Shooting types - Part two

Our initial Shooting Types article - in which we created some pen portraits from the results of the 2019 Game Shooting Census, carried out by GunsOnPegs and Lycetts -  proved pretty popular, so we thought we would do another. Drop a comment below if you think there’s another group we should look at!

With only 3% of respondents to the survey (310 out of 8,900) being women, it is worth noting that statistically speaking this segmenet leaves a bit to be desiered. Nonetheless, here are the results according to the stats that we do have: 

 

The first notable thing to come out of the Census is that ladies are not only underrepresented on the shooting field, but they generally shoot less, and spend less on shooting, than their male counterparts. The average number of days shot for ladies is 8, compared to an average of 11 for men. The average spend is £3,841 for ladies, where the list average is £4,787. On the other hand, ladies eat game rather more often than the list average, 41 times over the year, versus 31. It is also interesting to note that ladies are far less likely to belong to a syndicate than men: 53% of blokes are syndicate members, compared to 31% of women. Less than 2% of syndicate members are women.

 

While it may be unchivalrous to draw attention to the fact, it should be noted that the average age of female guns is 48, where the average age of the blokes is 55. Does this indicate that among the younger generation shooting is increasingly popular with ladies?

There are some people out there, a surprisingly large group (around 20% of respondents to the Census), the lucky devils, who don’t pay for their shooting. It must be said that these fortunate souls shoot a bit less than average, around 9 days a year, which is pretty good for someone not spending a penny on shooting. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a greater proportion of people (70%) in this group attend family or private shoots than the list average (50%) and they are far less likely to belong to a syndicate. However, a fair proportion still say they attend commercial and syndicate days, presumably as invited guests. Compared to other groups, this subsection of Census respondents eat game slightly less frequently, at 21 times per year, or 3.3 times per day shot.

48% of respondents to the Census belong to a syndicate. The average syndicate member is in their late fifties and shoots around 13 days a year, somewhat higher than the list average of 11. They spend £5,273 a year on shooting, but this probably includes a few days on top of their syndicate membership. Although the syndicate member shoots somewhat more often than the average gun, he eats only 2.4 game meals per day shot, which is among the lowest of any of the groups profiled. Only the Buffers and the Really Big Spenders eat fewer game meals per day shot. This said, 56% of all syndicate members eat game at least once per fortnight, which is higher than the list average (50%) However, syndicate members are more likely to be involved in conservation work than the average gun, no doubt as a result of shoot work parties and similar activities. 

 

Syndicate membership plays an important role in people's lives, with 93% of syndicate members describing their syndicate as a key aspect of their social life, and 90% of syndicates meeting up outside of the season. 

 

[Read Which 'shooting type' are you? The results are in...]