Brrr especially if your a grouse!
I recently spent a very interesting few days with one of the UK’s leading grouse keepers. Normally at this time of year the pair counts are busily taking place, however with the weather being what it is this is almost impossible in most areas.
It was extremely interesting to see the grouse all sat out (usually where the heather can be seen poking through the snow so they can feed) often in big packs. In some cases numbering 200! They reminded me of penguins all sat together on the ice!
The key thing now is that this harsh weather does not last too long, otherwise the grouse risk not being in good condition entering the breeding season, ultimately their brood sizes will therefore be less and as a result a smaller shootable surplus.
With grouse shooting being one of the things I specialise in then let’s hope that its a great season! Last season I did 42 days instructing clients on grouse moors and most of them performed very well. I have already had numerous bookings for pre-season warm ups – it still never ceases to amaze me how people can enter into the season with little or no preparation!
Please take my advice and go for at least one warm up lesson with an instructor who has suitable grouse credentials.
Keeping my fingers crossed for a great 2013 grouse season!
