Location & Details
- Stubton is a village in Lincolnshire, England, known for its countryside and shooting opportunities.
- The Stubton Estate (sometimes referred to as Stubton Lodge or Humby Estate) offers traditional pheasant and partridge shooting, primarily driven days, but the area and surrounding estates are also suitable for rough shooting. The estate covers over 2,000 acres of undulating lowland, ideal for a variety of shooting experiences.
- Brandon Wood Clay Shooting Ground is also located near Stubton (Brandon Road, NG23 5DA). This venue offers clay pigeon shooting and simulated game days, but the countryside around Stubton is typical of the sort of land used for rough shooting.
What You Can Expect:
- Game: Pheasant, partridge, woodcock, pigeon, and sometimes rabbits or hares.
- Format: Days can be formal (driven) or informal (rough/walked-up). Rough shooting is less structured and more about walking the land, often with dogs, flushing out game as you go.
- Facilities: Estates like Stubton often provide refreshments and meals, but you may need to bring your own alcohol. Prices for driven days are around £36 per bird, but rough shooting is usually less expensive and less formal.
What is Rough Shooting in the UK?
- Rough shooting (also called “walked-up shooting”) is a traditional British field sport where shooters walk through farmland, woods, or scrubland, often with dogs, to flush and shoot game as it is encountered.
- Key Features:
- Unpredictable: You never know what you’ll find—pheasant, partridge, woodcock, pigeon, rabbit, or hare.
- Small Bags: The number of birds or animals shot is usually small and varied.
- Dogs: Essential for flushing and retrieving game.
- Fieldcraft: Success depends on knowledge of the land and game habits.
- Ethos: “One for the pot”—the focus is on sport, exercise, and enjoying the countryside, not large bags.
- Types:
- True rough shooting: On unkeepered ground, very informal, often just a few friends and their dogs.
- Walked-up shooting: Slightly more organized, sometimes on managed estates, but still informal compared to driven shoots. [shootinguk.co.uk]
