Occasional vacancies arise for “Boundary” Rough Shooting in our Shooting Syndicate situated 5 miles West of Barnard Castle. Close to the A66 and the borders of Cumbria, Durham and North Yorkshire it is convenient for travel from a wide area. The shoot is laid out over undulating and challenging ground in Upper Teesdale, the shoot is south facing with steep banks down towards to River Tees and amazing views over the North Pennine Grouse Moors.

The shoot extends to about 450 acres of woodland which was planted on Heather Moorland from the 1950’s onwards. Over the years large areas have been cleared and replanted meaning there is a good mix of ages and species of Timber. Unlike many areas of woodland we have excellent ground cover with areas of heather, bilberry or bracken cover – all hold Pheasant’s and Woodcock. An extensive felling & regeneration programme has left us with about 50% of our ground “open” and this combined with deep gills, valleys and hills mean we can present very testing birds. The shoot also benefits from several ponds which, given suitable conditions, give an influx of Ducks. Shots vary from high curling birds from hilltops over open ground to snap shots in mature Pine.

Commencing late October our resident syndicate commences formal Driven Days and shoot every fortnight until the end of the season. However we do have large areas of the shoot that are not suitable for our “main” driven shoot days, perhaps the drives are too small, the layout is not suitable, it is around the boundary areas or the density of birds is not high enough for a full blown driven day. These areas are therefore retained and used exclusively for Rough Shooting Days, on these days the bag is made up largely of Pheasants and Woodcock with the occasional Duck. The format of the day is “Stand One, Walk One” – the guns are split into two teams and take it in turns to “Stand and Shoot” and then to “Beat” (shooting is not allowed in the beating line). These are excellent days with a small varied and challenging bag.

Potential Guns must be physically fit, hold a shotgun certificate and be members of BASC. Cost is very reasonable at just £150 per season (4 days) or £45 per day.

We welcome Novice Shots but if you have little or no experience of this kind of shooting you will be required to take the services of a “Loader” who will guide you throughout the day.