Show Notes
How do you get into country sports when you didn't grow up around them?
Listener James has recently moved from a major city to rural Wales with his young family. He wants to get involved in country life but has no shooting or fishing background and nobody locally to show him the ropes. So where do you start? Apply for a shotgun certificate? Buy a fishing rod? Book a shoot day? Join an organisation? Or simply find somebody who knows what they're doing?
Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner reckon the answer is much simpler: don't rush out and buy all the kit. Go beating.
They explain what a beating line actually does, how to find a local shoot, what you need for your first day and why listening to the keeper and watching the people either side of you is considerably more useful than trying to learn all the lingo beforehand.
But beating is also about much more than moving birds towards a line of Guns. For somebody new to an area, it can provide an instant community and a route into dogs, clays, game shooting, pigeon shooting, fishing and the wider rural world. It can also involve flags, radios, sausage rolls, chocolate-based bribery and, apparently, free sloe gin from 9.30 in the morning.
There are also stories of children disappearing into bogs, beaters quietly starting to support the pheasant after enough Guns have missed it, and the particular satisfaction of coming home wet, tired and covered in brambles after a day spent outside with good people.
And, as James has now proved, they really do read the emails.
In this episode: How to get into country sports when you have no previous experience Why you probably shouldn't buy a gun or fishing rod straight away Why beating is one of the easiest ways into the shooting world What a beater actually does How to find a local shoot and introduce yourself What to wear and what to take on your first day Understanding the beating line and listening to the keeper Taking children and family along Beaters' Day and getting your first experience on the gun line How beating can lead to dogs, clays, pigeon shooting and other country sports Why chocolate, sausage rolls and port can make you surprisingly popular The social side of joining a shoot Favourite memories from the beating line Useful links:
- BASC: Beating - Fish and Game: From Zero to Salmon - sort of - SideCountry Network
DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.
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