The GWCT West Tayside committee organised a day for a team of young guns at Errol Sporting on 18th October. The aim of the day was to give an opportunity of a full driven day shooting to a group of young enthusiasts. We asked for each nomination from estate managers, gamekeepers or likewise who believe the nominee had shown an outstanding contribution to the sport whether it be in the beating line, been a commendable help in the hard working picking up line or perhaps helping after school to feed and look after the birds. We had a fantastic response, and the committee duly selected a group of 10 guns under the age of 18 for the day.
The day was supported by a number of very generous donors who sponsored the guns and who felt they were investing in the future of the sport.
Further sponsorship and support were generously provided by Browning, who provided a fantastic goodie bag for each of the guns including a gilet, cap, ear defenders and glasses and Glenalmond Estate who provided all the cartridges on the day. A massive thank you to all of the sponsors as the day would not have been possible without them.
The day itself started at the farm for instructions, bacon rolls, a safety briefing and the peg draw and the guns received their goodie bags as excitement levels rose!
The first drive was “North Strip” where the guns were down a rolling hill on a clear fell site with the birds being flushed from a this strip of ash trees with rhododendron. There were some initial nerves but after the first few waves and with support from their experienced mentors on the day some very good birds were taken.
The second drive “Lornie West” was a small experimental drive pushing some oak woodland over winter wheat fields. Roughly the same again was shot on this drive but the guns did find this more challenging due to the majority of pheasants flying along the tops of the oak trees as crossers.
The third drive “Lornie Birches” is a young birch plantation pushed out over a stubble field. The birds came in constant waves with a good, even spread across the gun line. There was some very nice shooting with some of the highest birds being taken down.
There was a brief pause for elevenses before the fourth drive “Ancothie” which was another experimental drive based around a fresh clear fell site, with a new game crop added behind it. There were some strange looks from the gun line as, for this drive, the beaters start in front of the gun line, walking in a full circle, ending up back at the gun line. During the entire drive, there were always birds in the air, covering almost every peg. This was the busiest drive of the day, with some excellent, high shots. By the end of the drive the bag for the day had been reached but Ben and Gregor decided that it was a little early in the day to finish so an extra drive was put on.
For the fifth and final drive, “Ardgaith” the guns lined out through an oak wood, with small windows of opportunity in the canopy, as an oak strip was driven towards them. Although difficult due to the heavy leaf still on the trees and having to snap-shoot, plenty shots were fired and the finishing bag was 234.
The team then headed off to the shooting bothy at the farm for soup and sandwiches. There was a great atmosphere in the bothy, with all of our guns, mentors, beaters and pickers up mingling and chatting about the experience of the day.
All in all, it was a wonderful day with a group of really enthusiastic young people. The day offered an authentic and hopefully, educational introduction to driven shooting, held in a safe and supportive environment under the support and guidance of experienced guns.
We received many messages of thanks to the team at Errol Sporting for hosting the day and it was noted that everyone went the extra mile to make it such a memorable day for the team of guns.
Special thanks go out to Campbell Pitt and Gregor Leslie from the West Tayside committee for their dedication in organising the day and to Ben Kass and the team at Errol Sporting.
