A common misconception

[countrryboy]

1 shoot i occasionally go to is the same, generally no dog's althou i sometimes bring 1 of mine, and the keeper has very good dogs himself and knows about working them.
But it's quite small sitka woods with little cover so no real need for a dog and could quickly turn into a disaster, think it will be the same with the larger commercial shoots will have so many birds in the flushing point not worth the risk of having a dog run in there

[Alice]

Big commercial shoot down the road won't have dogs in the line either. Always surprises me.

in the Chalk Valley? If it's the one I'm thinking of, I've been beating there, I wouldn't dare take a dog in the line. You want a collie not a gundog at the big shoots near us, it's not flushing needed, it's herding! Seriously impressive though when you see the keepers dogs not batting an eyelid at 100s of birds running forward.

[Tungulria]

No the woodfords Alice.

[Qest12]

Nothing wrong with one dog; one good dog can be more affective than 2 average dogs. Some keepers think that more dogs will equal more birds, which = more ££.

[Miff]

I'm with Judy on this one. Just written an article about 'picking up' after hearing about (and witnessing myself) a 'good' picker up standing close to the guns and coming in laden with birds while I am back looking for the ones that go miles and sometimes only come in with 'that' one!! Its always interesting to see that its usually the same people who come into the yard when its dark or getting dark and they are the last to leave the estate. Fortunately most of the people I go picking up with do a grand job!

[Miff]

This should probably be a different thread altogether but I think it does have a place here. This season I have had two gamekeepers tell me that they would not employ a picker up who only had one dog and that they would not take on a "newbie" as a picker - up unless he had first worked as a beater. One of those keepers said he gets quite annoyed at folk who think they can just "stroll straight in" as pickers-up. He felt at least one full season of beating should be experienced in order to "get a feel" for driven shoots .... and to allow him (the keeper) to decide how well that person would fit in .

Having begun as a beater myself I can see what he meant . Going beating is a sort of apprenticeship and that can be valuable prior to becoming one of the so called "elite."
I have met a couple of pickers-up who felt they were "above" the beaters ........

Wullie

Yes Wullie. I did my early years beating too. It really does help when you eventually become a picker up. You know 'how things work'. Do sometimes wish that guns had to do a season or two beating and picking up!!!!

[pontbeck]

On one of the estates where I pick up we have an estate worker who puts out the guns, then takes up his position picking up.He always takes a spot where most of the birds will be killed and comes in loaded with birds, hoping the guns see his efforts, while the other 3 of us arrive with our bags meagure by comparison.I take solace in the fact that I wouldn't send my dogs for some of his birds, as I could pick them as quick myself

[Tungulria]

In fairness all the birds need picking so fair play to the "good" picker up that works the line. On one of our shoot we do always have 2 back and one forward. We take it in turns to go forwards. But to be honest I'd rather walk in with the one or two birds that we've really worked for than lug a dozen head of dead weight pheasants no matter how "good" it makes me look. More fool them for wishing to carry so much. Lol.

[Decro]

Doesn't matter if beating or picking up a spaniel always seems to use more energy getting the job done.
Maybe that's waste more energy!

[monkeyboy]

Our dogs do an awful lot of work through the course of a season, well over 100 days as a minimum, on a good Grouse year, we have done 130 plus.

I do my picking up on the moors, I'm afraid pheasants don't do it for me, so when I've done on the Grouse, I go beating instead. Jane starts her picking up in September.

I take the same dogs beating as I do picking up, same diet all the way through the season.

I know what I consider picking up to be all about, and on one of the shoots I go beating on, I think the pickers up are awful, and I've told them so . They would n't last a day on the moor.

As well as picking up, and beating, I have loaded, I have been in syndicates, I have been a Shoot Captain in my time, am currently a member of a roving syndicate, and I enjoy pigeoning, rough shooting, and most of all rabbiting.

There are good beaters, good pickers up, good dogs, good guns, good keepers, good shoots, and there are equally as many bad ones.

I put just as much effort in when I am beating, as I do when I'm picking up, I just want to do the best job I can, on any given day. When I am shooting, I always make a point of thanking the beaters and pickers up at the end of the day, I know how much it means when someone thanks me.

Andrew