Game Dealers

[Blackpowder]

Shoot adjacent to me has just installed a processing line. Last year's experiment with cold smoked pheasant was delicious.

 

Blackpowder

[dodeer]

To be honest

Most of this is our fault how many times do you see a game shooting person turn down a brace ?

I shot on Saturday

End of the day I took a brace that I shot myself I know this as my dogs retrieved them and I put my own ties on them

 

End of the day I took my brace and 2 others Sunday afternoon set about plucking and dressing the birds of the 6 birds one was ferret food

Ones legs and back end was plastered

Two were hard hit wings and side

Two were head shot

To be marketed imo 66% were rejects with a disposal cost leaving 2 to sell cover costs and make wages and profit

We need to remember that its food we are harvesting and only present the top quality birds to the dealer and do our bit by being the best marksman we can

 

I read it on here every year

I've been invited pheasant shooting

?what super duper heavyweight load do you recommend?

Light load bit of choke and try to miss infront

 

Tin hat on

 

All the best

Of

Ive said this for ages- people are obsessed with big cartridges. I routinely see average 20 metre birds shot with 32g 5 where a good 35 metre bird only needs 28/30g 6.

[Scully]

3 oven ready pheasants for £10 today on Farnborough market,seemed to be selling OK.

 

I think the biggest problem with game is most people don't know what to do with it in fur and feather and are afraid of it,let's face it most would sooner buy frozen **** from Icelands.

Speaking to the lads at last Saturdays shoot,; some were bemoaning the fact dealers werent buying their shot birds. When I mentioned taking them to a local poultry processing plant, they all looked bemused as though it hadnt occurred to them.

The lady who dresses my birds now charges four quid a brace; I sometimes get my money back but if they dont offer I just give them away.

I agree that most folk either dont know how to dress them or simply cant be bothered ( Im the latter ) but breasting them is a doddle.

[old'un]

My mates up Scotland mid November for a few days driven pheasant shooting, he's been told the guns will have to pay £1 for every shot bird to cover their removal.

[GingerCat]

Such a shame. It's great meat. Breasting and legging a pheasant takes under a minute. why waste it?

[spanj]

They could be doing more to create more demand from Joe public. I also think the big bag shoots need to be doing more. I know of two who dump birds which is perfect fuel for antis.

Will you be naming these 2 big shoots...... not being antagonistic but they need outing and the shooting community need to let them know this is not acceptable. Dumping game, while not only immoral is also extremely short sighted on these businesses (& thats what they are) part

Would it not be a good idea for shoots to liaise with game dealers and find out what numbers they are willing to take and restrict their bags to suit?

The shoots would be out of business in a matter of weeks

Edited November 4, 2017 by spanj

[TIGHTCHOKE]

An interesting thread with some very good points raised but ultimately these are businesses we are talking about.

 

If game is not selling, no Game dealer will buy it and be left with it.

 

Old Farrier raises a very good couple of points, perhaps we need to look inwards first!

[marsh man]

 

 

If game is not selling, no Game dealer will buy it and be left with it.

 

 

That is correct , you cannot blame the game dealer , there business is to buy and sell game and if supply is greater than demand we are left in the situation we are now in ,

 

A similar example was the Herring fishing down our way in 50s and 60s , where more drifters went after them and in the end they were catching more than the demand for Herring, resulting with boats going back out to sea and dumping the whole catch and 100s of crans of Herring on the quayside were left laying rotton and waiting to be disposed of , that was the beginning of the end and now what was once a major industry in Yarmouth can now only be found in the history books , will commercial game shooting as it is now go the same way ?