St Mary's Isle Estate Shoot
Shoot · Dumfries & Galloway · 309 followers
309 followers
Now entering our third season - St Mary's Isle Estate Shoot is a dramatic coastal shoot, with stunning views across the Dee Valley and Solway Firth.
The shoot has been taken back in-hand by the family to re-invigorate this exceptional family run, friendly shoot. The shoot is able to offer quality days shooting with bags in excess of between 175 - 250 birds per day.
The well-established shoot covers over 2000 acres of stunning countryside in SW Scotland, with many drives providing outstanding coastal views.
It is set in rolling countryside, rising from sea level to over 400 feet with excellent challenging drives, including 450 acres of woodland and three valleys. This has been a well renowned high pheasant shoot for many years.
Pheasants and partridges are shown from mature woodlands and young plantations with the guns standing in open fields to deep bottomed gullies, challenging even the most experienced of game shots.
Drives such as The Moss Bank, High Banks and The Beech Point should strike fear and pleasure in equal measures into the line of guns.
The shoot is renowned for its friendly atmosphere, which is amplified by delicious 11's in a purpose built hut, using only home-grown produce and a home cooked, estate produced lunch served in the family house.
There is a recently modernised hotel in Kirkcudbright offering excellent dining and accommodation, together with a pleasant warm atmosphere and is well used to accommodating visiting guns, who often come with their partners, offering special rates to those that book their day at the shoot.
We hope we are doing some of this successfully as some guns have been members of the syndicate for over 35 years.
Hospitality
A warm welcome will be given to all teams, who will meet the host at the Estate House for a coffee at 9am before the safety briefing and departure for the first drive at 9.30. The morning will consist of 3 full drives, with a scenic stop for mid-morning drinks, food and refreshments utilising the coastal landscape (weather permitting!!). Following a fully catered, home-produced lunch, the team will head out for a further drive, before retiring for a cup of tea, meet the keeper and say farewells.
Birds
St Marys' Isle Estate provides a challenging day all-round - with rolling countryside and the odd steep sided valley providing a challenge for all abilities. Partridges in open fields to some snap shooting in amongst some mature trees.....all surrounded by stunning coastal views.
Topography
Rolling countryside, with often stunning coastal views from a number of different drives (weather permitting!!). The shoot focuses on using the topography to show some of the finest sporting birds in the region. One main valley over 1.5 miles long provides a central point to the shoot, but 2 other valleys help the rolling countryside provide the quality that guns come to expect!
Conservation Efforts
The shoot is making determined efforts made by all involved to increase its level of sustainability, making sure that, where possible, all game goes into the food chain, ideally locally.
The local hotel uses venison and game to create delicious, home-cooked meals. Beaters are asked to share journeys and guns are requested to use a few vehicles as possible on the Shoot.
in 2023/4 season over 60% of all game shot was either served to guest, provided to guest or taken away by beaters/locals.
Other features include: Red squirrels conservation area healthy Roe deer herd management and selective culling. Areas of Wild grasses for nesting and chicks. Good hedgerow management for nesting songbirds. Stone walls for micro habitats. good scattering of natural ponds for duck species.
About the hosts
St Mary's Isle Estate has been in my family, unchecked for over 300 years and are completely synonymous with the area. The family have taken the bold decision to take the shoot back in-hand after several years of having the shoot tenanted out. Previously my father had run the shoot for over 50 years, mostly with the same single-handed keeper. I have been shooting here and elsewhere for over 30 years and would love to show the tricks I have learned, both here at home and from others to provide guns and their guests with a fine range of sport and hospitality.
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Reviews
Mr. Gerald Needham
If you have seen St Mary’s Isle shoot advertised on Guns on Pegs and wondered should I. Definitely yes. We arrived, a team of eight . A warm and extremely friendly welcome from Charles put us all at ease. The day was bright, still and cool. Stunning scenery, great sport, perfect. Drinks and bites at eleven absolutely delicious, lunch in the main house ,scrumptious . Sporting birds, Ian and his team controlled the drives with such professionalism so everyone in the line had their chance. Was the long drive worth it, 100% yes. Oh and the Selkirk Arms. Excellent . Would we go again. Yes, if Charles would like our company!!
Visit: November 27th 2024
D. S.
From the moment we arrived in a beautiful area of St. Marys Isle Kirkcudbright we knew we were in for a treat! We stayed at The Selkirk Arms where the rooms were very clean, modern and the food was amazing and the staff very attentive. The landowner Charles welcomed us to the shoot day and introduced us to the gamekeeper Ian and his team. The shoot was well organised and the amount of good birds were challenging yet achievable. The hospitality and catering during the day was well received and tasty! I would highly recommend a days shooting here and have already booked more dates to return.
Visit: multiple visits
J. W.
This lovely estate is in a most picturesque location with fine coastal and inland views. The topography is interestingly folded, offering great shooting with birds driven from well placed, established woodlands to guns standing on sloping ground and in valley bottoms. We were shown generous numbers of good birds by Ian Smith the Keeper and his team. The day was most efficiently run and everything was done in a friendly manner. Friendliness and a relaxed atmosphere was the hallmark; from the first greeting and coffee in the kitchen at Banks House to the three enjoyable drives before lunch and one after, ending as the light began to fade. The owner of the shoot, Charles Hope-Dunbar, is a most excellent host and set the whole easy tone of the day. Everyone out that day seemed interested to meet us and chat, when there was a spare minute. We were most kindly fed and watered throughout, with home made pheasant goujons and other good things at elevenses, a very good, sustaining lunch and tea and cake at the end of the day. After that, we went on our way rejoicing and hoping to return.
Visit: October 29th 2024
Patrick Buckley
I want to express my sincere gratitude for the warm hospitality and the exceptional experience I and my fellow guns received from the St Mary's Isle Estate Shoot. The picturesque setting and our hosts' warm welcome made our day truly memorable. It was a pleasure meeting Charles, Clare, and the entire team. It was superbly hosted and this was greatly appreciated. The terrain and drives were nothing short of excellent, presenting a perfect blend of challenge and beauty that far exceeded our expectations. The birds gave us Lincolnshire flatlanders a run for our money, but we were delighted with both the bag and the overall quality of the sport. Our stay at the Selkirk Arms, in Kirkcudbright, was really enjoyable too and they looked after us so well. We highly recommend it.
Visit: January 5th 2024
Mr. Peter Leech
It was a pleasure to finally shoot at St Marys Isle. We were met by Charles & Clare and their boys, a great family immediately making us welcome and at ease. Weather was extremely kind after all the rain. We enjoyed a great days sport of 4 spectacular drives in beautiful scenery with excellent hospitality in a really relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Its a long way from Lincolnshire but well worth the trip, the Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright is a real gem too
Visit: January 5th 2024