One thing that the sport of shooting knows all about and that’s safety. Like thousands of shoots up and down the UK, the Steventon Shoot in Hampshire has come up with superb coronavirus-safety measures. Roy Lupton has a day’s partridge shooting there with guns including Shooting Times editor Patrick Galbraith and Olympic medallist Steve Scott. Find out what driven gameshooting in the 2020/21 season is like.
What has the Steventon shoot done to make their shooting safe from the epidemic? the aim is to make the safety understated but effective.
There’s some paperwork. You fill out a contact form before you arrive for the Track & Trace Register, plus you get an info pack by email including guidance notes and protocols. And there’s a health check. Shoot staff take your temperature before you get out of your car.
The briefing prior to shooting is a little longer than usual and all of the usual, with more emphasis on how not to infect each other. As well as checks on shooting experience, and shotgun license, they want to make sure that you don’t have:
- A temperature greater than or equal to 37.8oC or
- A new, continuous cough or
- A loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste.
On the shoot itself, exoect to use and see face masks, hand sanitisers and minimal physical contact. You don’t have to wear a mask when shooting – pegs are socially distanced enough.
The shoot provides safe reception areas on arrival for the shoot briefing over coffee (single use disposable cups) plus sufficient spacing for social distancing as required and face masks/sanitisers for those who forget.
The shoot expects that, this year, some teams may wish to ‘shoot through’ and skip the shoot lunch altogether. However, its caterers have undertaken the necessary works to ensure that the shoot’s normal level of hospitality can be provided in a safe fashion and in compliance with social distancing and safe working practices. This is so guns can enjoy the whole day as usual.
There are extra gun buses for guns travelling around the shoot, or they can use your own 4×4.
“Due to these arrangements you will notice a few differences this season,” says Steventon’s Keith Gorsuch. “However your shoot day in general terms will be much the same as usual.”
For more about the Steventon and Farleigh Wallop shoots, visit SportingGameServices.co.uk – and take part in the 2020/21 prize draws to win shooting there.
