Under starter's orders

Nick Ridley meets the young owner of a new shoot

- Nick Ridley

Starting a new shoot is a risky business at the best of times but during the current circumstances its challenging to say the least.

It has been a testing year for anyone running a game shoot and as we all know there are plenty of shoots that decided they would not go ahead this season. With all the COVID-19 restrictions, some Guns and syndicates have understandably been unwilling to commit to bookings and deposits. As game farmers need commitments from shoots to plan in regard to the supply of birds, and deposits to secure the orders, it is no wonder that confidence in this season has not been very high.

For Michael Ricketts, 30, this season has been the challenge of a lifetime. Michael is a third-generation gamekeeper, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, who both ran shoots. It has been a lifelong ambition of Michael’s to run his own commercial shoot, but he could not have foreseen what a challenge it would be.

The Claydon estate is situated in rural Buckinghamshire and for many years was run as a family shoot, with some sold days to supplement running costs. Six years ago, the driven shoot packed up and since then the family have enjoyed a few informal walkabout days in pursuit of the birds that were left over from the keepered shoot.