Evolution of original sim 

There was a time when the worlds of simulated game and game involving live quarry did not overlap. Over the past decade there have been myriad factors causing keen game Shots to look elsewhere to satisfy their sporting desires. This has increasingly caused traditional Shots to reconsider the manifold value of a sim day. 

Whether those Shots have begun to consider sim days due to the rising cost of game shooting, the uncertainty surrounding avian influenza (AI), or the most recent bout of surprise anti-shooting legislation, the level of interest in sim days has undoubtedly risen. Not only do sim days seem to be winning over the old guard, they also appear to be providing a wonderful gateway into shooting for those who might not have considered it. 

Simulated game days have been around for longer than people realise, but their benefits extend beyond commercial interests. Many shoots go ahead to allow sport to continue on the land and keep rural communities together. Due to the accessibility of a sim day, it can be an excellent conduit for bringing new people into game shooting who do not come from a rural background. 

Richard Jones, managing director of the beautifully situated Dovey Valley Shooting Ground at the southern tip of Snowdonia, attributes the rise in sim day popularity to small syndicates being unable to swallow the rising cost of raising live birds. Richard, whose grandfather was running sim days with 15 manually operated traps over 40 years ago, says the options with a sim day “allow a far higher level of hospitality for a fraction of the cost”. With extra drives and hospitality packages available, the days are also highly customisable. 

Complexity 

Richard says it is important to him to make the drives realistic. “With our drives, all the traps are hidden so you don’t know where the clay is going to come from. Some sim days you can see precisely where they emerge, but such is the technical complexity of our set-up that on any given drive you likely wouldn’t see the same trajectory of clay twice.”

Philip Thompson, manager of Thimbleby Shooting Ground in the North York Moors, reiterates how vital it is to make the simulated days realistic and challenging, as well as adding in all the normal trappings of a regular game shoot. 

“We ensure our sim days are not only technically comparable to driven game days – offering a real challenge to even the most experienced Guns – but that the rest of the day meets the highest expectations too. That means our guests shoot all over the Thimbleby Estate and enjoy top-notch food and drink throughout the day. Lots of our guests have previously only shot on game days and were rather wary of the sim days as alternatives, but since they have tried it, they loved it.” 

Philip also reveals how the evolving demand for sim days has required them to shift their focus from chiefly spring and summer-based sim days to offer them during the shooting season as well. Increasingly game Shots allocate time from their driven game days to enjoy this new format. 

Although there is a predictability to any clay, because it is mechanical, there are significant challenges when setting up the perfect simulated drive. Topography plays a big part. When you are able to select the flushing points on a sim day with precise trap placement, there is no need to suffer the sun in your eyes. It can be immensely frustrating when a glorious high bird comes out of the sun like a MiG-21 fighter jet, taking you by surprise. 

With intelligent trap and peg placement, Guns are no longer forced to choose between excellent sport and the integrity of their retinas. Black clays can be extremely difficult to pick out against a busy backdrop. This means it is important to use the topography to ensure the clay is visible above the skyline for long enough to be seen and shot. 

A great game drive doesn’t necessarily make a top-drawer sim drive. If traps are placed in woodland that usually provides the game flushing point, it can produce limited flightpaths. If the traps are placed in front of the woodland, you can see them winding up, which diminishes the aspect of surprise and realism. 

There is now a growing belief that sim days are no longer a direct substitute for game shooting; they have developed a reputation of their own, with scope and flexibility to create a variety of different experiences depending on customer preference. Many simulated shoots have evolved beyond an opportunity to practise for the season and each shoot has a unique identity. Some stick with a traditional game-day experience, others offer a more relaxed and informal style. 

George Whittaker, of Boughton Estate in Northamptonshire, says the modern sim day has evolved beyond a glorified clay shoot. 

“It’s a traditional day but without the feathers,” he says. 

“We try to change the drives every year so people don’t shoot the same ones. We shoot six drives a day and I like to make sure that we have at least three new drives. I keep a record of what groups shoot which drives to make sure they have different ones the following year.” 

Boughton Estate runs around 30 simulated days each summer and uses its glorious surroundings to create beautiful drives, including a particularly pretty one in the landscaped gardens. George adds that success comes down to how you present the “birds” . He will not refer to clays during a sim day, preferring instead to brief the Guns on the upcoming birds they can expect. 

He says another benefit of a sim day is the ability to tailor it to meet the requirements of the Guns but keep the format true to a traditional day. “We open with quite an easy drive. If I don’t know the team of Guns, I can suss out their ability and then we can alter the drives going forward to suit that team. 

Challenging 

“I try to use the grounds around the house in the morning, so we shoot three drives in the gardens. Then in the afternoon we go further into the woods where we’ve built some grouse butts and high pheasant drives. So we do the pretty stuff in the morning and the more challenging stuff in the afternoon,” he explains. 

It is reductive to see simulated days simply as a replacement for game shooting, even if those were its origins. Simulated game currently brings few of the same benefits in the form of countryside management, despite providing an accessible format for enjoying shooting. It isn’t comparable to game shooting in terms of the jobs it generates either. 

Uncertainty around factors such as bird flu have caused game shoots to be a little less keen to make large investments in gamebird infrastructure and the purchase of the birds themselves. There is a terrifying moment in the rearing of birds when, if the poults have been released and then develop symptoms of AI, they are considered to be wild. The organisation that reared and released them is therefore not eligible for any compensation following a cull. This kind of catastrophe could very easily sink a commercial shoot. 

Simulated game shooting can provide a more certain income stream that is less susceptible to running cost fluctuations and is easily hybridised with game shooting. Chris Hanks, manager of Lady’s Wood Shooting School in Gloucestershire, says this set-up offers great value, with plenty of good food, bangs for your buck and a fun, relaxed day out. 

However, he also says the sim and traditional days offer different experiences and should not be compared. “Although one can be used to train for the other, there are elements for all to enjoy,” he says. “Sim days are a great way to introduce clay Shots to the general feel for a game day at an affordable price.” 

Chris adds that he can only see this appetite growing; perfect for introducing more people to driven game. “The key is for providers to keep shooters interested. That’s why I now offer sim days at six venues, as well as being mobile and taking the experience to private shoots and estates.” 

Variety 

For all the reasons that drew game Shots away from live quarry, the ability to customise the sim day in everything from location to variety of bird has kept them coming back. Chris concludes “clients who shoot with us all summer, really hit the ground running when the clays are swapped for feathered game in the autumn”. 

Sim days are not only being invested in by independent shoots or shooting grounds looking to diversify. Industry giant EJ Churchill also offers sim days across several extremely smart estates from Yorkshire to Buckinghamshire. Ben Palfreyman was lucky enough to shoot one at West Wycombe recently (see p22). The simulated shoot is already an integral part of modern fieldsports and only looks set to grow in future seasons.