Game Shoot

sp4rkman

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

I know this is not stalking related but hoping a few of you may be able to help.

What is the going/average rate for a half gun on a game shoot? The shoot is on 1000 acres, they put down 2500 birds a year and have 6/7 drives a day. The place includes a few informal walked up days, unlimited pigeon shooting and lamping for foxes too.

I'm keen to do some game shooting but it's not that cheap so need to be sure it's worth the money before joining.

sp4rkman
 
Not an easy question to answer! Is it a syndicate with limited numbers, if so how many? Is it for the season or 12 months, how many others want to go lamping/pigeon shootig? 1000 acres may seem a lot but if there are a dozen people roaming about it can seem quite small!
Another factor is how well organised is it, this is critical. As far as cost goes I have known similar set ups where half a gun would cost £400 and others well over £1000. I think if you gave a rough idea as to cost it may help.
This type of shoot can be brilliant or a total disaster, much depends on who is in it!
Finally is it walk one stand one or are beaters involved and how many days are offered?
 
Hi old keeper,

It's a syndicate with 10 guns. A half gun cost £1700 for 6 driven days and a handful of informal walked up days. None of the other members have an FAC so don't go lamping. It doesn't sound like many go pigeon shooting either.
There are beaters/pickers up involved, with elevensies included. Lunch is taken in the local pub at own expense.

I know it's difficult to put a price on without knowing more about the shoot. Just trying to get an idea if it's worth while or not.
 
depends on the bag size. i.e 6 x 100 birds days, 10 guns a day so your theoretical share would be 10 birds, 60 over the 6 days, £1700 / 60, works out at £ 28 ea for the birds on the driven days alone, then you would have to factor in your share on the walked up days, which would bring the avarge price per bird lower still. So if they are 100 bird days then I would say reasonable value for the driven alone. If they average 80 birds a day then getting expensive etc etc.
 
As a comparison, the syndicate that I keeper for puts down 2200 birds (Mix of Pheasant, partridge and duck), they shoot 10 driven days,
averaging 95 bird days last year. A full gun is £2000 and half gun is £1000.

The syndicate members get the 10 days game shooting only, I do the fox control and my regular beaters get the pigeon shooting etc.
 
I think you're in Hampshire and things are not cheap there.!
I don't think you are being ripped off especially if you can lamp and pigeon shoot when you want. If no one else does fox control you may be able to enlarge on this for the future and even get a price reduction!
Am I right in saying you get 6 full days shooting and a full gun would get perhaps 10-12.
If you can shoot after the season is over, say till May or June when the poults come in it seems good value for money and well worth a try.
 
i would say thats very reasonable and if you get on with all the other members then that in itself is worth something as it can open doors into different shoots as well as you being allowed guest days to invite your own guests who inturn take you on their shoots or such like

cheers webby
 
from a keepers point of few .....why is there lamping on offer is it a diy syndicate with no keeper ....a shoot where everyone mucks in ! ha ha all kean as mustard till the weather turns to cr.p alot of bosses and not many workers .dig deep ask plenty of questions
 
As a very, very rough guide (and somebody will post about a syndicate that is as cheap as chips) then for a DIY syndicate, with quite a few work days, no beaters to talk of so shoot one drive beat the next, take the number of birds put down multiplied by about £10 then divide by the number of guns. That is pretty much the start point, if you are in an affluent area, have beaters, don't do work days, and so on then the costs will go northwards quite dramatically. From the details you've given, the price seems reasonable.
 
I would say the price seems reasonable for wot u describe, althou with that ammount off birds it has to be organised and very hard to give a proper opinion over the net.
I also persume it is keepered (partime atleast) (so might not get lamping or pigeons like tikka said above) as u haven't mentioned work days and that is a lot off birds to look after. also whoever is doing the foxes at the moment might not apprieciate u coming straight in and going out lamping. Generally in a game syndicate u get the game shooting and nothing else, esp as it sounds a fairly fancy syndicate and not jist a rough walk up or beat 1 /stand 1 type syndcate. in my opinion it would be up to u to offer to help keeper and shoot captain and u might be offered the vermin in return

£1700 is a lot off money but u have to decide if u are gettin value for money, a well run syndicate should give u decent value.
I would be asking shoot captain a few questions althou the most important one for me would be wot he and the other guns are like, will u enjoy the days in there company
-expected bags throughout season and approx bags for walk up days
-any duck ponds/flights
-lamping/vermin control (i would also be surprised if they let a complete stranger wander around at nite straight away)
- returns for previous years
-extra money to pay beaters pickers ups or tips on shoot days
-is it keepered or work parties and feed rotas (as a ruff guide u could be looking at 25T off wheat to be put out)
-if it is possible to get a tour/ help look birds to see the ground and see if it should show decent sporting birds

I'm sure there is many more questions u could ask that i havenae thought off yet, and i'm sure others will add a few that i've forgot ;)
 
Good pheasant shooting does not come cheap. The major costs are ground rent (could be around £10 - £15 an acre), Pheasants (£4.00 - £4.50 with partridge and duck possibly a bit more), Feeding (through the roof), keepering (2400 birds is a lot for a diy set up), beaters (£150-£200 per day).

Financially if you can keep your cost below £30 a bird for the days shoot you are doing not too bad.

I believe you are also paying for good organisation. As already said if you are shooting 6 days @ 100 birds and getting your fair share - not too bad but if you are constantly ending up with the "poor" peg it my not seem just as good value for cash.

You may be quite happy to accept lamping as part of your investment but on a pheasant shoot lamping needs to be done many nights a week. If you are using a vehicle at £1.40+ a litre your £1700 fee maybe more like £2000+.
 
As i have found that for every £1 a shoot costs you will end up paying £1.50 in the end with beater costs, food and drink for beaters and fuel, cartridges, additional feed when you nearly run out in January, entering sweeps andyear end bottles for the landowners and tenants. Dog vet bills and after shoot drinks all add up.
 
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There is no overhanging trees mate is there? A good few years ago a keeper who I was friendly was loosing birds at an alarming rate to a fox. The pen was sound no holes etc, the fox wasnt even digging out!!

Pop holes were had a wooden grate over all the usual stuff and profesionally done as you would expect from a Keeper but that was its exit:-| snares which were set didnt manage to catch it from these postions either. But it kept coming and over the case of a week it almost wiped the pen out, we had even sat out through the nights to try and shoot it!!

Well 1 frosty morning the story un-folded we saw prints going up a tree which was leaning over hanging the pen, this tree would have been 20+ feet high where the fox was jumping of and into the pen:eek::eek::eek: The next morning the fox was swinging in the snare which was set on the tree. Never in his wildest dreams did he think a Fox would jump down from that height. All the other local keepers even agreed that it was 1 dare devil fox. Many a man was challanged to walk up the tree and jump into the pen, all declined, it would have been like jumping of your house roof...

All the best in finding and stopping the fox.

Nutty

This has been posted in the wrong thread sorry!!!!!!!!
 
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£28 a bird for a half gun for 6 driven days a year seems steep regardless of location.

people pay that on roaming syndicate rates and bought days.


would need to know a lot more to shell out that much on 6 days
 
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