Long Live The Humble Syndicate...

"Friendly syndicate looking for new guns..."

You’ve got your license, your dog isn’t gun shy and has had her first day out. So what’s next? Well, for us, it was to join a nearby syndicate to get us both properly introduced to the world of shooting. Here’s how it went…

I’ll be honest, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I of course knew that a days shooting could vary enormously in terms of bag size, hospitality etc, and as with most things, you get what you pay for. I'd stumbled across an advertisement on GunsOnPegs for a syndicate, just 50 minutes or so down the A1, who were looking for new members. Worth a try, I thought... Enquiry sent, messages exchanged, and then an introductory phone call. 

With the ‘walk one stand one’ format explained in my exchanges with the Keeper/Shoot Captain, and his claim that the average bag was anything from 30-60, I knew it would be a far cry from the Dave Carrie and Johnathan McGee videos I had been watching on YouTube. I had explained to the keeper beforehand that we were new to the sport, looking for a friendly syndicate to introduce myself and Mocha to the world of shooting. It sounded ideal, and we had even taken a trip to the shoot to meet him before the season started.

I didn’t know what to expect from the other syndicate members at all. Shooting, as we know, can be viewed as elitist. The past time préféré of royals, aristocracy, and British upper classes. This shoot, however, and many others like it across the country, couldn’t have been further from that stereotype. This was a true working mans syndicate; a potpourri of ages, backgrounds and careers. But regardless of this, everyone came together once a fortnight to share their love of the countryside and fieldsports.

Ready for the off...

Everyone was required to bring their own lunch, which would be eaten in the field, but not before a plentiful elevenses... with savoury and sweet treats provided by a variety of syndicate members (or rather, their better halves...) for all to enjoy. This was accompanied by a range of home-brewed alcoholic beverages, which were seemingly undrinkable if less than 60%... I immediately felt at ease, and as we stood chatting in the yard before the shoot briefing, I felt like I’d made a good decision.

There is of course always the worry that your dog will be the least well behaved, resulting in a conversation with the keeper on your first day, during which you’re asked not to come back. After all, Mocha had only had one day in the field at this point and had been trained purely as a peg dog or to pick up… we hadn’t done any preparation for beating at all given her undocked tail and the brutality of the brambles in the woodland, but my plan was to keep her on the lead to avoid any potential mishaps.

With teams allocated and pegs drawn, we headed out to the first drive. Our team would be shooting first, and so with my gun, cartridges, tether, and of course Mocha, we made our way to the peg. We had drawn Peg 4, ordinarily a good peg to draw, but perhaps not the peg you want on your first ever driven game drive. Bang in the middle of the line, in view of other guns. After tethering Mocha, I removed my gun from the slip, placed two cartridges into the chambers, and waited. I was so excited, but so horrendously nervous. I’d be honest with other guns that morning about my shooting virginity, but even so, nobody wants the notoriety of being a shit shot...

The drive started, as the other team made their way across a field towards the cover crop. Mocha was lying down in the recently ploughed field, staring at me puzzled, as if to say…

“I’ll be honest, Dad, this isn’t my favourite spot for a rest…”

The beating noises intensified, as did my nerves, before…

“FORWARD!”

The first few pheasants took flight.

Breaking out of the cover crop and heading, yep you guessed it, straight for me.  It’s at this point I’ll pause to make my excuse nice and early… I had been to a local clay ground to purchase my first gun a few weeks prior. Again, I must stress, I had no idea what I was doing at this point.

Whilst I had explained to the guy at the shop that I would be shooting a mixture of clays and game, the Miroku 3800 Trap I ended up walking away with, after shooting a grand total of six clays, wasn’t ideal for driven game… I have always been impulsive, as anyone who knows me will tell you, but this was a purchase I’d live to regret.

Two pheasants came right over me. The perfect driven birds.

BANG, BANG.

Two misses. Mocha now alert on the peg, sat bolt upright, eagerly awaiting the falling birds. She’d be waiting a while…

After wiping away the tears, hurling abuse at myself and reloading, yet more pheasants broke from the cover. Again, two found their way over my head, and again, I missed them both. They were the last birds that I had the chance to shoot at on that drive.

0 for 4. Oh dear.

It appears that I’d underestimated the difference in shooting clays and game, namely the driven nature as opposed to traditional sporting targets. 

And so, my first ever drive on a shoot day was over...

At the end of the drive, my neighbouring gun said to me…

“Well, hard luck. But I’m afraid it won’t get any better than that!”

I assumed he was joking, but he wasn’t.

Such is life on a DIY, walk one, stand one syndicate. You don’t get many chances, and when you do, you need to take them!

As for my concerns over Mocha being the least well behaved dog, after seeing a Spaniel from the beating line break cover to pick a bird some 150 yards away, doing a parade around the line of guns and ignoring their owners frantic whistle blowing for ten minutes, I felt like we’d be just fine…

Things can only get better...

I wouldn’t say the penny dropped for Mocha until mid November when we’d been out a handful of times. Each time a shoot day arrived, her excitement grew, tail wagging and bouncing around from the moment we arrived at the farm yard.

The nature of 30-60 bird days meant it wasn’t too overwhelming for her, and it was a perfect introduction in many ways. When birds are scarce, though, I must admit it’s bloody annoying when your dog has been sat good as gold for an extended period of time, only to be eye wiped by an unruly dog from six pegs down the line, or the beating line, is bloody annoying. This happened more than once, but as the newbie on the shoot, I maintained my composure and refrained from saying anything (tongue bleeding from restraint...).

I think it was either the second or third day before I shot anything at all. A combination of crap shooting and unlucky pegs, but I will never forget my first bird, or the first time I shot a bird that Mocha retrieved. You don’t need to spend thousands of pounds on a day to create wonderful memories in the field, and actually after battling your way through brambles, woodlands and thick cover, you really feel like you’ve earned the birds that you do manage to shoot.

It also doesn’t matter where you are, or what shoot you're on, a day in the field provides a welcome break from the stresses and strains of day to day life. There isn’t a single day in the shooting field where I have been stuck in my own head pondering the latest deal I am trying to get over the line, or worrying about the tasks I ought to have completed during the previous week. It’s an escape, and for five months of the year, the absolute highlight of my week.

Fast forward 12 months...

In late November, we enjoyed the biggest bag I have experienced in my now one and half seasons on the syndicate. 49. By most people's standards this is tiny, but for us, it was awesome… the cold weather meant that the cover crops and feeders held the birds well, and whilst visibility was poor for the first two drives due to the fog, it was one of the best days shooting I’ve ever had.

Over the past year my shooting has also greatly improved, which helps… as does the gun I quickly purchased after the impulsive Miroku mishap.

On the infamous 49 bird day, I ended the day on a tally of eight birds, including four as walking gun on the last drive through the woodland. Mocha retrieved a majority of these, but did run in twice to retrieve the birds that I shot as walking gun. We still have work to do, but that’s the beauty of a working dog. There are always things to improve and more training to do. That said, the difference from last year to this year is quite remarkable. I am so, so proud of her.

After practising in the off season, I have started to give her slightly more freedom when beating, too, and she put up a good number of birds up, with some right off the end of her nose. She also refrained from chasing them out of the cover post-flush, much to my delight. I sometimes need to remind myself we are less than two years into our shooting journey together, and to enjoy days in the field rather than being frustrated at birds missed or mistakes made. It's all part of the process.

So, what are my key takeaways from the perspective of a relative newbie, after my first season on a working man's syndicate:

• There’s really no harm in dropping a message to a local syndicate advertising spaces for new guns on GunsonPegs, or other platforms. Make sure you do your research… meet with them, ask questions, make sure it’s right for you.
• Be honest about the experience of you and your dog. It’s important - let your ego go. I have found everyone to be incredibly welcoming, and patient, with both Mocha and I.
• Be realistic... Again I'll reiterate, you get what you pay for. The beating line may not be perfectly straight, dogs may be unruly, and you might not shoot anything at all on some days... but take it for what it is. It's a relaxed introduction to the world of shooting for you and your dog, and great value for money (10 x days for ~£1250 a year).
• You will be a shit shot to start with. It’s bloody frustrating, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Get yourself to the clay ground, get a few lessons, and don't expect to be pulling down 70 yard crossers or left and rights on your first day! It's called sport for a reason.  
• Be patient. With yourself, but especially with your dog. Start slowly on days where you don’t have your gun, stood well behind the gun line. When your dog does join you on the peg, make sure it's only given nice easy retrieves when the dog is nice and relaxed. Never do anything in a hurry, or at a frantic pace. Build it up slowly.
• Be personable. You're unlikely to meet a dick on a syndicate shoot, and if you do, I doubt they'll be invited the following season! Say hello to everyone, shake hands on arrival, strike up conversation with someone new each week. There's some bloody interesting stories, and people, and that's all part of the fun

Long Live The Syndicate!

Whilst I top up the syndicate days with single peg days (often via GunsOnPegs) that offer slightly bigger bags, I look forward to the syndicate days as much, if not more than the others.

For all the talk around bag size and commercial shoots, the working man's syndicate is the lifeblood of our sport. I am certain that if shoots such as this were more widely publicised as opposed to the pomp and ceremony of commercial shoot days, then I don't think we would face such harsh criticism and stereotypes from those who seek to disrupt, nay, ban our way of life.

What’s more, on a syndicate day you can safely say that every single bird is taken at the end of the day to be enjoyed by the families of the guns. It truly doesn’t get any more sustainable than that, and the preparation and cooking of this game is now a key part of the weekend routine in our house. 

So, in summary, I'd fully recommend joining a local syndicate. You won't regret it!