Shenzi,wasdelightedtobringa bird
tomyhandandhertailwaggedso
longandhardthatshealmostfell
overwiththewobbleofit.
It hasbeena quiet
yearforwildgamein
Galloway.Manyofthe
birdswereinpairs
orsingles.Ina good
yeartherearelarge
coveysofeightor
nineonthisground
andtheevidence
seemedtosuggestthat
thebirdshavestruggled
toperformin2019.I found
a sun-bleachedgrouseeggas
wewalkedandturnedit over
torevealtheholemadebythecorvidGrouse shooting
18 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
out into a line pointing up the hill.
By the time we reached the summit,
each one of us could see our home;
the furthest having travelled 15 miles
as the crow fl ies to join the team.
Adam and Thomas Maitland had
come from their home turf around
the successful Cumstoun shoot near
Kirkcudbright, Shooting Times Editor
Patrick Galbraith had descended
from his parents’ house at Dunscore,
and Peter Haining fl ew the fl ag for
Dumfriesshire, having crossed the
river Nith from his home at Glencaple.
Strange remoteness
That local vibe added an extra buzz
to the day, as for all we live within
sightofthisground, the strange
accessibility means
y visited by passers-
od reason to slog
ill. It had been a
o reach the start
of our day, but as soon as we began
to strip off excess clothing in the heat,
midges
Dogs
we were
an
fro into the wind. Fred
on this ground six year
e cantered through the
outcrops of granite and heat
happened to fi nd it lying stone dead
on the grass at his feet. Grouse are
so well camoufl aged that it can be
almost impossible to fi nd
a fallen bird by sight
alone, so this was a
happy coincidence
that relied almost
entirely on good
luck and sharp
eyes. It seemed
like the bird might
have fl own on for a
few hundred yards;
the reality was that it
had simply folded up and
crashed almost immediately
after we lost sight of it.
Soon we were on the summit of
the hill and a splash of rain failed to
dampen spirits as we enjoyed slices
of cold roast beef, pickled beetroot
and a small nip of whisky to toast
the day. The rain developed as we
returned to the car, but there was
plenty more shooting to be had. Peter
bagged his fi rst ever grouse from a
small covey that rose all around him.Thomas lends
Shenzi his hat