SCOTLAND'S TOP SHOOTS

Marcus Janssen reveals his top 25 partridge and pheasant shoots

‘What really matters is the guys behind the shoot’

Compiling a definitive list of the very best shoots in Scotland is an almost impossible task. We all know that one’s level of enjoyment on a shoot day cannot be attributed solely to the shoot itself – it is about the chemistry and atmosphere on the day which, arguably, have more to do with who you shoot with than where you shoot.

I’ve said it on a number of occasions over the years, but one of the highlights of my season is a day on a very modest DIY syndicate shoot that I am lucky enough to be invited back to each year as a guest of a friend. The name of the shoot, the topography, quality or volume of birds are all largely insignificant.

What really matters is the people behind the shoot; they’re just a good group of guys who love shooting for all of the right reasons. And no matter the weather or how many birds are in the game cart at the end of the day (our all-time record is 76), there are always smiles from ear to ear all-round. You head home feeling good, feeling proud that you have been a part of something wholesome and special.

In truth, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of excellent shoots in Scotland, each one providing those who shoot there with unbridled joy throughout the season, for a variety of reasons. Some top shots understandably get their kicks from the challenge that exceptionally high, curling pheasants and partridges provide, while others place greater value on the scenery, the elevenses, the accommodation or the variety of sport on offer. A sense of wildness is also a key factor for many.

And so, the following is a list of twenty-five shoots that are regarded by a number of discerning and experienced game shots as places that simply stand out for a range of reasons. It is therefore by no means definitive, just a collection of shoots that are held in extremely high regard by those who have been fortunate enough to shoot there.

Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfries & Galloway 1

Drumlanrig, which is owned by the Duke of Buccleuch, is a sporting estate renowned for exceptionally high driven red-legged partridges and equally good pheasants.

Guns typically meet at the castle – which they also return to for lunch – before being ferried to their pegs at one of 25 named drives on the estate. Head keeper Rab Clark is renowned for providing each and every team of guns with birds that will test their skills (there are a number of drives at Drumlanrig that will test even the very best high bird specialists).

‘They produce birds unlike anywhere else in the country in my opinion,’ a well-known shooting instructor and sporting agent told me. ‘This is my all-time favourite pheasant and partridge shoot because it offers such a variety of sport in stunning surroundings.’

Signature drives include Slate Quarry and Humbyholm, both of which produce truly sensational birds. www.roxtons.com

Ellemford, Berwickshire 2

Ellemford is a pheasant shoot that offers the complete driven shooting experience – superb accommodation (the recently refurbished house has everything anyone could ever want from a shoot lodge, including a billiards room, well-stocked wine cellar, boot and gun room, dining table big enough for a full team of guns and their partners, comfortable en suite bedrooms and dog kennels), stunning scenery, great hospitality and a range of birds to suit guns of all abilities. But it is in the attention to detail and variety of shooting where this shoot really excels; head keeper David Harris and his team have an uncanny knack of making each and every gun feel like a VIP and old friend.

Superb elevenses and lunch – either taken in the field, in the recently refurbished main house or in a secluded Scandinavian-style log cabin overlooking a trout pond – are always memorable, and great thought has been put into the planning of each of the 20+ drives with each one offering something different. www.ellemfordestate.com

Glamis Castle, Angus 3

Set in spectacular Angus countryside, the ancestral homes of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, plus the setting for Macbeth, is regarded as a serious shoot with a wide range of sport on offer. Renowned for its steep valleys and hills, it has all the attributes that make for a memorable (and testing) day in the field. Fiery Pans is a truly spectacular drive with birds to satisfy the most eager of high bird shots. The setting at the historic castle, where guns meet for tea and to draw pegs, sets the tone for the day. www.glamis-castle.co.uk

‘I’ve shot here for ten years in a row now and no two days have been the same’

Bowmont Valley, Roxburghshire 4

One of several shoots run by Wilson Young of Eskdale Shooting Services, the 12,000-acre Bowmont Valley shoot is part of Roxburghe Estates near Kelso (owned by the Duke of Roxburghe), and boasts some of the most varied and testing pheasant and partridge shooting in all of Scotland.

The shoot is primarily set around a number of deep, steep valleys at the edge of a grouse moor which are ideal for showing stratospheric partridges and pheasants.

‘I’ve shot at Bowmont Valley for more than 10 years in a row now,’ commented one regular gun, ‘and no two days have been the same. Wilson and his team really know how to put on an exceptional day’s shooting, and, importantly, they match the day to the experience level of your team, so everyone leaves feeling like they have been tested without being belittled.’ www.gunsonpegs.com

Raehills, Dumfriesshire 5

Raehills Estate near Lockerbie, which has been the family home of the Earls of Annandale since the 17th century, boasts a beautiful house and 16,000 acres of varied ground, from moorland and hill ground to mature woodland and lush pastures in the Annan Valley.

Steep-sided valleys which bisect the rolling countryside provide the perfect setting and topography for showing high, challenging pheasants and partridges. With 22 drives on offer, this is a shoot that performs well in almost all conditions.

Guests have the option of staying in the main house with Lord and Lady Johnstone, which makes for a particularly special and memorable occasion. www.raehills.com

Phoines, Inverness-shire 6

In additional to the revered grouse moor which is expertly run by Mark Osborne of J. M. Osborne and Co. and William Powell Sporting, the established pheasant and partridge shoot at Phoines, which is reputedly one of the oldest in Scotland, is also held in extremely high regard by discerning game shots. With over 2,500 acres of steep woodland, and boasting more than 15 drives, there is a wide range of sport on offer, and all in truly spectacular surroundings.

Signature drives such as The Cave, The Old School House and the prolific Badger’s Hole are regarded as some of the very best in the country.

For parties staying overnight, there is the option of duck flighting on the marshes in the evening. www.phoinesestates.com

Fasque, Aberdeenshire 7

Located near the small town of Fettercairn in Aberdeenshire at the beginning of the famously beautiful and remote Cairn O’Mount road over the hill to Deeside, Fasque Estate is wellknown for the variety and quality of sport on offer, none more so than the driven pheasant shoot. With 25,000 acres of ground and boasting dramatic Highland scenery, Fasque is justifiably regarded by many to be among the very best driven shoots in the UK. Key drives see guns pegged in mature woodland with tall pheasants presented over narrow woodland rides, providing challenging and truly exciting sport.

Guns also have the option of taking thier lunch in the Great Hall in Balbegno Castle.

Borland & Whitehouse, Perthshire 8

It is said that this is where extreme pheasant shooting in Scotland began. More than 30 years ago, then head keeper and shoot manager Steve Andrews deliberately created a few seriously high drives on this excellent Perthshire shoot, resulting in stratospheric birds being shown to the guns below. Three decades on, exceptionally high pheasants are still being driven off heather tops and over steep, deep adjacent valleys and gullies, providing guns with eye-wateringly challenging shooting. Via Guns on Pegs or 07738 477332

Rawburn, Berwickshire 9

As is so often the case, it is the little-known gems that offer the greatest reward, and that is the case with Rawburn, a pheasant and partridge shoot owned and run by the Duke of Roxburghe. Days are reserved for the Duke, his family and friends, but top guns who have shot there report that this is a shoot that has it all – stunning scenery, perfect topography for presenting challenging birds, and hospitality of an equally impressive standard.

The Duke’s son, Ted Innes Ker, who runs Ossian Adventures, a bespoke high-end sporting agency based in Edinburgh, regards this as his all-time favourite pheasant and partridge shoot. Contact Roxburghe Estates office: 01573 223 333 sporting@f loorscastle.com

Kingsbeck, South Lanarkshire 10

Kingsbeck near Biggar is one of those rare shoots where guns are still invited into the main house rather than a shoot lodge or a bothy, making for a memorable start to the day. But it is in the shooting itself where this new and little known Lanarkshire shoot really excels.

‘After the first two or three flushes, I turned to our host beaming from ear to ear. If that was a sign of things to come we’d reached shooting Nirvana,’ said Scottish Field editor Richard Bath, who first shot at Kingsbeck last year. ‘The first drive and the last were my personal favourites but I think that was all to do with positioning. With a few more years under its belt, Kingsbeck will be hard to beat.’ Jon.McCosh@kingsbeck.co.uk

‘If that was a sign of things to come we’ve reached shooting nirvana’

Huntly Cot, Midlothian 11

The quirky but glorious Huntly Cot, on the edge of the Pentlands is the sort of shoot that you never forget. ‘As a polished operation, it is hard to beat,’ said experienced gun Gregor Rolfe.

Guns are received in a wonderful billiard room used almost exclusively as a shooting lodge, and driven to the peg in a gun bus with an in-built drinks cabinet. The grounds are kept in immaculate condition by estate owner Peter de Vink and his team, and the estate has been designed around shooting. Nothing is left to chance with head keeper Gareth Jones ensuring that the day runs like a Swiss watch.

‘In the right conditions you can get some cracking high birds,’ said gun Rory Kennedy. ‘Last year they put down a lot of partridge and the results were spectacular. It also has a two-drive grouse moor – very compact but run like a military operation to maximise every square foot.’

Hallrule, Roxburghshire 12

A lovely Georgian house greets the guns on arrival at Hallrule near Bonchester Bridge which is expertly run by Nicola and Stephen Brown. The drives are varied with birds being driven from a mixture of woodland and cover crops strategically positioned on hilltops to provide a mixture of snap-shooting, flushes and lovely high birds.

‘Having expressed my delight at the sport on offer as part of a small-bag day,’ said one gun who shot at Hallrule last season, ‘one picker-up remarked, “you should try one of the proper woods we have here!”. Apparently the record bag from one wood alone was 286. Had my diary permitted, I would certainly have taken another day there.’

‘We were provided with driven pheasant shooting at its best,’ added Sam Wilcox of Castle Gunmakers in Northumberland. ‘On all of the drives we were presented with high and beautifully-shown birds. The whole team agreed that it was the highlight of their season.’

Ashintully Castle, Perthshire 13

Nestling at the base of Glenshee is a Perthshire gem offering walked-up grouse, partridge and pheasant.

Set in over 3,000 acres of rolling countryside on the southern edge of the Cairngorms National Park, Ashintully’s terrain lends itself well to the presentation of challenging birds that will stretch even the most experienced teams.

Run by Hugo Holland-Bosworth – ‘an exceptionally genial, generous and relaxed host who used to race Austin-Healeys and enjoys ferrying round the guns at breakneck speed in his Pinzgauer truck’ – as much emphasis is placed on the hospitality as it is on the shooting itself, offering guns a fun and varied day out.

‘There are,’ says gun Will Holt, ‘some stratospheric pheasant drives which are, trust me on this, Devonesque tall, and more modest ones too, coupled with exhilarating partridge action.’

Lunch is either served in a recently converted steading boasting a wood burner and long dining table or, on the hill, in a recently refurbished bothy. www.ashintully.com

‘One particularly stunning drive sees partridges being driven off the top of sea cliffs with the guns pegged below’

Gelston Castle, Dumfriesshire 14

Gelston Castle estate is a 4,500-acre mixed farm near Castle Douglas which, for more than a century, has boasted a highly regarded pheasant and partridge shoot with a relaxed atmosphere and family feel. With a vast array of different drives to suit guns of all abilities, the shoot is not openly advertised, relying instead on mouth and repeat bookings to fill their three separate syndicates, which is testament to the quality of sport on offer.

‘One particularly stunning drive sees partridges being driven off the top of sea cliffs with the guns pegged below, making for truly spectacular and memorable shooting,’ said Patrick Galbraith, the editor of Shooting Times.

Ardmaddy Castle, Argyll 15

Hugo Struthers’ family shoot at Ardmaddy Castle – which sits on Loch Etive in a quiet, gentle corner of Argyll on the West Coast within half an hour of the harbour town of Oban – is a picturesque private affair offering the odd let day. Although bags tend to be modest, it is arguably best known for one iconic drive which sees pheasants being driven off huge bluffs above the sea loch. ‘It is one of those drives that you never forget,’ commented one regular gun. www.ardmaddy.com

The Isle of Muck, Inner Hebrides 16

Despite being only two miles long and a mile wide, with no church, no pub, only ten hours of electricity each day and a population of just 40 people, the Isle of Muck is home to a truly unique family shoot, which thanks to the input of man mountain Toby Fichtner-Irvine – the son-in-law of the charismatic Laird Lawrence McEwen, is rapidly becoming one of the finest in the UK.

Visiting guns generally take two days’ shooting, the first afternoon being a very informal ‘wild goose chase’ followed by walked-up snipe and, depending on the time of year, a woodcock drive (woodcock are abundant on Muck from the end of October onwards). The second day tends to be a more formal driven day taking in as many as eight short drives. Guns can expect to shoot up to eight different species including pheasant, partridge, mallard and teal. There are a variety of different styles of drive: out to sea, across a lochan, and at steepling birds coming off towering hills.

The views across to Rum and Eigg are stunning and you’re likely to see golden eagles soaring overhead. The only way onto the island is a launch from Arisaig, but once there the welcome is superb and the food prepared by Toby’s wife, Mary, is stunning. www.isleofmuck.com

‘On their best drive, the 39 Steps, a good team of guns will struggle to get 10:1’

Holylee, Scottish Borders 17

The 5,000-acre Holylee Estate between Walkerburn and Selkirk in the Borders boasts perfect topography for shooting: rolling hills interspersed with deep gorges over which seriously testing pheasants and partridges are presented by head keeper Graham White and his team.

With 30-35 named drives – including signature drive ‘Y Wood’ – Holylee offers truly diverse shooting to suit all abilities. However, it is perhaps the scenery that arguably makes a day at Holylee so memorable. ‘This is unquestionably a beautiful part of the country,’ says White, ‘which keeps our parties coming back year after year. We never have the need to advertise.’

Ardtaraig, Argyll 18

With their partridges released at 1,000ft into regenerated scrub and woodland before being driven like grouse with guns positioned in butts, Ardtaraig is a spectacular shoot. ‘Stunning scenery and phenomenal birds very well presented off high cliffs on the shores of Loch Striven,’ is how keen shot Charlie McMicking describes this shoot. ‘On their best drive, the 39 steps, a good team of guns will struggle to get to 10:1 in a gentle breeze - heaven help the averages if a proper West Coast day sets in. The keeper, Anton Lockett from Essex, maintains an iron discipline over the line so that a steady stream of very testing birds flies over all the guns in the line. Good banter with all - great team of pickers up. A proper day out. Good elevenses and a sit-down lunch with plenty of liquid reviver which is often required to lift flagging spirits. The gun bus is an old Finnish field ambulance which is driven by Robert Simpson who orchestrates the day’s entertainment.’

Balgray, Dumfriesshire 19

Owned by Michael Jardine-Paterson and run by sporting agent Stuart Robertson of South West Sporting Scotland, this 6,500acre off-the-grid shoot in Dumfriesshire is a hidden gem boasting truly challenging shooting and superb lodgings and hospitality in Balgray House, a 70-room stately home. Elevenses involves a nip of Michael’s homemade plum gin or blackberry whisky, and a hearty lunch includes homemade game pie and soup.

Notable drives include Millrigs, Fiddle Crop, Cleugh Heads and Oak Bank, all of which see a range of pheasants presented to suit all abilities. Michael’s favourite is Balgray Belcathill, which he says is ‘awesome on a south westerly wind’.

‘A great team of people runs the operation and the days are always fun, which is important’

Aberuchill Castle, Perthshire 20

Aberuchill Castle and estate, which is owned by Vladimir Lisin, a member of Russia’s super-rich elite, covers 3,300 acres of heather-clad hills and mature Caledonian woodland overlooking Loch Earn near the village of Comrie in Perthshire. Although the castle was ravaged by a fire a few years ago, it has been meticulously rebuilt and restored by Lisin. In addition, considerable investment has been put into maintaining and improving the estate’s sporting potential with over 500 acres of woodland planted in recent years.

The shoot itself, which boasts 16 drives, is run by top game shot and shooting instructor Andy Castle of West London Shooting School fame. According to those in the know, the quality of the sport on offer to guests is on a par with the breathtaking scenery.

Kelburn Castle, Ayrshire 22

Kelburn, near Largs, has stunning views over the Firth of Clyde and is owned by Patrick Boyle, 10th Earl of Glasgow. The shoot is overseen by Boyle, son David and head gamekeeper David Leith. The highlight is Kelburn Glen, a soaring drive by the waterfall near the graffiti-covered castle, but Craigielee, Kilbirnie Mount and Pointswood are also challenging. The shoot is characterised by steep gulleys, towering birds and a short time in which to aim and shoot, so favours snap shots. Guns can stay in the castle.

Pearsie, Angus 21

At just under 4,000 acres, this beautiful yet compact estate at the foot of Glen Prosen is largely lowland but still produces some of the best birds in the country. Its signature drive is Stalingrad (the original wood was planted in 1943), but of the other 19 drives Nether is good for high curling pheasants, while the partridges on Catlaw – one of the Grampian foothills rising to 2,201ft – are outstanding. The sentiments of one regular visitor sums the place up well. ‘I’ve shot at Pearsie several times since 2012 and it always delivers good birds and excellent hospitality. A great team of people runs the operation, and days are always fun, which is important.’ Accommodation is available in Pearsie Lodge, which sleeps up to 16.

‘This is really dramatic and rugged countryside’

Glenogil, Angus 23

This pristine 3,000-acre estate is known for its grouse moor, but it also boasts a lovely pheasant shoot. Excellent drives such as The Beaches, The Chair, Glenley, Keillor and St Arnolds take advantage of the deep gullies which produce excellent and challenging sport, with some of the best red leg partridge shooting in Scotland. www.glenogilestate.com

Drynachan, Moray 24

Part of the 42,000-acre Cawdor Castle estate owned by Lord Cawdor, Drynachan is one of the country’s premier partridge shoots. Drives such as Red Burn, Daless and Peat Road provide testing high partridge to compare with any in the UK. With stunning scenery that takes in picturesque heather-clad hills, moorland ravines and gulleys – not to mention the Findhorn, a prime salmon river which meanders through the estate – each day on this immaculately-run shoot ends with the ritual of head keeper Roddy Forbes and his team laying out all the birds shot that day, providing the perfect photo opportunity. Teams traditionally stay at the extremely comfortable Drynachan Lodge, the epicentre of the shoot, a pretty pink lodge which can accommodate up to 22 guests and comes with a full-time chef. www.roxtons.com

Ralia, Cairngorms 25

Alasdair and James Findlay’s wonderful 22,000-acre estate in the Cairngorms is one of the best-known partridge and pheasant shoots in the Highlands, and for good reason. With birds arcing in from high in the munro-laden Drumochter Hills near Glenshee, the shooting can be memorably testing. ‘Heading up towards the Drumochter Pass you see the grouse butts at 2,700ft, so this is really dramatic, rugged countryside with heather moorland and steep woodland banks that produce fast-moving, highflying birds, but which isn’t for anyone who isn’t physically fit,’ says Scottish Field editor Richard Bath.

Most guests stay and eat in Ralia Lodge, a classic eightbedroom Victorian shooting lodge that sits in a sheltered position with views across to the Monadhliath Mountains.

With head keeper Alastair Lyon running a tight ship, Ralia also offer grouse shooting, stalking, and rough days which can also include ptarmigan, woodcock, geese, hare and duck. www georgegoldsmith.com