On a pheasant hunt

On a pheasant hunt

Advertisement

Pheasant shooting in Britain is nothing if not traditional. Practiced with bow and arrow long before the invention of guns, enjoyed by Henry VIII and mentioned by Jane Austen, the sport has been a part of British culture for centuries.

Today it may not be hugely widespread, but in some areas it is still going strong.

. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

During a shooting expedition, birds are driven out of the undergrowth by “beaters”, who use flags and loud noises to flush them into the open. They are then picked off by the shooters - known as "guns" - who stand waiting with their weapons.

It is considered unsporting to shoot down a bird that is too close, so the skill is in singling out a pheasant at just the right angle high above and taking aim – no mean feat on a foggy day.

. LEWKNOR, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

After the game is shot down - sometimes with finely crafted guns like this - it is collected by retriever dogs, which fetch the dead birds and carry them in their mouths to place them at the hunters' feet.

1 / 19

Slideshow

A man holds a dead pheasant which he shot during a hunt in Lewknor, in the south of England.
. LEWKNOR, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A man holds a dead pheasant which he shot during a hunt in Lewknor, in the south of England.

A hunter resting his gun on his shoulder is silhouetted against the misty morning sky.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A hunter resting his gun on his shoulder is silhouetted against the misty morning sky.

A shooter waits for pheasant to be driven out of the woods. On a foggy day it is hard to see a bird until it is almost directly overhead.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A shooter waits for pheasant to be driven out of the woods. On a foggy day it is hard to see a bird until it is almost directly overhead.

A male pheasant lies dead.
. HENTON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A male pheasant lies dead.

A hunter loads cartridges into his shotgun.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A hunter loads cartridges into his shotgun.

A man shoots at pheasant flying above, as his dog waits to be released to collect the carcasses.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A man shoots at pheasant flying above, as his dog waits to be released to collect the carcasses.

A Springer Spaniel carries a dead pheasant in its jaws.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A Springer Spaniel carries a dead pheasant in its jaws.

One of the men on a shoot smokes a cigarette as he waits for the game to be driven out of its cover.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

One of the men on a shoot smokes a cigarette as he waits for the game to be driven out of its cover.

Hunters chat with each other at a farm during a break from shooting. All the men taking part in the shoot are local farmers.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Hunters chat with each other at a farm during a break from shooting. All the men taking part in the shoot are local farmers.

A hunter drinks a glass of sloe gin to warm himself up during a break from the shooting.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A hunter drinks a glass of sloe gin to warm himself up during a break from the shooting.

A shooter releases the spent cartridges from his shotgun.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A shooter releases the spent cartridges from his shotgun.

Hunters take aim at the birds flying overhead.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Hunters take aim at the birds flying overhead.

A brace of pheasant is hung up to tenderise the meat.
. HENTON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A brace of pheasant is hung up to tenderise the meat.

A hunter shoots at the pheasant as his dog stands tethered to him.
. LEWKNOR, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A hunter shoots at the pheasant as his dog stands tethered to him.

A Labrador looks up at his owner holding a brace of pheasant.
. LEWKNOR, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A Labrador looks up at his owner holding a brace of pheasant.

Shooters walk with their dogs in tow to a new area where the birds are about the be driven out.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Shooters walk with their dogs in tow to a new area where the birds are about the be driven out.

A Springer Spaniel sits with his nose in the air in the back of a pick-up truck.
. STOKENCHURCH, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A Springer Spaniel sits with his nose in the air in the back of a pick-up truck.

A pile of dead pheasant is placed in the back of a truck.
. LEWKNOR, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A pile of dead pheasant is placed in the back of a truck.

A truck is parked in a field during a pheasant shoot.
. LEWKNOR, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A truck is parked in a field during a pheasant shoot.

The men, all local farmers wearing every shade of green, adjust their breeks and grab their shotguns.
Eddie Keogh, Reuters Photographer

For me this has been a year of photographing new sports. Most were Olympic and Paralympic sports, but this past week it’s been a country sport: pheasant shooting.

It’s funny but it’s only now as I sit down to write this blog that I’ve realised the connection. The Olympic sport of trap shooting was originally developed to provide a method of practice for bird hunters: even the targets were called clay pigeons.

However, unlike game hunters, I doubt Olympians start the day with a glass of sloe gin or cherry brandy. But now, on a cold December morning, it hits the spot.

Land Rovers are lined up outside, while Labradors and Springer Spaniels whine in anticipation because they know what’s coming next. The men, all local farmers wearing every shade of green, adjust their breeks and grab their shotguns.

The conversation takes a more serious tone as pegs are taken and guns are loaded. The “beaters” – whose job it is to drive the game out into the open – are seen in the distance approaching an area of long grass. They wave flags and make enough noise to disturb any wildlife.

The “guns” – the hunters waiting with their weapons – are placed evenly around the area in a semi circle, and as the birds take flight they hope to get a bird at the right angle to shoot. Pheasant that fly too low or too close are left alone: a shot like that is considered unsporting.

The pheasant are wild birds so no two shots are the same. No one knows how many pheasant will be released from a run, which direction they will go in, or at what height or speed they will fly. Even trickier is shooting on a foggy day, since you don’t see the bird until it’s almost above you. So the skill and the challenge is certainly in following the flight of a rising or curling bird and picking your shot.

The dogs are tied to a stake or to their owners and they get very excited once the shooting starts and the birds begin to fall.

Once the shoot is over and the whistle goes, guns are unloaded and the dogs are released to retrieve the birds, which they carry very gently in their mouths and then drop at the feet of their owners.

After the second run, the drinks reappear and it’s then that you get the feeling that this is a very social affair. Here I was witnessing a way of life that has passed down the generations. A chance for friends to get together, enjoy the sport of shooting and bring home the dinner.