Shoot review: Chargot, Exmoor

Chargot shoot is nestled in some of the prettiest countryside the UK has to offer. Exmoor is known for quality shooting and personally, it's my favourite area to shoot in. The shoots I have visited in the area have all been very good but I think the fond memories from over the years have made it my favourite.

Upon arriving at the Chargot shoot lodge, the landscape really strikes you. It is so incredible that it makes you wonder if someone up above had shooting in mind when he created it. The drive up to the shoot lodge is like traversing a ski slope, one wrong turn and you'd be in all sorts of trouble. We were laughing nervously as to whether we'd find ourselves at the bottom of the hill trying to pull down pheasants later on, you can guess the outcome!

Chargot is run by Bettws Hall, a group of 7 shoots in Wales and the West Country. Started by Gwyn Evans some years ago, his operation is genuinely fantastic. Gwyn started rearing birds at Bettws Hall in 1988 and that's where his first shoot was. Today, Bettws Hall is the largest producer of game birds in the UK for both chicks and poults and they're known for their quality. A large number of the birds they rear are released on to their own shoots, each with an experienced team of keepers. All of the Bettws Hall shoots could be classed as famous in the game shooting world. Brigands, Molland, Vaynor and Chargot are probably the most well-known and have a reputation for producing some of the most fantastic birds you'll see as well as wonderful hospitality.

We were welcomed by Jack Axtell, the shoot host, at the lodge just before 9. A roaring fire, tea and coffee welcomed us to the shoot. Hospitality is something that Bettws Hall clearly prides itself on. It's the cheapest part of a shoot day so I've always wondered why many other shoots don't put in much more effort to look after paying guns, in my opinion, it's can be a subtle but huge difference.

The weather was incredibly changeable and we saw a full blown downpour as well as bright sunshine in the time it took to drink a cup of coffee. After the briefing, we dressed up for the worst conditions and headed off in 4x4s to the first drive.

Chimneys

Many of you will be able to tell a good drive before you've shot it - one that makes you rub your hands together with excitement. 'Chimneys' was one of those - an amphitheatre of a drive! Its name comes from the chimneys above the wood which are the last visible part of an old mine underneath it. The wood rises sharply in front of you and the guns arc around it. Your peg number seemed to make little difference to the amount of shooting you have and the quality was consistent throughout the line - they were well up there! Pegs 2-6 were stood a bit lower than others and there was quite a bit of banging for not a lot in the bag. This theme was here to stay for the day but it wasn't going to demoralise anyone, it was a pleasure to shoot at birds of this quality.

Kennisham

The second drive, Kennisham, placed guns beneath a steep bank and the birds came from all along the ridge in front. The higher numbered pegs were probably the busiest but everyone had great shooting even with a deluge of rain half way through. The land was extremely wet but the purpose built platforms topped with wood chippings at each peg made sure that poor footing wasn't allowed to be an excuse.

After the second drive, the sun reappeared which was very welcome in order to dry us off. We made our way to an excellent spot in the sun with a lovely view over the valley. There was a hospitality wagon waiting with a table and table cloth neatly laid out, a selection of soups and sausages as well as a glass of champagne if you fancied it. This gave us all a chance to relive some of the best birds of the drive as well as congratulate Dad on another fine display. Having pegged next to him and not being on my best form when he was on fire, it got a little bit frustrating but he has got a few years practice on me!

The professionalism of the beaters and pickers up is something I really noticed. Interaction with the beaters on a shoot day is important given the effort that everyone puts in to making it work and Bettws have it spot on. I don't know how they show that many birds of that quality without seeing a beater until the drive is almost over, it makes the drive seem that much more wild or natural than it otherwise would. You'll catch a word with the beaters after the drive but you also won't find them marching through the line back to the truck. It's a clever touch, and something that many grouse moors could learn from, because you've marked as many birds as you can and you might well have a dog with you. Once a team of beaters have gone through, you've no idea what's been picked which makes instructions to pickers up impossible. It also means that some birds may go missed. It's small details like this that set the Bettws Hall shoots apart from many others.

Tony Balls

The drive before lunch, Tony Balls, produced birds of a consistent quality to the others. Chargot has over 30 drives and with the topography as good as it is, they literally have the pick of whatever will suit the day at that point. One small gripe is when it comes to parking the cars behind the line. There's a trade off with not wanting guns to have to walk and then parking cars too close, I knew the GunsOnPegs L200 was in the firing line when we parked it. What I didn't know is that I would be the one landing a good 50 yard pheasant plum in the middle of my own windscreen! Thank goodness that Mitsubishi install the hardest windscreens known to man, I have no idea how it didn't crack. This provided a lot of laughs during and after the drive, annoyingly it was one of the best birds I shot all day, knocking the head back early with the first barrel, but no-one remembered that!

We enjoyed a lovely lunch in the lodge with a good glass of claret. A good sized dining room table allowed for a fair bit of banter at whoever looked like they wanted it. We finished with a lovely pudding and a very slow walk to the cars when I would have been equally happy to fall asleep on the sofa in front of the rugby! I'm glad I didn't though...

Percy's

The final drive of the day was a Chargot masterpiece – Percy’s. The volume of birds was quite unbelievable and we saw the first partridges of the day - by the cloud. My shooting fell to pieces but it really didn't matter, it was a joy to be on a drive like this. There were some fantastic birds brought down by the team but we were still only shooting 6:1! We finished the day on an absolute high, just what the shoot would want on a let day - guests to go away happy, and we certainly did.

I'm yet to shoot at Molland and I'm told it's unbelievable but having shot many of the other Bettws Hall shoots, Chargot is my favourite so far. You'll probably 'shoot' higher birds at Brigands but you really don't need to. If you get to the point of finding Chargot easy, I'd give up altogether. We'll be back.

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