Who’s in charge here?

Arguably, one of the most important shoot-day skills to possess is that of being the perfect ‘mine host’. Like the proverbial swan, all should look serene on the surface even if there’s some furious paddling going on under the water. To use another cliché, preparation prevents pretty poor performance and preparation for the host should start by knowing the ground and drives intimately. Going out with the gamekeeper to place pegs on particular drives is always a good thing to do – not least because there can sometimes be a compromise made between a gamekeeper who wants to place pegs where the highest numbers of birds might be shot and the host who, through standing with the Guns on previous occasions, knows where the best and most challenging birds are likely to fly.

Even if, through having placed Guns on the same drive in previous seasons, the host