The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

only downsides are the beater is marmite... he will swear at you and call you a c+_t if you muck up... if you muck up v badly he will ask the game cart to drop you back off at your car. the restaurant serves you a set meal unless you are veggie or allergic, so no choices but still good food.

Nobody has or ever will swear at me on a shoot regardless of if I am shooting or beating, it is just bad manners

£40. help yourself to tea and coffee before starting.usually there is biscuits too.
Soup and pies for lunch at the beaters hut. Again help yourself to tea and coffee. You will get invited to the cock shoot. Some seasons there is two cock shoot days, one day being the usual standing/ walking split into two teams.
The second day is more of a rough shoot splitting up into smaller groups and walking various banks, deep ditches etc
The estate supplies a home made very good meal on the first beaters day with nearly everyone taking in home made scones,home made sausage rolls, home made hot smoked salmon etc for a break at 11.00.
Once the guns are put away at the end of day,a few drams are enjoyed.
A great day out.
Shoppe

One thing we have all missed is how big are the shoots? Are they chatty 50-75 Bird days where the guns and beaters walk together, or the more focussed 300-500 bird days where the guns have their man drive the vogue to the next drive and the beaters are invisible.

Most shoots day are at least 100 bird.
A few days are 130 plus.
The day is split into drives with the guns going in their vehicles and the beaters in the beaters cart. Guns are all pretty chatty at end of the drives and at end of the day.
All pretty relaxed, well apart from the keeper if the drive did go as expected! But the next usually makes up for it

the way that a number of shoots are not running this year, means that there are a surplus of beaters/pickers up, looking for spaces. I wonder how that may effect pay etc. if at all.hopefully no gamekeeper would be short sighted enough to drop wages or they may ne hunting for people next season.