IMO no, higher prices will force many out of deer stalking and down the chain to shooting vermin, which a lot are willing to pay for so they can keep up their shooting.
This inturn will force out those who provided free vermin control for landowners on a goodwill basis in return for permission to shoot.
Ian.
Yes, I have mixed feelings.
Great for those employed in the industry, not so good for the common man!
bambi, myself and my shooting buddy have been victims of this although not from deerstalkers but driven pheasant shooters.
We had negociated vermin shooting with a landowner on an livestock farm but two weeks later when we phoned the landowner to say we were coming to shoot, he informed us that he had sold the shooting to two guys for £600 exclusively, who knocked his door!!
To say we were pi$$ed off is an understatement, and he did not even have the decency to ring us and tell
us what he had done.
Ian.
What did you actually negotiate with the landowner?
I think the days of free shooting are coming to an end, more and more people prepared to pay , Europeans prepared to pay good money for what we used to very often regard as free, rabbits, hares, pigeons, goose flighting.
I know of estates getting £ 10 a hare for a day on hill hares, 10 guns 100 hares for the day theres a £1000 for the estate, £50 per gun for a day 4 guns couple of hundred quid for the day walking up rabbits with a keeper
and a couple of spaniels.
Can't blame the landowners,farmers we just need to except thats the future, some will not be able to afford to pay for their shooting, others will decide not to, unfortunately they will disappear from the shooting world to be replaced by them that can and will pay.
And yes deer stalking seems to becoming more popular, which means cost of leases and day stalking will continue to rise.
However the more people joining the ranks of stalking will inevitably lead to more pressure being put on land available to stalk on.
no one wants to pay a pro pest controller X amount of pounds when there many offering to do it for nothing.
Ian.
Tamus,
vermin control has traditionally been a free service given to the landowner by the shooter, you cannot regard it as something for nothing, i give my time, my fuel and ammo costs free in return for permission to shoot on his land.
I am not interested in his game birds and i am not intetrested in his deer, i shoot fox's, rabbits, crows, pigeons and other agricultural pests because thats what i enjoy.
If the landowner says i can take the odd deer or game bird or two for a job well done then that is an added bonus.
Increasingly shooters are door knocking offering payment for vermin control, its only human nature that this payment is going to be excepted but on the other hand farmers also dont like spending hard earned money on a service they can get for free, no one wants to pay a pro pest controller X amount of pounds when there many offering to do it for nothing.
Ian.
"let is come and shoot vermin on your land and we will do it for nothing".
Tamus,
vermin control has traditionally been a free service given to the landowner by the shooter, you cannot regard it as something for nothing, i give my time, my fuel and ammo costs free in return for permission to shoot on his land.
I am not interested in his game birds and i am not intetrested in his deer, i shoot fox's, rabbits, crows, pigeons and other agricultural pests because thats what i enjoy.
If the landowner says i can take the odd deer or game bird or two for a job well done then that is an added bonus.
Increasingly shooters are door knocking offering payment for vermin control, its only human nature that this payment is going to be excepted but on the other hand farmers also dont like spending hard earned money on a service they can get for free, no one wants to pay a pro pest controller X amount of pounds when there many offering to do it for nothing.
Ian.
Unfortunately you get nothing in life for 'free' and the market dictates the price! IMHO things will get worse with 'lead free' bullets and DSC Level 1 being introduced in 2014 by FC and SNH respectively increasing costs for all. I think we stalkers need to unite and dwfwnbd our rights and sport which is increasingly coming under attack.Free vermin shooting in return for the right to shoot vermin on his land, in other words, "let is come and shoot vermin on your land and we will do it for nothing".
Ian.