10/02/09 - John Duncan reports on the UK season at its close.

The 2008-09 shooting season was another hugely successful one, despite the worldwide gloom that cast a large shadow over much of the year.

Many grouse moors recorded bumper bags and some owners are very optimistic about next season, due largely to low worm counts and the fact that they feel they got their management right. The current snow falls following a hard winter should help this optimism lead to another fruitful season.

Game farmers and keepers will also be hoping that after two tricky years the powers that be will be looking down more favourably on them this year. The wet weather really made things very difficult through the 'summer' - game crops were tough to establish and when it came to releasing it was hard to believe that conditions were worse than the awful preceding summer. So persistent was the wet weather that one of the latest harvests in living memory was recorded. Some estates wisely chose to postpone their early days and some were left regretting that they hadn't!

The pheasant season started slightly earlier than in normal years on some shoots - mainly due to problems with their partridges, but all in all the majority of estates fared well. There were cracking days throughout the country, but January came with mixed blessings - some estates appeared to run a little thin whereas others were reporting a very good end to the season and some large bags of cock birds were shot on 'beaters days' up and down the country.

As always, no sooner does one season end, then another starts and we are already seeing good demand from the US and Europe with clients keen to make full use of the current exchange rates. The letting market will be difficult as clients are still looking to keep their best days on the top estates, but are considering reducing the overall number of days they take. Only time will tell how things pan out. As we know, estate owners will soon have to start making commitments to their game farmers so if there is a lack of demand then this will inevitably lead to a cut back on release programmes for the coming season.

It is still the case that if you want a day on the best shoots then it is imperative to book early in order to secure your dates. Indeed some shoots are already reporting full order books for the season ahead.

Do please call us soon to discuss options and book your shooting for next season.