I personally think all shoots should stick a fiver on there price of a bird and u could almost double the wages paid. Even on a smaller 100 bird day it would give u an extra 500 quid which would almost cover the extra wages and on a larger day would make up any slack. Yet only cost each gun an extra £50 or so, not a massive ammount to give some country boys a decent living wage.
Bottom line shooting driven game is a privaledge and a luxory, i don't see why the locals should be working for peanuts to subsidise others to come in and shoot.
Despite things being hard the now and the country being in a reccession most off the local commercial shoots near me are expanding, taking more land, putting more birds down and selling more days than ever. So things can't be that bad, yes a fiver on a bird may scare people off but if everyone done it and as long as passed onto the beaters
Was actuallly speaking to a SE herd(shepherd) the day, saying had the worst Oct ever for work, lamb prces down and most farmers had a poor to disatrous lambing (weather, snow at bad time, late spring, expensive feed and fluke) last year so have no money to bring in extra help, desopite being surrounded by commercial shoots said it was a joke the money they paid by time his deisel comes off, means working for 15-20 quid a day.
In my opinion thats the very reason pay should be higher to keep local folk working in the local areas
It is all very well people doing it for the love off the sport or to get dogs out but surely it would be better if they paid the locals more money so they could actually earn a decent living throu a tough time off year, would sustain a young wanabee keeper until lambing, silage or rearing season sarted again.
Must admit i think the oppisate to u Jamross most of the shoots i go (or did go to) to most folk have dogs in the beating line, a lot are on a lead but i never usaully put a lead on any of mine unless keeper in a paticularry bad mood, i also think some of the dogs i see in the picking up line are truely terirble, just hovering machines. U can always tell the picking up dogs come keepers day and they have to beat
It is a hard 1 to be fair how to reward boys fairly for picking up, some dogs are worth more than others, most off the boys i know with the really sh*t dogs are the same boys that walk out of a drive with armfuls off pheasants while the better dogmen tend to go waaay back and just pick the long tricky ones. Plus gets them out the way off the wild dogs packs that do the hoovering at the pegs. Any dog can run around the pegs hoovering up dead birds, not all dogs can go for these long runners.
But which handler/dogs is worth more? Think u need a combination off both
Things will change (hpefully) and wages will have to rise, how else are u going to get younger people into the sport? What younger/middle aged folk are going to take a day off work mid week to work there dogs for 30 quid no matter how much u enjoy it.
i had 2 grouse keepers desperate for both beaters and pickers up this year and i struggled to find anyone willing to do it or with half decent dogs, just turned down days beating for this sat too, absolutely desperate and thats a cracking wee estate where keeper and owner treat u well and get 11's and meal afterwards plus pay and drink.
I know Brynmelyn are after Beaters, but they are 2 hours from me and a Shoot near Crickhowell is also after Beaters but that's nearly an hour on roads that get nasty through the winter.
