COVID-19 and Game season 20/21

[westley]

Or down the crowded unregulated  local park where you can enjoy being run into by joggers, kids on bikes and seeing your dog being attacked by another that hasn't been out of the house since the last lockdown. 

Do NOT go near the bank of the Liverpool to Leeds canal then, the only way to beat the countless cyclists, joggers and doggies running loose, is to ...................................BLOODY SWIM  !

 

[Charliedog]

Well I managed 2 lovely days out and missed out on a couple booked in January, hopefully next season will be more normal for shooters and prosperous for those involved in putting it all together

 

[FlyingTrotter]

Smallest season since I started - just the one COVID secure day - all others cancelled 

When you operate the policies that are required to shoot game - so no inside socialising on the day - no overnight stay - no pre-shoot dinner - no car sharing on the day with fellow guns- no loaders etc etc it’s nothing like the occasion that makes it worth paying the not inconsiderable sums involved  - overall I am happier that the season was a write off and we move to next season - that said the hit to all those involved is clearly considerable and it must be questionable whether a lot will survive into next season - I would have shot more under the restrictions but it wasn’t possible as the tier system intervened 

 

[ips]

I managed about six days shooting, all small 50 bird ish days six guns over two syndicates and a boundary type day. Did approx 40 days beating. Protocol was followed fairly strictly at all times no issues encountered. The only down side for guns was no shoot dinner and lunch in the field rather than back at the gun rooms......given the fact that footie ballers, cricket people, tennis folk and snooker etc etc is allowed to continue (by the so called elite anyway) with all the kissing and hugging that goes with it (footie ballers particularly) I feel somewhat miffed that the wife, the dog and I cannot spend a day in the field with twenty or so other ladies and gents, I admit to a kiss and a hug with the wife and or dog but no beaters or shooters were ever kissed or hugged on my watch....just saying

 

[ColinD]

Same as Clay shoots, the ground we use was doing everything by the book and as far as I observed the shooters too.

Afraid we have to suffer for the few idiots who just don't or won't be told, oh and I think money has a lot to do with it also

 

[FlyingTrotter]

anyway being more positive I have a decent season coming together and after this one I am expecting the guns to return to the field with even greater enthusiasm - I personally can’t wait - will be getting a fair bit of clay shooting in to tune up once the grounds open in..........June???

 

[Garwood]

Managed 2 days of 4 hoped for,both were exceptionally well run and the restrictions didn`t impinge on the enjoyment.Refreshments taken leisurely in stubble fields etc. Sadly 2 lockdowns intervened to put paid to the other two.I really feel for all the people who took the chance and fronted commercial shooting this year,only to be beaten fairly late in the season!Looking forward ,bookings have been made for 2021 and we can only hope that we find ourselves in a better place by then.Stay safe.

 

[Martinj]

Now it's nearly over this season what are the plans for next season? 

Will the remaining birds breed? how successful are they likely to be?   We are left with around 2000 pheasants that we still need to feed, "the boss" is hoping that we will still have a proportion of those and their young around next season and is thinking about ordering something like 2/3 of this season's numbers for next season.

 

[Jonny English]

Now it's nearly over this season what are the plans for next season? 

Will the remaining birds breed? how successful are they likely to be?   We are left with around 2000 pheasants that we still need to feed, "the boss" is hoping that we will still have a proportion of those and their young around next season and is thinking about ordering something like 2/3 of this season's numbers for next season.

It could all depend on what all of your neighbour's do around your shoot. Pheasants are well renowned for wandering. If your neighbours feed well or have better habitat they can easily trot off. We used to shoot regularly on a shoot that only put down partridges, and there was always a healthy supply of wild pheasants on the day, but the area may have a limit it will naturally support and you may find don't retain all if whats left from this year.

 

[Martinj]

It could all depend on what all of your neighbour's do around your shoot. Pheasants are well renowned for wandering. If your neighbours feed well or have better habitat they can easily trot off. We used to shoot regularly on a shoot that only put down partridges, and there was always a healthy supply of wild pheasants on the day, but the area may have a limit it will naturally support and you may find don't retain all if whats left from this year.

The neighbours shoot pheasants and partridges, we'll probably feed more regularly than most. It's interesting that we released only melanistics over the last two years but we see a LOT of normal golden pheasants on the shoot, perhaps a third of the total.

 

[ips]

Now it's nearly over this season what are the plans for next season? 

Will the remaining birds breed? how successful are they likely to be?   We are left with around 2000 pheasants that we still need to feed, "the boss" is hoping that we will still have a proportion of those and their young around next season and is thinking about ordering something like 2/3 of this season's numbers for next season.

Was wondering same thing. The estate I work on just up the road will have many thousands left, many of them seem to be on my field pity it's not a big enough field to shoot em

My small DIY syndicate is planning on going ahead next season even though it's still a risk imo, as an aside we shot there days out of mine during covid season, my other (keepers) syndicate we shot there days out of five ....good job neither were serious bucks

 

[Garwood]

Whatever we`re faced with this year I don`t think we shall be looking at a `normal` season once again.Hopefully the vaccination program works as predicted  but I feel we `re still sailing into uncharted waters,so to speak.

 

[FlyingTrotter]

Hard to tell how things will be looking by the star of the season but I have a great schedule mapped out at least on paper 

 

[Garwood]

Had a couple of emails from shoots offering a pretty normal shooting program for the coming season,hope it comes to fruition!

 

[FlyingTrotter]

At the larger commercial end is a long way from “normal” because most have rolled days that were cancelled into 21/22 and so have smaller number of days left to sell a new - lots are effectively sold out now in January - lot of excitement/ enthusiasm amongst my team and can’t wait to get out to EJ Churchill/ sporting Targets etc and break some clays off the high tower. Obviously pretty hard to predict what state the country will be in by Sept but seems pretty clear that I will have had my jabs by then ( I’m group 8 of the JVIC 9; groups) - let’s hope it will prove to be the route to greater normality once a critical mass of people inc all those classes as vulnerable have been jabbed

 

[RJD]

I’ve a horrible feeling there won’t be a season this year ...

 

[ips]

I’ve a horrible feeling there won’t be a season this year ...

I have to agree, it doesn't look good

 

[Garwood]

The last few days of news does seem to be putting a damper on any optimism we may have had ,that`s for sure... 

 

[FlyingTrotter]

Mmmmm - isn’t the strategy vaccinate the most at risk (groups 1-4) and then start to open the conomy using tiers - vaccinate 5-9 so covering 99% of the population that have died/ been hospitalised - test and monitor hospitalisations - monitor the virus mutations etc and flex the tiers as required 

if it’s no-longer that (which it might not be) what the f**K’ is the strategy now 

plainly no sophisticated economy can remain as a zombie state funded state indefinitely - and that’s ignoring the social , mental health , inter generational unfairness aspect 

 

[Garwood]

I think its possibly the timescale for achieving full vaccination of sufficient people that`s the issue tbh.