x]

the funny thing is when everyone says how expensive it is look at a syndicate that does for instance 15 200 bird days a year, it has a keeper who gets a house has a truck and a quad and a fairly hefty fuel bill. Then factor cost of birds feed and even beaters. The same people who moan about costs also expect to be paid well to go beating and suddenly for not a particularly big shoot the costs get over the 75K per year mark before paying for the land or anyone making a profit. I guess the same people who moan would also begrudge the keeper a tip at the end of a good day

I tend to do small syndicate days and the odd small walked up day and get a few beaters days at the end of the season etc and almost get the same enjoyment out of beating, its an expensive hobby but if you can afford it one that is very hard to beat

[Billy.]

The shoot I used to go on has doubled in price for one driven day over a four year period (200-300 birds). Is this the norm elsewhere?

[Dunkield]

Not where I beat, prices have remained static for at least the last 3-4 years, and the shoot has improved every year.

[snozzer]

Shooting is an expensive sport on the organised driven events, whether it be partridge, pheasant, duck or grouse. You would be amazed at how many game shooters I have come out for a few days guided pigeon shooting and consider it too cheap, telling me for the sport they have had I should be charging more...

[Kes]

It would be good to understand the true cost, within lowest and highest limits, of putting birds over guns. Its obviously cheaper in Scotland? Even the woodcock are cheaper there.

If all the profit margins were the same per bird, would we see these very high prices?

 

Grouse are super expensive because its an international market and there are some very rich people in the world and after all, its a business.

 

I, like most of us, see shooting as a very enjoyable even essential sport/pastime and I agree with the guy who said he'd buy a shoot if he had £10m and invite his freinds for free. Pretty good gift for your shooting buddies and for you because you cant buy the best company at £30 a bird.

 

If I had the resources to shoot so often, I dont think I would - how do you remember those special moments and special birds when you have another £500 day tomorrow ? I guess I would shoot rather more than I do though.

 

More importantly, what happens to the 300 birds shot because those who have most money shoot most

Having oodles of cash gives you the right to spend it how you want - 100 days driven shooting for example, but it doesnt necessarily make what you are doing 'right'. It would if all the birds were to end up on a plate.

 

The more people will pay, the more it will cost everybody at the 'best' shoots and eventually on every shoot.

I'd hate to think shooting became like the housing market, but hey, its a business -isnt it, aren't we there already ?

Maybe, just maybe, the best shooting is DIY with your best buddies.

[MM]

each to their own i suppose. When i win the big one, ill even invite the rich boys on here as well

[Guest cookoff013]

for me, its shooting with friends. not being put in a bunch of strangers.

my first and only phes shoot i went on was really good. just because it was my first.

there were a few no show drives, but i made up for them on the other drives

i did shockingly well.

i`m trying to convince my friend to come along next time,

[Mungler]

I shot my first day today on our syndicate; it's not big money to join but there's always plenty of work that needs to be done. We don't put that many birds down each year but we hold them and there's wild from previous years.

 

I shot somewhere between 20 and 25 birds (partridge and pheasant) today with my new gun and have 8 sitting in the fridge in the shed. Overall bag was 55 birds. A cracking day.

 

Obviously fist of respect to the beating team which was lead by ME and his trusty side kick "Rusty".

 

Oh yes, I won the gun's sweepstake and ME won the beater's sweepstake.

 

Now that's what shootings all about.

 

And it's pie time this weekend....

 

 

EDIT:

 

I am mindful that in commercial shooting terms at £25 per bird plus VAT, today I would have shot about seven hundred quid's worth of birds which is way more than the cost of my half gun in the syndicate for the year.

Edited October 20, 2010 by Mungler

[starlight32]

I was with a guy the day who told me his shooting bill was never less than 20k a year...........

[ME]

I was with a guy the day who told me his shooting bill was never less than 20k a year...........

 

 

Yes, but was he impressed with the shine you gave his shoes Robbo ?

[al4x]

I shot my first day today on our syndicate; it's not big money to join but there's always plenty of work that needs to be done. We don't put that many birds down each year but we hold them and there's wild from previous years.

 

I shot somewhere between 20 and 25 birds (partridge and pheasant) today with my new gun and have 8 sitting in the fridge in the shed. Overall bag was 55 birds. A cracking day.

 

Obviously fist of respect to the beating team which was lead by ME and his trusty side kick "Rusty".

 

Oh yes, I won the gun's sweepstake and ME won the beater's sweepstake.

 

Now that's what shootings all about.

 

And it's pie time this weekend....

 

 

EDIT:

 

I am mindful that in commercial shooting terms at £25 per bird plus VAT, today I would have shot about seven hundred quid's worth of birds which is way more than the cost of my half gun in the syndicate for the year.

 

 

you sound like my brother Mungler, shooting half the bag for the rest of the team

 

he went on a duck flight last year and offered to try decoying some geese with the keeper result being the 8 guys at the pond had 2 ducks between them and he had a dozen geese

[njc110381]

If you can afford it then why not? These people can afford to fly 50 miles in their helicopters to save sitting in traffic - it's just the same. If you have it you spend it.

 

Do you feel like a tool when you drive past a single mum walking her kids to school in the rain knowing that you can afford a car but she can't? No. That's the way of the world. Speaking in relative income terms to some £1k is like a tenner to me. I'll happily spend way over a tenner on bullets for a day at the range or after bunnies. Pheasants just cost a lot of money. If you don't want to put time into rearing them for yourself you have to pay to shoot them. Just think, if some of these guys were to give up a few hours of their time per week to run their own shoot rather than sit in the office they would lose more in income than it costs to have a 100 bird day to themselves. They would be fools not to pay for the keeper to do it for them!

 

One last thing - Jealousy will get you nowhere! :blink:

Edited October 26, 2010 by njc110381

[al4x]

Its how the other half live, we sat in a pub at the weekend having paid £80 a head for a small 50 bird walked up day and were talking to some guys who had been beating on the more next door. They had been out Friday and Saturday about 175 brace of grouse each day and the bill on that was 64 grand