So You Want To Be A Keeper???

[gonetoearth 5,144]

 

 

 

I think a lot of young lads getting into it also overlook the people you will be working for/with.

 

Most, and ive met a lot and know a lot, of keepers are f*****g arseholes you wouldn't give the time of day to if it weren't for their job

 

Arrogant, obnoxious, bordering on bullys some times.

 

Its as if because they were treated like shit as a trainee/underkeeper they make it their mission in life once they have become 'headkeeper' to make anyone under them go through the same shit.

 

Ive known of trainee keepers who were given 2 days off a year (yes 2 ) either xmas eve and xmas day or new years eve/new years day.

 

That's no life, and there aren't many lads who would hack that for long enough to get a leg up somewhere else.

 

Then you get the 'job creationists' who think it is wrong for the young lads to have any down time, will create jobs when there isn't much on just so they are occupied.

 

IMO anyone getting into it needs to have a real think about the above and if you are mentally strong enough to put up with a good few years of shit then go for it.

 

Who knows, you might even be able to get a bit of shooting done

Out of the dozens of keepers I have met only a handful have been decent lads the majority are arrogant pricks that think they are gods ..........

. Socks you meet a keeper. Have a chat then some were down the line. Eventualy eh dont suppose i culd go ferreting lol. Its simple. Go beating offer to help out build up a freundship it not rocket sience lads.

Miles off the mark fella I meet keepers through my job where the estate manager has called me in to sort out their rabbit problem and as I stated most are arrogant pricks ........

yeh so every keeper in GB is an arrogant prick bar none

[socks 32,253]

 

 

 

 

I think a lot of young lads getting into it also overlook the people you will be working for/with.

 

Most, and ive met a lot and know a lot, of keepers are f*****g arseholes you wouldn't give the time of day to if it weren't for their job

 

Arrogant, obnoxious, bordering on bullys some times.

 

Its as if because they were treated like shit as a trainee/underkeeper they make it their mission in life once they have become 'headkeeper' to make anyone under them go through the same shit.

 

Ive known of trainee keepers who were given 2 days off a year (yes 2 ) either xmas eve and xmas day or new years eve/new years day.

 

That's no life, and there aren't many lads who would hack that for long enough to get a leg up somewhere else.

 

Then you get the 'job creationists' who think it is wrong for the young lads to have any down time, will create jobs when there isn't much on just so they are occupied.

 

IMO anyone getting into it needs to have a real think about the above and if you are mentally strong enough to put up with a good few years of shit then go for it.

 

Who knows, you might even be able to get a bit of shooting done

Out of the dozens of keepers I have met only a handful have been decent lads the majority are arrogant pricks that think they are gods ..........

. Socks you meet a keeper. Have a chat then some were down the line. Eventualy eh dont suppose i culd go ferreting lol. Its simple. Go beating offer to help out build up a freundship it not rocket sience lads.

Miles off the mark fella I meet keepers through my job where the estate manager has called me in to sort out their rabbit problem and as I stated most are arrogant pricks ........

yeh so every keeper in GB is an arrogant prick bar none

Put your dummy back in and read what I originally wrote .........

[gonetoearth 5,144]

No GTE, you have it wrong. I work with and for keepers every day, have close friends who are keepers and family members who are keepers.

 

I just attribute it down to living a life of solitude and isolation from the real world slowly eats away at your social skills until you have none left

 

I have no bias or axe to grind, just saying it how it is.

 

. So every one you know bar none is an arrogant prick , ill have to start up a school for social graces run for keepers seems to be there might be a market for it , Funny though 99 .9 % of beaters. Can do it better lol

[gonetoearth 5,144]

 

 

 

 

 

I think a lot of young lads getting into it also overlook the people you will be working for/with.

 

Most, and ive met a lot and know a lot, of keepers are f*****g arseholes you wouldn't give the time of day to if it weren't for their job

 

Arrogant, obnoxious, bordering on bullys some times.

 

Its as if because they were treated like shit as a trainee/underkeeper they make it their mission in life once they have become 'headkeeper' to make anyone under them go through the same shit.

 

Ive known of trainee keepers who were given 2 days off a year (yes 2 ) either xmas eve and xmas day or new years eve/new years day.

 

That's no life, and there aren't many lads who would hack that for long enough to get a leg up somewhere else.

 

Then you get the 'job creationists' who think it is wrong for the young lads to have any down time, will create jobs when there isn't much on just so they are occupied.

 

IMO anyone getting into it needs to have a real think about the above and if you are mentally strong enough to put up with a good few years of shit then go for it.

 

Who knows, you might even be able to get a bit of shooting done

Out of the dozens of keepers I have met only a handful have been decent lads the majority are arrogant pricks that think they are gods ..........

. Socks you meet a keeper. Have a chat then some were down the line. Eventualy eh dont suppose i culd go ferreting lol. Its simple. Go beating offer to help out build up a freundship it not rocket sience lads.

Miles off the mark fella I meet keepers through my job where the estate manager has called me in to sort out their rabbit problem and as I stated most are arrogant pricks ........

yeh so every keeper in GB is an arrogant prick bar none

Put your dummy back in and read what I originally wrote .........

. Aint dropped it just hard communicating with some

[gonetoearth 5,144]

 

 

 

 

 

I think a lot of young lads getting into it also overlook the people you will be working for/with.

 

Most, and ive met a lot and know a lot, of keepers are f*****g arseholes you wouldn't give the time of day to if it weren't for their job

 

Arrogant, obnoxious, bordering on bullys some times.

 

Its as if because they were treated like shit as a trainee/underkeeper they make it their mission in life once they have become 'headkeeper' to make anyone under them go through the same shit.

 

Ive known of trainee keepers who were given 2 days off a year (yes 2 ) either xmas eve and xmas day or new years eve/new years day.

 

That's no life, and there aren't many lads who would hack that for long enough to get a leg up somewhere else.

 

Then you get the 'job creationists' who think it is wrong for the young lads to have any down time, will create jobs when there isn't much on just so they are occupied.

 

IMO anyone getting into it needs to have a real think about the above and if you are mentally strong enough to put up with a good few years of shit then go for it.

 

Who knows, you might even be able to get a bit of shooting done

Out of the dozens of keepers I have met only a handful have been decent lads the majority are arrogant pricks that think they are gods ..........

. Socks you meet a keeper. Have a chat then some were down the line. Eventualy eh dont suppose i culd go ferreting lol. Its simple. Go beating offer to help out build up a freundship it not rocket sience lads.

Miles off the mark fella I meet keepers through my job where the estate manager has called me in to sort out their rabbit problem and as I stated most are arrogant pricks ........

yeh so every keeper in GB is an arrogant prick bar none

Put your dummy back in and read what I originally wrote .........

. And that wasnt aimed at you anyway

[socks 32,253]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think a lot of young lads getting into it also overlook the people you will be working for/with.

 

Most, and ive met a lot and know a lot, of keepers are f*****g arseholes you wouldn't give the time of day to if it weren't for their job

 

Arrogant, obnoxious, bordering on bullys some times.

 

Its as if because they were treated like shit as a trainee/underkeeper they make it their mission in life once they have become 'headkeeper' to make anyone under them go through the same shit.

 

Ive known of trainee keepers who were given 2 days off a year (yes 2 ) either xmas eve and xmas day or new years eve/new years day.

 

That's no life, and there aren't many lads who would hack that for long enough to get a leg up somewhere else.

 

Then you get the 'job creationists' who think it is wrong for the young lads to have any down time, will create jobs when there isn't much on just so they are occupied.

 

IMO anyone getting into it needs to have a real think about the above and if you are mentally strong enough to put up with a good few years of shit then go for it.

 

Who knows, you might even be able to get a bit of shooting done

Out of the dozens of keepers I have met only a handful have been decent lads the majority are arrogant pricks that think they are gods ..........

. Socks you meet a keeper. Have a chat then some were down the line. Eventualy eh dont suppose i culd go ferreting lol. Its simple. Go beating offer to help out build up a freundship it not rocket sience lads.

Miles off the mark fella I meet keepers through my job where the estate manager has called me in to sort out their rabbit problem and as I stated most are arrogant pricks ........

yeh so every keeper in GB is an arrogant prick bar none

Put your dummy back in and read what I originally wrote .........

. And that wasnt aimed at you anyway

Lol you quoted me in mate .........

[gonetoearth 5,144]

Was meant for bodmin lol , thing is the modern keeper is miles apart from the ones i grew up with arrogant no. Grumpy old twats yes Gods none. Lords of there own little world yes , the days of doff your cap are well gone as is the notion of one for the pot poachers. The world has changed and left some behind not a bad thing as people pay a lot to escape the rat race and what better way than step back for a couple of hours were people still have a few social graces unless your a beater and. Its " WAVE THAT FOOKING FLAG "

[perthshire keeper 1,237]

well ive wanted to be a keeper for a long time since about 10 year old

 

so i went to newton rigg and done very well best attendance record in the history of the course ect ect

as part of my course i had a 6 week work placement on a estate in perthshire (between sterling and creiff in the " small glen")

now i worked my balls off on the placement as i was with a lad on the placement called ron..this placent was my only inside in to the keepering world i knew no keepers or shoots out side this one place so i had to make a mark... we had the first 3 weekends off...i worked all weekend when ron didnt... i was out till dark building the rearing field every night,, trapping moles on the bosses garden.. in short i done a LOT of brown nosing..

 

now when our placement was up we had 6 weeks back at collage and then that was it in to the big wide world....but lucky us we were both offerd to come back after collage and work the summer out.. but for all kinds of reasons ron couldent be arsed comeing back up so i went on my own with a freind of mine..he lasted the rearing season and then went home and i stayed on to put birds to wood....then one day after a week of having birds to wood i got called into the estate office and i was bricking it thinking i had f****d up!

 

mark said.. that he and andy had been talking and they wanted to offer me a under-keepers job would i like it? would i like it? WOULD I f*****g LIKE IT! :boogy:

 

erm yes!

 

and so it was.. i was now a under keeper... a real life game keeper i worked my balls off that year had 5 days off to come home and 2 days at christmas worked till i was asleep on my feet lamped 4 nights a week. stalking evenings and mornings and sitting out for vermin... feeding MY drives like feck dogging in till my feet bled and getting to know every one local.. happy as a pig in shit..

and it went on for 5 years but every year i ended up doing more and more of the work feeding all the drives feeding all the rearing filed catching up with just the poles for help.... in short i was doig every thing the head man should have been.. calling beaters telling the boss what drives to do in a day...

worked my self to illness just about lost 5 stone in 2 years.. for £120 a week and i got no dog food allowance no clothign allowance and no ammo allowance i got the odd box of shells or the odd box off 22rimmy bullets...and NO share of the substantial tips from 50-60 days shooting!!!

 

it was hard..very hard.. and a few times the only thing that kept me going was a potato field that had been to wet to harvest and rabbits it was like being back in the victorian days!

i had to save all i could for waterproofs and stuff like shirts and even a new suit from my own pocket..

i sold crows. magpie jackdaws wings jackdaw scalps.. magpie tails squirrel tails and skins...hare masks...mole skins weasel tails and pheasant tail feather and cul de canard from mallard.. and scrimping and sending off boxes of feather paid for a lot of stuff i would not have got otherwise like a wee motorbike for transport as all i had was a pushbike and a 15 mile round trip to Tesco.

 

th the end of the fifth year i was in the yard filling up sacks of wheat when the landrover went flying past and down the lane......and i got a phone call... to go to the office "a**y has been sacked its no good neil he isnt pulling his weight and it has not gone un-noticed" and that was the head mans last season with us. he was man i had and still have boundless respect....for even thou he never pulled his weight.. he gave me a chance to shine and was the voice of reason with the boss.. he was a good keeper...but had given up

abd fir the rest of that season he done nothing....he showed up on shoot days and that was it.. so again i seen my chance to shine and knuckled down realy realy hard. hoping for the head mans job

 

the seasons had been getting better and better we busted the estate record with a day of 1474 birds...and the season tally was the best it had been for a lot of years.... and i caught up 800 hens for sale too at the end of the season..

 

mark put the job in the shooting times and interviewed 3 for the job even thou i had asked to be considered for the job and he said i was being considered.

i was offerd a stalkers job and a beat keepers job that year but turned them down to stick with the shoot

 

the head keeprs job ended up going to a freind of the bosses son.... i think theirs was some favors to a friend done their but never mind so i stayed on turning down one more job as i had been asked to stay by the boss. i got a pay rise and a few perks and was promised a cut of the tips.. the summer came and went with me doing more than my share...and taking more than my share of blame for f**k-ups..

 

and the boss fell out with his brother so we lost the rent on that ground effectively halving the shoot.. we had to stop shooting the forestry for a season too to that was 2 drives and 3000 birds down...and about Christmas time i was told the inevitable... was going to be paid off at the end of the season... 6 years of hard work. suffering in a cold leaky caravan shitting in a hole in the woods for 4 month of the year and no running water for 4 month...hunger and poor wages.. no social life no personal life no love life...

 

 

ive cried twice in the last 10 years...that day was one of them....

 

 

and shane the head man knew and was suposed to be my mate he could have f*****g gave me a pre warning but nope... and i have a sneaky feeling i was only kept on after the old head man to show shane the ropes and introduce him to the beaters and pickers up...

now they have lost half the beating team..and pickers up.. the old regulars who have been their for 20 years have gone..and the shoot is going down hill the birds are their but the small things aint... the fixed fences and new styles. and dog gates.. the tunnel trapping and fox snaring... the deer staking is all non existent... pest control is just a flick with the lamp once a fortnight...the relationship with locals and farmers has gone.

 

i turned down a job 3 times that year hoping for some thing else...what a mistake that was too

 

beaters day was heart breaking.. my send of was a good one thou a lot of the beaters got teary eyed and good byes were said my freinds... freinds of the highest order.. i had been their for em in good times and bad.. a bed for em in divorce and burid a few of em too..i made some good freinds in good places..tam parker..andy cullen from lochian gun dogs..gragham hunter the head KNOBS man for scotland..willie drummond...robert and john johnson from polmise gundogs...the late great jimmy blair...and sandy and jim metcalf the ghillies on kinkell bridge salmon beat..adam stevenson the scotish champ fighter. all good frinds for life..all part of the beating and picking up team.

 

not to mention the legendary nigel carter and Eck from braco castle who i am privileged to know...and the mad bunch of feckers from sterling.airth.falling...and tullibody!

 

 

would i do it all again? would i go back tomorrow? YES!! YES! YES!

 

and as for keepers being pricks? their is a certain aura that goes with the job people look to to you for advice and as soon as its known your a keeper then your instantly taken for a expert of all things countryside. and i fecking loved it never more proud in my life than when i put on that tweed suit and strutted my stuff... but i was never ant thing other than polite and professional with every one i met. i was told by my old head man that i was a direct representative for the estate and him. every thing i said and done even to poachers is done by and for the estate.

 

was it not king of the game keepers that said " god helps those that helps them selves..but god help any man i catch helping them selves to my birds"

Edited February 21, 2014 by perthshire keeper

[foxdropper 17,092]

Spot on mate .It takes a certain type of youngster to go into the job i find .The arrogant big headed types are not usually tolerated by those who are used to their own company .Best to talk an bit and listen a lot .Those that believe all keepers are arrogant are probably that way inclined too and have rubbed them up the wrong way at sometime.Good and bad in every trade but keepering has to be one of the few trades where a mans character is pushed from one extreme to another .I left the job because i was travelling 60 miles a day round trip and never saw the family growing up .I replaced a keeper who was sacked for shooting his own birds and selling them at market.He had a tied cottage which should of been mine but he basically squat in it for 3 years solid .Had to put the estate on the spot eventually but no resolution so i left .Did i enjoy the life, you bet i did .I look back now though and realise ive done far more with my life than i ever would have in service .The love of the outdoors and field sports is not enough justification for anyone to get a keepers job IMO.Its a way of life not suited to every countryman

[perthshire keeper 1,237]

P.S...... 28,024 head shot in 5 seasons.....bet that f****r

ime not bitter

[gonetoearth 5,144]

well ive wanted to be a keeper for a long time since about 10 year old

 

so i went to newton rigg and done very well best attendance record in the history of the course ect ect

as part of my course i had a 6 week work placement on a estate in perthshire (between sterling and creiff in the " small glen")

now i worked my balls off on the placement as i was with a lad on the placement called ron..this placent was my only inside in to the keepering world i knew no keepers or shoots out side this one place so i had to make a mark... we had the first 3 weekends off...i worked all weekend when ron didnt... i was out till dark building the rearing field every night,, trapping moles on the bosses garden.. in short i done a LOT of brown nosing..

 

now when our placement was up we had 6 weeks back at collage and then that was it in to the big wide world....but lucky us we were both offerd to come back after collage and work the summer out.. but for all kinds of reasons ron couldent be arsed comeing back up so i went on my own with a freind of mine..he lasted the rearing season and then went home and i stayed on to put birds to wood....then one day after a week of having birds to wood i got called into the estate office and i was bricking it thinking i had f****d up!

 

mark said.. that he and andy had been talking and they wanted to offer me a under-keepers job would i like it? would i like it? WOULD I f*****g LIKE IT! :boogy:

 

erm yes!

 

and so it was.. i was now a under keeper... a real life game keeper i worked my balls off that year had 5 days off to come home and 2 days at christmas worked till i was asleep on my feet lamped 4 nights a week. stalking evenings and mornings and sitting out for vermin... feeding MY drives like feck dogging in till my feet bled and getting to know every one local.. happy as a pig in shit..

and it went on for 5 years but every year i ended up doing more and more of the work feeding all the drives feeding all the rearing filed catching up with just the poles for help.... in short i was doig every thing the head man should have been.. calling beaters telling the boss what drives to do in a day...

worked my self to illness just about lost 5 stone in 2 years.. for £120 a week and i got no dog food allowance no clothign allowance and no ammo allowance i got the odd box of shells or the odd box off 22rimmy bullets...and NO share of the substantial tips from 50-60 days shooting!!!

 

it was hard..very hard.. and a few times the only thing that kept me going was a potato field that had been to wet to harvest and rabbits it was like being back in the victorian days!

i had to save all i could for waterproofs and stuff like shirts and even a new suit from my own pocket..

i sold crows. magpie jackdaws wings jackdaw scalps.. magpie tails squirrel tails and skins...hare masks...mole skins weasel tails and pheasant tail feather and cul de canard from mallard.. and scrimping and sending off boxes of feather paid for a lot of stuff i would not have got otherwise like a wee motorbike for transport as all i had was a pushbike and a 15 mile round trip to Tesco.

 

th the end of the fifth year i was in the yard filling up sacks of wheat when the landrover went flying past and down the lane......and i got a phone call... to go to the office "a**y has been sacked its no good neil he isnt pulling his weight and it has not gone un-noticed" and that was the head mans last season with us. he was man i had and still have boundless respect....for even thou he never pulled his weight.. he gave me a chance to shine and was the voice of reason with the boss.. he was a good keeper...but had given up

abd fir the rest of that season he done nothing....he showed up on shoot days and that was it.. so again i seen my chance to shine and knuckled down realy realy hard. hoping for the head mans job

 

the seasons had been getting better and better we busted the estate record with a day of 1474 birds...and the season tally was the best it had been for a lot of years.... and i caught up 800 hens for sale too at the end of the season..

 

mark put the job in the shooting times and interviewed 3 for the job even thou i had asked to be considered for the job and he said i was being considered.

i was offerd a stalkers job and a beat keepers job that year but turned them down to stick with the shoot

 

the head keeprs job ended up going to a freind of the bosses son.... i think theirs was some favors to a friend done their but never mind so i stayed on turning down one more job as i had been asked to stay by the boss. i got a pay rise and a few perks and was promised a cut of the tips.. the summer came and went with me doing more than my share...and taking more than my share of blame for f**k-ups..

 

and the boss fell out with his brother so we lost the rent on that ground effectively halving the shoot.. we had to stop shooting the forestry for a season too to that was 2 drives and 3000 birds down...and about Christmas time i was told the inevitable... was going to be paid off at the end of the season... 6 years of hard work. suffering in a cold leaky caravan shitting in a hole in the woods for 4 month of the year and no running water for 4 month...hunger and poor wages.. no social life no personal life no love life...

 

 

ive cried twice in the last 10 years...that day was one of them....

 

 

and shane the head man knew and was suposed to be my mate he could have f*****g gave me a pre warning but nope... and i have a sneaky feeling i was only kept on after the old head man to show shane the ropes and introduce him to the beaters and pickers up...

now they have lost half the beating team..and pickers up.. the old regulars who have been their for 20 years have gone..and the shoot is going down hill the birds are their but the small things aint... the fixed fences and new styles. and dog gates.. the tunnel trapping and fox snaring... the deer staking is all non existent... pest control is just a flick with the lamp once a fortnight...the relationship with locals and farmers has gone.

 

i turned down a job 3 times that year hoping for some thing else...what a mistake that was too

 

beaters day was heart breaking.. my send of was a good one thou a lot of the beaters got teary eyed and good byes were said my freinds... freinds of the highest order.. i had been their for em in good times and bad.. a bed for em in divorce and burid a few of em too..i made some good freinds in good places..tam parker..andy cullen from lochian gun dogs..gragham hunter the head KNOBS man for scotland..willie drummond...robert and john johnson from polmise gundogs...the late great jimmy blair...and sandy and jim metcalf the ghillies on kinkell bridge salmon beat..adam stevenson the scotish champ fighter. all good frinds for life..all part of the beating and picking up team.

 

not to mention the legendary nigel carter and Eck from braco castle who i am privileged to know...and the mad bunch of feckers from sterling.airth.falling...and tullibody!

 

 

would i do it all again? would i go back tomorrow? YES!! YES! YES!

 

and as for keepers being pricks? their is a certain aura that goes with the job people look to to you for advice and as soon as its known your a keeper then your instantly taken for a expert of all things countryside. and i fecking loved it never more proud in my life than when i put on that tweed suit and strutted my stuff... but i was never ant thing other than polite and professional with every one i met. i was told by my old head man that i was a direct representative for the estate and him. every thing i said and done even to poachers is done by and for the estate.

 

was it not king of the game keepers that said " god helps those that helps them selves..but god help any man i catch helping them selves to my birds"

 

. Fook me lad was bradley hardacre your boss. Get your self back into the game dont give up

[perthshire keeper 1,237]

 

well ive wanted to be a keeper for a long time since about 10 year old

 

so i went to newton rigg and done very well best attendance record in the history of the course ect ect

as part of my course i had a 6 week work placement on a estate in perthshire (between sterling and creiff in the " small glen")

now i worked my balls off on the placement as i was with a lad on the placement called ron..this placent was my only inside in to the keepering world i knew no keepers or shoots out side this one place so i had to make a mark... we had the first 3 weekends off...i worked all weekend when ron didnt... i was out till dark building the rearing field every night,, trapping moles on the bosses garden.. in short i done a LOT of brown nosing..

 

now when our placement was up we had 6 weeks back at collage and then that was it in to the big wide world....but lucky us we were both offerd to come back after collage and work the summer out.. but for all kinds of reasons ron couldent be arsed comeing back up so i went on my own with a freind of mine..he lasted the rearing season and then went home and i stayed on to put birds to wood....then one day after a week of having birds to wood i got called into the estate office and i was bricking it thinking i had f****d up!

 

mark said.. that he and andy had been talking and they wanted to offer me a under-keepers job would i like it? would i like it? WOULD I f*****g LIKE IT! :boogy:

 

erm yes!

 

and so it was.. i was now a under keeper... a real life game keeper i worked my balls off that year had 5 days off to come home and 2 days at christmas worked till i was asleep on my feet lamped 4 nights a week. stalking evenings and mornings and sitting out for vermin... feeding MY drives like feck dogging in till my feet bled and getting to know every one local.. happy as a pig in shit..

and it went on for 5 years but every year i ended up doing more and more of the work feeding all the drives feeding all the rearing filed catching up with just the poles for help.... in short i was doig every thing the head man should have been.. calling beaters telling the boss what drives to do in a day...

worked my self to illness just about lost 5 stone in 2 years.. for £120 a week and i got no dog food allowance no clothign allowance and no ammo allowance i got the odd box of shells or the odd box off 22rimmy bullets...and NO share of the substantial tips from 50-60 days shooting!!!

 

it was hard..very hard.. and a few times the only thing that kept me going was a potato field that had been to wet to harvest and rabbits it was like being back in the victorian days!

i had to save all i could for waterproofs and stuff like shirts and even a new suit from my own pocket..

i sold crows. magpie jackdaws wings jackdaw scalps.. magpie tails squirrel tails and skins...hare masks...mole skins weasel tails and pheasant tail feather and cul de canard from mallard.. and scrimping and sending off boxes of feather paid for a lot of stuff i would not have got otherwise like a wee motorbike for transport as all i had was a pushbike and a 15 mile round trip to Tesco.

 

th the end of the fifth year i was in the yard filling up sacks of wheat when the landrover went flying past and down the lane......and i got a phone call... to go to the office "a**y has been sacked its no good neil he isnt pulling his weight and it has not gone un-noticed" and that was the head mans last season with us. he was man i had and still have boundless respect....for even thou he never pulled his weight.. he gave me a chance to shine and was the voice of reason with the boss.. he was a good keeper...but had given up

abd fir the rest of that season he done nothing....he showed up on shoot days and that was it.. so again i seen my chance to shine and knuckled down realy realy hard. hoping for the head mans job

 

the seasons had been getting better and better we busted the estate record with a day of 1474 birds...and the season tally was the best it had been for a lot of years.... and i caught up 800 hens for sale too at the end of the season..

 

mark put the job in the shooting times and interviewed 3 for the job even thou i had asked to be considered for the job and he said i was being considered.

i was offerd a stalkers job and a beat keepers job that year but turned them down to stick with the shoot

 

the head keeprs job ended up going to a freind of the bosses son.... i think theirs was some favors to a friend done their but never mind so i stayed on turning down one more job as i had been asked to stay by the boss. i got a pay rise and a few perks and was promised a cut of the tips.. the summer came and went with me doing more than my share...and taking more than my share of blame for f**k-ups..

 

and the boss fell out with his brother so we lost the rent on that ground effectively halving the shoot.. we had to stop shooting the forestry for a season too to that was 2 drives and 3000 birds down...and about Christmas time i was told the inevitable... was going to be paid off at the end of the season... 6 years of hard work. suffering in a cold leaky caravan shitting in a hole in the woods for 4 month of the year and no running water for 4 month...hunger and poor wages.. no social life no personal life no love life...

 

 

ive cried twice in the last 10 years...that day was one of them....

 

 

and shane the head man knew and was suposed to be my mate he could have f*****g gave me a pre warning but nope... and i have a sneaky feeling i was only kept on after the old head man to show shane the ropes and introduce him to the beaters and pickers up...

now they have lost half the beating team..and pickers up.. the old regulars who have been their for 20 years have gone..and the shoot is going down hill the birds are their but the small things aint... the fixed fences and new styles. and dog gates.. the tunnel trapping and fox snaring... the deer staking is all non existent... pest control is just a flick with the lamp once a fortnight...the relationship with locals and farmers has gone.

 

i turned down a job 3 times that year hoping for some thing else...what a mistake that was too

 

beaters day was heart breaking.. my send of was a good one thou a lot of the beaters got teary eyed and good byes were said my freinds... freinds of the highest order.. i had been their for em in good times and bad.. a bed for em in divorce and burid a few of em too..i made some good freinds in good places..tam parker..andy cullen from lochian gun dogs..gragham hunter the head KNOBS man for scotland..willie drummond...robert and john johnson from polmise gundogs...the late great jimmy blair...and sandy and jim metcalf the ghillies on kinkell bridge salmon beat..adam stevenson the scotish champ fighter. all good frinds for life..all part of the beating and picking up team.

 

not to mention the legendary nigel carter and Eck from braco castle who i am privileged to know...and the mad bunch of feckers from sterling.airth.falling...and tullibody!

 

 

would i do it all again? would i go back tomorrow? YES!! YES! YES!

 

and as for keepers being pricks? their is a certain aura that goes with the job people look to to you for advice and as soon as its known your a keeper then your instantly taken for a expert of all things countryside. and i fecking loved it never more proud in my life than when i put on that tweed suit and strutted my stuff... but i was never ant thing other than polite and professional with every one i met. i was told by my old head man that i was a direct representative for the estate and him. every thing i said and done even to poachers is done by and for the estate.

 

was it not king of the game keepers that said " god helps those that helps them selves..but god help any man i catch helping them selves to my birds"

. Fook me lad was bradley hardacre your boss. Get your self back into the game dont give up

 

 

,000 pheasants...

[gonetoearth 5,144]

 

 

well ive wanted to be a keeper for a long time since about 10 year old so i went to newton rigg and done very well best attendance record in the history of the course ect ect as part of my course i had a 6 week work placement on a estate in perthshire (between sterling and creiff in the " small glen") now i worked my balls off on the placement as i was with a lad on the placement called ron..this placent was my only inside in to the keepering world i knew no keepers or shoots out side this one place so i had to make a mark... we had the first 3 weekends off...i worked all weekend when ron didnt... i was out till dark building the rearing field every night,, trapping moles on the bosses garden.. in short i done a LOT of brown nosing.. now when our placement was up we had 6 weeks back at collage and then that was it in to the big wide world....but lucky us we were both offerd to come back after collage and work the summer out.. but for all kinds of reasons ron couldent be arsed comeing back up so i went on my own with a freind of mine..he lasted the rearing season and then went home and i stayed on to put birds to wood....then one day after a week of having birds to wood i got called into the estate office and i was bricking it thinking i had f****d up! mark said.. that he and andy had been talking and they wanted to offer me a under-keepers job would i like it? would i like it? WOULD I f*****g LIKE IT! :boogy: erm yes! and so it was.. i was now a under keeper... a real life game keeper i worked my balls off that year had 5 days off to come home and 2 days at christmas worked till i was asleep on my feet lamped 4 nights a week. stalking evenings and mornings and sitting out for vermin... feeding MY drives like feck dogging in till my feet bled and getting to know every one local.. happy as a pig in shit..and it went on for 5 years but every year i ended up doing more and more of the work feeding all the drives feeding all the rearing filed catching up with just the poles for help.... in short i was doig every thing the head man should have been.. calling beaters telling the boss what drives to do in a day...worked my self to illness just about lost 5 stone in 2 years.. for £120 a week and i got no dog food allowance no clothign allowance and no ammo allowance i got the odd box of shells or the odd box off 22rimmy bullets...and NO share of the substantial tips from 50-60 days shooting!!! it was hard..very hard.. and a few times the only thing that kept me going was a potato field that had been to wet to harvest and rabbits it was like being back in the victorian days!i had to save all i could for waterproofs and stuff like shirts and even a new suit from my own pocket..i sold crows. magpie jackdaws wings jackdaw scalps.. magpie tails squirrel tails and skins...hare masks...mole skins weasel tails and pheasant tail feather and cul de canard from mallard.. and scrimping and sending off boxes of feather paid for a lot of stuff i would not have got otherwise like a wee motorbike for transport as all i had was a pushbike and a 15 mile round trip to Tesco. th the end of the fifth year i was in the yard filling up sacks of wheat when the landrover went flying past and down the lane......and i got a phone call... to go to the office "a**y has been sacked its no good neil he isnt pulling his weight and it has not gone un-noticed" and that was the head mans last season with us. he was man i had and still have boundless respect....for even thou he never pulled his weight.. he gave me a chance to shine and was the voice of reason with the boss.. he was a good keeper...but had given upabd fir the rest of that season he done nothing....he showed up on shoot days and that was it.. so again i seen my chance to shine and knuckled down realy realy hard. hoping for the head mans job the seasons had been getting better and better we busted the estate record with a day of 1474 birds...and the season tally was the best it had been for a lot of years.... and i caught up 800 hens for sale too at the end of the season.. mark put the job in the shooting times and interviewed 3 for the job even thou i had asked to be considered for the job and he said i was being considered. i was offerd a stalkers job and a beat keepers job that year but turned them down to stick with the shoot the head keeprs job ended up going to a freind of the bosses son.... i think theirs was some favors to a friend done their but never mind so i stayed on turning down one more job as i had been asked to stay by the boss. i got a pay rise and a few perks and was promised a cut of the tips.. the summer came and went with me doing more than my share...and taking more than my share of blame for f**k-ups.. and the boss fell out with his brother so we lost the rent on that ground effectively halving the shoot.. we had to stop shooting the forestry for a season too to that was 2 drives and 3000 birds down...and about Christmas time i was told the inevitable... was going to be paid off at the end of the season... 6 years of hard work. suffering in a cold leaky caravan shitting in a hole in the woods for 4 month of the year and no running water for 4 month...hunger and poor wages.. no social life no personal life no love life... ive cried twice in the last 10 years...that day was one of them.... and shane the head man knew and was suposed to be my mate he could have f*****g gave me a pre warning but nope... and i have a sneaky feeling i was only kept on after the old head man to show shane the ropes and introduce him to the beaters and pickers up... now they have lost half the beating team..and pickers up.. the old regulars who have been their for 20 years have gone..and the shoot is going down hill the birds are their but the small things aint... the fixed fences and new styles. and dog gates.. the tunnel trapping and fox snaring... the deer staking is all non existent... pest control is just a flick with the lamp once a fortnight...the relationship with locals and farmers has gone. i turned down a job 3 times that year hoping for some thing else...what a mistake that was too beaters day was heart breaking.. my send of was a good one thou a lot of the beaters got teary eyed and good byes were said my freinds... freinds of the highest order.. i had been their for em in good times and bad.. a bed for em in divorce and burid a few of em too..i made some good freinds in good places..tam parker..andy cullen from lochian gun dogs..gragham hunter the head KNOBS man for scotland..willie drummond...robert and john johnson from polmise gundogs...the late great jimmy blair...and sandy and jim metcalf the ghillies on kinkell bridge salmon beat..adam stevenson the scotish champ fighter. all good frinds for life..all part of the beating and picking up team. not to mention the legendary nigel carter and Eck from braco castle who i am privileged to know...and the mad bunch of feckers from sterling.airth.falling...and tullibody! would i do it all again? would i go back tomorrow? YES!! YES! YES! and as for keepers being pricks? their is a certain aura that goes with the job people look to to you for advice and as soon as its known your a keeper then your instantly taken for a expert of all things countryside. and i fecking loved it never more proud in my life than when i put on that tweed suit and strutted my stuff... but i was never ant thing other than polite and professional with every one i met. i was told by my old head man that i was a direct representative for the estate and him. every thing i said and done even to poachers is done by and for the estate. was it not king of the game keepers that said " god helps those that helps them selves..but god help any man i catch helping them selves to my birds"

. Fook me lad was bradley hardacre your boss. Get your self back into the game dont give up

,000 pheasants...

. Ah you had it easy we used to get up half an hour before we went to bed and ate road kill and dead poults you were well looked after lol

[RubyTex 1,957]

Shouldn't you be at work Ruby??

 

 

11:15 - 7:30 today

[perthshire keeper 1,237]

 

 

 

well ive wanted to be a keeper for a long time since about 10 year old so i went to newton rigg and done very well best attendance record in the history of the course ect ect as part of my course i had a 6 week work placement on a estate in perthshire (between sterling and creiff in the " small glen") now i worked my balls off on the placement as i was with a lad on the placement called ron..this placent was my only inside in to the keepering world i knew no keepers or shoots out side this one place so i had to make a mark... we had the first 3 weekends off...i worked all weekend when ron didnt... i was out till dark building the rearing field every night,, trapping moles on the bosses garden.. in short i done a LOT of brown nosing.. now when our placement was up we had 6 weeks back at collage and then that was it in to the big wide world....but lucky us we were both offerd to come back after collage and work the summer out.. but for all kinds of reasons ron couldent be arsed comeing back up so i went on my own with a freind of mine..he lasted the rearing season and then went home and i stayed on to put birds to wood....then one day after a week of having birds to wood i got called into the estate office and i was bricking it thinking i had f****d up! mark said.. that he and andy had been talking and they wanted to offer me a under-keepers job would i like it? would i like it? WOULD I f*****g LIKE IT! :boogy: erm yes! and so it was.. i was now a under keeper... a real life game keeper i worked my balls off that year had 5 days off to come home and 2 days at christmas worked till i was asleep on my feet lamped 4 nights a week. stalking evenings and mornings and sitting out for vermin... feeding MY drives like feck dogging in till my feet bled and getting to know every one local.. happy as a pig in shit..and it went on for 5 years but every year i ended up doing more and more of the work feeding all the drives feeding all the rearing filed catching up with just the poles for help.... in short i was doig every thing the head man should have been.. calling beaters telling the boss what drives to do in a day...worked my self to illness just about lost 5 stone in 2 years.. for £120 a week and i got no dog food allowance no clothign allowance and no ammo allowance i got the odd box of shells or the odd box off 22rimmy bullets...and NO share of the substantial tips from 50-60 days shooting!!! it was hard..very hard.. and a few times the only thing that kept me going was a potato field that had been to wet to harvest and rabbits it was like being back in the victorian days!i had to save all i could for waterproofs and stuff like shirts and even a new suit from my own pocket..i sold crows. magpie jackdaws wings jackdaw scalps.. magpie tails squirrel tails and skins...hare masks...mole skins weasel tails and pheasant tail feather and cul de canard from mallard.. and scrimping and sending off boxes of feather paid for a lot of stuff i would not have got otherwise like a wee motorbike for transport as all i had was a pushbike and a 15 mile round trip to Tesco. th the end of the fifth year i was in the yard filling up sacks of wheat when the landrover went flying past and down the lane......and i got a phone call... to go to the office "a**y has been sacked its no good neil he isnt pulling his weight and it has not gone un-noticed" and that was the head mans last season with us. he was man i had and still have boundless respect....for even thou he never pulled his weight.. he gave me a chance to shine and was the voice of reason with the boss.. he was a good keeper...but had given upabd fir the rest of that season he done nothing....he showed up on shoot days and that was it.. so again i seen my chance to shine and knuckled down realy realy hard. hoping for the head mans job the seasons had been getting better and better we busted the estate record with a day of 1474 birds...and the season tally was the best it had been for a lot of years.... and i caught up 800 hens for sale too at the end of the season.. mark put the job in the shooting times and interviewed 3 for the job even thou i had asked to be considered for the job and he said i was being considered. i was offerd a stalkers job and a beat keepers job that year but turned them down to stick with the shoot the head keeprs job ended up going to a freind of the bosses son.... i think theirs was some favors to a friend done their but never mind so i stayed on turning down one more job as i had been asked to stay by the boss. i got a pay rise and a few perks and was promised a cut of the tips.. the summer came and went with me doing more than my share...and taking more than my share of blame for f**k-ups.. and the boss fell out with his brother so we lost the rent on that ground effectively halving the shoot.. we had to stop shooting the forestry for a season too to that was 2 drives and 3000 birds down...and about Christmas time i was told the inevitable... was going to be paid off at the end of the season... 6 years of hard work. suffering in a cold leaky caravan shitting in a hole in the woods for 4 month of the year and no running water for 4 month...hunger and poor wages.. no social life no personal life no love life... ive cried twice in the last 10 years...that day was one of them.... and shane the head man knew and was suposed to be my mate he could have f*****g gave me a pre warning but nope... and i have a sneaky feeling i was only kept on after the old head man to show shane the ropes and introduce him to the beaters and pickers up... now they have lost half the beating team..and pickers up.. the old regulars who have been their for 20 years have gone..and the shoot is going down hill the birds are their but the small things aint... the fixed fences and new styles. and dog gates.. the tunnel trapping and fox snaring... the deer staking is all non existent... pest control is just a flick with the lamp once a fortnight...the relationship with locals and farmers has gone. i turned down a job 3 times that year hoping for some thing else...what a mistake that was too beaters day was heart breaking.. my send of was a good one thou a lot of the beaters got teary eyed and good byes were said my freinds... freinds of the highest order.. i had been their for em in good times and bad.. a bed for em in divorce and burid a few of em too..i made some good freinds in good places..tam parker..andy cullen from lochian gun dogs..gragham hunter the head KNOBS man for scotland..willie drummond...robert and john johnson from polmise gundogs...the late great jimmy blair...and sandy and jim metcalf the ghillies on kinkell bridge salmon beat..adam stevenson the scotish champ fighter. all good frinds for life..all part of the beating and picking up team. not to mention the legendary nigel carter and Eck from braco castle who i am privileged to know...and the mad bunch of feckers from sterling.airth.falling...and tullibody! would i do it all again? would i go back tomorrow? YES!! YES! YES! and as for keepers being pricks? their is a certain aura that goes with the job people look to to you for advice and as soon as its known your a keeper then your instantly taken for a expert of all things countryside. and i fecking loved it never more proud in my life than when i put on that tweed suit and strutted my stuff... but i was never ant thing other than polite and professional with every one i met. i was told by my old head man that i was a direct representative for the estate and him. every thing i said and done even to poachers is done by and for the estate. was it not king of the game keepers that said " god helps those that helps them selves..but god help any man i catch helping them selves to my birds"

. Fook me lad was bradley hardacre your boss. Get your self back into the game dont give up

,000 pheasants...

. Ah you had it easy we used to get up half an hour before we went to bed and ate road kill and dead poults you were well looked after lol

 

are you a yorkshire man by any chance lol