Shooting Towards Beaters

[sitsinhedges]

Just out of curiosity I was wondering how close beaters get to the guns before shot fall becomes a worry?

 

We know a no6 pellet can travel maybe 250 yards and will fall like rain but I suppose in beating having shot drop on to you is part of the deal, but how close can they get before the shot is going to get harmful rather than just irritating?

 

I suppose angle is as important as anything with a low shot potentially being far more dangerous but partridges or grouse for example don't necessarily seem to be that high to make for a very steep shot that would make the pellets automatically safe.

 

When do the beaters start getting a little concerned?

[Royboy]

I've never been concerned of shot falling in the 25 years I've been beating ?

[Scully]

The only time I used to get concerned as a beater was if I saw one of the guns get down on one knee to take aim. You're right, proximity and angle is everything; lead dropping like rain isn't an issue.

[JDog]

I've never been concerned of shot falling in the 25 years I've been beating ?

 

Me neither.

[Royboy]

 

Me neither.

25 years beating j dog ? Come on you having a laugh ? Ha

[scotslad]

Because its coming up and down with gravity not really an issue, unless u happened to look up and get 1 directly in the eye.

 

I have heard it is becoming more a problem for the guns when shooting very high pheasants and using heavier shot, shooting fairly vertical and neighbouring guns spent shot falling as ur looking up at ur next bird and getting 1 in eye/face.

 

When on grouse u usually have 'horn' posts about 120m ish from butts, usually/ideally they will not be in diect sight line from butts, been hit a few times by odd pellets at 100 odd m, can sting a bit on ur bare arms but thats about it, althou i wouldnae fancy being hit with whole pattern.

When the beaing team reacjhing the posts the keepers all blow there horn and no more shooting forward after that

[JDog]

25 years beating j dog ? Come on you having a laugh ? Ha

 

Sorry you are correct. In forty years of standing in a shooting line I have never had any concerns about lead from my cartridges falling on beaters heads. If guns had major concerns about that they would never pull the trigger.

[Royboy]

 

Sorry you are correct. In forty years of standing in a shooting line I have never had any concerns about lead from my cartridges falling on beaters heads. If guns had major concerns about that they would never pull the trigger.

Ha that's more like it 👍

[Exudate]

Used to get hit by fallout all of the time while beating, and it was never a problem. That's why syndicates should always use the 'no shots under 45 degrees' rule, so that shot masses are always travelling well skyward, in oppose to horizontally. Still, I always used to wear my clay shooting safety specs while beating, just in case an over-excited (slash stupid) gun decided to send a barrel in my General direction at head height!

[fortune]

I've seen some beaters sustain some fairly heavy impacts from large shot raining down on them And on one shoot the keeper had to stop a drive because some of the guns who had never shot before were shooting directly into the drive. That got a bit hairy at times as two of the guns nearly shot one another. Obviously the shoot wanted the shoot to go on for financial reasons but the beater's nearly walked off of the shoot. I think that it was torrential rain in the afternoon and the shooters decided that they had, had enough shooting and spent the rest of the day in the pub.

[Vince Green]

Shot falls like little hail stones and doesn't even hurt but the shoot has a legal responsibility to issue all necessary safety equipment and safety glasses would be sensible for the sake of a quid or so.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Vince Green

[Exudate]

If I was running a shoot I'd make eye protection mandatory for both guns and beaters alike. Hearing protection mandatory for guns, too. On the shoot I was half gun on (I used to beat one shoot and then shoot the next), I was always gob-smacked at how blasé people were when it came to these basic safety precautions. I used to get the urine extracted for wearing my eye protection, both as a beater and when on the gun line. Having a face full of shot is one thing, but to be blinded, too........

 

......just wear those safety specs, end of.

[kody]

Had a shot caught me on my upper lip bloody hurt a gun fired about 150yds away shot come down on me

[winnie&bezza]

One of the beaters on the shoot I used to help out on got hit when a gun fired at a low partridge whilst the beater was walking down the edge of a field. He got a bit of shot embedded in his cheek and he said when he was in the bath that evening he saw blood on his leg and he felt a lump where the blood was. He pressed the surrounding skin and out popped another piece of shot. The gun Didn't shoot the rest of the day out of shame (to right as well) and if that cheek got was 2" higher he would of been blinded.

[mattyg1086]

In my first year beating i was stood on the edge of a wood with a friend towards the end of a drive and people had kept saying about this one guy who was the landowners friend that he was shooting low. Anyway we felt the pellets pass us and you could hear them whistle by and we both dropped to the floor and shouted f ing hell the keeper saw this and kicked the guy off the shoot apparently he was ******. Could have been much worse but fair play to the keeper he stood up for us

[stoxs]

i am often more concerned at the time between shooting and reloading. Many times i have seen closed guns pass through people to return to shooting position.

Only needs no safety on and a slight knock or itchy trigger finger!

If i see this and in shouting range i will shout a reminder!

Most guns understand what you are getting at, but there is always one or two that are oblivious.

I have often thought Hi Viz for beaters would be a better idea but thats not the done thing!

[pontbeck]

We are talking about two different things, spent shot and shooting low. I have never heard of anyone being injured by spent shot but shooting low is not acceptable under any circumstances and the offending gun should be sent home.

[Royboy]

i am often more concerned at the time between shooting and reloading. Many times i have seen closed guns pass through people to return to shooting position.

Only needs no safety on and a slight knock or itchy trigger finger!

If i see this and in shouting range i will shout a reminder!

Most guns understand what you are getting at, but there is always one or two that are oblivious.

I have often thought Hi Viz for beaters would be a better idea but thats not the done thing!

I'm not sure if it's me looking out for it but I seem to see a lot more unsafe shooting now a days, it's normaly folk with too much money and wanting a new hobby ( nothing wrong with that ) but they've no gun safety, I don't think some people understand what a shotgun can do to somebody

[fortune]

Had a shot caught me on my upper lip bloody hurt a gun fired about 150yds away shot come down on me

This

 

Sometimes the shot comes down like rain and there is no real power to it to do real injury BUT some people use large shot like 3 or 4 and If you get hit on exposed flash it blooming well hurts and could be damaging to eyes. Generally through beaters aren't looking up at the sky when you are getting near to the flushing point because your trying to concentrate on NOT letting the birds run back through the line.

[stoxs]

I'm not sure if it's me looking out for it but I seem to see a lot more unsafe shooting now a days, it's normaly folk with too much money and wanting a new hobby ( nothing wrong with that ) but they've no gun safety, I don't think some people understand what a shotgun can do to somebody

 

self preservation setting in with age!!!

 

we have all done some stupid things, thankfully we got away with it and never did it again!!

Often it can be that people are afraid to upset anyone and will sit there quiet and not mention it politly.

[Grandalf]

i am often more concerned at the time between shooting and reloading. Many times i have seen closed guns pass through people to return to shooting position.

Only needs no safety on and a slight knock or itchy trigger finger!

If i see this and in shouting range i will shout a reminder!

Most guns understand what you are getting at, but there is always one or two that are oblivious.

I have often thought Hi Viz for beaters would be a better idea but thats not the done thing!

I'll go along with this. I also ensure that the guns on my shoot raise their guns to the 'high port' position as the beating team approaches. That ensures the barrels are way above the beaters heads so they don't have to 'swing through' to take a shot. Common-sense really.

I have been shot twice in my long and various tasks around the shooting world. Not seriously injured though.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Grandalf

[subsonicnat]

Was Always told by keepers or shoot captains,,,,

If You cannot see blue sky, You Don`t Shoot.

Have Shot Grouse, Different kettle of fish, if you can see the beater is getting close, Only birds Behind,,, or Blue Sky..

[robbiep]

Was Always told by keepers or shoot captains,,,,

If You cannot see blue sky, You Don`t Shoot.

Have Shot Grouse, Different kettle of fish, if you can see the beater is getting close, Only birds Behind,,, or Blue Sky..

 

Same here. I was always told that if you can't see sky under the bird, then it's not a safe shot

I think it's more of a problem on paid day shoots, rather than on syndicates.

I've had plenty of shot coming down like rain around me when beating through woods, and never been concerned.

 

At North Wales Shooting School (just outside Chester) shots fired at clays coming from the High Tower largely land in the car park, and on all the cars. The only precaution that most people take is to lift up their windscreen wipers so that shot which has landed doesn't get scraped up the screen when they're leaving.

[pontbeck]

I took a clay shooter out on our syndicate a few years ago. He told me he'd shot game a few times but I was a little concerned so stood with him all day. I said remember to only shoot if the bird is surrounded by blue sky. The first couple of drives went well , on the third drive he was standing just over the brow of a hill when a partridge appeared about 4 foot off the ground and he was raising his gun to it when I stopped him. He said he thought it was OK because the background was completely sky.

[activeviii]

Its the job of the beat captain and shoot captain, or keeper and under-keeper to work out the drives and gun placements so that shot is not going to cause a problem. falling shot can't always be helped but as beaters do and need to get close to the guns at times, but this is falling shot, not directed shot.. I have always mad sure that all know the rule of no sky, no shot. no ground game at all, that includes squirrels. they can and should be dealt with at other times

i dont and will not stand for anyone that does not think of others before they pull the trigger. if they are getting over excited then a word is needed in their shell. no second chance with a life and guns.