A single-shot, single-barrelled shotgun is not popular these days. The guns are looked down upon as somehow ‘less than’. When I began my shooting life under my father’s instruction, I was as excited as any 14-year-old could be. I had completed my three-year apprenticeship of various gun-, dog- and bird-related…
Rough shooting
Walked-up or rough shooting
Walked-up or rough shooting is when the quarry is flushed out of woods and cover by gundogs with the Guns walking behind. Many shooters have been introduced to the world of shooting in this manner.
It’s a wonderful way to be out in the fresh air and a good way of getting those miles in, as you’re likely to walk a fair way through the fields.
Seeing trained Labradors or spaniels at work, flushing out game from cover as the group walks along is a joy to watch. The dogs are trained to retrieve the shot game back to the Gun so that it can be despatched humanely if needed.
Virtually all the quarry species listed can be walked-up.
Numbers are usually totally irrelevant with rough shooting, it’s about being out in the countryside with your dog and hopefully bringing something home for supper.
Here are a range of articles on the rough shooting so you can learn more.
The best gaiters for walked-up shooting
Gaiters are a key part of your shooting kit, particularly if you’re roughshooting on moorland. If you’re wearing breeks and your smartest shooting socks, they’ll protect your lower legs from ticks, mud, heather scratches and allow you to splosh through streams without getting your feet wet. Never be tempted to…
How to tackle common species when walked-up shooting
Successfully walking-up any quarry and making the most of your opportunities is not as as straightforward as people often think. Here I will go into specific details about how to tackle commonly encountered species. The most frequently made mistake among would-be rough Shots is to head to the local clay…
Walked-up shooting and the going away bird
For clay pigeon shooting enthusiasts and game shooters alike, walked-up shooting is making more and more sense in these financially difficult times. Mark tells you how to prepare for typical going away targets.
How to find affordable rough shooting
Robin Scott investigates how to find affordable roughshooting and what it costs
The right kit for a succesful day’s rough shooting
It would be fair to say that I am pretty well addicted to my walked-up shooting. Years ago, walked-up or rough shooting was the mainstay of many a Gun and I know for plenty of people it was how they were introduced to the world of shooting. Then along came…
Beretta 486 Parallelo 20-bore reviewed by Shooting Times
As the new shotgun reviewer for Shooting Times, I was asked to look at the Beretta 486 Parallelo 20-bore side-by-side and consider whether it would make a good rough shooting gun. The short answer is yes, but let’s have a look at the evidence to support the argument. Familiar sight…
The rise and fall, and rise of roughshooting
The roughshoot has been sidelined by driven shooting. John Humphreys argues that this is a loss to the foundations of the sport in this country
How do you safely shoot ground game?
At this time of year the same old topic of conversation crops up at shoots far and wide - namely the shooting of ground game and/or low birds.
A day’s shooting with Clumber spaniels for the first time
I love shooting over dogs, so when my friend Nathan Hawkins posted an open invitation to shoot over a breed I had never heard of — the Clumber spaniel — I jumped at the chance. Charming Clumber spaniels This is a breed that has been apparently superseded by springers and…
How to create your own shoot – what you need to know
It is the dream of many sportsmen to own their own shoot, and to provide some sort of safeguard for their shooting in the future. Due to escalating land prices around the country this dream may result in owning just a few acres, but with careful planning and hard work…
Tips to make you better at walked-up pheasant shooting
Shooting coach Mark Russell treks to the outback of his shooting ground at Grimsthorpe - in the pursuit of perfecting his driven pheasant technique.
Beretta Ultralight Gold reviewed by Shooting Gazette
Long-term experts in using alloy metals in constructing their guns, Beretta build the Ultralight Gold largely from a tough, lightweight aluminium alloy with the main wearing parts of the gun being made from tougher stuff. This is most clearly seen in the action face where a titanium insert will take…
Can I use a Jack Russell terrier for rough shooting?
A: I grew up with cross-bred terriers which, being longer on the leg than the Jack Russell terrier, were more like hunt terriers. They were trained to work as gundogs by my father as well as working with the ferrets for rabbits. They would go to ground and bring out rabbits, always dead but still good enough…
Hatsan Escort semi-auto shotgun review
The Hatsan Escort semi-auto shotgun is a Turkish-built semi automatic that creates a stir on price alone
I want my dog to have his day as a picker-up
A: There is no set procedure for Guns who take their own dogs, and each shoot will have its own policy regarding the collection of dead and wounded game both during and after drives are complete. Therefore it is best to find out from the shoot captain what the expectations for that particular shoot usually are. This certainly applies…
Tips for shooting behind the combine
A: I love shooting behind the combine. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity this year, but after practising this discipline for a number of years, I have picked up a tip or two along the way. First, it is always undertaken in good dry weather, so you want to wear light yet protective tops, remembering the dust gets…
Fancy an affordable way of grouse shooting?
It always amazes me how quickly the season comes around, but here we go again — and if you are about to head north, I am sure the excitement is building. Grouse shooting, especially early-season driven grouse, is an expensive form of shooting. However, if you are keen to try shooting this amazing wild bird, then walked-up grouse…
The charm of walked-up grouse shooting
Tramping across heather is mesmeric. One step, another; one step, another. Horizons and granite grab the gaze and it’s hard to focus on the small, be it a flutter of brown as a meadow pipit rises or the red of carnivorous sundews awaiting the next midge to err from the safety of the nearby crusted peat. And then…