I am delighted to share a shooting interest with my son and grandson.
I have been shooting for more than thirty years and am a member of a small walk/stand shoot just south of Harrogate where we do our own keepering. I try also every season to get two or three bought days in the area but am not into big bags – 50 to 80 bird days are just my ticket!
My son Carl has shot with me since his teens but now has his own very demanding business which currently allows little time for relaxation. Grandson Matt (now 12) has been coming with me to my shoot since he was seven, starting as a beater/eater (he eats more than his fair share at the mid-morning ‘cock stand’!), and I now allow him the odd stand when I consider it safe to do so; last January saw him get his first pheasant. This year a farmer friend has given up shooting due to age and infirmity and he very kindly gave Matt (on my licence) a lovely little AYA semi-hammerless single barrel 20-bore which is light enough to be carried all day, yet heavy enough to stop any of the game on our shoot. Matt would be with me every shoot day if he could but school and rugby have first call on his time, and we will see how long his currently chosen career of game keeping and estate management remains in place – I hope long enough for me to join him one day!
David Pick