The constant evolution of a shooting man

Who shoots, what we shoot and how we do it is always changing

- Giles Catchpole

In 1970 the estate car of choice was the Morris Traveller. Then the Range Rover was launched and changed everything. Shooting at the time was an exclusive undertaking. Either you were invited by the owners of large estates, manors or moors or you inveigled your way into a syndicate. This was a modern concept, creeping in as landowners sought to defray the spiralling costs of pretty much everything.

Wildfowlers lurked below the tideline and a bit of pigeon shooting might be had by making yourself useful to the local gamekeepers, with occasional pints thrown in for good measure.

Today it is fair to say that shooting is more accessible than ever — but who shoots these days, what do they shoot and how does the whole thing work?

Two innovations have changed everything. Somewhere in the 1980s it became not only possible but acceptable to rent shooting by the day. Teams of Guns could wander happily hither and yon choosing shoots that took their fancy. And in the past decade or so, through internet facilities such as GunsOnPegs, it has become possible even to take a single peg as part of an ad hoc shooting line.

Boondoggles

It’s not the way everyone does it and it may not be the way everyone wants to do it, but it does mean that anyone with the necessary funds can go shooting. It doesn’t always take a fortune either. In the early days of the modern era, shooting was infested by corporate hospitality boondoggles. It wasn’t a pretty sight for the most part and subsequent rigorous application of rules concerning bribery and corruption have largely put paid to the worst excesses.