Shooting Times & Country – 07 August 2019

Vintage Times

theirloaders.Smallwonderthat
invitationsaremainlyrestrictedto
thosefriendswhoareabletooffertop-
classshootinginreturn.Norcanmere
moneybuya guninsucha shoot— for
thiswehavetodescend a rung to the
syndicateshoots.
Herea reasonableseason’s
shootingmaystillbeboughtforas
littleas£75to£100perGun,butat
thisleveltheshootwilleitherhaveno
keeperorat besta part-timer.If birds
areputdowntheyhavetotaketheir
chanceandsportis oftensomething
ofa gamble.InSussex,withineasy
reachofLondon,£100buyslessthan
thesamesuminNorfolk,wherethere
isn’tsomuchcompetition.Fromthis
stemstherulethatif yourfinancial
resourcesarelimitedit is usuallywell
worthwhiletoleratinga longdrive to
andfromyourday’ssport.

Socialvirtues
However,a syndicatebearstherisk
thattheGunsaretherebecausethey
canpay,andnotbecausetheyarewell
triedandprovenfriendsinvitedfor
theirsocialvirtues.Thesizeofthebag
willbeinproportiontothecostper
Gun;thequalityofthefriendship will
bequiteunrelated.
Finally,onthebuyingsidewehave
theodd 100 acresorsorentedbythe
lonewolf.Thesesmallroughshoots
varyenormouslybothinsettingand
inquality,butthebestcanbevery
goodindeed.Theopportunityto
rentroughshootingcomesthrough
personalcontactwiththerightpeople
andthisusuallymeansthefarmer.
Andsowecometothebegging.
TheEnglishfarmeris usuallya
suspiciousmanandtowinhis

confidenceis a longanddifficulttask.
Yetonceyouhavesucceeded,there
is nokindernormoregenerousbody
ofmeninthecountry.Todrivedown
somemuddycountrylaneinthe
knowledgethatat theendofit liesa
trueruralwelcomeis a heartening
experience.Sonowwecometothe
cruxoftheproblem:howdoesthe
manwithlittlemoneyandnofriends
inthefarmingworldfindshooting?
Theansweris obviousandsimple:
goandaskforit.Butbeforeyou
start — think. It is not the slightest

usetearinguptothefarm,rathertoo

quickly,withthreefriendsandasking

forgeneralpermissiontoshoot.The

farmis thefarmer’slivingandhisway

oflifeandhewouldrathertolerate

hisverminthangivepermission

toseveralmentowanderaround

shootingastheyplease.Yourchance

ofsuccesswillbegreatlyimproved

if youobservethefollowingpoints.

First,a day’sroughshooting

doesnotnecessarilycallforone’s

oldestclothes.Secondly,goalone.

Psychologically,a farmerwillgive

consenttoonemanwherehewill

refuseit formore.Thirdly,donot

takea dog.Youmayknowit to

betrustworthy,thefarmerdoes

not.Finally,andbyfarthemost

important,donotaskforgeneral

permissiontowanderaboutshooting

vermin.Theprospectoftheaverage

Guntakingmuchtollofverminwhile

strollingcasuallyis remote,andif the

farmercaresabouthisverminhewill

beevenlesslikelyto grant permission

tothestranger.

Thesecretliesintherough

shooter’soldfriend,thepigeon.

Imagine yourself as a farmer. A car

drivesupanda reasonable-looking

individualbidsyougoodmorning

andsays:“Withthissnowaboutthe

pigeonsareknockinghelloutofyour

kalebythemainroad.MayI builda

hidebythepitanddecoyfora few

hours?”Youmaystillsayno,butif any

approachwillwin, that one will.

Permission

Neveraskforpermanentpermission;

givethefarmertheopportunitytotry

you.Neverasktowander,statewhere

youwishtoshootfromandforhow

long.Andwatchyourneighbourhood

andonlyaskforpermissionwhen

thereis anobviousneedfora gun.

Whenyoufinish,seekthefarmer

out,evenif it is rainingandheis half

a mileoff, thankhimandofferhim

everypigeonyouhaveshot.Hewill

almostcertainlynottakethem,but

offerthem.Then,andonlythen,

askif youmaydecoyfromthesame

spotagain.Onceyougaina name

forreliabilitythenextapproachis

fareasier,foryoucangiveyourfirst

farmer’snameasa reference.

Thequalitiesyouneedtofindfree

shootingareperseverance,seeingthe

otherman’spoint of view, and a sense

of humour.

Thisarticlewasfirstpublishedinthe

13 August 1964 issueofShooting Times.

“Whenyoufinish,seekthefarmeroutand

off er him every pigeon you have shot”

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 43

“TheGunsare

therebecausethey

pay,notbecause

theyarefriends

invitedfortheir

social virtues”