The Holland & Holland experience

If you’ve had the pleasure of visiting the Holland & Holland Shooting Ground in north London you will already know the expansive grounds provide a perfect retreat for game shooters to practice their skills. Despite lying within the notorious ring of motorway misery that is the M25, there is nothing but tranquillity, expertise and quality for the visitor to the 100 acres of Holland & Holland in Northwood.

This has always been the case since the ground opened in 1880, but a recent £5m investment in the new lodge and hospitality suite has taken the offering to another level.

Committed to luxury

The old tree-lined avenue running off Ducks Hill Road hasn’t changed (thank goodness), but from the moment the automatic doors sweep open it’s clear H&H has raised the stakes in terms of shooting ground luxury.

The new development incorporates the old building as part of the state-of-the-art new complex, with six meeting rooms able to accommodate groups of between 10 and 200 guests. But the old charm has not been lost, with even the polished metal cisterns in the toilet bearing the Holland & Holland insignia.

What about the shooting?

You hardened trigger pullers may be thinking: “Yes, that all sounds very good but what about the shooting?” It’s a fair question but you needn’t worry, because the ground level luxury conceals something a lot more high octane below the surface.

In subterranean Northwood you will find the UK’s first indoor rifle range to use the latest German Schiesskino cinematographic technology. In layman’s terms, you can shoot live rounds at real footage of running boar, deer, cape buffalo… (whatever you fancy really) and the screen will show you whether you are any good or not. It’s that simple. If you hit then the animal drops, if you don’t you get an idea of what you are doing wrong and you can correct it. It’s addictive, instructive and a little bit draining.

A tale of two rifles

I had the luxury of chief instructor Chris Bird on my shoulder as I went through 60 rounds of Hornady .308 125grn reduced recoil ammunition in two different rifles; a Holland & Holland with a Swarovski scope and a Blaser R8 with the Aimpoint system. The H&H is the classic Mauser 98 bolt action and the R8 is the more contemporary straight pull with a thumbhole grip.

For running game with a rifle at short range (this is a 25m range) the Aimpoint system is very effective. The red dot shows you where you are aiming but, as with any moving target, correctly calculating the required lead is up to the person pulling the trigger. If two of you want to go and enjoy this remarkably enjoyable and useful facility for an hour it will cost you less than £100 each and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

A legacy of elite instruction

Chris Bird has been helping people hit more clays in this parish for nearly 30 years, and he spent at least half of that time learning from one of the legends of instruction, Ken Davies, who retired in 2005. That was when Chris took over as chief instructor, and his years of experience pay immediate dividends once you start missing clays. As I discovered when we moved upstairs and outside to the immaculate-as-ever grassy banks of the clay shooting stands. 

Calm, reassuring and understanding he will tell you what you are doing wrong without overloading the brain with too much information. In many ways he embodies Holland & Holland’s approach. He is steeped in the traditions of instruction at the highest level, but also moves with the times, understanding the modern shooter wants all the help technology can give. He and his equally proficient team of instructors have an implicit understanding of what game shooters need and time spent in the stands here will never be wasted.

British to the very core

I had the privilege of using a Holland & Holland 12 bore Sporting Deluxe over-under. And I can confirm that, while it is a beautiful piece of British workmanship, it can miss just like any other gun, particularly on the high tower. However, with Chris gently coaxing me, plenty of those long high crossers out to the left and right also broke, and I felt my confidence grow all the time. 

There are stands to simulate grouse, partridge, duck and all types of pheasant here, and it would be easy to lose a whole morning or afternoon enjoying everything on offer with an expert on your shoulder. Equally the charity and corporate shoot days held here are about as much sporting fun as you can possibly have within the M25.

If you want the ultimate luxury of one of the H&H instructors joining you in the field it will cost £640 for the day, but you know what, it would be wonderfully reassuring and might just change your shooting forever.

A bright future

Nicolas Ollivier is the director of the shooting ground and before I left he assured me there are more developments in the immediate pipeline. So this bastion of British game shooting traditions will continue to evolve to ensure it remains right at the top of the list for those seeking sporting excellence in a traditional yet progressive environment. I look forward to seeing more…

Written by Will Hetherington, GunsOnPegs Contributing Editor

Will was the editor of the Shooting Gazette, a leading international driven shooting magazine, for 13 years. Having been involved with country sports publishing for a total of 19 years, he is now our Contributing Editor at GunsOnPegs.