Vintage Guns has been hosting a shoot party at Caynham Court since 2017. This annual event sees sportsmen, especially those with an interest in British sporting guns, gather for a week of traditional driven pheasant and partridge shooting in Shropshire, one of England's most rural and unspoilt counties.
The 2026 shoot party runs from 8th-15th November. Guests will be collected from a London hotel and, after having a guided tour of Rigby's factory and new premises, be transported to Caynham Court, where the week begins with dinner and a nightcap.
Two back-to back days of driven shooting follow, on estates located within twenty minutes of the house. We aim for the team to shoot around two-hunderd-and-fifty birds each day.
Your host, Diggory Hadoke, is a registered firearms dealer, well known gun historian, writer and media advocate for shooting and fireams ownership. He grew up in the area and knows the privately owned shooting estates intimately. His local connections help ensure access to some beautiful and exclusive shooting opportunities right on the doorstep.
Mid-week, a trip is organised to visit Westley Richards, where guests can enjoy a factory tour. The nearby Birmingham Proof House is another destination optional on the itinerary for those who have not visited before and toured the facilities which have been proof testing firearms since 1813.
The mid-week day off allows batteries to recharge and our sportsmen will be ready for two more days of back-to-back shooting, again at shoots within a short drive of the house.
We don't like long drives in the mornings or afternoos and don't think our guests especially do either. Fortunately, Shropshire provides varied and ideal topography for driven game shooting and every estate we visit is different and memorable; from rugged bracken banks to wooded valleys, to manicured grass verges with ancient coverts on hill tops, silently producing pheasants soaring high overhead with not a beater in sight or sound.
Lunches are taken in the old manor houses, huge Georgian stately homes and family seats on which the shoots exist, many hosted by the titled owner of the estate.
We provide all in-country transport, cartridges, food and drink, licences etc. The cost is £12,500 per Gun, with no extra charge for a wife or girlfriend.
A driver is on-hand to arrange interesting visits to local towns and sights for ladies not always wishing to attend the shooting. The only costs not included are tips to the gamekeepers (budget £100 for each of the four days), the cost of a loader (optional) which is also £100 per shoot day, and personal spending money.
Dinner at Caynham Court is provided by in-house Chef Claire Bosi (Editor of Chef & Restaurant Magazine) and our final meal is prepared by a Michelin-Starred visiting chef (last year it was ex-Gordon Ramsey protege Tony Parkin). Quality wine, beer and spirits are always available and included.
Guests are welcome to bring their own guns. We can arrange Visitor Shotgun Permits. Alternatively, they may opt to borrow guns from us at no charge. Caynham Court has a walk-in gun room and full drying and cleaning facilities. Transport to and from the shoots is via Land Rovers and Range Rovers, provided with drivers.
Thsi annual event is a fantastic opportunity to experience traditional English driven pheasant and partridge shooting on ancient estates, hosted by an English gun expert and lifelog sportsman. Repeat visits are the norm. We currently have just two places still available for 2026 and look forward to welcoming some new friends to the party.
Among the unique features of this party is the opportunity to meet, shoot with and dine with prominent members of the Gun Trade. Past guests have included Marc Newton of Rigby, Struan Coyle and Anthony Alborough-Tregear of Westley Richards, Nick Harlow of Purdey and J-P Daeschler of John Dickson & Co.
Caynham Court is located in Ludlow, Shropshire, one of England's most beautiful market towns. It is the family home of Diggory Hadoke and Claire Bosi and provides stylish accommodation with twelve large bedrooms, all with en-suite facilities, a dining room seating twenty around a 16ft table and five acres of private gardens and grounds.
Please contact dig@vintageguns.co.uk for details or call 07977149207.
Published by Vintage Guns Ltd on (modified )
