A shoot with a family atmosphere

Another week another very kind invitation shooting, this time from Malcolm Corrie, the owner and new shoot manager at Leighton Hall in Shropshire. Although I was looking forward to the day, I have to say, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Mixed expectations

With the shoot having been run as a commercial shoot for the previous few years, Malcolm decided to end the tenancy agreement and take it in hand with the explicit aim of keeping the shoot 'non-commercial'. Quite how that would work out I was eager to see, albeit, I have to say, a little sceptical.

I was travelling from London so I chose to stay over the night before, in a little village called Winchcombe in the Cotswolds. The Lion Inn is a lovely small pub with rooms and even on a sunday night, had a nice buzz at the bar. Though I had already eaten that evening I still had a look through the menu - I reckon you can tell a lot about a country pub by what seasonal food is on the menu. It was good to see - as with all Epicurean Crown Collection pubs - a nice local game option being served, and I was almost persuaded to try the venison tartare, although refrained - a good thing for my waistline if nothing else.

Whilst unwinding after the long drive down, I had a quick look on GunsOnPegs at the huge range of nearby shoots, and started dreaming of spending a week at The Lion one day, enjoying the surrounding countryside and what the local estates have to offer. Better still, bringing a group of friends for a night or two and shooting one or two small days - the kind where you have to work hard for your birds and feel like you've deserved a big meal at the end of the day. Anyway... I'll save writing about that for another time. 

First impressions

Leaving The Lion early enough to avoid embarassment in case of poor traffic, but late enough to not feel too rushed - something I hate on a shoot morning - I drove the remaining hour or so to Leighton Hall. Looking at the map I could tell that the estate was clearly close to the River Severn, but what I didn't quite understand until I arrived was that the Hall literally overlooked it - and what a view it was!

Turning in to park in front of the gorgeous house, I was warmly greeted by Malcolm. He introduced me to fellow guns as though he had known them for years and I still can't to this day quite get my head around which guns were guests - old friends of his - and which were paying guns. Full credit must go to Malcolm for producing the feeling of being a guest of the family right from the start, a feeling that was shared by all guns.

The shooting

As you may have noticed, the aspect of the day I was particularly impressed by was Malcolm and the atmosphere he managed to create, but it is also worth mentioning the shooting. We shot five drives, the first and last being the 'showstoppers', as it were, with the three in between being lovely in their own ways, each different from the one before.

The format of the day in itself, being five drives, created its own charm. I am aware that everyone has their own opinions, but I always think that to have to leave hundreds of birds on a 150 bird day for fear of overshooting the bag takes us a step further away from the origins of shooting. The job of a keeper, in my view, is to allow the team to relax, shoot what gives them pleasure, and not have to worry about overages. Nick - the keeper - and his team did this to perfection with just the right number of birds being shown. It was almost as if the bag didn't matter to Malcolm - another mark of the 'family day' atmosphere he's creating.

The best laid plans...

Interestingly enough, its often when something goes 'wrong' that you really notice what a shoot is like, and what the guns make of the host. I've been on days which have been disasters from start to finish where guns grumble - and quite rightly. I've also been on days where, in similar conditions, the host has kept a smile on people's faces and helped the team enjoy themselves regardless of the quality of the shooting.

The second drive on this particular day didn't quite go to plan, with the birds not really wanting to go where the keeper wanted them to. The forgiving reaction of the guns and the comments around the gun bus said all you need to know about Malcolm's relationship with the guns - we all felt privilaged to be out, enjoying time in the field on his family home, rather than a cog in a well oiled machine.

What a finale!

A word or two must be said about the final drive. Stood literally on the banks of the Severn, facing a wooded bank in front lined with great oaks, the birds started trickling from three flushing points right at the back of the wood. I was stood at the end of the line here, and watched some birds curl back over the wood which I enjoyed being challenged by [do you mean "missing"? Ed.], but it was particuarly enjoyable looking down the line as guns took on what was being presented.

Gary, a fellow gun, shot a bird that Nick described as "the best he'd seen shot from that drive" - a genuine pleasure to witness as it crumpled on the far bank to be picked up by one of the team on the other side. A fitting way to end a great day.

Lasting memories

Overall, its hard to put my finger on what Malcolm has done to make Leighton Hall a shoot to revisit; Last year I penned my thoughts on what makes a good shoot and I think my conclusion of 'the host' has only been confirmed. The birds at Leighton provide some nice shooting, but so do countless other shoots; the more important aspect - the shoot host - has to get it right for the team to have fun, which, after all, is why we all go shooting. Perhaps a family atmosphere on a commercial shoot is possible after all; maybe even important...

Thanks to Stephen Wall for the amazing photos from the day - you can see more of his excellent work here.