Glorious Twelfth

[Longlowdog]

Driven grouse may be seen as the epitome of shooting but for me walked up is the best there is. The combination of your own sweat, the dogs have to be good, your shooting swift and instinctive, the scenery with its big skies and of the course the company of like minded people. Bag counters and the idle don't go on walked up days.
The day I shot a brace over my young bitch I walked 10 miles maybe more and I'm sure she did 60. I know she did the last two in my gamebag tired out and I never felt her weight such was the glory of the day.

 

[Wilksy]

Driven grouse may be seen as the epitome of shooting but for me walked up is the best there is. The combination of your own sweat, the dogs have to be good, your shooting swift and instinctive, the scenery with its big skies and of the course the company of like minded people. Bag counters and the idle don't go on walked up days.
The day I shot a brace over my young bitch I walked 10 miles maybe more and I'm sure she did 60. I know she did the last two in my gamebag tired out and I never felt her weight such was the glory of the day.

That does sound like a day that you’ll never forget

 

[An Gof]

Driven grouse may be seen as the epitome of shooting but for me walked up is the best there is. The combination of your own sweat, the dogs have to be good, your shooting swift and instinctive, the scenery with its big skies and of the course the company of like minded people. Bag counters and the idle don't go on walked up days.
The day I shot a brace over my young bitch I walked 10 miles maybe more and I'm sure she did 60. I know she did the last two in my gamebag tired out and I never felt her weight such was the glory of the day.

Shooting swift and instinctive can be a problem.
First year I went we were informed there was a £200 fine for shooting a Greyhen.
poor old young boy from Cornwall with no moorland experience wasn’t smart enough to know the difference in the heat of the moment. Well I had never seen one before. I was however fast on the trigger and when some birds exploded in front of me how was I to know in that nano second that one was a Greyhen ………. One feather fluttered down but the bird went on …… a fortunate near miss

 

[Longlowdog]

I was fortunate to have seen both grouse and blackcock/greyhen whilst at gamekeeping college.

 

[An Gof]

I was fortunate to have seen both grouse and blackcock/greyhen whilst at gamekeeping college.

You didn’t do your game keeping course at Sparsholt then

 

[An Gof]

Always promised myself a day or two at the Ptarmigan for a real hard core experience. Haven’t made it yet though.

 

[Longlowdog]

Nah, Borders College.
I've never shot UK ptarmigan. Those critters and golden plover are the only two winged shootable quarry to have eluded me.

 

[unlacedgecko]

I was fortunate to have seen both grouse and blackcock/greyhen whilst at gamekeeping college.

I lambed a grouse moor a few years ago. Was lucky enough to see a Covey of blackcock flying as we checked the moor for lambs. One killed itself flying into a fence and the shepherd had it stuffed.

 

[Longlowdog]

I went onto an R.S.P.B managed estate with The B.D.S and the only true thing our guide for the day said was that fences kill more blackcock and caper than anything else.

 

[thorpe]

It's the start of the shooting season tomorrow. Will any of you be taking part or hosting a shoot?

no but i bet our ex land agent will be, plonker!

 

[An Gof]

Nah, Borders College.
I've never shot UK ptarmigan. Those critters and golden plover are the only two winged shootable quarry to have eluded me.

I have shot Golden Plover here on the farm and they used to hold shoots for them on Bodmin Moor.
Never seen a Capercaille or Ptarmigan in the wild.

 

[Jerry]

Are there now no Red Grouse left on Dartmoor? Knew numbers were VERY low but i thought there were still one or two about. No doubt @egbert will be able to give us a definitive answer.

as a kid I saw them up on the moors but not heard of any for a while now

 

[toquark]

Not looking great for the grouse season this year, the joy of working with wild stock but all the best to those who do get out, nothing beats a day on the hill, as others have said a walked up day isn’t for the lazy but it’s a special thing

 

[Cowmansam]

I believe the ones in Shropshire are now the most southern grouse in Britain

 

[capfits]

I was fortunate to have seen both grouse and blackcock/greyhen whilst at gamekeeping college.

Gathering Blackie wethers 3 weeks ago and I saw more Blackcock/Greyhen than grouse, which kinda sums up the grouse breeding this season.
Lot of work been put in by the keepers, but unfortunately the signs were there all along, but really noticeable from early July that the numbers seen were low. Counts suggest 2.3-2.5 brood size as opposed normal 6.
Later broods there but always smaller.

 

[ajcc]

Yorkshire water are bowing to anti field sports lobby....grouse need shooting to survive but educatiing the wannabe environmentalist is thankless task.

 

[high plains drifter]

I’m not much into shooting but if they ever try and ban grouse shooting I will take it up immediately (walked up, end of season, tiny bag….cheap as possible).
Far too many people in this world trying to tell others how to live their lives. Generally urbanites dictating to country people.

Packham and co are already trying. There petitions petitions have triggered two parliamentary debates. The last was in June.

 

[Swarfmonkey]

Kerry McCarthy MP (Labour, VP of LACS, vegan, raving lunatic), made herself look like an absolute idiot in the most recent debate. Transcript is available on Hansard if anyone is looking for a cure for insomnia.

I've only had one day on grouse, courtesy of a friend from university (massively loaded family, big estate up in Scotland). Right at the end of the season, shooting over pointers. Enjoyed every second of it.

 

[Cowmansam]

What the do gooders don’t get is money makes the world go round and people paying to shoot pay for all the habitat management and pest control that keeps the moors going not to mention the generations of knowledge needed to manage them nobody is paying to look at them same story with game in Africa where there’s hunting there’s game where there isn’t there’s nothing

 

[MrNoo]

I have shot Golden Plover here on the farm and they used to hold shoots for them on Bodmin Moor.
Never seen a Capercaille or Ptarmigan in the wild.

We get Golden Plover here every year, swooping around in flocks, lovely to watch.