Gurston Down revisited

If you were going out on a limb and starting a new magazine dedicated to driven shooting in 2019, which shoot would you choose to feature? Back in 1989, editor Mike Barnes chose Gurston Down, arguably the first commercial high bird shoot and one that was pivotal in developing game shooting into the hugely popular sport we know today. It is no surprise that Gurston Down featured in the first issue of Shooting Gazette. By then, David Hitchings had nurtured his baby to full maturity, from a plan developed around the time England won the World Cup in 1966 and through the early 1970s when the shoot went fully commercial. In 1989, it was a thoroughbred among shoots with a richly deserved reputation for quality, both of birds and hospitality.

It was a must-have for the new magazine. Don’t forget the shooting world was different 30 years ago. Brian Mitchell