How to make the numbers add up

It has often been said that the only way to make a small fortune from shooting is to start with a big one. There are so many variables, and so many things that are forgotten and left out of a shoot’s budget, that it is easy to get it wrong. This is one of the reasons why so many smaller commercial shoots struggle to make a profit, and why so many self-employed gamekeepers only manage a year or two running their own shoots before going back to work for someone else, or changing careers completely.

That said, there are people who have and are making a good living from commercial shooting, and many more who run smaller syndicate shoots that break even or occasionally make a profit. The big boys, though, are far outweighed by smaller ones who get things right — medium-sized shoots whose financial forecasts are correct, who know the difference between