Shooting

• Game Shooting
• Rates
• Accommodation
• Clay Pigeon

Grouse, partridge and pheasant shooting is available both on the estate and also on neighbouring estates (which we can help organise for you). A day of shooting is usually run for a party of nine (grouse) or eight (pheasant) guns. For a group of four guns, a Walking Day or an evening Duck Flight is also available. Details on these packages and prices are give below.

The shooting season runs from August through to January. Bookings for the main grouse or pheasant shooting days are usually made at least six months in advance, with some late availability dates currently available in October and November. The Walking Days and evening Duck Flights can usually be organised about a month in advance. Please contact the Estate’s shooting agent, James Raynar by email or call him on 01765 689224, for further details in terms of availability.

Shooting Packages

The packages available to guns wanting to shoot on the Estate are as follows:

Main Days (Grouse and Pheasant)

The Main Grouse and Pheasant days would be most suitable for those in a party of nine and eight respectively, with driven birds being provided. These days are the grandest in terms of profile, the number of birds and the standard of shooting required, particularly in the case of Grouse shooting.
Both these days start in the Estate Yard adjacent to the hotel, and the guns would head off in the morning onto the estate for the first drive of the day (you will need to organise your own 4×4 vehicles). There are usually four drives per day for Grouse and six for Pheasant depending on the size of bag and the time of year. The average size of bag is 100 brace for grouse and 250 birds for pheasant shooting.
Depending on weather conditions, lunch is usually served half way through the day, either in a bothy hut on the moor on Grouse days or in the hotel’s private dining room on Pheasant days. The guns usually return to the yard by 4.30pm, sometimes a little earlier in the winter months.

Walked Up Days (Pheasant)

These days (for a party of four guns) are as enjoyable as the Main Days, but offer a very different type of experience.
The birds are (on the whole) not driven and as a result the day is a little more low key but also much more active, eminently suitable for a group of guns who might be are looking for a more relaxed and informal event. This day is not for the fainthearted though, as the guns may be walking in fairly difficult terrain for longer period of time. The average size of a bag is 50 birds.
Under the careful guidance of the Head Gamekeeper, Stephen Abbott, the guns will walk together as a team to flush out the pheasant, and other wild quarry. There may also be a few drives where the guns are positioned and birds are driven to them, both of which make for an exhilarating day.
The guns would depart from the estate yard in the estate landrover, returning to the hotel for lunch. The day would end at about 4.30pm, sometimes a little earlier in the winter months.

New to the Scene

This is a package that we have put together for those who are already proficient at clay pigeon shooting, and want to experience driven bird shooting for the first time. It is not suitable for those who want to learn to shoot.

The day starts with an intense half day course of instruction on clays at the shooting school, Warren Gill. This would bring you you up to speed and help you get your eye in, with specific focus on the drives planned for the afternoon. This is followed by lunch at the hotel and then an afternoon of driven pheasant shooting nearby on the estate. There would be two drives and, depending on the level of shooting, we would expect the bag to be in the region of 50, for a team of four guns. Each gun would be supervised by an instructor during each drive – offering advice and support throughout. The aim is to ensure that all of the guns get a good opportunity to experience the excitement and thrill of driven bird shooting, enough to whet the appetite for shooting on a grander scale in the future!

The package includes :

• Guns, cartridges and insurance
• Half day instruction at Warren Gill shooting school
• Lunch at the hotel
• Transport to and from the shooting school and to each drive in the afternoon
• Two pheasant drives
• Hotel accommodation (single occupancy) and three course dinner (either the night before or night after)

The cost per gun is £800, for a booking of a party of four guns.

Evening Duck Flighting

This package offers all the thrills and adrenaline you would expect from duck flighting, at a number of lakes and ponds to choose from on the Estate.
The package includes tea at the hotel before joining the Head Gamekeeper, Stephen Abbott, as he sets you up in position beside the water’s edge. Once dusk has descended, the party returns to the hotel for a three course dinner.
Depending on daylight hours, the guns would leave the yard in the estate landrover at about 4.00pm and return after dark. If guests are not staying at the hotel a room will be made available for them to change in.