REVIEW OF THE 2009 GROUSE SHOOTING MARKETThe grouse shooting market for the 2009 season was an interesting one.Twelve months ago the financial world was falling apart; agents and principals were caught like rabbits in the headlights, staring into an uncertain future!Moor owners were prepared to cut their cloth according to market conditions and accepted our advice on prices to get early bookings confirmed to regular teams (of guns) or roving syndicates who were keen to return.As (it turned out) the season approached a couple of the larger moors had a very poor grouse hatch (snow in the uplands on June 5th did not help!) and the market hardened considerably in July 2009, allowing other estates to fill their unsold days. It is interesting to note that in our experience there was more demand for larger, more expensive grouse days than cheaper 40-50 brace days and I am sure this pattern will prevail in 2010.The grouse shooting forecast for 2010 is full of caveats! Snow which fell in the week before Christmas is still lying heavily on the moors – and there is more forecast. Grouse were seen sheltering from the snow in these thorn trees in early January.
Grouse have scattered in search of food and are appearing in some strange places – wherever they can find food and shelter. Old keepers who have seen these conditions before are full of tales of yesteryear when grouse left their moors for months, only to return from their travels in time to pair up and breed in March. One thing is certain however; weak birds will not have been able to cope with such hostile conditions and will have perished. Strongyl worms which hibernate in heather shoots will have been frozen, minimising the risk of re-infecting their grouse hosts, and ticks and heather beetle will have taken a battering as well – all good news. So, the first indication for grouse shooting will be the spring pairs counts next month - only then will keepers and owners get their first positive impression of what to expect in 2010.
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