D.TOMLINSON
Dogsareessential forgrouse shooting— picking-upwithout them isunthinkable and watching them work is a joy, says David TomlinsonLikethewildestofspaniels,I ran
intocollectmybirdbecauseI didn’t
havea dogtodothejobforme.I
thoughtI hadmarkedthefallbutI
couldn’tlocateit.After 10 minutes
ofsearchingandstillnobird,panic
startedtogripme.Myfirstgrouse,indeedmyfirstgamebird,wasa
memorablemomentinmylifeandit
wouldhavebeenawfulnottoputit
intothebag.ThenI spottedthebird
onitsback,hiddenintheheather.
Relief washed over me.THEFIRSTGAMEBIRD
I evershotwasa grouse
duringmyschool
holidays.I wasenjoying
a shooting,fishingandbirdwatching
holidayona familyfriend’s6,000-
acrefarmintheHebrides.Theground
includeda grousemoor,thougha
moreaptdescriptionwouldhave
beena moorwitha fewgrouse.
OntheGloriousTwelfthmy
companionandI trudgedthrough
theheatherforhoursinpursuitof
theelusivebirds.Wefoundtheodd
feather,eventheoccasionalpile
ofdistinctivedroppings,butthe
grousethemselvesremainedunseen.
Eventually,afteranexhausting
blankmorning,anoldhentookoff
infrontofme.I firedinwhatmust
havebeena reflexreactionand,to
myastonishment,thebird tumbled
back to the heather.I recallthisnottoboreyouwith
thestoryofmyfirstgrousebutto
raisea validpoint.Shouldwegoout
inpursuitofgrouse,oranyfeathered
quarryforthat matter, without a dog?Humane
I’msurethatasa teenagerI would
havearguedinfavourofthedogless
Gun,butnowI’mnotsosure.Weowe
it toourquarrytopick-upassoon
aswecanaftershootingit andif it is
wounded,todespatchit asquickly
andhumanelyaspossible.Without
a dogthat’softenimpossible.
Pickinggrouseis particularly
challenging,mainlybecause
markingis sodifficult.A seaofpurple
heatherlookswonderful,butit is
extraordinarilyuniformandthere
arerarelyanyobviousfeaturesto
helpyoumarkthefall.Someyears
ago I was a spectator at a grouse trialGundogsDogged determinationThisspringer
hasretrieveda
shotgrouseona
Yorkshire moor“Weoweit toourquarrytopick-upassoonaswecanandtodespatchit asquickly as possible”42 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE