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What to expect running your own Pheasant Shoot


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Expect to do twice as much work as all the other guns, and then realise that in reality you do twice as much as you had expected to do!

 

Expect not to get the same enjoyment out of a day's shooting as the other guns do, they don't have to put the thought-effort in that is required if your running the day.

But on the other hand expect to feel very proud when it all comes together and you receive compliments about well presented birds, or that 'we' still have plenty of birds to show whilst other shoots struggle.

 

Expect to be left with little time in the day to chat to guests, despite most of the guns being on the shoot for a number of years amnesia seems to set in each shoot day, you'll have to explain everything...

 

 

...twice Leaving you with less social time

 

 

Expect new guns / year or two in / guests to know how to run the shoot better than you, always listen to their advice...

 

... because obviously they are right! Right?

Edited by Paul223
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Expect guns to tel late on a Friday night and tell you they cant make it by that time its to late to get someone else.

Expect guns not to turn up on Saturday morning or tel to tell you!

Expect after all the hard work and effort they will say you didn't beat that drive very good!

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Expect to do twice as much work as all the other guns, and then realise that in reality you do twice as much as you had expected to do!

 

Expect not to get the same enjoyment out of a day's shooting as the other guns do, they don't have to put the thought-effort in that is required if your running the day.

But on the other hand expect to feel very proud when it all comes together and you receive compliments about well presented birds, or that 'we' still have plenty of birds to show whilst other shoots struggle.

 

Expect to be left with little time in the day to chat to guests, despite most of the guns being on the shoot for a number of years amnesia seems to set in each shoot day, you'll have to explain everything...

 

 

...twice Leaving you with less social time

 

 

Expect new guns / year or two in / guests to know how to run the shoot better than you, always listen to their advice...

 

... because obviously they are right! Right?

 

Sounds familiar :oops:

Edited by magman
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  • 2 weeks later...

Ill start it off!50% of your guns wont ever turn up to help out or do any work.

I wish I had 50% turn up!

All the above comments are true in my opinion!

 

Lots of excuses and hollow promises and then complaints when it's goes wrong and no praise when it goes right.

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I wish I had 50% turn up!

All the above comments are true in my opinion!

 

Lots of excuses and hollow promises and then complaints when it's goes wrong and no praise when it goes right.

Its the done thing on our shoot for the shooters and guests to bring a bottle and put it on the table for guns and beaters at the end of the day.

Guest turns up and says, You wont believe it I came away and forgot the bottle of whisky and left it on the kitchen table. I said you never forgot your Gun!

The Guest on the first drive shoots 16 Pheasants and misses a few at the end of the drive he says to me. I expected to shoot more than 16 on one of your main drives and the reason for that is, You are not presenting the birds correctly and the beaters are pushing to slow. Much of the same on every drive. This was two seasons ago I met him this year in B&Q and he said I was expecting an invite this season but didn't get one, (Oh Really)

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Its the done thing on our shoot for the shooters and guests to bring a bottle and put it on the table for guns and beaters at the end of the day.

Guest turns up and says, You wont believe it I came away and forgot the bottle of whisky and left it on the kitchen table. I said you never forgot your Gun!

The Guest on the first drive shoots 16 Pheasants and misses a few at the end of the drive he says to me. I expected to shoot more than 16 on one of your main drives and the reason for that is, You are not presenting the birds correctly and the beaters are pushing to slow. Much of the same on every drive. This was two seasons ago I met him this year in B&Q and he said I was expecting an invite this season but didn't get one, (Oh Really)

 

16 birds to one gun on one drive, at that rate its a 500 bird day, beating speed through a drive makes no difference what so ever to bird speed over a gun line. On a commercial shoot we wanted a twentyor so for the bag on the last drive, double banked I was at the end of the front row, around the side of a smallish hill on the top of which was a game crop. The beaters literally ran through the crop, must have been 500 birds in there and most of then came out in one flush. Most people had a right and left and left it at that.

 

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16 birds to one gun on one drive, at that rate its a 500 bird day, beating speed through a drive makes no difference what so ever to bird speed over a gun line. On a commercial shoot we wanted a twentyor so for the bag on the last drive, double banked I was at the end of the front row, around the side of a smallish hill on the top of which was a game crop. The beaters literally ran through the crop, must have been 500 birds in there and most of then came out in one flush. Most people had a right and left and left it at that.

 

A

 

A

It doesn't really work like that on my shoot. There are 5 standing guns on every drive, and I place the Guest on what I think will be the best stand for every drive so he has a high chance of a very good day. There are big gaps on each drive so that birds can escape and not get shot at, also I have a limit of around 80/90 birds a day. I shoot my two main drives first so that each team will have plenty of shooting. After that if I have the number I require we drive the outside bits where only a few birds are shot or flushed and whatever comes first the end of the day leaving the birds plenty of time to go to roost or near the tally I want I stop the shoot. By limiting the number of birds shot to what you put down will mean you still have plenty of birds left coming into late January when I think they are at their best.

Anyhow you said it yourself the beating speed doesn't make any difference to the bird speed, but it makes a big difference to the amount of birds flushed as you said far too fast and they all get up at once.

After 42yrs of running driven Pheasant shoots I've never seen 500 birds in the air at once and regardless of what you shot it still must have been a Fantastic sight!

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