After a very wet, mid-January Friday evening drive from dreary old west London down to the southwest coast, the excitement starts to build. The west country has some of the most spectacular game shooting the UK has to offer and having spent so much time there every summer growing up and the odd winter trip since, being able to go down for a weekend of shooting is a real privilege.
Pheasant Shooting in Damp Winter Weather
We had lined up a Saturday of shooting which was going to be a combination of mini driven and walked up, with a duck flight to finish the day off. There were 6 of us shooting, so a small-scale day and mixed bag but we were to expect predominantly pheasant with the odd duck during the day, and of course mallard, widgeon and teal in the evening flight. On these smaller days you take a handful of shots and remember each and every one whether you hit or miss.
As a group of 6 friends/guns, we do this same day once a year (always in early January) and we usually get a total bag of around 15-20. We all take great pride in eating what we shoot which to us just adds to the whole experience of the day! Once I have breasted and removed the legs from the game, my dogs get the raw carcasses minced up with their food, so literally nothing goes to waste.
Winter Weather and the Right Shooting Clothing
The weather forecast for the day ahead was rubbish, and as there were some walked up elements to it in the wild west country, the correct clothing and kit for the job was essential to stop me from freezing (and soaking) away!
I opted for practical shooting clothing to keep me dry and warm but also to ensure I had good freedom of movement to not only get to where I needed to be, but also to shoot accurately. For my bottom half I wore a pair of Harkila Ragnar Trousers (with a pair of waterproof shooting overtrousers packed just in case) and Meindl Dovre Extreme boots with some Farlows Munro Merino shooting socks to keep my feet warm and supported. The Dovre Extremes really do support your ankles substantially, even when compared to the slightly shorter Dovre boot that I also have in my arsenal. When scrambling up steep hillsides, through trenches and streams and over seriously boggy ground this is much needed.
My top half of clothing consisted of a Farlows Tattersall Shirt, Woodcock pattern silk tie, Shetland Lambswool Jumper and of course my trusty Litchfield tweed fieldcoat in an older tweed from 2017. I also had a backup Merino Ribbed Shooting jumper stashed away in the car in case it got even colder at any point and to change into for the duck flight in the evening as we would be up on a very exposed hilltop.
What to Expect on a Traditional Pheasant Shoot Day
We met at around 9am in the farmyard for a bacon sandwich and cup of tea and a quick briefing of the day ahead and what to expect. Plus of course a quick £5 wager on what the bag was going to be. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but something obscure like the total bag number, divided by the number of species and times the number of shots. Not only does this test your knowledge on the local area and what gamebirds and pest control might be around, but also shows how much we were concentrating in maths lessons at school...
The key to days like this is gun safety. Understanding about gun safety and always being aware of where your teammates and the beaters with their dogs are at all times. There will be lots of low birds as they break cover and glide through dense woodland to reach the treetops and following hedgerows. As a rule of thumb - if you can’t see a good area of sky behind it, don’t risk the shot.
We did a number of drives with good variety throughout the day. The first drive gave us some challenging sport. I was in a clearing of the woodland with heavy and boggy ground underfoot, standing a short distance away from my good friend and ex-Farlows colleague Ben.
I sent a quick message down the walkie talkie to the keeper to say we were all in position and shortly after the first group of teal, being particularly flighty, lifted off the tiny stream before anything else moved. This gave us an indication that the beaters had started pushing the woodland through. Unfortunately, the teal lifted fast and were quickly too far away to get a shot at. Not long after, a hen pheasant came through the clearing at quite a pace where I was standing, I managed a safe shot at it as it passed me on my left. It was a clean shot, which meant I was off the mark.
After lunch, which consisted of a local pasty and a pint of Tribute, we headed to a turnip field which was thought to be a good thick ground cover for the pheasants. We started at the top and walked down as a line of guns with beaters and dogs pushing through with us. A couple of pheasants lifted but the field sloped down into a valley and the birds were low to the ground and fast with a tailwind pushing them.
Back in the vehicles and the guns moved to a different field with the beaters following on foot to start beating through towards where we would be standing. We were instructed that there is a pond in the next field and to enter the field and approach the pond quietly, being ready for anything to take off. As anticipated, a group of teal lifted off the pond and we managed to add a few to the bag, one to my gun.
After the rest of this drive, which proved otherwise quiet, we headed back to the farmyard to change into warmer clothes and swap guns and cartridges ready for the duck flight in the evening. You forget how quickly the evening springs upon you and therefore how much you need to cram into the daylight hours in January! We headed up to an exposed hilltop where the wind was whistling through.
At the end of a track where the Hilux got stick twice due to the heavily rutted and muddy track – yes, we all had to push - there was what was essentially a glorified puddle and another small pond. I am very inexperienced when it comes to duck flights, and I took one look at both bodies of water and said there’s no way we’ll have any action tonight. How wrong could I have been. As we were a couple of hours off darkness, we decided to push through the field down from the pond for any final attempts to increase our bag of pheasants. This was an open wet field on a downhill slope with heavy gorse bush covering the lower part of the field. Two of the other guns managed a cock bird each which were very welcome.
We got into position taking cover from the wind by a hedgerow. 3 guns on the large puddle and 3 guns (including me) on the small pond. The keeper assured us it would be almost by the click of a finger, and they would come flooding in. Low and behold just as it started to get darker and darker, the teal started to flight in, thick and fast. You could only just see them as shadows in front of the grey, cloudy winters sky behind, take your shot quick or they’re gone.
Each shot lights up the pond with a burst of light from the barrels. I managed a brace and Ben managed one too, we both visualised where they landed which we hoped would help us pick them later. We heard the other team were busy on the pond less than 100m away and interestingly both ponds started shooting at nearly the exact same time but when the action ground to an immediate halt for us, they were still shooting for a few more minutes. Something that amazed me is that we only had teal flight into our pond, whereas the other team had no teal but plenty of widgeon and mallard to keep them busy. For two ponds so close to each other I found that fascinating.
Being up on that exposed hill really made me appreciate my clothing choices. You don’t realise how important it is until you’re standing up on an exposed hill at 6pm in the evening in mid-January! As we were pushing through the thick gorse cover, my tweed Litchfield really held up as a sturdy bombproof fieldcoat. No pulls on the tweed yarns, perfectly breathable as we worked hard and fully waterproof with the constant trickle of misty rain. Having spent all day in it I couldn’t fault it.
My Harkila Ragnar Trousers were perfect for the job. Although not waterproof, they are hardy enough to keep your legs fairly dry as long as it’s not bucketing it down, but the main reason for wearing them is because of how hard wearing they are, and they didn’t disappoint and have been worn many times since!
Once we were on the pond waiting for the teal it was cold, wet and windy. The ribbed merino jumper was really keeping me cosy under my tweed coat. Fantastic kit that is sustainably produced here in the UK to an incredibly high standard, being used for what it was designed for, and working extremely well at it too... there’s nothing quite like the Farlows fieldwear range.
Once the teal stopped coming, we waited a further 10 minutes just in case any stragglers came along, we got our head torches out to find the brace and a half of downed teal in the pitch black. The keeper’s spaniel worked hard for these birds, and we were very grateful as they were hard to find. We caught up with our other team to quickly compare our bags.
On the way back from the pond we had to push the Hilux out of the muddy rutted track one final time before returning back to the farmyard to tally everything up. Then it was back to the house to warm up over a glass of claret and a couple of roast chickens to share between us. Our birds were hanging overnight to be sorted out the following morning.
What an epic day.
Tips for Pheasant Shooting Success in the West Country
If you’re planning a pheasant or mixed shoot in this region, here are a few tips:
- Prepare for the weather – winter in the South West is wet, so waterproof kit is a must.
- Travel light but smart – keep essentials like cartridges, gloves, and snacks easily to hand.
- Know the etiquette – always respect the keepers, beaters, and fellow guns.
- Stay safe – keep your gun broken until in the line, and always be aware of where others are standing.
Jack’s Essential Kit List for Walked-Up Shooting and Duck Flighting
Having the right equipment makes all the difference on a wet winter’s day. Here’s the gear I relied on throughout the shoot:
- Shooting coat – fully waterproof but breathable for all-day wear.
- Field trousers/breeks – hard-wearing and comfortable in the mud.
- Sturdy boots – essential when covering wet farmland and rough ground.
- Shooting gloves and hat – small items that make a big difference when the weather turns.
- Cartridge bag – reliable access to cartridges for quick reloads.
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Harkila Orton Packable Waterproof Overtrousers£118.00 Regular Price £169.99
