10 TIPS for the perfect shooting host!

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10 TIPS for the perfect shooting host!

To any estate offering shooting it is imperative the client's day is an enjoyable one if there is to be any hope they will make a return visit the following year.

By Jeremy Hobson

Friday, 15 February 2008

Read our quick guide to becoming the perfect shoot day host!

Depending on which way you look at it, selling shooting days can be a good or bad thing. For the commercial shoot it's obviously essential every day is taken, but for the smaller estate - where the cost of guest and family days are augmented by the letting of perhaps just a couple of days each season, it is sometimes seen as more of a necessary evil.

No matter what the reason for doing so, with so many estates offering shooting it is imperative the client's day is an enjoyable one if there is to be any hope they will make a return visit the following year.

1. Full agreement
Letting a day or two is, however, only worth considering with the full agreement of all the regular guns - some of whom might be less than happy at the thought of strangers shooting their birds.

When the guns concerned are invited guests there should not be a problem, but where a syndicate exists it could be a major bone of contention. Shooting tenants must also check their agreement with the landlord allows for sub-letting in this way.

2. See the shoot as it is
It is important to think as a customer rather than the producer: look at what you have to offer objectively rather than through the proverbial rose-tinted spectacles.

It's a bit like selling your house; you think everything is clean and dusted, and it's not until you are showing a prospective buyer the bedroom that you notice a pair of dirty socks (or worse!) lurking in the corner.

To put it more into shooting terms, in my days as a keeper my employer was in the habit of showing his friends around the rearing field on a Sunday morning, and so I always made every effort to make sure all of the previous week's rubbish was tidied away and empty feed bags burned.

Without fail, I always seemed to have neglected to notice a bag that had blown into the hedge until the very moment the boss and his party entered the field when, despite several thousand healthy-looking pheasant poults, it suddenly became the most obvious thing on view.

3. Friends or strangers?
Of course it is not always possible, but try and include paying guests you wish to spend a day with, rather than having complete strangers foisted upon you, as is often the case when letting a day to a single gun or to an unknown roving-syndicate.

If you do have to search further afield for clients you could, of course, place an advert in one of the more popular shooting magazines - but there might be a time and cost-efficiency element in using an agent that specialises in letting sporting shooting and who already has an existing client base.

4. Be honest
Remember to emphasise the quality of the shooting likely to be experienced, and make it clear what extras - whether meals, for example, and on the bigger estates, perhaps even the provision of loaders - are included.

An expected bag must be indicated, of course, which is no problem on the established shoot where game books and estate records will provide details, but on a shoot that has recently been taken over and enlarged or is in its first year, this may prove more difficult.

Always look at the shoot from the client's point of view and tell the truth in any advertising or when responding to any queries.

5. Use extra help
On the day itself if, as is likely, the guns are unfamiliar with the shoot, make sure there is on hand, in addition to the main host, someone with experience and knowledge of the ground who can help point out peg numbers, answer any queries and accompany walking guns.

The game cart driver or chief picker-up can help on occasions, but there is nothing to beat a regular assistant who can be on hand at all times.

6. Be realistic
When accepting a booking, always ask for a deposit and the balance to be paid six weeks before the proposed shooting date. The client will always appreciate, a week or so before the day, a follow up telephone call from the estate.

During the course of the conversation, the host should try and give their guest as much information as possible based on the way the season has gone so far, and must include a realistic estimate as to how many birds are likely to be shot (from which the guest can work out how many cartridges he will need); whether it will be pheasants only, or, in the early part of the season, whether a few duck or partridge drives will be included.

Eating arrangements ought also to be mentioned - a guest will feel embarrassed if at lunchtime he returns to his car for sandwiches, only to find that a full-blown lunch has been laid on.

Later in the season many shoots make best use of the available daylight hours by shooting through, with only a short break midmorning and a proper meal after the shooting has finished - clients will be appreciative of knowing this, in order they might stuff a little something in their pocket to stave off any hunger pangs.

7. Give information
Always explain what is likely to happen at the pre-shoot safety talk and keep the guns informed as to what is going on throughout the day. Many do not like standing at their pegs for too long before the birds begin flying over.

So, if a drive is likely to be a long one due to the fact several game crops and hedgerows are being blanked into the main drive, it may be better to keep the guns near to the vehicles in order they can enjoy each other's company rather than have them on their pegs becoming bored. Moreover, you do not want them to become convinced the lack of birds at the start indicates a poor drive.

It is important to tell them the plans, otherwise they may think that you are deliberately stalling them in an effort to save showing them too many birds.

8. Provide adequate transport
Never forget it's the little things that can make or break the day: ensure adequate transport by checking beforehand whether or not the guns will have four-wheel drive vehicles - and if they have, whether they mind taking them over rough and muddy ground.

Guns at the trailer. Always ensure everyone attending the shoot is aware of the transport arrangements, some guns may want to use their own vehicles.

It never ceases to amaze me just how many have the right machines but are surprisingly reluctant to take them off-road. If supplying a trailer for the guns, make sure it conforms to legal restrictions; is easily accessible and has somewhere safe to store weapons, cartridges and rain gear.

9. Negotiate if necessary
The subject of showing just the right amount of game so an average team of guns can achieve their target is a tricky one. Nothing looks worse than where a drive has obviously been changed for a poorer one due to the fact the team is already almost 'on target' for the expected bag although, funnily enough, no one seems to mind when a poor drive is swapped for a better one!

If the bag is much smaller than expected, some delicate negotiation may be required. Solutions include giving a percentage of the money back, or offering another day's shooting.

If, however, the numbers are only slightly down, most will accept the shortfall - particularly if they've seen some good high flying birds - after all, they have come along for the quality of sport, friendship and a day out. Nevertheless, it pays to have someone on hand with a clicker in order to count the number of cartridges fired as, if necessary, this can be compared against the number of birds shot.

10. Be reputable and efficient
Finally, always take the duties of the host very seriously - a let day is not an opportunity for you to take the best stands, nor is it all about shooting birds.

Proper introductions, coffee at the start of the day, elevenses and a good lunch all help in achieving satisfied customers who will be eager to return year after year.

A little care and forethought will ensure that they do, and a highly reputable and efficient shoot is far more likely to attract custom than one that merely lurches from one season to another.