By Simon K. Barr
Photos by Sarah Farnsworth
Driven snipe shooting in Devon
M
aybe it’s down to the difficultly level? Perhaps it’s because they are totally wild? Or maybe it’s the feeling of sporting nostalgia? Either way, shooting a wisp of common snipe is a lifeaffirming pastime. It is wholesome, testing and gratifying. And it is something that has been done for hundreds of years in this remote corner of Devon. The Tamar
Valley welcomes a huge number of the waders each season due to numerous herds of cattle creating a perfect habitat for them. It is not uncommon to see 100 snipe lift from a pasture field with a few rasps of a flag. Managed by life-long gamekeeper Jeff Reynolds, the season opens in August but he does not start harvesting until mid-November onwards in a bid to target only migrating snipe – not the
resident breeding stock. “Wild snipe are a precious natural resource and need to be managed sensitively and carefully,” explains Jeff, adding: “A week before Guns arrive, I rally the troops to conduct a count by walking the ground and gauging numbers. We are careful to manage Guns’ expectations and are proud to welcome those that see the merit in shooting small, hard-gained bags.” To put numbers into perspective, in the UK there are 80,000 breeding pairs, with one million birds wintering here. Jeff manages 25,000 acres of farmland and bogs, flight ponds and tussocky moorland and shoots just 150 for the season.
More snipe are shot at than hit
The day started with the team of six Guns congregating outside the hotel’s historically listed cock-fighting pit
The term snipe hunt, when used figuratively, means a fool’s errand, a hopeless cause, the pursuit of something that is unattainable. With a flight speed of up to 60mph and an erratic, jinking flight path they are tricky gamebirds to connect with. A great many more are shot at than are
Irish Country Sports and Country Life Spring 2022
59
