I vividly remember having a conversation with a retired gamekeeper in the early 1980s, when I was on a Government-sponsored Youth Training Scheme, about gamekeeping and its future. He was pretty adamant that things had changed for the worse, that there was little or no future in gamekeeping, and I would have been better choosing a different career.
By contrast, 12 months later when I was offered and accepted my first full-time position as an under keeper in west Wales, my then head keeper was pretty upbeat. While he missed the old ways and the old days, he understood change and accepted it. Furthermore, he had been born within sight of the Monmouthshire Hunt kennels and had always wanted to go into hunt service, but his father forbade him as he said there was no future in it.
Inevitable
His point, which is as true today as it was then, was that change was inevitable, that we should accept it and adapt, and above all else do something we are passionate about and enjoy. That’s not to say he didn’t like being a gamekeeper, it is just that he would have preferred to have hunted a pack of hounds.
I am often asked what I would consider the perfect gamekeeping job and have to confess that I sometimes struggle to come up with an answer. This is because keepering is so varied, and what is a fantastic opportunity for one person doesn’t always suit another. It is, of course, very much down to individual taste.
All I can say by way of advice to those who are starting their careers is to focus on what you want when you have decided what it is you are actually looking for. Keep working and giving your current job your all, then when that job of a lifetime does come up you will have both a proven track record and a first-rate reputation among your peers.
Denne historien er fra March 10, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra March 10, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside