Today is the first day of the Grouse shooting season here in Britain, and as such will be attracting wealthy 'guns' from all over the world to participate in it.

In northern England the breeding season has been one of the best for decades. With no traditional heavy winds in March and no April showers either. The result was a beautifully warm spring with freshly hatched chicks not suffering from inclement weather during the first few weeks of their life. Some of the Shooting Estates in my area are looking to shooting 5,000 brace this season. That's a lot of birds for any 'shoot' these days.

Unfortunately in Scotland the situation is different with such a poor breeding season, some estates have been cancelling shooting days altogether as they have little more than a minimum breeding stock on the moors.

Just what today will bring in the was of 'bags' is debateable. It has been raining almost continuously here for a couple of weeks and the moorlands are soaking wet. Even so, some shoots will still take place as there is an exceptionally high demand from top London Hotels and Restraunts who want to put birds of their Menues tonight (at a highway robbery price of course). The last flight of many birds today will not be in front of the guns, but in an aircraft taking them to London.

On shooting estates you pay for the shooting, but you don't get to keep what you shoot, all the game belongs to the Estate and is sold for the benefit of the estate. Shoots are very expensive to maintain and 'Keepers' don't work for a pittance any more. Some shoots are owned by syndicates to spread the costs, a lot more are now owned by oil rich Arabs who still have the money.

Will I be taking part? No, I couldn't afford it on my pension. In the past I have been a 'beater' or a 'picker up' or even occasionally a 'loader' for one of the guns. That's all the participation I've had, but even that was good fun. Some estates pay ten or twenty pounds a day (roughly 15 or 30 US Dollars). There is always a lunch and often a slap up evening meal, and fortifying liquor for the workers but not with 'The Guns'. There's still a little demarcation left between the Upper Classes and the Peasantry. lol. Being a 'loader' is perhaps the best job if your good at it, and if the 'gun' you loading for has a good day, you may just receieve a good tip.

Agreed Harry but I think the 'Glorious Twelth' is there more for the press and London restaurants. My local moor in North Derbyshire will start on the 5th. or 7th. of September, date yet to be fixed, and the 14th. and then see how things are for other days. I work my dogs there and have done since my teens. The pay is now £40 but no food provided. Nobody really does it for the money, if they did they wouldn't get far on it, but for being in fantastic countryside and, for my part, seeing dogs work. I work Chesapeakes which are well suited to this work but are something of a rare breed here in England. Lagopus.....

Here's old Sammie counting the lunchtime bag:



Beaters taking a short break:



And another one for Master:

What a magnificent dog Lagopus, I've never owned that breed but I have. on very rare occasions seen one working, and that's a 'sight to see'. How do such dogs manage that look which says "I'm sure even you could do this, if you tried'

It is interesting to see your better paid 'Down South' than we in the North East, but to be frank, I couldn't buy the huge lunches, the evening meals and the drink for the difference between the wages.

A twinge of nostalgia made me dig out my shooting kit from the back of my wardrobe today. The knee length socks and the brogues still fit perfectly, however, in the last year or two, my 44" chest has swapped places with my 32" waist, so my 'Tweed Breeks' no longer fit, and that just goes to prove old Issak Newton was right, gravity effects everything sooner or later. Lol.

Accoring to the local 'Press' Grouse Shooting brings in some 17 million pounds to the local economy in the NE of England. Thats some US$ 25,500,000,00. Not a sum to be sneezed at in anyones terms.

Harry

Lagopus - that is a fine looking Chessie you have there. I grew up hunting on the Chesapeake Bay and know that breed well - excellent dogs. I would imagine he doesn't see many of his kind working in the moors.

It took awhile for me to take my eyes off that picture of the beaters taking a rest - what gorgeous countryside. Makes you want to walk out into it and just keep going . . . .

Nostalgia and just being there: isn't that how it has always been, birds just a bonus? You are living well by any measure.

Harry, I often come to the North East and stay in Northumberland around the Alnwick area. Are there any good gun shops up that way?

As Doverham will agree, Chessies are a breed unto themselves. I lost old Sammie, the dog in the photo, last January. I still have a 3 year old and am bringing on a 12 week old pup that is a real character. They are an intelligent and resourseful breed. They can be obstinate and it is more of entering into a working relationship with them rather than train them as you would a lab. A Chesapeake will only do what a Chesapeake wants to do. They will think things out for themselves and are best left to get on with it. That pile of grouse she was sitting with she was actually guarding and would not let anyone approach them. Another quality is that they make good deer tracking dogs and I've never lost a deer with her. We could be miles from anywhere and she would stand snarling at nothing all the time I was gralloching the carcase. Really strange dogs but not for everyone as they can take a bit of handling sometimes and you have to try to understand what makes them tick.

At the far end of the moor on that photo there is an old iron age fort; or at least the earthworks for it. Lagopus.....

I think the term "one-man dog" was coined to describe Chessies.

Great pictures; many thanks!

Here in Chesapeake Bay country those Chessie's are expected to guard your home, "workboat"(Chesapeake Bay Deadrise), duckblind and pickup truck. Good dogs but not friendly to others.

Quote "Harry, I often come to the North East and stay in Northumberland around the Alnwick area. Are there any good gun shops up that way? Unquote. Lagopus.

Hello Lagopus,

Sadly there are very few gunshops in Northumberland these days most being turned over to fishing tackle although a few may still stock shotgun and rifle cartridges. Possibly the best (and that's a poor best) in Bagnall and Kirkwood of Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, formerly Papes, they carry a few shotguns and rifles but not a lot. Too many people buying on line these days to justify stocking firearms that may not move for years. If your into fishing, then Hardy's of Alnwick can give you a factory tour but are purely fishing tackle manufacturers. Still it fills a few hours on a wet day. (we get plenty of those. There is a shotgun Gunsmith near Weldon Bridge off the Newcastle to Wooler Road. I've never been there but I know he operates out of an old farmhouse. Sorry there's not more.

Harry

Harry, no I never came across many. I guesssed there would be somewhere still in Newcastle so may give it a try. Hardy's museum is well worth the visit. Thanks.

Here's the new addition at 12 weeks old. Already growls at anyone she meets who is strange to her:

John Foster is 10 minutes of the A1 between Darington and Durham ,35 miles south of Newcastle .Usualy has some nice guns and has a good workshop.If you are heading north or south could be worth a call in.

post removed.

I don't know you but you sound like a twit.

In point of fact there is "rough shooting" in the UK

Learn to read and you won't be surprised.

I had the privilege of being out on the "Glorious 12th" this season and in so doing, achieved very much one of my shooting ambitions.

I, along with a good friend experiencing grouse for the first time, took the overnight sleeper train from London Euston (as our forebears would have done 80+ yrs ago), arriving in the Highlands of Scotland early the next morning. From there, the headkeeper collected us and from app 9am-4pm over the course of next two days, we walked miles and miles, from anywhere between 1,100 to 2,600 ft.

This type of grouse shooting is known as walked up grouse over pointers and it is an incredibly enjoyable, rewarding way of experiencing the UK's "king of the game birds" in its awesome home environment. The accent is not on numbers (we took home 6 brace between the two of us each of the two days), but more on challenging shots, working hard for your birds, enjoying good company and incredible countryside and watching some superb and skilled dog work. We walked some very hard ground so this is not for the unfit, but in doing so, were very pleased to see well over 200 birds each day in the ground we crossed. So in terms of the season ahead, and more importantly for longer term stocks, what we saw was certainly very positive. It is also worth noting that this type of shooting tends to be a lot more difficult to do as the season progresses as the birds get a lot more wary and generally rise out of gunshot as we move through September and into October. On the estate I have shot over, they have pointer days only until the middle of September and their driven days end that month also - still with 2 months left in the season!

This is not driven grouse shooting, so does not include the formality and structure of such a day. It equally does not cost anywhere near as much, but that is not to say I did not have to save hard over the months leading up to the seasons start! I enjoyed every minute, and this trip merely heightened my respect for the red grouse, its landscape, and for those whose living is managing this precious heather moorland habitat.

lotta killin...not much huntin?

Harry, Lagopus, CBL1 et al,

Fantastic country you gents have at your disposal, much appreciate the time taken to share w/us on this side of the pond. Much more than a thousand words in any of those shared pics. Thank you! CBL1's post looks quite close to heaven.

Its 104F in the shade here this very afternoon.

Ed - I am not really sure I understand your post, but if it is as I think, quite how you draw the conclusion that the "killin" was the point of our days on grouse I struggle to understand.

Read what I wrote again - this was hunting in anyones language on a noble quarry, which I love to see and respect enormously. We walked seven miles, on occasion down slopes so steep we were on our backsides (no ammunition in the guns), so I assure you, this was no cakewalk. And all birds shot were taken home by us for eating later this season.

tw - many thanks for the kind words.

Isn't there a troll convention somewhere you should be attending?

CBL1 - pay no attention to Ed, his interests are limited to provocation not hunting.

Great pictures and description. With so much attention paid to driven shooting in the UK, it is great to learn a bit more about walk up shooting. If I can ever justify a hunting trip to the UK, I will be hard pressed to decide whether to participate in a driven shoot or walk up some birds (perhaps both!). If golf is a good walk spoiled, walk up shooting in the moors must be a good walk perfected, IMHO.

Wonderful pictures!!! I don't think I would have to give even a second's thought to which hunt I would prefer, i.e., driven or this type of walk up. This to me would be far more appealing!! And, you get to keep and eat the game you shoot!! Feel free gents to keep the pictures of your beautiful countryside coming. Your photos allow me to visit that area in my mind. Of course, being a Sherlock Holmes afficianado (sp?) I have already seen some of that moorland before!! Thanks again.

Thank you for posting those great pix!

One of these days.....

is this what you blokes refer to as rough shooting?

Great pictures. I'll bet the heather smells great. From your attire, is it chilly this time of the year there?
Huntng over the dogs, I would imagine as you said the birds aren't too skitish and what size shot and chokes do you prefer. Are the birds coveyed or singles?

Yes, please keep the pictures coming. It is always nice to see how gentleman respect their quarry by their attire.

CBL1-

Thanks for sharing. Which breed of pointers did you hunt over? Any pics of them?

Did you bring the 8g?

OWD

Thanks for the more positive and constructive responses gents.

Re the weather, we really did have all 4 seasons. At the tops of the ridges, it went down to 5c, with 50m visibility and strong winds - so shirt, jumper and thick jacket were all needed. The next morning, we were down at 1,200 ft, with glorious sunshine, 15c (at least) and I was roasting hot with just the shirt and jacket. However, with Scottish weather, we had strong rain squalls coming through all the time so you could not realistically go without. Also - with the physical exertion, you need to avoid being chilled to the bone when you stop for a retrieve/flush/sandwich.

I mixed up guns on respective days, using a 12 bore over/under Day 1 and a s/s 16 bore sidelock the next. Neither are heavily choked - 1/4 and 3/8ths the first, improved cylinder and half the other. Shot size was classic UK 6 shot, using paper cased, fibre wad 1oz cartridges. Any more choke/cartridge and you run the risk of smashing birds and there is no point with that given we want to eat them. We saw a large variety of ages, and were at all times encouraged to shoot the older birds (especially cocks), which were clearly distinguisable by their larger size, darker colour and call. You cannot always be successful in this respect (esp in the fog), but we did not let the keeper down.

Grouse can rise in either singles or coveys of many sizes. We tended to see a mix, but the average covey size was 12-15, with a few cocks and a good number of young birds, including small "cheepers" which are easily left. The pointers (German Shorthaired - which are Hunt, Point, Retrieve dogs) can go "on point" anywhere up to 400m away - it really is incredible to see - and you are then ushered quietly and safely toward the dogs by the keeper. However, the coveys can flush if you are not careful and in general terms, there were flushing about 10-15m away from the dogs but then motoring extremely quickly away. We also shot with them going downwind and downhill at times which made for a quick mount and focus!

Realistically, if all people take away is the shooting alone, they are missing out. There are so many facets to a day over pointers (this was my second time), that to not appreciate the company, scenery, dogs, habitat etc would be to reduce the overall experience. Some more pictures attached for reference and interest.

And Gregg - an 8g would not be appropriate for this type of shooting as hefting 12-17lbs of metal around these hills would see you dead and buried on one in a matter of hours!

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I shall be off to the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland soon for the deer stalking. The land also holds red grouse on the high tops and black grouse closer to the wooded plantations. I take a little double 20 for a walk around usually during the afternoons. No extra cost to the deer stalking which is on invitation anyway. Just have to pay a my share towards accomodation.

These two photos are of the moor in Derbyshire where I work the dogs. First one gives an impression of the flat nature of moors in this region. The tops were scraped off in the last ice age. This is later in the season so the heather, upon which the grouse feed, has lost its vibrant purple colour. It flowers in July and August and then the moors are alive with bees and butterflies to add to the pleasure.





This is a little earlier in the season and shows one of the Grouse Butts; the circular stone structures topped with turf over which the birds are driven. Note that some of the heather is in flower on this one.



It's also worth it for the stunning views. Note one of the stone guard walls that are placed between each butt for safety. You can see it to the right side of the photo. It is an unpardonable sin to swing the gun horizontally through the line. The gun should be lifted to the verticle when turning to take a shot behind. Driven grouse can fly at incredible speeds and hug the contours like fighter jets and can turn on just the tip of a wing. Lagopus.....

Looks fabulous. The countryside is beautiful. Wish I was there. I would love to hunt the Red Grouse sometime before I croak. Right now I am dreaming of hunting Ruffed Grouse. Our season begins mid Sept and a totally different type of hunting than yours....thick brush with tight shooting quarters. I just LOVE it. Our birds, 'Bonasa Umbellus' are a beautiful bird with just delicious white meat. The best eating bird of all IMO...or at least of what I personally have eaten. The Red Grouse, is it a white meat or dark? How is it as table fare? Dreaming of bird hunting, Buzz

Very dark meat indeed - purple in some respects. In my view, the best eating game bird there is. However, given it can be shot in August, you need to be quick in preparing it for the table as it can spoil - I put my birds on ice to transport them home and prepared them quickly. No hanging needed at this time of year.

Beautiful country. Something I'd love to do. How is the heather to walk through? Here in Maine, a lot of our pheasant hunting (and some of the grouse) is in low (knee to waist high) juniper and tangles under power lines - they seem to like the open sky, for some reason. Definitely not easy walking, by any stretch of the imagination.

And my Gordon is looking over my shoulder at your pictures and whimpering, something about "home".

Hello Dave,

On a properly managed Grouse Moor you will seldom find Heather that comes up much higher than mid calf heightso perhaps about 12" tall. When it gets to this height it is usually marked down as ready for the next burning. Burning removes all the vegetation above ground level and permits fresh regeneration from the rootstocks well underground. Every Moor is partially burned each season thus ensuring that there is always a fresh supply of young leaves for the Grouse to feed on. Generally but but not always a broad swathe of vegetation surrounding the area to be burned is cut and cleared of vegetation the idea being to make a fire break, then the heather inside the box is burned.

This has to be carefully controlled as if it got out of hand it can devastate a moor which will take a decade or more to recover. Most Grouse Moors are a very long way from water supplies and the fire services have very great difficulty in accessing these moorlands with vehicles carrying water. Having been involved in putting a couple of these blazes out in the past I can tell you it is hard and dangerous work.

Left alone Heather can grow up to four or five feet in height, but by then it is very 'leggy' and damned difficult to get through. You usually only see this in clearings when the surrounding land has been afforested, a sad fate in the past for many a grouse moor. Each year part of my consultancy work is carried out on Grouse Moors in the Counties of Durham and Northumberland. Tomorrow if the weather is fine I'll get some pictures of the patch burning from one of them that I am due to visit. Burning is usually carried out from late October through to March, depending on the weather and access to the moors, often difficult in winter weather.

Harry

Harry,
Just one question: with all the rain that you fellows "over there" alledgedly have, how the heck do you get a moor to burn?? Seriously, these photos are absolutely beautiful and make me want to visit there all the more.

Buzz,
Do you really think grouse is better tasting meat than pheasant or quail??

Here are a few photos I took last summer when my wife and I visited the homeland. The photos were taken a few days before the Glorious Twelfth. The quote by Burns I put on the first photo is a great description of a day on the moors. If you want to find out where these photos were taken then here is a clue. Robert Burns wrote the poem that the quote is taken from approximately 6 miles from where the photos were taken.

Perry: I really love fried quail and pheasant too. It's a very close call but my favorite is ruffed grouse. Have you ever eaten grouse?

Buzz, Dave, I was born and raised in the valley to the right of the last photo I posted. That was my playground as a kid.

Yes, grouse are good eating but not everyone agrees as they are a little gamey in flavour. At the end of the shoot the grouse are sold off to anyone who wants a few brace. Shot game straight from the shoot is very cheap to buy as the money is made from the shooting. Some of the pheasant and partridge shoots I go to all the game is given away to the beaters and pickers up at the end of the day if they want it. Duck too. Lagopus.....

Gents,

Wonderful photos and thank you for sharing. Hoping to make it back there next fall for some stalking and if I can swing it some grouse over pointers.

Thank you all again!

I spent a half day on the moors in the Outer Hebrides several years ago chasing grouse and never had a shot. Some of the roughest walking I've ever seen, every one of us was wet to the waist by the time it was over. You never knew when you were going to step into a grown over peat cutting and take a soaking. Having never walked that sort of ground before, it took us a bit to learn to spot the soft areas. To have bagged what you boys did I'm sure you certainly worked hard for your game. Excellent!


Destry

Outstanding photo's one and all, beautiful country, great sport........

Cheers to you all................


Best Regards,

Perry,

Heather dries out very quickly, the stems being very woody and the heat generated usually scorches the other plants until they too are dry enough to ignite. The top foliage stays on the plant in the Autumn, but as all the nutrition has been taken down into the roots by the plant the foliage has also dried out and is very easily ignited.

The trick is not to get it too hot as the underlying peat may catch fire and then you have a real problem putting it out. In County Durham the moors are over very thin peat, with glacial clay beneath that. In Northumberland some of the underlying peat can be upto 30 feet in depth. Some of the best peat bogs in the world are in Britain, many have moorland vegetation growing on top of them. Burning is a skill and like many country crafts still in use, the secrets of doing it successfully take a long time to learn. I'm happy top leave it to the experts. Without correct moorland management the Grouse would soon become extinct.

Harry

Great posts! Red grouse shooting is at the top of my bucket list! One day....

Adam

where are the orange hats, blue jeans an pick up trucks? an how come no pitchers of pump guns and auto loaders?

also, did you shoot dem funny lookin birds on the ground? or did you jump up out of yo fox hole an shoot em as they flew by, scared half to death by some wogs beating on pots an pans wid ah spoon?

yo dogs are nice. do any of em tree coons or possums?

Dear, oh dear, oh dear,

Ed your knowledge of British Upland Game shooting is as sadly lacking as your knowledge on Colour Case Hardening. Please let me elucidate.

We don't wear Orange Hats or any other bright colours, they stand out in the sombre colours of the moorlands, anyway we have no need for them, we know the difference between a human being and a flying Grouse. Similarly our farmers don't have to paint 'Cow' on the side of their livestock during the deer hunting season. We know the differences, between two and four legged mammals.

Blue jeans are not worn as they are useless pieces of apparell, they are not hardwearing or waterproof and they absorb moisture very readily leading to chills and possible hypothermia. We dress according to the weather and in suitable clothes and colours that blend in with the surrounding countryside. Hence the popularity of Thornproof Tweeds and Barbour waxed jackets and leggings. Above all it's sensible clothing for the climatic conditions met with in the uplands.

Pump and self loading shotguns are restricted here to a total of three rounds maximum by Law, but neither are seen very often, we are game bird shooting, not trying to knock down an incoming enemy bomber. We do not feel the need for heavy anti aircraft fire. We like to give our birds at least a sporting chance of getting away. I have never found either of these guns to balance like a double barrelled shotgun. The traditional shotgun for this form of shooting is the side by side, although a few over and unders are seen.

As for pick up trucks, well there are some on most shooting estates and are used to transport both shooters and beaters to their respective places on the moor, they are also used for delivering hampers of food for the mid day meals again for both parties involved, also carrying spare ammunition, and the birds that are shot etc. Some of the earlier pictures in this thread show the best vehicles for moorland, these have six or eight wheels and are specifically designed for operation on boggy land where 4x4's would readily get bogged down to their axles, the balloon like types float over very wet ground with ease.

Grouse are always shot in flight and that in itself is difficult enough. Yes, we use shooting butts usually one gun or two guns per position with perhaps a loader to assist. These serve two purposes, one to give shelter from the worst of the weather during the often hour or so, before the first birds arrive and secondly to give some concealment, people standing in a line over perhaps two or three hundred yards would stand out and the birds would turn away well out of gun range, The grouse fly low and very fast just like the RAF and NATO fighters that use these areas for low level training.

Finally the Beaters cannot be described as Wogs, as you so succinctly put it (Accronym, for 'Worthy Oriental Gentlemen' dating from WW1) The beaters are invariably local people and often of some of high social rank, beating isn't just confined to the peasantry don't you know. Beaters usually carry sticks to 'beat the heather' to put up the birds. At each end of the beaters line there is usually a 'flag man' to tries to turn birds flying off to the side, back towards the guns. Oddly enough, in all the years I have spent on Moorland (over 50 of them) I have yet to meet any coloured man from anywhere in the world either shooting, hill walking, rock climbing or mountaineering, the great British outdoors seems to hold something that they all apparently fear. We have no 'Coons or Possum' in Britain unless they are escaped pets. Therefore nearly all our shooters have dogs that are trained for Bird hunting and/or retrieving. I do hope this information proves edifying.

Harry

harry: most ed ifying... thank you for your wonderful verbal portrait of british upland game shooting...and thank you for your patience in taking the time to respond in such a gentlemanly fashion to my rather crude attempt at tongue in cheek humor.

On the subject of Beaters and pickers up. On one shoot I go on I can think of one retired Headmaster, one Professor of Mathematics, two university lecturers (husband & wife) in geology, a retired Engineer, a Veterinary surgeon (female and quite attractive too) and of course your's truely. Quite an eclectic mix.

Heather burning is hard, hot and dirty work as I can attest. First it has to be a fine day for the heather to be dry enough, you have to wear thick clothing to protect the skin from the heat of the fire. First ascertain the direction of the wind and start a small fire about 200 to 300 yards from a stream. Once you have started the fire then go like crazy trying to beat it out wondering why on earth you started it in the first place. By now you have a conflagration about thirty yards wide and going at a brisk walking pace. I use an aluminium shovel to beat with, some use a long pole with a length of broad rubber belting and some use a sort of Witch's broom known as a Besom. Work like crazy and just about have it under control by the time the stream is reached and pray that it doesn't jump it. Have a quick rest and a drink of water and then repeat the process. One strange thing is a fire will continue to burn after the sun has gone down if it was lit before but it is near impossible to start a new fire after the sun is down and the dew comes in. At the end of the day you are worn out, black faced and with hair that is like wire wool from the smoke and sweat and smell like a smoked kipper. Great exercise workout. Lagopus.....

Exellent stories and pics, but long time ago
I put hunting Britain in unwish list for the prices.
The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Allways.
These couple of photos made by my Russian acquaintance dog breeder in Canada, Alberta

Geno, there must be some good hunting in Russia. Is it easy to get to good places and find hunting that is not too expensive? Lagopus.....

Buzz,
No, I have never had grouse. How is it best prepared??

You know there are a lot of very nice and very good places for hunting here, but every year prices grow up and soon probably will rich your prices or you need to go very far away, but transport expenses such as helicopter make this idea senseless.

Fascinating!! Thanks for the education Harry.