Wanted: Pheasant Syndicate advice please

[Pro_guitar]

Evening,

I am looking for some advice re the above. I have gained about 2000 acres of deer , fox and rabbiting. The land was part an old estate that got sold of and the new owner has asked me to look after it. Basically i appreciate the recession and i want to put birds back down on the land and run a affordable syndicate around the £500 mark per gun per year to some people for affordable and enjoyable shooting. I can get all the feed, labour and beaters etc. The question is will it be worth doing? Any advice regarding woud be greatly appreciated.

 

[sinbad]

At that sort of money you should be able to get some keen members prepared to help and get something set up.
might be worth starting with ex layers unless you can put the hours in setting up for poults. all you need are some pens, feeders etc and you could be up and running next season.
1000 birds would be a reasonable number for your first year if you are keeping it small.
best of luck
sinbad

 

[Pro_guitar]

Sinbad thank you very much.

Theres pens already there which need a small bit of work doing on them which it easy done.

Once again thank you/

 

[1967spud.com]

you have time on your side

the cheapest option is to buy some ex layers next year as alate as possible late june time would be ideal and take that as your stockings for that year and build up the shoot from there

hoppers aere the way forward and will save a lot of being there time during the week


its also a good idea for certain members to look after certain bits of the shoot and doing certain jobs


but what ever you do make sure you hav e one person at the helmn and not a commity

part time shoots li9ke this need leadership, you dont have to be the big boss but youll need to provide direction and acheivable goals

what are the neighbours like arround the estate?
if there are tenant farmers incvolved are they pro shooting?
buy youre wheat as early as poss for next year as its going to be exspensive again


above all enjoy it and have a great season

 

[Pro_guitar]

All things to have down on paper for the end of the year. Thanks very much spud. i will get it all sorted then.

 

[smithp18]

Good luck sounds good but these things can add up
Pheasants, pens, diesel, beaters etc etc, but you do it for love of it,
At this sort of price you might want to consider beat one stand one, that wayyou gain beaters.
One captain and a vice captain looking after the other team,
one secretory, and treasurer and feed rotas with guys that can be trusted notto many.
We do somethingjust like what you are considering and it works really well. This year theprice of wheat is high so there is always plenty to consider

Phil

 

[willowbank]

Hi as of yet Im a novice at the stalking but have 40+ years of keepering and private syndicate organisation, I would be happy to perhaps offer some guidance on any aspects you care to run past me, theres not much that has not happened over the years, so pm me anytime and I will try to help you, best advice has already been given "keep it simple and above all keep it fun"

All the very best WB.

 

[bambislayer]

Keep it simple, good advice.

walk/stand is a good way to keep costs down.
i would stay clear of ex layers, never been keen on them. I think they are "done in" by the time you get them and there is often little price difference, especially if poult give you a better return.

get a leader and let him lead! Don't govern by committee !

as a rule get the syndicate members to do their fair share of work, feeding, fence repair, etc. I try and get a bit of socialising organised throughout the year. BBQ after a work party is always good.

scrutinise your members and don't be frightened to axe them at the end of the season, if you don't think they are fitting in (be careful, they don't axe you!)


good luck

 

[User00003]

how many members do you want? if you go for 8, then there will be a lot of pressure on the ground, and at £500 each the above suggested 1000 birds is not feasible at all, I'd say between cost of wheat, fuel, fencing, antibiotics, water, poult feed, etc. etc. etc you're looking at spending no more than £2K of your budget on poults, so IMHO, max 500 birds. You'll probably shoot 150 of the 500 to be fair which is still not bad at about 20 birds per gun, which if over 8 weekends is about 3 birds per shoot per gun. if predators are controlled tight and the poults are managed really well, you may even get 200+ shot of 500 released, time will tell.

however, this will leave only £2K for everything else. feed will probably be £500, fencing and feeders another £500, so £1K left for extra's.

if you're going with just 8 folk at £500 per head, let's just say you'll be running it pro-rata and not for profit unless of course, you then sell the deer stalking separately to the pheasant/duck syndicate. 2000 acres if decent deer ground should fetch another £2K or so as well I'd think.

 

[countrryboy]

I'd say go for it if good ground for holding and showing them.

Plenty of advice above but do ur homework and sums first before u commit to anything. Even 500 birds is quite a lot for a diy type sydicate (i know plenty off well est syd still dinae put that ammount down) and means a fair bit of money time and commitment.
Aslo u will not feed 500 birds for very long on £500 of food (thats only 1+Tish pellets OR 2-2.5T wheat) be needing 4-5T of wheat anyway + pellets + any duck pond feed. Often shoots in this area (by coincidence) tend to be around £1 per bird= subs; ie £500 subs oftens puts around 500 to wood and £800=800ish to wood, give or take, thats usually 12-18 guns walk 1 stand 1.
dunno how that works but surprising how often it is the case, althou a lot will depend on rent and other exps.

Another point to think of is can u dfinately get enough people/mates together to form a syndicate that can afford £500, lot off money in this current climate esp in sw scot the now, where wages are never great anyway.
We are also quite lucky that there are plenty of syndicates already around the dumfries area catering for pretty much everyones wallet size, from £100 walk/rough dog training to £1000+ syndicates. Plenty in about the £5-700 mark and some are excellent value for money shooting 50-70 or even odd 100 birds days. I know quite a few different shoot captians from various shoots and all say gettin harder to fill empty guns even on the shoots with a really good rep, i know off 1 or 2 that are running a gun down and have been for a few seasons now and know of a few that have folded too.

I'd say go for it but jist do ur homework and dinae be feart to start off small even 100 or 200 birds till u get and idea and see where they go wandering on the ground, and esp so if u are relatively new to keepering.
Good luck wi it

 

[bambislayer]

As far as numbers go, maybe it would be worth going from 250 - 350 in the first year, then possibly increase in year 2. It's a bit of a taster and not just as much risk. The type of ground etc will have a lot to do with it, I found on one bit of ground that it was absolutely pointless putting down more than 350, not always easy to find the optimum number but big isn't always best [risky statement!!!!!]
The costs will always be higher in year 1, £350 - £500 for 5-6 walk about days and some pigeon/vermin forays will always attract guns.

 

[trxnav]

Hoppers in the right place mate but don't forget straw rides with food spread on u have to keep there interest to stop them wandering so when the time comes u really need some1 to be able to feed everyday and all so dogging in can be needed if they do start to wander I run a small shoot myself and if u have plenty of time or help its more than possible and what u get at the end of it is rewarding an all worth while