Frugality for fieldsports

Shoots are looking at ways of increasing profitability without diluting their offering to Guns, according to a survey of the 2011-12 season by rural surveyor Smiths Gore and shoot marketing website GunsOnPegs.

More shoots than in previous years charged per bird shot rather than a fixed fee for the day, with prices rising by £2 per bird for both pheasants and partridges.

David Steel, head of sporting at Smiths Gore, said that, though it is more costly for the Guns, the decision to charge per bird shot has significant implications on the profitability or otherwise of a shoot.

?A couple of years ago, shoots were facing an uncertain future, and many have worked hard to increase the net income per bird shot, while limiting the amount that is passed on to Guns,? he said.

The survey also revealed that more than 90 per cent of let days were sold before the start of the season with repeat bookings holding up well.


To download the full results of the survey, visit http://www.gunsonpegs.com/shooting/blogs/gunsonpegs-and-smiths-gore-shoot-benchmarking-2011-12_1969


The rest of this article appears in the 31st October issue of Shooting Times.

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