{"id":403,"date":"2018-09-03T14:40:35","date_gmt":"2018-09-03T14:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/?p=403"},"modified":"2018-09-03T14:41:05","modified_gmt":"2018-09-03T14:41:05","slug":"shooting-in-lincolnshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/heart-of-the-county\/shooting-in-lincolnshire\/09-2018","title":{"rendered":"Shooting in Lincolnshire"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_267\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-267\" style=\"width: 2362px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-267\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/stamford\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/HugoManners-234-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2362\" height=\"1575\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-267\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A successful day for one chap&#8230; although a bath may be in order!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The shooting season is upon us, here\u2019s how you can get involved from picking up a shotgun for the first time, to booking a day at one of this area\u2019s finest shoots\u2026<\/h3>\n<p>Perhaps you\u2019re part of the shooting community, perhaps you\u2019re not, either way, you can\u2019t ignore the fact that from September through to February it is rather exciting to see local pub\u2019s car parks jam packed full of Land Rovers (other 4x4s are available), men and women unabashedly in plus-fours, socks pulled up to the top of their shins and shirt sleeves rolled up to their elbows. If the fellows have had a good day, you can be assured that the pub will have similar positive vibes to those after a successful rugby match, beer and wine will be flowing and conversation will be all about the day; \u201cDidn\u2019t the birds fly well!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before you start feeling left out, now is the time to get yourself involved. The shooting industry is extremely welcoming to all communities, ages, and unlike many sports, you don\u2019t have to be particularly athletic to join in. Shooting is also gaining in popularity with the ladies. The Field recently reported that women shots have increased from 1,000 to 12,000 in recent years, the remarkable growth in popularity of driven shooting has brought jobs and investment into the countryside, including into many areas where there are few opportunities for the rural economy to diversify from traditional farming businesses. We\u2019re in an area where tuition and seriously good kit is at our fingertips. We are also surrounded by beautiful countryside that is managed by gamekeepers for the soul purpose of a great day shooting.<\/p>\n<p>If you have trouble accepting that shooting game is a \u2018sport\u2019, consider that every year, this country shoots around 25 million game birds. It seems like a staggering amount until you realise that the UK poultry industry slaughters 82 million a month, many of which will have never set foot in woodland as wild game has.<\/p>\n<p>To begin, you will feel more comfortable having some lessons on clays rather than live game. That way, you can get your eye in and have more confidence on the day. However, you don\u2019t have to shoot to take part.<\/p>\n<p>For lessons on the clays, there are several places to go in this area including Wittering Grange, Welland Valley Gun Club, Kibworth Shooting Ground, Grimsthorpe Estate Shooting Ground or if you want an instructor who is verging on famous for their success and experience, you can go to Holland &amp; Holland in Middlesex.<\/p>\n<p>At this stage, you don\u2019t need a shotgun certificate and it\u2019s a good idea not to rush into anything until you\u2019re sure you enjoy it. Not only will lessons teach you how to shoot, but the instructors will make sure you understand everything to do with gun safety. It\u2019s vital information that you must abide my at all times to keep yourself and others safe.<\/p>\n<p>If after your first go you\u2019re enjoying it, start the application for your shotgun certificate as it can take some time to process. You\u2019ll need to visit the Countryside Alliance website and fill in an Application for the Grand or Renewal of a Firearm and\/or Shotgun certificate. While you\u2019re on their website, read through the Code of Good Shooting Practise and take it all in. Once your Shotgun\u2008Certificate has processed, you can visit your local gunsmiths and find a gun that fits your form. Everyone is different and a shotgun is a very personal piece of equipment. Now all you need is cartridges, a hip-flask and some trendy new tweed plus-fours!<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll find that driven game shooting is not only a formal, social occasion; it\u2019s also fantastic sport, the more you get into it, the more you\u2019ll know. You may either be invited by word of mouth to a local shoot or you\u2019ll have to do some research and book into one, but once you get out there and meet people you\u2019ll find that things just open up.\u00a0At the start of the day\u2019s shooting, each gun will draw their peg number. Make sure you don\u2019t forget yours! The peg system is used so nobody gets the best position all the time.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of every drive each gun will move up, a couple of peg positions. This makes the day fair and means everyone gets to shoot in the centre, and at the edges, of the line. You might find you\u2019re in the hot-spot on most drives, or you might be out of the shooting all day \u2013 but that\u2019s the classic \u201cluck of the draw!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So this season we say throw yourself into it. Buy some game to try at home, cook some pheasant goujons, book a day\u2019s shooting, wear your most flattering tweed and support the British countryside for all it\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n<h3>Join The Best: Top Shooting Days&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Eagle Hall Shoot: <\/strong>Centred around the Hamlet of Eagle Hall, this shoot covers an area of 3,800 acres split into 30 separate drives. It includes 250 acres of mature\u00a0traditional English woodlands, spinneys and game cover crops. The varied\u00a0topography allows them to show challenging and testing sport to all abilities. Days\u00a0available from mid-September for full teams of eight to ten guns. Full hospitality is included, and prices start from \u00a330 a bird.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>For details see www.eaglehallshoot.co.uk or call Shoot Manager Wayne on 01522 778760.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hallgarth Shoot:<\/strong> Located near Horncastle and the picturesque hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds, Hallgarth shoot is newly-established and has 80 acres of strategically placed cover crops. They can can cater for individual guns or full teams of eight or nine, shooting 100 to 300 bird days. At Hallgarth you&#8217;ll find classic French partridge, pheasant and mallard. The shoot, although highly professional has a relaxed and informal atmosphere with a focus on producing a thoroughly enjoyable days sport.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Visit www.hallgarthshoot.co.uk for more info.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Worlaby Shoot:<\/strong> Worlaby is set in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The rolling landscape lends itself to presenting some of the most challenging birds driven from over 180 acre of cover crops to test the most experienced guns. Days can be tailored to match the requirements of each team and individual pegs are also available. Morning coffee and lunch is taken at the Estates chapel, and elevenses are generally taken in the field. Meals can be catered for any dietary requirements.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Please visit www.worlabyshoot.co.uk or call Jamie Horner on 07812 241864.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-268\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/stamford\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/HugoManners-182-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4724\" height=\"3149\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The shooting season is upon us, here\u2019s how you can get involved from picking up a shotgun for the first&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[66,27,65],"class_list":["post-403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heart-of-the-county","tag-fieldsports","tag-lincolnshire","tag-shooting"],"acf":false,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":405,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403\/revisions\/405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}