The Most Important Features a 4x4 Should Have, According to Game Shots

If I asked ten people to write a pen portrait of a typical game shot, there would likely be a fair disparity in the types of person described; you might get the ‘bloated plutocrat’ stereotype, or the ‘yeoman farmer’ or the ‘poacher’. The lifeways of these three examples are probably going to involve shopping at different supermarkets, reading different newspapers, living in different parts of the country and taking different types of holiday. 

There is one aspect, however, that I think they would all share. They’d most likely all drive a 4x4. Sure, one might have a shiny new Range Rover and another a beaten and battered pickup caked in mud and goodness knows what else, but a 4x4 is probably a piece of kit that anyone with a passion for fieldsports is going to think of as ‘must-have’. The 2023 Game Shooting Census, carried out by GunsOnPegs and Lycetts, supported by the main shooting organisations, reveals that 80% of game shots own a 4x4 or an SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle). 

What do people use their off-roaders for?

For more than half of those who do drive a 4x4, shooting was an important part of why they chose to buy one, but apart from using their vehicles for shoot days, 65% of respondents to the Game Shooting Census report that they use them for day-to-day driving and around half report using their 4x4 as a family car. This suggests that for a significant proportion the 4x4 is reserved for a few specific uses. 

However, when you look exclusively at those for whom shooting was a factor in their decision to buy a 4x4, the proportion who report using the vehicle as a day-to-day car rises to 70%, while the proportion using it as a family car rises to 55%, so for a lot of these 4x4 owners, the vehicle is a multi-purpose machine, used as much on the school run as it is on the muddy tracks of a shoot.

Towing is another key factor for the 4x4 owners, with around a third using theirs to lug trailers of one form or another. About 20% use their off-roaders as a farm vehicle, with another 13% using them for some other business reason. 

A hardy and adventurous 7% use their off-roaders for overlanding expeditions.

Who are the 4x4 owners

It is notable is that although those who live in towns or cities are less likely to own a 4x4, it is still the case that 70% of game shots who live in these urban environments drive a vehicle designed for country living.

One of the great dividing lines in the shooting world is the age old question of side-by-side vs over-and-under shotguns, but does that effect the numbers where vehicles are concerned? Well, side-by-side users are marginally less likely to own a 4x4 than O/U users, but those who do are more likely to have stated that shooting was a factor in their decision to have one. Side-by-side users are also more likely to use their 4x4 as a farm vehicle, which perhaps tells us that farmers are more likely to be side-by-side users… 

People who typically shoot on smaller shoots, whether that’s private family days, smaller syndicates or smaller commercial days (under 150 birds) are marginally less likely to own a 4x4 than those who shoot bigger days, while those who typically shoot on larger commercial days are most likely to own a 4x4, with 88% of this group owning one. 

Those who have a 4x4 are more likely to fall into the upper end of earnings, with 38% of 4x4 owners earning north of 75K, compared to 24% of non-4x4 owners. 

Although it was not given as a reason for buying a 4x4, being a dog owner makes it more likely that you will also own a 4x4, with 85% of dog owners opting for one. That increases to 88% for people with two or more dogs.

What features game shots value in a 4x4?

No matter whether the 4x4 was purchased with one eye on shooting or not, the most important factor when choosing a vehicle is comfort, with 65% across the whole survey citing this as a feature that they look for in a 4x4, rising to 67% with those who bought it with shooting in mind. 

Across the whole of the survey, the most important factors after comfort are the size of the boot and having a diesel engine. When we look only at those for whom shooting was a factor in their decision, a greater proportion say that boot capacity is a key consideration, no doubt for all those dogs and cartridges. For this group a diesel engine is also a key factor for a greater proportion. In the case of both boot capacity and diesel engines cases, the rise is about 5%. Despite an overwhelming preference for diesel engines, it is interesting to note that nearly as many people want a hybrid or electric engine as want a petrol engine.

Naturally another key consideration for people who chose a 4x4 with shooting in mind is that the vehicle can tackle challenging terrain, with 30% saying that permanent four-wheel-drive is important for them, and 26% citing rear and/or front diffs as a feature that they look for. 

30% of respondents to the Game Shooting Census say that the look and feel of a vehicle is an important consideration, but there is no consensus as to whether a modern or classic design is preferable, with a preference only being seen when we look only at those who say design is important, with 22% of this group preferring a modern design against 19% who prefer a classic look.

Perhaps surprisingly for anyone who thinks of posh SUVs as being the vehicle of choice for shooting people, 17% of those who completed the Game Shooting Census say that a flat-bed or pick-up type of chassis is an important factor for them.

Top ten most important features of a 4x4 according to game shots

A broad church

As the Game Shooting Census so often highlights, the shooting community encompasses a huge range of people with different lifestyles, desires and views.

Whether they're used for transporting sacks of pheasant feed or the kids, packs of gundogs or camping gear, whether they're a vital working tool or boy boy's (or girl's) toy,  a huge proportion of game shots are 4x4 aficionados. Almost more than anything else, a passion for the 4x4s is a thread that links great swathes of the shooting community.