Driven pheasant & duck , bird shooting advice and information

Although pheasant shooting open on October 1st, most driven days do not begin until late October, early November in Scotland and North England. Driven ducks begin earlier, so can be combined with days at driven partridge which have the same opening dates (September).

These are formal shooting days where guns are normally dressed more smartly in tweed jackets or coats, wearing a tie and appropriate footwear. Because the guns will be firing a large number of cartridges during the day, a cartridge bag along with ear defenders, hat and gloves should always be taken with you.

The day begins with the party meeting at 9am or 9.30 am and the guns would then draw their peg or stand numbers. Most days would be organised for 8 guns, but many estates can cater for 6 up to 10 guns. One each drive, you would move up or down a previously agreed number of places (usually 2 or 3 places), so that, during the 5, 6 or 7 drives during the day, you would experience being in the centre and also the ends of the shooting line.   Before the shooting starts, the keeper or person in charge of running the day will explain the form for the day - such as no ground game to be shot, any other game which may not be shot and any other safety matters. The guns will then set off for the first drive. Some estates provide transport during the shooting day and others do not - this should have been established clearly at the time of booking. Each gun is placed at their peg or position and policy varies from one  estate to another as whether you can begin shooting after being placed or shooting commences after a horn or whistle signal. Some estates do not like you shooting at pigeons before the pheasants start coming over - it's worth checking on this in advance.

During the drives, there are various matters of etiquette and safety of which you should be aware (this list is not comprehensive!) , they include......switch off mobile phones, do not shoot low birds - there must at the very least, be sky behind the birds, do not 'poach' your neighbours birds, mark all birds shot so you can tell the pickers up about fallen and any wounded birds,  before the drive begins, check where the pickers up are standing behind you, unload when you hear the finishing horn or see the beaters emerge from the wood or game crop in front of you, it's common courtesy to stay near your post until a beater or picker up walks past and asks you if there are any birds to collect.  

Driven pheasant and duck are normally booked and paid for by the bird (likewise for driven grouse & partridge). You would book a particular number of birds and reputable grounds will offer you a refund if they do not provide sufficient birds. This is of course, subject to the team being able to shoot accurately and therefore shots are usually counted. Most estates expect a ratio of around  4 shots to 1 bird killed so that if you had booked a 200 bird day and did not fire 800 cartridges and less than 200 birds were shot, a pro rata refund for birds not shot would normally be offered. Of course, if you shoot more than the number of birds booked, you would pay for these at the end of the day.

A quick word about driven ducks - this kind of sport has gained a bad reputation because some grounds put the guns around a pond and the guns keep shooting at the birds as they spiral higher and higher and then the exhausted birds, with no where else to fly to, flop back or glide low to the water on their return. This results in two unacceptable things happening, birds are being fired out of range which results in wounding, and low  unsporting birds are being slaughtered at short range. Thankfully, this practise has almost  disappeared.  Most estates now only allow guns to shoot at freshly flushed birds which are flying strongly at a realistic range over the guns. With ducks, as with pheasants, there will always be some low birds, just don't be tempted and do not raise your gun at a low or unsporting bird.

On the subject of high birds/ low birds, let me get on my soapbox for a minute. There is more hogwash and bullshit spoken on this subject than many other aspects of our sport. A lot depends on what we mean by a high bird. If the truth be told, most pheasants or ducks flying at 25 yards look seriously high and a bird flying at the limit of killable range of 35 yards will look like a starling. Guns which  insist on shooting only very high birds and also keep taking a pot shot at these archangels are simply pricking and wounding birds. There are sadly , many 'sportsmen' who hold the view that they have paid to shoot at birds and they have a right to take any shot they want at birds. Most estates and agents take a poor view of such behaviour and expect guns to have sufficient respect for their quarry to avoid such wanton wounding of birds. One of the best teams of guns I had shooting with me a few years ago knew exactly their own limitations and that of their weapons - they shot all their birds at high range but turned down numerous birds which they considered too high. We broke the estate's bag record that day and yet had fewer wounded or lost birds on that day compared with days a quarter of the size.  Most people know what 5 yards looks like at the side of a house; the next time you go shooting, if you see a bird go over or next to a really tall tree , estimate its height by dividing it into quarters or eighths to see how many 5 yards fit onto it. It's an interesting exercise and many folk get a better idea of what is high and what is out of shot.  

Lead shot ban: 

Restrictions in Scotland on the use of lead shot for wildfowling operate differently from England and Wales.

Broadly, they prohibit the use of lead shot on or over wetlands (ponds, rivers, lakes, lochs, ditches, open water - that is any area covered with water on a seasonal, intermittent or regular basis; and peatlands with visible water) There are some exceptions, mainly over peat-based habitats and short-lived wet areas. If your shot will land on water or wetlands, then you must comply with the regulations

Prices for driven pheasant vary a huge amount - so much depends on what other facilities are also provided within the price. Unlike walked up shooting, duck flighting and deer stalking, the days are not normally priced by the gun, but rather by the bag expected . Prices vary from £27  per bird to as high as £35 + VAT (which is 17.5% in the UK). So if a team of guns books a 200 bird day, they share the cost of 200 x per bird price. Some estates include lunch in the price, others do not. Transport whilst on the estate is sometimes included but it is wise to check when booking. If transport is not included, then guns should arrange to have a 4 x 4 vehicle per 4 shooters. 

Driven partridge follows much the same format as for driven pheasant. These will be red legged partridge or French partridge. 

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