Shooting Forum.
This is the new page for letters about shooting, such as our Beater’s Day Letters etc.
shooting@countrytalk.co.uk

Should aged beaters retire? A pre-season enquiry. What do our readers feel? 12.07.11

Sir,
 My grandmother goes beating at least twice a week. She is now 78 and getting very vague. Recently she put the TV controller in the fridge and put a bottle of olive oil on the table, for the guests to drink when she had friends for supper. I’m very worried that she will get lost or hurt out beating.
How can I stop her going? She is already talking about earning more money in 2011 as her pension is not very good.
Miranda 11.07.11

Dear Miranda,
Personally I don’t see any problem about your grandmother beating, if she is well enough to have supper parties. Olive oil is generally considered very good for health, nothing to worry about. It is also cheaper than wine, your grandmother may be sharper than you think. Perhaps she thinks you watch too much TV?
Yours, Grannie 12.07.11

Dear Miranda,
On no account let her endanger the life of herself, as well those of other people . To stop her, just take away her glasses. If she doesn’t need glasses, she is probably ok to carry on. As for pensions, we fully understand her.But consider that there may be people in the age bracket of 67 or so, who need the money more.. Many canot afford olive oil, let alone beer. Mike and Beryl. 12.07.11

Shoot-outs on Beaters’ Day . 06.02.11

Sir,
We had a very dramatic Beaters’ day. I had a very good season, putting in 53 and a half days. The half day was Beaters’ day. All season there has been a slight conflict between me and Vera, a middleaged and snotty beater who thinks she is something special. I have been very quiet and put up with Vera’s instructions all season. Obviously, as I have been beating for far longer than Vera, the instructions were totally superflous. On Beaters’ Day the situation flared up.
Vera had been allowed to bring both a husband and a son. This is not fair. I was only allowed to either shoot or beat. I choose to beat. Vera’s son is in his early forties. He drank a lot, as did her husband. They shouted and made a lot of noise for every kill.
The son kept making business phone-calls all day, very loudly and in an important manner. He takes after his mother, I noticed.
Eventually, our keeper, Gus, got fed up. He marched up to Randolph ( the son, named after Churchill) , took the phone off him and threw it in the air and shot it. Randolph was quiet after that.
His mother went on and on about it, in the beating line, however. Eventually, Brian, the underkeeper got fed up, took her flag off her, threw it in the air and shot at it ( being Beaters’ day he was a walking gun). He missed, of course. He’s a lousy shot. Vera started shouting and blaming other people. I had had enough and I quietly slipped out of line, found my way to the car park and went home.
It will be some time before I go to another Beater’s Day.
Yours, Linda, 06.02.11

Lost on New Year’s Day. Further opinions 08.01.11

Dear Sir,
   The beater lost on New Year’s Day is totally to blame herself. Now way is the keeper or underkeeper resposible for these beaters, who cannot understand simple instructions.Shoots canot pay compensation for stupidity. I feel the beater concened should have her wages deducted by the amount it cost to send a person to rescue her.
 Yours sincerly,
Rodney 08.01.11

Sir,
As for myself, I lost 5 lbs on Monday. I was out beating for out local shoot, as usual. There were only 4 regular beaters, and some kids and girl-friends of the guns. Our under-keeper, a lad in his 20’s, called Blogger because he’s always texting on his mobile, told me to go on the wide outside in Foxes Oak.
Foxes Oak is a large drive. I normally go right on the inside. I told Blogger I have never been down the outside. He just shrugged and said I could surely manage and I would meet up with the line in Meadows.
I did my best. It got foggier and foggier. The kids didn’t shout back when I shouted to them. Quite soon I lost my bearings in all the treees and the mists. I heard shooting in the distance. It seemed to come from my left. I navigated lefthanded. Then the shots seemed to come form my right. I didn’t know what to do. I slowed down. I shouted. There was no reply.
After 45 minutes I started to walk again, fearful of freezing to death, even in my 5 layers and waxed leggings. There was silence all around.
I walked and walked. I thought Meadows was at the bottom of a hill so I walked downhill. It was foggier. After an hour I felt quite exhausted and very disorientated.
 I crossed a field and found myself on small lane. I followed this and came to a farmhouse. There was nobody in. I felt like dying.
Just then a boy appeared on a 4-wheel bike. He said they wer having a private New Year’s Shoot on the farm. I explained I was beating for the main shoot at Kingslands. The boy phoned somebody on his mobile. I waited, as told, by the farm back door for an hour. A Gun came and took meto the pub in his Mitsubishu
. I was able to joing the other beaters, who were having lunch. Nobody had missed me at all.
We got ham and baked potatoes.
Blogger just said I should have kept up a bit higher, in the gorse.
I don’t think I will go beating next week, I felt thoroughly upset by their attitude and the fact nobody had even noticed I was missing. I didn’t even get any extra port as an apology.
Yours, Frannie

Fatness versus fitness: Beaters answer the question. 03.01.11

Dear Clare,
I always put on about 6 lbs before Christmas, but I lose about 8 lbs after Christmas, before Beater’s day. On Beater’s Day I put on 2 lbs, as our shoot really looks after us that day. Thus, I end up more or less as I started the season but I feel much fitter. I do however have problem , which my doctor refers to as Tennis Elbow. I don’t play tennis. It is the flagging.
Gillian, Okehampton 02.01.11

A Hazy Memory of a day’s shooting: 19/10/10
I think it was in 1950. As a lad, I used to beat for a well known shoot. One day, the gamekeeper went off to talk to the Duke about lunchtime arrangements whilst the beaters waited in a group, on one of the rides through the estate.
We had a few sips of port from a hip-flask, produced by Rodney, the underkeeper. Time lagged.
Suddenly a party of inmates form the nearby local asylum came past, on an invigorating walk, with two of their keepers.
Rodney offered the hip flask to the keepers of the asylum, who seemed to enjoy a few sips of port. It was a sunny day at the end of October. We all sat down and chatted to the inmates, who seemed fairly normal.
A shout went up: ‘ Hurry back for lunch!’
Somehow we went back to the asylum, where we had a very good meal, similar to a school meal. The bread and butter pudding was memorable and of a higher standard than I have ever had at a shoot, where puddings are rare, these days.
The Inmates went to the great barn, where they enjoyed a pie, I believe, and some more port.
All in all, it was a pretty good day’s beating. Rodney got the blame afterwards. Nobody would have noticed anything out of the ordinary if one of the innmates had not tried to save the birds during the last drive. He would not stay in line but instead tried to drive the birds away from the guns.
Had it not been for this unfortunate behaviour, we could still be enjoying free meals in the asylum every Saturday.
Richard , now retired from beating.

Sir,
 Listen to all this rubbish. I’m 80 years old and have survived three tip-ups in beater wagons. It is nothing, part of the job. Youngsters are so whiny these days. I’ve never suffered anything worse than a poked out eye. With us, there are 4 beaters in their 80’s and we have 6 eyes between us. It is quite sufficient.
Edward. 15.20.10

Dear Sir,
My fellow beaters and I have had too many near misses to keep quiet. Our problem is not with the wagon, which seems stable, except when a wheel has fallen off. No, our problem is with the vehicle which is called a mule,moke or possily poke. In our Mid Devon shoot, near Cruwys Morchard, we call it the Poke of Death and nobody looks up when our keeper selects victims to be poked by the under-keeper Roddy. Roddy drives very fast and the poke of death slithers wonderfully on ice. We’re putting money into a joint fund for funerals, should it be needed. Wreaths will be extra, payable for on the day.
Christina, 12.10.10

..Sir, 
I wish the people well, because they are humans and therefore infinitely more important than animals. My dad used to shoot, and he used to say
"All the pheasants ever bred
Won't make up for one man dead."
But the fact remains that humanity has progressed in the past 50 years, and most of us recognise that shooting animals for sport is barbaric.
Boris, Colchester  11 .1010

.Sir
It's a fair sport as these animals are only bred for that one thing.
I hope they make a good recovery.
Cavillas,Walton on the Naze 11.10.10

 I drive a beater wagon and I’m very careful, I would like you to know. I don’t drink and I’m a vegetarian, myself. I would never hurt a bird if I could help it. What others do is their business, I just drive. 
Georgie 12.10.10.

Sir,
I’m a professional keeper. I would really like to take part in the trials with gulls. I would also like to have all the badgers on my large shoot vaccinated. How do youbecome part of these interesting experiments?
In Norfolk,I find that the genearal attitude is very conservative and innovations are shunned.
I think shooting people tend to be a little too conservative. The sport needs to move forward .
Name withheld by request. 21st. Aug.20101

A Gun comments on the beaters’ letters below:

Sir,
I occassionaly pay some of my hard-earned money to have a day’s shooting. I have been quite amazed at the problems mentioned by the beaters on these pages. I had previously not given any real thought to how the birds were made to fly over me, I had not understood that there were so many jeaulousies and opinions involved. I thought the whole thing was more professional.
I feel let down that my chosen sport is dependent on an inferior class of person. Game-keepers should avoid employing these types on shoots, and female beaters are seemingly best avoided altogether.
Yours, Edward. 20.05.10
 

A troubled Beaters’ Day: Are blondes favoured by Gamekeepers?

Dear Sir,
 Not all Beaters’ Days are as happy as you say in your Beating Line article. Our shoot had few birds, baked beans for lunch, and worst of all, a terrible athmosphere. It was due to our Gamekeeper Jack, giving the radio to a young blonde, Amy, who has only been out 3 times. One of our regulars, Marianne got very upset. I don’t know why, Marianne is nealy 60 and has only been beating for 6 years. For some reason she imagined it was her turn to be a Bogi. Well, frankly no chance! Obviously a 19 year-olde blonde , wearing only 4 layers is is more suited than a 59 year-old greying person of indeterminate sex wearing 6 layers!
The people involved nearly came to blows, the radio was either dropped or hurled over a precipice and never seen again, a massive argument with our chief Bogi followed because Marianne got very upset by him calling her Lucy .She imagined he would know her name, after only 6 years!
Our Gamekeeper, says he will provide boxing gloves next year. We are quite looking forward to this encounter and bets are being placed.
The Guns had a good time, especially Mariannes husband who shot three birds. The sweepstake was, of course, totally by chance, won by Amy. She took home £236 and has promised to come every day next season.
 All in all, not quite what you describe in Beating Line!
Regards, Miranda, by e-mail, 02.02.10

A Grateful Beater.

Sir,
I think the beaters complain too much. I have personally experienced being thanked by the guns twice this very season and I have only done 18 days beating this year, as I have another job. Also, we get good food, at my shoot, otherwise I wouldn’t go. it saves quite a lot of house-keeping money, if you get a decent meal regularily.
Yours, Marion, 31.01.0

Beaters Look After Shoots, but do Shoots look after Beaters?

Sir,
We, the undersigned, strongly support a move for better wages for Beaters. We work all hours, until dark. We sometimes have six drives. We get no more for a hard day in the bitter wind and rain than we do for a pleasant short day.. We get very little soup, at some shoots, horrible dried bread and then sausages and baked beans for lunch.
We take home £ 25 per day. We have to be available from 9 a.m, until the end of the day. We don’t normally complain but this year we feel fuel prices are up, we’re struggling to make ends meet and the Guns are just taking advantage of us. Are we some sort of lower class of citizen? It seems so.
How many beaters in Britain have been personally thanked by a Gun? Let alone offered a Bad Weather Supplement?
Yours,
 Annalisa, Belinda, Robbie, Peter and William. 02/12/09

Sir,
I occsionally beat for a shoot near Taunton. This season we’re on half wages, for twice as much work, as they have ut the umber ofbeaters back. We get a brace of pheasants worth £ 3.50 instead..
Many people enjoy the beating scene but we’re being taken advantage of.The Gamekeepers don’t care, they are only concerned with doing their own jobs.
Yours ,
Catherine 02.12.09

The Beaters Day Sweets:
          We had the most super Beaters’ Day at our shoot. The Athmosphere was terrific, masses of bird, thousands, good laughs in the Beaterwagon, mad rabbit hats, mad dogs, sloe gin, fast gin, any amount of Best Port...
Best of all we had Chilli-Chocolate Sweets!
A lovely tin of well wrapped Roses Chocolates was passed around after Soup. The flavour was surprising, but they went on down a treat. Jilly particularily liked them and had 10. We were counting.
These are made by injecting Strong Chilli Sauce with a syringe, through the wrapping paper. They are sensational.
Name witheld, by request, aged11.