UK: Driven and Walked up Grouse Shooting

"The Twelfth"

There can be few other days in the sporting calendar which hold such sway over the game shooting fraternity as 12 August. “The Twelfth” heralds the start of the grouse shooting season and for many ends what has probably been almost 12 months of anticipation for this most revered of all the sporting game birds. Flying at up to 80 mph and as often as not hugging the contours of the heather moorland they inhabit, they represent what is considered by most to be the ultimate in driven shooting.

The hedge hopping partridge or the high pheasant both offer exceptional sport and indeed make up the mainstay of most guns’ driven shooting fixtures. The grouse however has one other attribute that adds an extra element to its desirability – the unpredictability of their numbers. The Red Grouse is totally wild and the stock of birds cannot be augmented by reared birds in any shape or form. They can be well keepered and their habitat encouraged, but environmental factors beyond anyone’s control can and does account for huge fluctuations in their numbers. What may be a vintage season with record bags one year may well be a disaster the following. This unpredictability means that when an opportunity arises or an invitation is given it is for many the shooting equivalent of the golden ticket.

Driven Grouse Shooting

Driven shooting is the means by which the bulk of grouse days are conducted; a large team of beaters being used to sweep in a sizeable stretch of moorland and drive the birds towards a line of guns. Guns are positioned in butts that are spaced 20-35 yards apart and are often sunken into the moorland to keep their profile as low as possible. Although butts may be placed in gullies with the grouse crossing high overhead, as often as not the birds will be flying at head height, appearing in coveys of 20 or more with little or no warning. It is not uncommon for days to be double-gun to maximise the shooting opportunities. Although taking a single bird from a pack of grouse may initially seem like a challenge, it is not unheard of for skilled ‘double gunners’ to take as many as 5 birds from a passing covey.

Walked Up or Rough Days Grouse Shooting

Although driven grouse shooting is held in the highest prestige, walked up days grouse shooting is often employed as a means of covering areas less suitable for driving. It can be equally challenging! Typically the team of guns will walk in an extended line, interspersed with keepers and pickers-up with gun dogs. The grouse usually flush in front of the line, presenting a ‘going away’ shot. Depending on the conditions they may either get up from ‘under one’s feet’ or present themselves at longer distances. Whether one finds oneself suddenly surrounded by a covey of a dozen or more grouse scattering in all directions or faced with challenging away or overhead shots as birds swing down the line, they are all equally exciting and just as sporting.

 

A Cautionary Comment

Due to the nature of grouse shooting safety is always the number one concern. The exhilaration of ‘close combat’ with furiously fast, low flying birds can test the cool of even the most experienced shot. Guns should always be aware of the positions of flankers, beaters, picker-up and other guns. During days of driven grouse shooting all guns on the moor will typically be required to use butt sticks (pegs positioned either side of their butt) to help prevent them swinging through the line.