Driven game shooting

Moving up two positions each drive means that each individual should at some point be in the middle of the best shooting. However the birds and the weather do not always guarantee this! Other combinations of peg moves are also used.

Shot birds are retrieved by a team of 'pickers - up' who stand well behind the guns and eight guns will often have at least 3 pickers-up behind them with 2 -4 dogs each. After the drive is finished, the pickers-up will ensure that all the shot birds are accounted for and retrieved.

A detailed description of a shoot day is given below. Driven shooting mainly involves pheasant , partridge, grouse and occasionally duck, with most following broadly the same format although there are some subtle differences.

The number of birds shot on a day - 'the bag'- varies from - with both smaller and larger days being common and with grouse being counted in pairs - 'brace' two alike things. For example a bird pheasant day would equate to a 50 brace grouse day. Shoots are usually syndicated, commercial or a mixture of the two, although many are of course still purely private and operate on an invitation only basis.

Estates and large farms often have a syndicate arrangement where a group of friends finance the whole shoot between themselves, leasing the land, employing a gamekeeper and covering all costs.

No days are sold commercially and syndicate members will often invite guests who may reciprocate with an invitation to their own shoot. These shoots are rarely run at a profit. What a great hunting location. To resume in one word: sublime! John United States. This place is a jewel in many respects The most memorable couple of days - thank you!! Nicky Szapary Austria. Home » Things to know before you first shoot driven game.

Shooting driven game for the first time can be slightly daunting. Here we aim to answer some of these questions and give you some peace of mind before you arrive. Keeping yourself and fellow guns safe is a vital part of game shooting.

Cartridge size and type should also be a consideration especially when different bore sizes are there. Remember, a 20 bore cartridge will fit in the chamber underneath a 12 bore cartridge. An additional note on cartridges is the rapid adoption of steel shot cartridges. Not all guns are proofed to handle steel particularly older side by sides. With all the excitement people sometimes forget their hearing protection.

Shooting a gun next to an unprotected ear is a surefire way to do irreparable damage. The reason being, ground game often runs from the beaters towards the guns. These darting runs put the beaters and fellow guns at risk should someone decide to shoot them. The morning briefing will let you know whether ground game is permissible on that day. For a beginner, this is the question you need the answer to more so than anything else.

You will not make any friends by shooting a bird destined for a neighbouring gun. Distinguishing your bird is a case of answering a few questions about the incoming birds.

Nothing is easier than standing on a peg shooting birds passing nicely overhead after being flushed by a whole heap of beaters. You can…. What would be the best cartridge load for driven pheasants? Speaking from my experience as a shooting instructor I think that the cartridges a shooter uses….

Throughout the UK and Europe, driven shooting has become one of the most popular facets of our sport. According to BASC, of the , people who hold shotgun certificates, more than 55 per cent shoot driven game. The release of game for sporting purposes, involving pheasants and mallard, began in….

We all know the price paid by game dealers for shot birds has been historically low for many seasons, and maybe it always has been. I have been fortunate enough to be involved in the wonderful world of fieldsports for most of my life. Last month, estates reported big broods and perfect conditions along with the possibility of record seasons in some places. But Shooting Times checked back to see whether the Glorious Twelfth had….