Monachty Shoot

The Monachty Pheasant Shooting Experience We slipped out of Welshpool at 06.30 in the morning. It was dark and frosty and the road was slick from the hoar frost which had settled on the surface. We did the 60 miles to Aberystwyth on the west coast of Wales on tippy toes because of the road conditions but arrived at our destination, Monachty, promptly at 08.00 hours. Our host Nigel Symons-Jones cheerfully greeted us at the door of his beautiful Georgian Mansion house near Aberaeron. The house is surrounded by lovely parkland within the Monachty estate close to the shores of Cardigan Bay. Breakfast was served in the small dining room adjacent to the kitchen with the house guests who had stayed overnight; a very convivial occasion with an excellent Welsh breakfast. Suitably fortified and having shared our stories about the intrepid journey from Welshpool to Monachty we joined the non breakfasting other guns in the main entrance hall where pegs were pulled and introductions made before we togged up and headed out for the first drive of the day. By now the sun was up and we were to enjoy a wonderfully crisp but sunny day as the backdrop to our days shooting; my favorite shooting weather. The first drive was in a deep and heavily wooded valley with a dam at its head, a short walk from the manor house. The guns were strung out down the valley with some flanking in the adjacent fields; I was one of the flankers. When you are visiting a shoot for the first time you wonder will the birds be good, will I be able to hit them, and you make a note of where the neighbors are so that you do not poach too many birds from them. It started well; they were flushing the birds from the dam area and the first came down the valley above the tree line so I put the gun up and down it came. For me it was a crossing bird but at a good distance; there followed a quick self pat on the back and the old chest swells out a bit before we prepare for the next one. If they are all that good, I thought, we shall have an excellent day. After shooting 5 birds above the tree line I started letting them go, because I thought I might be cutting off the supply to the other guns in the valley bottom, and finished the drive concentrating on the birds to my right that did not fly down the valley. All in all a very good start to the day. The other guns seemed happy that they had all had some shooting and as the game cart was loaded up with a very respectable bag we swapped our ‘ones that got away’ stories. The next drive involved walking back towards the Mansion house and swinging right down a muddy track to very deep wooded valley with a brook running through it. We were pegged out along the brook and one of the non shooting lady guests stood behind me in the water acting as a spotter. The birds were flushed from high up on the valley rim, just a few at a time and as the drive progressed the direction of the birds being flushed was changed to make sure that everybody in the line got some shooting; very cleverly done indeed. The birds were very high and directly overhead, not much time to think. I made my contribution to the bag and was congratulated by our host Nigel on what he deemed to be excellent shooting. A little swelling of the chest followed shortly afterwards. We had to walk up a very steep hill to the house for elevenses, there was a mule for those in need but I decided that the flab will never shift if I ride everywhere. It was becoming apparent during this walk what a friendly bunch our guns and in some cases spouses were. Our hostess Wendy Symons –Jones, Nigel’s wife, was looking after everyone very well and shared the walk up the hill chattering all the way. We enjoyed elevenses in the courtyard to the rear of the main house, a glass of champagne and some homemade sausage rolls, whilst we swapped stories about the second drive. My view was that we had enjoyed some very good shooting. The birds do not come much more difficult than that. Suitably refreshed it was time to grab some cartridges and go back down the hill but to the left further up the same valley. I was almost back gunning so not a lot got to me, there were some good shots in front. However what did get through were good birds high and fast. I was able to add four birds to the bag on this drive; not bad for the back gun. Now it was off to the final drive through the valley we shot on the second drive but further on and this time the birds were flushed from the other direction. The birds here were very good to and from what I could see everyone got some good shooting. The beaters working this valley were like mountain goats; it was very steep. They were a very friendly bunch too. Back up the hill for a well earned G & T in the lounge, a very cozy room full of family photographs. After the G&Ts it was out to the rear courtyard to inspect the bag (one hundred and ninety seven) and to give the traditional thank you to the keeper. There followed a very late lunch in the lovely dining room. Excellent food served by attentive staff with a very good red wine and a traditional savory welsh rarebit after the pudding rather than cheese. What a brilliant idea, which I have regaled me wife about and which will be adopted by us. Wherever I go I always steal a very good idea! Port and cigars were offered all around by host Nigel as well as party poppers to finish the day in party mood. Our driver was waiting to take us back to Welshpool so after offering our thanks and goodbyes off we went. All in all a tremendous day in beautiful country side, with excellent shooting and charming hosts. You could be forgiven for thinking that there is no commercial element to this shooting experience. Will we go back? Most certainly. Mick Slack and Kevin Curran 09 January 2012[more]