Driven Pheasant Shooting Season in Scotland
| Scotland | Date From | Date To |
| Pheasant Season | 1st October | 1st February |
Pheasants refer to several genera within the subfamily Phasianinae, of the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have longer tails. Males play a part in rearing the young. Pheasants typically eat seeds and some insects. The best-known is the Common Pheasant. Various other Pheasant species are popular in aviaries, such as the Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus).
Driven Pheasant Shooting
For sheer strength and power of flight Pheasants are hard to beat. From the 1st October until the end of January, Pheasants are the mainstay of many estates because they offer a great sporting challenge to sportsmen around the country. Driven high and fast, maybe drifting and curling with a tailwind to add extra spice, Pheasants are a sporting test of experience and skill. We are lucky to offer excellent value for money and fantastic sport in Scotland. We also have exclusive days on some of England’s most famous Pheasant and Partridge shoots which are certain to test the best shots in the game.
Walked Up Pheasant / Mixed Game Shooting Days
Walked up Pheasant and Partridge shooting is a different challenge as they burst up from cover to take the unwary by surprise. We offer days of all sizes (none too small) for any number of guns in a party that are looking for fantastic value for money where they may shoot several different species in one day.
Key Information
Rates
Prices on application
Can a Shotgun be provided
Yes
Accommodation
Generally we organise accommodation for your stay at whatever level you prefer from self catering to 5*.
Ammunition
Ammunition supplied subject to availability
Suggested Calibre
Personal preference
Permits Required
All required permits arranged at time of booking.
Nearest Airport
Dependant on location of shoot.
Flights & Bringing own Firearms
Please consult with Hendry, Ramsay & Waters at time of booking for up to date airline carriers that allow firearms to be transported.
Planning your pheasant shooting trip to Scotland
Straight answers to the questions visiting guns ask us most, whether you are travelling from elsewhere in the UK, from Europe or from the United States.
Do I need a shotgun permit to shoot pheasant in Scotland?
Only if you bring your own shotgun. A visitor from outside Great Britain needs a UK visitor's shotgun permit, and the application must be made by a sponsor resident in Great Britain. Hendry, Ramsay & Waters acts as your sponsor and submits the application to Police Scotland on your behalf. Police Scotland says a typical application takes up to six weeks to process, so we ask for your details at least six weeks before you travel. The Police Scotland fee is £48 per visitor, or £240 for a group application. You will need a copy of your home firearms licence (European visitors: your European Firearms Pass) or, where you hold neither, a letter of good character from your police or government. Carry the permit with you and declare your guns and permit to UK Border Force when you arrive.
If you would rather not travel with your own guns, we arrange gun hire and cartridges for you and you shoot under the UK's borrowing exemption, so no permit is needed. Most of our overseas guests choose this.
Sources: Police Scotland — visitor permits and BASC — visiting the UK to shoot.
What is included in a day's driven pheasant shooting in Scotland?
A driven day on one of the Scottish pheasant shoots we represent, with the keeper, beaters and pickers-up, and a loader where you want one; or a walked-up or mixed-game day for a smaller party, where several species may be shot in one day. For multi-day packages we arrange transport, hotel accommodation, gun hire, cartridges and permits, so you only have to arrive. Tell us the bag you want shown, the number of guns and the number of days.
What does pheasant shooting in Scotland cost?
Driven pheasant in Scotland is priced per bird on the bag agreed for the day, plus the cost of any hotel, transport and gun hire you ask us to arrange; walked-up and mixed days are priced per gun. Scottish pheasant days are good value against the famous English shoots, and we can offer both. Send us your dates, party size and the bag you have in mind and we will quote the day in full, with no obligation.
When is the pheasant season in Scotland?
1 October to 1 February. The birds are at their best from November, when they are fully grown and flying strongly, and a tailwind on a high drive adds the curl that makes a Scottish pheasant such a test.
I am travelling from the USA. How does a Scottish pheasant trip work?
Fly into Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness, whichever is nearest the shoot. If you are bringing your own shotguns we sponsor your UK visitor's permit (allow six weeks); if not, hire guns and cartridges are waiting for you. We arrange the estate, the guide, your accommodation and the permits, and we advise on which airlines currently carry firearms. Many of our American guests combine driven pheasant with a red stag in the rut or with driven partridge in the same October week. Read our guide to grouse and partridge for American hunters and our guide to Scottish stalking for American hunters.
Who arranges pheasant shooting with Hendry, Ramsay & Waters?
Hendry, Ramsay & Waters (Scothunt) is a Scottish sporting agency representing pheasant shoots across Scotland and exclusive days on some of England's most famous pheasant and partridge shoots. We arrange single days and multi-day packages for sporting clients from the UK, Europe and the United States, and we handle the shoot booking, the permits, the accommodation and the transport. Fill in the enquiry form or contact us.
