End of season thoughts .

[Salopian]

IPS, said,

'These days I wait for invites from Friends or Keepers'

Ian,     Yes I do the same , didn't go out much this season ! 

Matt , ( Salop Sniper) thank you for being so complimentary about my shooting ability . Always a pleasure to teach young whipper snappers.

Make the most of it Gentlemen & Ladies , because we just cannot justify killing these very large bags for pleasure , it is not sport in my opinion it is just greedy mass destruction . Let us all show a little restraint and go back to sensible 150 - 200 bird days with fine food and friendships .

I actually have wonderful days where we shoot less than 60 bird days , all guns have some shooting and a good time is had by all , beaters, pickers up , Guns and their partners . Social days out in the Field.

 

[squimp]

I shot on and enjoyed a number of days this year when the bag was between 40 and 120 birds. Some were private days and some were on commercial shoots.

However the commercial ones I was told were unprofitable. The economics is inescapable -  you need roughly the same beaters/food/etc etc for a 75 bird day as for a 275 bird day.

I used to shoot regularly on a semi commercial Welsh high bird shoot that sold limited numbers of 80 - 125 bird days. They were fantastic for the guns but barely profitable for the guy who ran it and funded it. He eventually gave up several years ago (partly thru' old age).

Somebody else took it on and had the same problem -  he couldn't make it work with small days. He gave up after 2 seasons.

This last season ano guy has taken it on and he has run a limited number of bigger days (200 -275) as a way of subsidising the smaller days that me and my mates like to shoot. As I understand it, he is happy with the result financially (the benign weather this year did help) and he has plans to offer us a similar selection of smaller days next season.

Whilst I appreciate Salopian's point about 'greedy mass destruction', few of us are lucky enough to be invited to private shoots where the books don't necessarily have to be balanced. For those of us that have to pay for our shooting, we need to appreciate that the people who run the shoots have to make a return on their not inconsiderable investment.

I would be very happy to only shoot 'sensible'  bags (Salopian suggests 150 -200) if the shoot owners can make a living from that model.

If bigger bags are outlawed (partly on moral/ethical grounds) then the whole game shooting business (shoot managers, agents and guns alike) has to be realigned...…. 

 

[Garwood]

Ultimately the cost will go up as the bags were reduced,whether you are prepared to pay more for less will be a personal choice,no doubt largely governed by ability to pay.

Sadly this will probably affect people who appreciate the smaller day!!!!

One thing that I`ve noted is how few people stay to watch their birds being picked,or even wait to let pickers up know what there is .I always view this aspect as a big part of the day personally.

 

[Salopian]

Gentlemen , 

I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments and reasoning, We the Guns have demanded these big days and commercial shoots have geared up for them in every way , mass rearing of birds , which necessitates larger rearing fields , more feed , more staff , more vehicles etc. etc.  To instantly cease or ban excess days will result in businesses folding and unemployment . So we need to think it through correctly . I have no doubt that the chinless wonders who have ruined our sport will continue on the big bag days . Hopefully there will just be less of them and eventually they will cease through lack of demand.

 

[paul b]

The B word may fettle a few but aslong as there's big money about there will be big days.

 

[ChrisPackham]

B worrd is interesting, many of the stupid days are taken by EU teams who can’t shoot reared birds at home, plus middle east and septics, none of who end up eating their birds (would make check in interesting)

200 bird day is more than enough for 8 guns in my opinion, we average 110 head on our shoot despite putting quite a few birds down, equally we are already into double figures for foxes since the 2nd Feb which could explain something!