There is always something very special about hunting wild quarry, and South Africa is a place that excels at this. From rock pigeon shooting over sunflower fields to walked-up upland game and exceptional wildfowl shooting, this country offers some of the world’s most exciting shooting for exceptional value.
Glen Guinea Lodge
We have been working closely with the Van Rooyen family who operate in the Free State some two hours transfer from Johannesburg airport. The family have been in the business for many years and have now invested in redeveloping Glen Guinea lodge, set in the heart of their game farm, offering 10 beautifully appointed en-suite bedrooms.
Surrounding the lodge are thousands of acres of open plains and arable fields that naturally support large numbers of upland game birds, notably guinea fowl, quail, orange river Francolin and spur fowl. These birds are carefully managed, enabling them to offer first-class walk-up shooting over well-trained German Shorthaired Pointers, a very special experience. They are also well located close by to the Vaal River and dam, which offers some of the best wildfowl shooting anywhere in South Africa; the numbers are quite staggering. For the upland game shooting, guns are restricted to 10 birds per day per person, with the same limit applying to wildfowl, ensuring sustainability.
Rock Pigeon Shooting
This March and April we arranged parties to go out specifically for Rock Pigeon shooting. Shooting takes place close to nearby town of Sasolburg, which has a large sunflower oil processing plant, and the fields in the surrounding area are heavily planted with sunflowers to supply it. Whilst there is no closed season, in fact they are classified as a pest species, and can account for losses of up to 30% of the sunflower crop. The numbers really build flighting to the fields to coincide with the crops ripening and the coming harvest, as the flower heads blacken and the seeds become loose through March and April.
Naturally being wild quarry, the key to success is firstly having access to vast areas of ground with the right crops and having good connections with the local farming community, which Jacques Van Rooyen excels at, with his family have farmed the area since the 1800s. Secondly is ensuring the areas are well scouted to pinpoint flight lines, times, locations and which fields are at the right stage of ripening to attract the pigeon in big numbers.
For those that haven’t shot rock pigeon, I can assure you that they are a particularly challenging and fun quarry to shoot, offering a huge variety of shots, from high incoming birds and long crossing birds, a little like grouse, to fast jinking, acrobatic lines, especially on your second shot. They tend to come in packs, and the numbers build through the morning until you can have thousands of birds circling and pitching in. The birds can be so intent on feeding, that the team on the ground use a team of beaters, moving through the fields and nearby areas to keep the birds on the move and when the conditions are right the shooting can be intense. Jacques employs a shooting manager Wolter Brennink, aka “Woutie”, who is their in-house gun dog trainer and handler and his passion for shooting and his dogs is infectious. He is key to the operation in the field, often using a drone to move birds and scout nearby fields, to try and ensure our guests are best placed to maximise their experience. The team also use pigeon magnets or “whirlies”, which were incredibly effective at turning the birds and upping the sport.
This year, while renovations were being completed on Glen Guinea Lodge, we were using a temporary accommodation set up at Francolin Creek, a simple farmstead lodge, with a great atmosphere. Since the birds hit different fields at different times, it is very difficult to predict where the birds will be feeding in any given week. During our visit the birds were hitting fields around 50-minute drive from the lodge, but this can vary greatly and next year when we are in the new lodge, we will be around 20 minutes closer to the prime fields.
We tended to opt for early starts, as the pigeons were busiest in the mornings, and the peak action was between 12pm to 3pm, after which the birds tended to head back to roost, and the sport quickly died off. Initially the flight times were later, and we enjoyed a more leisurely start, stopped for a long lunch in the gazebo and carried on well into the afternoon. But we quickly had to adjust these plans to maximise the shooting, instead opting to bring packed lunches to the hides, shoot through and then have a long sundowner before heading back to the lodge.
What to Expect in 2027
Teams joining us in 2027 should expect that itineraries can change at the drop of a hat, in order to maximise the sport, subject to the flight times and weather conditions. This is a wild quarry and as such can be unpredictable; on occasion we would set up a field that was busy, only to up sticks quickly and relocate, to another area. This is all part of the challenge. We also found that when the weather was good (warm and sunny) the flight of birds was heaviest and sport was epic, but on the days when we had rain in the mornings this did seem to limit the flight of the birds and guests should expect that not all the sessions will be busy. As with all wild bird hunting, the conditions on any given day play the largest role in success.
At the start of the trip guests pulled a “peg number” for their supply box, this number would stay with them throughout the trip and was stocked each day with cartridges, and a small cool bag with drinks and snacks, which would be waiting for them next to their shooting seat in the hide with their chosen gun, ready for action. At the end of the trip, each individual’s cartridge tally is accurately recorded. For this season, Jacques purchased all new Beretta Silver Pigeon over and unders as well as 5 shot semi autos, which were hugely popular and fun to use. Travelling with guns can add a layer of hassle, and unless you are notably tall or short, hiring guns would be my recommendation, although we can arrange all the necessary permits to bring your own.
At the start of each trip, we set up a team WhatsApp group, so it was easy to communicate in the field, to report bird sightings, request more drinks or cartridges, get yourself moved if the sport was slow, and of course to keep up the team banter! It can be a long day sitting in a pigeon hide, and it’s a less sociable activity than driven game shooting. But lunches, sundowners and fun evenings at the lodge provided plenty of camaraderie for groups.
Due to the overnight flights to and from Heathrow, and the lodges proximity to Johannesburg, this trip lends itself very well to short breaks away, maximising the fun and action. We can tailor the trips for all groups, but we found that a half day shooting on arrival, two full days and a half day on departure was a good amount of shooting purely on the pigeon, with some parties opting for three full days with two half days. The prime time for rock pigeon shooting trips to South Africa is March and April. The first few weeks in May offers a golden window for mixed sport, with wildfowling, walked up upland game over pointers, driven guinea fowl and the tail-end of the rock pigeon season, resulting in a fantastic trip with huge variety, and I can highly recommend it. From mid-May through to mid-September, we are only offering Upland game shooting and wildfowl packages, where I would recommend a minimum of three full days, plus the half days on arrival and departure.
We can also tailor onward travel, and we will be offering “cast and blast” trips incorporating pigeon or upland game followed by two or three days big game fishing in Mozambique, just a short flight to Vilankulos from Johannesburg. Prime time to target Marlin is September, but in March, April and May, sailfish, tuna, king mackerel dorado are all on the menu, and the chance of a GT on the popper. There is a good range of hotels to suit budget, including a boutique five-star 5-bedroom hotel right on the beach, where the boat picks us up from. Vilankulos is a stunning unspoiled part of Mozambique, and this is a seriously fun combination.
We also had one group opting to travel up to Limpopo, for some plains game hunting, Limpopo a stunning area to hunt in classic bush veld, staying at a beautiful lodge, with an experienced PH and trackers.
Why Choose South Africa for Your Next Wild Bird Shooting Trip
South Africa has so much to offer, and there are numerous private game reserves that we can pair up with for a few days game viewing to experience the classic African safari experience as a bolt on. This is a great thing to offer couples, with non-shooters doing a separate itinerary and all meeting up for a safari at the end.
With the trips offering such great value, especially against driven shooting these days, it really is fun to try something a little different. With easy direct flights, shooting on the days of arrival and departure and the same time zone, arranging a wild bird shooting trip to South Africa really couldn’t be simpler, and you can pack a lot in to a short trip!
For 2027 we are planning some more hosted trips for individual guns, as well as private teams, which is perfect for 6 to 10 guests. In September we will be looking at 4 guest parties for the marlin and upland game shooting. Please contact James.dent@roxtons.com to register your interest for next year.
