Opportunity Of A Lifetime

An invitation to shoot driven grouse sends Tim Maddams into a bit of a panic, but a lesson at Calvert Sporting soon calms his nerves and proves to be an exciting experience in its own right

- Tim Maddams

Sometimes in life you fall on your feet and this is one of those stories. For a while now I have been working with, and doing my bit for, The Country Food Trust. This charity has been set up to feed the needy in our land with pheasant and partridge meat from shoots across the country, and it’s doing so in the form of ready meals. I have helped develop the recipes for these and I am proud to be a part of such a sensible and helpful cause. Of course, I was very happy, then, to offer them an auction lot for their charity supper earlier in the year… but I did not expect what happened next.

A lovely email from Tim Woodward, who runs the charity for the trustees, delivered the news that my lot (offering to cook dinner for a team of Guns) had been bought by the team that had also bought a day’s driven grouse shooting at the Purdy-award-winning Weardale moor – a lot generously donated by none other than trustee of the charity, Michael Stone. Great, I thought, I love a trip north and watching grouse drives is something I have had the pleasure of doing before. Happy days, maybe I’ll take the dog and give him a good outing pre-season. Then the phone rang; I had been invited to shoot. Driven grouse. Double-gun. I couldn’t say no – I really want to do it, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I have to admit, though, I agreed with more than a little nervousness. This is a unique form of shooting, and I do not wish to completely hash it up or, worse, cause offence (or even worse) with bad shooting or safety. I have seen this sport done properly by some of the best shots in the country; it’s hair-raising stuff... I don’t even own two guns!