GROUSE SHOOTING SCOTLANDGrouse Shooting Scotland is the leading title of many articles on Shooting. Mention grouse shooting to almost anyone and they will qualify your comments by asking ‘in Scotland?’ Scotland and grouse shooting are linked as a romantic notion in the minds of shooting + non-shooting folk alike, throughout the globe. This most challenging of sports conjures up heather-clad highlands, traditional clan plaids and hunting tweeds adorning both lodges and keepers and famously beautiful and expensive estates. The scenery when grouse shooting in Scotland is breath taking and undoubtedly the grouse are more spirited than their relations south of the border. There are often lines of butts which literally cling to the mountain side presenting the hunter with the most challenging type of shot; approaching on a curving trajectory with no ground around it to gauge speed or distance, flying 500’ or more above an abyss! However, not all Scottish grouse shooting is so dramatic as there are areas of Scottish moorland which are very similar to English moors with coveys of well mannered birds approaching in small groups over a gently undulating and well burned moorland. Unless of course the conditions are wild and then the character of the bird and way in which it flies dramatically changes. This is usually where it is cold and bleak, where your safety catch has frozen on and the hail in your eyes makes it difficult to see anything, let alone a black missile as it hurtles towards you! Grouse shooting Scotland, is often accompanied by a requirement to rent a traditional hunting lodge on the estate. It is also possible sometimes to add other elements to your grouse shooting holiday, for example fishing or stalking to make up a truly memorable week of sport. There is a huge demand for walked up grouse shooting, sometimes with a few friends ‘in line’ and quite often ‘over pointers’, where 2 guns go forward to stand behind the dog ‘on point’ before the grouse are flushed in a burst of wingbeats. Good walked up grouse shooting is very hard to source and daily bags are often small. Therefore the rates charged on a per brace basis are often similar to driven shooting. Scottish grouse are sensational, although they are not as prolific as their English cousins. 75 - 100 brace/day on a Scottish moor is considered a very respectable bag and 100 brace + certainly warrants the champagne! |
