doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com English Countryside

Anyone read, Rural, The Lives of the working class Countryside, a memoir by Rebecca Scott. Scott grew up in a family that served several estates, her father was a forester, game keep etc. Very interesting life and a counter point to the current assault on “county life” by the urban “antis.” The author returned later as an adult with her family to several of estates she roamed as a child. I kept thinking of the semi-documentary, The Shooting Party when she describes her charge as a beater among other day to day occupations. Well written.

I'll look that one up. The term Beater had me interested as many think the Guns (shooters) are from the aristocracy and the Beaters the Yokels. One shoot I used to go to working the dogs had among the Beating Team; A retired Detective Inspector, a Veterinary Surgeon, a Master of Engineering from Rolls Royce and a Professor of Mathematics. Lagopus.....

The beaters that I have had a chat with included an accountant who went to Eton College (that's the poshest school in GB), the retired bodyguard of a Prime Minister, a doctor, a gunsmith, two colonels plus a few tractor drivers. All interesting to talk to.

HB

I have always enjoyed the company of the keepers and beaters.
They work proudly and extraordinarily hard year round to make the grounds they keep as productive and sustainable as possible.

Sounds like the local yokels are the ones shooting

Not without permission.

Remember, shooting in the UK is not like hunting in the United States.

The land owner owns all of the game on their land, and decides who gets to shoot it.

A person still needs the permission of the Landowner or person holding the sporting rights but some foreshore shooting for wildfowl is still free. Most Farmer/Landowners are only too happy for someone to shoot the wood pigeons and rabbits for them. There is still rough shooting to be had for nothing from some obliging Farmer and with deer being in record proportions free deer stalking can be obtained; especially on Muntjac and with no bag limits and no seasons for pigeon, rabbits and Muntjac there is plenty of sport to be had. All other deer species that have seasons usually the doe season starts as the buck season finishes and vice versa. Geese are often looked upon as agricultural pests and I shall be on some free goose shooting from September 1st. We humble Yokels don't do too bad. Lagopus.....

Yes!
The goose flights around the Montrose basin are epic.
Heading up to Invermark in just a couple weeks.

In the U.S. we used to have beaters, too. That was before Roundup killed all of the weeds and grasshoppers and other bugs in the Iowa cornfields. That led to the demise of the Iowa pheasant populations. Before Roundup, the corn fields used to have weeds in the rows of corn, good cover, and then bugs for good food. Often we would ask the young sons to walk along. The corn was at least 6 feet high and they could not see, and of course didn’t have guns. I often went along with beaters because at 6’5” I could see above the corn and often got easy shots. The “blockers would get lots of shooting, similar to the “guns” in Britain. Good times with lots of wild game. That is no more.

Roundup (glyphosate) is a herbicide, not an insecticide. And, it only kills certain grasses and weeds, not all of them. Certainly not grasshoppers or people , ads by by unethical tv lawyers notwithstanding.

. When the weeds and grasses ceased to infest the corn, the grasshoppers simply went elsewhere. It's a tough thing to feed the world and have perfect gamebird habitat, at the same time.