Rough shooting/hunting?

captdavid

Well-Known Member
Would someone please tell me what this entails, cost, expectations, &etc? On my planned (probably next year in Sept/Oct ) trip to the UK I might want to plan one of these? I know that this is probably sacreligious, but are automatic shotguns used in the UK? capt david
 
Rough shooting is generally understood to mean walking through a game holding area in a line with up to 7 other hunters spaced about 50-75 yards apart with a number of dogs and possibly some beaters flushing game in front of the hunters. The game is then shot at whilst flying away from the guns or on some occasions coming back over the line. The shooting can be on farmland, in woodland, wetlands or on moorland or a combination of these. The quarry is usually what you call ringneck pheasants but other game species possible are partridges, duck, geese, pigeon, woodcock, snipe, hares and rabbits plus on some heather moorland you will be after red grouse and just possibly blackcock.

The cost varies according to the expectation on species and numbers but you can get decent rough shooting for £100 - £150 per day and you might expect to get somewhere between 5 and 20 shots, how much you kill is entirely up to you and your shooting. Days for grouse might cost a bit more and might involve using dogs like setters or pointers that will freeze when a covey of grouse is located and indicate where the birds are, they are then flushed by the dog on command and shot at whilst flying away.

Automatic shotguns are legal in the UK but not usually encouraged or used other than for wildfowling or pigeon shooting and I think are limited by law to three shots so a standard 5 shot auto would not be allowed.

If you come in September the number of quarry species and shooting on offer will be a be more limited as pheasants are not in season until 1st October but not often shot at until towards the end of the month to allow juveniles to start to fly properly.
 
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Some good advice above.

In our area, the rough shooting days are generally left till a bit later on in the year. Mild weather early in the season means birds tend to wander and most keepers will be wanting to 'dog-in' a lot of the outlying areas that would otherwise be walked on rough or walked up days.

As Paul says, leaving it to a bit later on means the chance of more species.

Personally, a day of 20 or so of a mixed bag of partridges, pheasants and pigeons between 3 of 4 guns (friends) shot over your own dogs and finishing with a flight at a duck pond is about as good as it gets IMO...

Dreaming now...
 
Rough shooting is generally understood to mean walking through a game holding area in a line with up to 7 other hunters spaced about 50-75 yards apart with a number of dogs and possibly some beaters flushing game in front of the hunters. The game is then shot at whilst flying away from the guns or on some occasions coming back over the line. The shooting can be on farmland, in woodland, wetlands or on moorland or a combination of these. The quarry is usually what you call ringneck pheasants but other game species possible are partridges, duck, geese, pigeon, woodcock, snipe, hares and rabbits plus on some heather moorland you will be after red grouse and just possibly blackcock.

The cost varies according to the expectation on species and numbers but you can get decent rough shooting for £100 - £150 per day and you might expect to get somewhere between 5 and 20 shots, how much you kill is entirely up to you and your shooting. Days for grouse might cost a bit more and might involve using dogs like setters or pointers that will freeze when a covey of grouse is located and indicate where the birds are, they are then flushed by the dog on command and shot at whilst flying away.

Automatic shotguns are legal in the UK but not usually encouraged or used other than for wildfowling or pigeon shooting and I think are limited by law to three shots so a standard 5 shot auto would not be allowed.

If you come in September the number of quarry species and shooting on offer will be a be more limited as pheasants are not in season until 1st October but not often shot at until towards the end of the month to allow juveniles to start to fly properly.

That would be a walked up day a proper rough shoot would be a couple of buddys walking around hedgerows and fields of crops woods ect with a couple of dogs and maby ferrets for vermin and game not saying that you are wrong Paul just the way we percive it here
ATB Paul D
 
Hi captdavid

if you are over next year and are close to us in Wales and would like to have a walk out one day perhaps we could arrange it just pm me if interested all it will cost you is your travelling and stop over and a pint in the bar afterwards

Paul D
 
That would be a walked up day a proper rough shoot would be a couple of buddys walking around hedgerows and fields of crops woods ect with a couple of dogs and maby ferrets for vermin and game not saying that you are wrong Paul just the way we percive it here
ATB Paul D

No problem, I agree with you and that's what I call rough shooting as well but I don't think it's what our Transatlantic friend had in mind. My early rough shooting days were exactly that, walking around 200 acres of mixed farmland/woods in the Monmouth area with two or three mates and getting a few brace of pheasants and pigeons, the odd partridge, hare, rabbit and then finishing by sitting by the flight pond waiting for the mallard or teal to show.
 
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