The first few weeks of September are a busy start to our bird shooting season, as we normally have regular dawn flights of Canada geese onto the local Staffordshire stubbles and a few evenings on our duck pond, just to blow the cobwebs off our barrels.
By mid-September, my thoughts are definitely focused on what is becoming our annual trip north of the border for a few days of walked-up sport in Perthshire with an opportunity to take a handful of the wildest of our game birds, the red grouse.
It’s always a quick trip, but lovely nonetheless, as we leave lowland England, with its harvested fields of gold where we have been shooting in shirt sleeves, and head to the early autumn of the Scottish moor where you feel you have been fast-forwarded into another season; the weather can be quite bleak to say the least!
Joining me on this particular trip were two mates: Antony, my friend and local butcher, and Wayne, my shooting partner on our little DIY shoot, who is a passionate game shooter but hasn’t had the pleasure of grouse just yet. Also accompanying us was Daniel, my son, who would be with us on the hill to document (film/ photograph) our trip for our business needs!
The first morning, we were met on the estate by our old friend Roy Cullen, who would be our dog man and guide for the day. Roy is great company, a renowned ‘pointer man’, preferring to use a selection of dogs from his strong breeding line of German wirehaired pointers to work the moor. With his solid black Lab for the retrieves just after the shot, it is a great combination and I have enjoyed and benefited from his expertise and banter on many occasions.
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