Loading on the grouse, any tips?

countrryboy

Well-Known Member
Alright folks.

Just been asked to help the keeper out and load on a grouse moor in a couple of days time, i usually pick up on it. It's a smaller family moor, so nice and friendly and i often recognise and speak to many of the guns as the same ones every year, so not like a big mega formal day where guns are paying a lot of money or have there heads stuck elsewhere

Never loaded for well over 20 years and never on the grouse. Not to worried about the loading side (hoping it will come back to me) but any tips on postioning as never loaded where guns can shoot low behind the line before.
Fortunately on this moor the butts are more hurdle/pallet type rather than the traditional stone enclosed butts so have a bit more room to work with.

Will i need leather gloves for the barrels gettin hot? Depending on weather etc but a 200-250 brace day may not be unrealistic, althou possibly a week or 2 early yet (usually shoots slightly beeter towards end aug). Must admit i never often wear gloves for the cold but this could be abit different. Could i wear normal working gloves (thin rubber ones with the strechy backs) or could they possibly damage the guns?
Can nip into the local gunshop the morro and get a pair if needed.
 
Hi Countryboy,
I load regularly on the grouse moors and have never needed gloves. Be prepared for a variety of weather conditions. When loading stand on right hand side and slightly behind on guns that shoot off the right shoulder and vice versa. Move quickly to front of butt while ducking keeping the barrel of the gun pointing upwards and to the side when guns swing round to shoot behind, they should point gun upwards as they swing through the line, you should stop them if they don't. Return to behind and right when they revert to shooting forward. Good luck and enjoy you will get into the swing of it once you start.
Enjoy.
 
Cheers. Aye had a few drookings on the grouse in the past, infact all the biggest soakings i've had while shooting have been on grouse days. Think ur so exposed and no trees for shelter makes it worse.

So if i understand right, if a gun is swinging behind on his right side u would move forward and duck so gun lifts gun at shooting/safety stick to remount so is basically passing over ur head??
I imagined ud do the oppisate and try to stay sort of o at 4-5 o' clock of his right shoulder so moving back/rotating as he turns etc.
This shoot always has safety sticks on the butts and generally the guns that shoot are very experienced and some of the best markers of shot birds i've seen, althou grouse guns do tend to be far better at accurately marking birds down than ur average lowland gunt (despite the landscape being similarish and the speed of the action when it hots up)

Always been to far back and to busy watching the birds reaction to shots/fall to really pay much attn to the loaders
 
Follow what Willie said and you won't go far wrong, some will ask you if you marked such and such bird, but that's not really your job but theirs you can't really mark birds and consantrate on loading, you might might see the odd bird down when things are not busy,but when they hot up consantrate on the loading.

Think you will enjoy it I prefer loading at the Grouse to Pheasants.
 
Coped anyway, was out yest. 220 brace for day so kept reasonably busy really nice fella and to top it off a lefty!!! Cracking day apart from 1 really really heavy shower and some thunder/lightening.
Good way to start the season

Really enjoyed it althou under a bit of pressure at times when the coveys/packs coming throu, never seen such big packs coming throu the line so early in the season was like a Sept day. Keeper was saying never had such big broods so only takes 1 or 2 coveys to join to get a decent sized pack.
Even the dogs behaved them selves (which i wasnae sure off, not really peg dogs ;), fine for picking up but buggers when they know i'm not watching them) they were short on pickers too with me jumping ship so took 3 dogs allow to give them a hand.

Althou 1 of the ba****rd's pegged a 3 or 4 day old pheasant chick tonite,:doh: was dogging some birds in in really thick cover, seen the hen get up and pitch in quickly followed by some chirping, chick came back alive but thick the stress/shock was too much for it, bloody gutted
 
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