Shooting Times & Country – 07 August 2019

Walked-up shooting

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 29

Let’sbecompletelystraight.Thisis not
a gentlestrollaroundthehedgerowsof
theHomeCountiesora meanderaround
thewoodlandsoftheCotswolds,thisis a
yompthroughsomeofthetoughestand
mostchallengingterrain.If youwantto
makethemostofit youhavetobefit —
not‘pubfit’ butactually fi t to cope with
heathery hills.

Youwillbecoveringseriousground

upglenandhillside,walkingthrough

heavyheatherandinsomecases

boggyground.If youaresweatinglike

a horse,pantingandblowingwhenthat

opportunityarises,youwillbeabout

asmuchusewithyourmusketasa pug

retrievinga runningcockbird.Youmay

laugh but forewarned is forearmed.

Grousearecleverbirds.Youmaygetthat
oddloneterritorialcockbirdthatwillsit
tightandburstinfrontofyou,offering
a nicestraightforwardshot,butonthe
wholeyouwillbedealingwithcoveys.
Thesecouldnumberfromfourto 10 birds
onaverage.Whenthatcoveyburstsin
front of you and you witness that initial

burstofspeed,watchingthembarrelroll,
twistandturnawayfromyou,it’shardnot
togetexcited,regardlessofexperience.
Whenyouarewalking-upwithdogs
workinginfront,youhavetostayalert.
Inmanycasesif thedogsworkwelland
within 10 to 20 yardsoftheline,youwill
havetimetoshoot.Somanywalked-up
grousearemissedbecausetheshooter
endsuptryingforbirds that have ended
up too far away.

Don’tshootforthesakeofit —wild

shotsarepointless.If you’reluckytofell

a birdfromthecovey,thereis every

chanceyouwillonlyhavebrokena wing.

Knowingyourdistancesis so

important.Thedifficultiescomeonopen

ground,asyouhavelimitedreference

points and you have to make the decision

withina splitsecondofbirdsbeingonthe

wing.Witha coveythatburstsinfront,

yourfirstshotshouldbeataround 20

to 30 yards.If they break at 40 yards,

don’tbother.

Manybirdsaremissedofflineand

witha quarteringbird—a verycommon

shotinwalked-upshooting—thiswill

generallybehighandinfront.Don’trush

asthebirdsbreak,justreact.I alwayssay

trust what you see. If you hesitate and try

toforcetheshot,it willallgowrong. Be

controlledbutinstinctive.

Idealchokeswouldbehalfandhalf—

theyaretheperfectall-roundchokesfor

allwalked-upshootingandmanyforms

ofgameshooting.Theywillpatternwell

at 20 to 30 yardsbutholdtheshotstring

forbirdsthatareslightlyfurtheraway.

Pickinga birdis easiersaidthandone

and,fromexperience,thebestwayis

tochoosethebirdyoufirstlockeyeson.

Don’teverletyourfirstthoughtbea right-

and-leftoryouwillbedoomed.Focus

onthefirstbird—getthatshotinthen,

if theopportunityarises,takea second.

Bepreparedforvariousshotsand

angles—theyarewildbirdsandwill

behavelikeit.Theycouldcutbackon

theshooterandtaketheshootingline,

offeringlowcrossingshots.Thegrouse

hasthefullarmouryofflyingdisplays,

sodon’tthinkyou’reonlygoingtobe

shootinga going-away bird with its

afterburners on.

ARE YOU FIT ENOUGH?

KNOW YOUR LIMITS

Shooting

grousemeans

dealingwith

tough terrain

“Bepreparedforvariousshotsand

angles— theyarewildbirds.Thegrouse

has the full armoury of fl ying displays”

Grousewillpresentyou

with challenging shots

Ifthedogsarekeptclose

youwillhaveplenty of

time to shoot