Anyone ever tried driven bird shooting in the UK?

dvsimpson · Mar 12, 2009

If you like wing shooting then there is nowhere better then the UK. The partridge, pheasant and grouse shooting is truly exceptional. The emphasis is on putting high, fast testing birds over your head for a truly sporting experience. I think it is something everyone should do at least once and if you do you'll be hooked.

TROPHY DESTINATIONS · Mar 12, 2009

I totaly agree with you that the wingshooting for these birds is excellent in the UK, but SA isnt bad either. For pigeons however i would say Argentina and SA are the worlds best hunting locations.

AfricaHunting.com · Mar 12, 2009

Sadly, I have not had the chance to do bird hunting in the UK, it's definitely on my list and I have a standing invitation from a good friend of mine Kevin Downer, but time has not been on my side. I would love to do a few days of Grouse shooting with pointers, I heard so much about it and look forward to experiencing it myself.
I grew up doing driven Pheasant and Partridge hunting in France (among other things) and bird hunting is still my favorite; it never gets dull... I have had the opportunity to do many high volume bird hunts, and the ultimate for me, so far, is Red Partridge in Spain. My last trip, I hunted for three days and averaged 400 Partridge a day, needless to say I left with incredible memories and a sore shoulder.

Africa offers some amazing wing shooting as well, I am especially fond of Sandgrouse in Namibia since I have had a lot of opportunity to do that growing up. Just writing about it makes me wish I was there in the action. During the peak months, July through September, the Sandgrouse come in, like clock work, every morning at the same time, between 9 and 10 and for that hour it's non-stop action. On a great day, you can see over a thousand birds coming in to a small water hole during that time. About the size of a Dove, they come in at great speed to land at the edge of the waterhole, with a flight pattern similar to Ducks coming in to land on water... you can also hear them "wooshing" in overhead like Ducks.

Doves are right on up there in the action department and are a lot of fun too.

Skyline · Mar 12, 2009

Well a driven shoot in the UK would be a lot of fun I am sure, but it will have to wait until after I have achieved my goal of taking a stag in Scotland........then I would consider a day of wing shooting. Big game will always be my first love ahead of birds.

I have a neighbor a few miles away that immigrated from England and he returns fairly regularly to visit relatives, and always times it so he can get in a couple of days of shooting.

I did not do any bird shooting when I was hunting in Namibia last, but I did see the sand grouse coming in at a reservoir and there is no doubt the shooting would have been fast and furious.

Andries · Mar 13, 2009

I was fortunate to go with Kevin Downer on a driven pheasant shoot in England. For somebody that was born and raised in Namibia it was something very new, but I enjoyed it very much. For us, from Africa, it's not normal to dress up in a tie and jacket to go and shoot birds! We barely do it for going to weddings! It was really something that I can see myself doing again.

Sand grouse shooting in Namibia is also a lot of fun. It is a very nice break to do some sand grouse shooting for one or two days during the the hunt. It is very relaxing and a lot of fun after some hard hunting.

Macs B · May 19, 2009

Skyline said:
Well a driven shoot in the UK would be a lot of fun I am sure, but it will have to wait until after I have achieved my goal of taking a stag in Scotland........then I would consider a day of wing shooting. Big game will always be my first love ahead of birds.

I have a neighbor a few miles away that immigrated from England and he returns fairly regularly to visit relatives, and always times it so he can get in a couple of days of shooting.

I did not do any bird shooting when I was hunting in Namibia last, but I did see the sand grouse coming in at a reservoir and there is no doubt the shooting would have been fast and furious.

Skyline,

If you are serious about a Scotland hunt, these folks combine Stags and Wingshooting into one fabulous week. I booked these guys thru Cabelas Outdoor Adventures, I won't post their advertisement but it is easy enough to find on the Cabelas homepage, look for European big game. I figured that I could sneak this one past the wife if she got a week of castles and shopping. As it turned out we both had a great time and the wife joined me for a day of driven wing shooting with a neighboring club.

Scotland Holiday

Hunt and fish the land of kings and be treated like a king as well. Hunt the majestic Scottish Highland red stag in the misty mountain heather. Land brown trout from sparkling, pure streams and lochs. You can also test your golf skills on one of many courses in this area as an extra. When the day is done, you'll relax in a classic Scottish hunting estate, warmed by a log fire and perhaps a wee dram of single-malt, while you await the sumptuous creations of a superb Scottish chef. And while you can enjoy all this Scottish hospitality and recreation on your own, it would be a shame not to bring your favorite lassie. The accommodations are full of old world elegance and the romance of the Highlands is everywhere. We have a car and driver at the disposal of the non-shooting guest, and while you stalk the wily red stag, your lassie may prefer to stalk bargains among Scotland's finest woolens, cashmere and crystal. There are centuries-old castles to explore and the magic and myths of the rugged, spectacular Scottish countryside. You owe this to yourself and your mate to experience the grandeur of Scotland.

nejatuner · Nov 10, 2012

Dear Jerome,

Can you shoot francolins and guinea fowls in high volume with pointing dogs at the same period when you shoot sandgrouse?Which month the best?If not high volume,what are the maximum allowable bag limits?Do you shoot only one subspecie of sandgrouse like Namaqua,double-banded etc,francolins(only Swainson's )or?D

Regards,

Nejat Uner

AfricaHunting.com · Nov 11, 2012

Nejat Uner, The hunting season in Namibia for Francolin starts in May to end in August just before the start of the Sandgrouse season in September which overlap during that month with Guineafowl. I do not use pointing dogs any longer to hunt Guineafowl and Francolin as the heat, dust, pollen, grass, thorns... are terribly strenuous on dogs and after a mere 30 minutes dogs already start showing signs of exhaustion and breathing difficulties. We do not shoot Guineafowls and Francolins in high volume, during the bird hunting season in Namibia hunters are subject to a daily quota per hunter of 10 Guineafowls and 10 Francolins. We shoot Redbilled Francolin and the three species of Sandgrouse, Burchell, Doublebanded and Namaqua. Here are the daily quota per hunter for Sandgrouse: 5 Burchell Sandgrouse, 5 Doublebanded Sandgrouse and 10 Namaqua Sandgrouse... and it is honestly impossible to know which species you are shooting at when in flight! I would say the better months for wingshooting would be for me July, August and September. For the last 3 years we have had very little Sandgrouse activity which I believe is due to the tremendous amount of rain that Namibia has had and spreading the Sandgrouse population all over the country...

Anyone ever tried driven bird shooting in the UK?

dvsimpson

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