So, we are here at Urra in North Yorkshire and
we're shooting pheasants and partridge
Now, as you can see behind me the scenery
here is incredible. Beautiful rolling
hills, really dense moorland interspersed
the forest. It really is
the perfect conditions for creating
really really high birds and the birds
here are monstrous.
Pheasant shooting is traditional English shooting and that's
why it's such a big draw for people to
come to these places and do this on this scale.
A lot of guns come here and look
at this drive and don't really expect
anything to come off and they all go
away with the wow factor.
It's just a gathering of friends coming for a good
social day out, a good drink, some decent
food and hopefully some good shooting
along the way.
Now, these shoots are incredibly well run a North Yorkshire is
a mecca for high pheasant partridge
shooting and there really is a mixed bag
around here. We've seen pheasants, we've seen partridge, we've seen snipe.
You can really fill your boots here and have six
seven maybe eight species in the bag by
the end of the day.
It's not as if they're shooting 40 gram cartridges or
34 in barrels, by using 20 balls with 30
grams sixes and they are working them
like magic wands, it's really incredible
and a great privilege to watch
What a day, end of November blue skies
and sunshine just terrific. The scenery
just adds to the sports i think always
nice to be out with like minded people
who enjoy a good sporting challenge and
that's really what the day is about.
It's you under birds it really isn't a team
game, it's something that's always
challenging from one minute to the next.
Having a loader just so you feel more
relaxed for the day carrying the gun
for them, making the day more pleasurable
and the speed of the birds as well
getting the cartridges in if you're with
him all the time you become a well-oiled
machine and you shoot one after the other
and you just do it in tandem.
I obviously knew what was about to happen, but Ian
wasn't sure what to expect and then the
birds started to appear and he got into
it eventually instead of killing some
good pheasants and got left and right
halfway through as well. It also helps if
you have your own gun really, you know
his training another gun today and it
didn't really fit him to start with and he got
going with it eventually but, obviously
you're on guns a major factor.
It really has been an incredible day, some of the
best shooting I've ever experienced.
Birds that you just don't even imagine
can be launched off some of the
mountains around us.
Shooting isn't just about sporting bird, it's about
camaraderie, it's about meeting and
spending time with like-minded people
and also about putting something back
into the local economy
We always come here every year bring
teams and they love it. it's
completely different shooting to the
Cotswolds. The wild terrain off the
moors and the pheasants are great here, it's
part of an English heritage.
Obviously, we've come to see good quality
birds it's all about connecting people
on the day. Everyone knows each other
very well and it's sort of the only
times the year they get to catch up and
have a good laugh together. The
countryside would probably just go to
ruin without the work of the gamekeepers
come actually the customer bringing the
money into the land and keeping the
conservation going. It's something that
can do with the sons are the daughters as
well it's a family event where people
can do what they want on any scale.
Every single thing today has been taken care
of, it's all run like clockwork.
Ian Coley and the guys here are at Urra do a
fantastic job and by making all of this
happen it just takes all the stress and
pressure out of the day allowing you
really to enjoy the shooting and enjoy each
others company at the end of the day what
I'll take away with me is some of those
phenomenal high birds I've ever seen. But,
more importantly some of the best
shooting I've ever experienced in my
entire shooting career.