Caynham Court has been the venue for hosting the Vintage Guns Shoot party since 2017. This year, guests from New Zealand, Canada, the US and England gathered to enjoy some traditional driven shoots on the most beautiful Shropshire estates.
In years past we have been blessed with beautiful autumnal weather. 2025 was different, with a serious storm forecast mid-week and rain expected every day.
With the team prepared and properly kitted out, we headed into the field for the first day expecting a soaking that never materialised. The skies may have been overcast but the rain held off and the birds flew beautifully, challenging the Guns to shake-off any jet-lag and rise to the occasion.
This year, we had nine Guns and three were accompanied by wives or companions. Mark from Canada brought his son Will to experience the event, little expecting him to have an opportunity to shoot.
However, one of our party collected a virus at the airport lounge in Houston and brought it with him, generously passing it around the group as the week progressed. It was a short-lived one but managed to sideline one Gun every day, allowing Will to step in and take over the vacant peg.
On the first day, Will (27) started shooting nicely with a lovely 1866 Thomas Bissell 12-bore hammer gun, under instruction from host Diggory Hadoke. He was soon dropping high birds like a pro and even managed to wipe his own father's eye on one occasion!
Later in the week, he took an 1870 William Powell wood-bar 12-bore hammer gun, and on the last day, an 1867 Purdey thumb-lever hammer 12-bore. He swapped guns with admirable dexterity and appears rather smitten with English driven shooting and hammer guns.
We try hard to show guests a true variety of traditional shooting terrain and hospitality. Every estate chosen showcases a very different type of topography and habitat, from wooded valleys to open farmland, to beautifully manicured parkland of the most formal style.
All had in common sporting birds, excellent presentation and a dedicated team that knew exactly how to best manage the day. It was a classic representation of the true sport of driven pheasant and partridge shooting in beautiful, historic settings that will remain in the memory for years to come.
Each day, the team welcomed an interesting guest from the gun trade, who joined the line and swapped stories with the Guns. Dr. Nicholas Harlow, gun room manager for Purdey in London brought his prototype Purdey hammer ejector, the first of the new batch of this revived model.
Simon Reinhold, Chief Operations Officer at Holt's Auctioneers joined us on Saturday and Struan Coyle, head of over & under manufacture at Westley Richards, shot very well indeed with his vintage Army & Navy sidelock ejector.
Those who wished were provided with an experienced loader to carry their guns and cartridge bags to the peg and to offer advice if asked for it. The standard of shooting was extremely high, with all Guns bringing down some impressively high or testing birds, while showing great discipline in shot selection.
Mid-week, it is important to have a clear break from shooting. Experience tells us that without one, even the most avid sportsmen can get tired and somewhat jaded. A battery re-charge is needed and we arranged a trip to Westley Richards to see best gunmaking in action at the Pritchett Street factory in Birmingham, a comfortable hour-and-a-quarter away by Range Rover.
There, the team met Anthony-Alborough Tregear ('Trigger') the managing director, saw double rifles being regulated, learned about case hardening, jointing, and the Westley Richards apprentice scheme. Struan re-joined us to show the new bayonet take-down rifle system and Leo talked with enthusiasm about his engraving projects, which they were able to see him working on.
The rest day is intended to be just that and we headed home at a leisurely pace in time for our one dinner outing of the week to Gauthama Thai, which is superb.
After a full day of shooting in the bracing conditions, which began to resemble those foreacst by mid-week, a good meal at day's end was essential. Claire Bosi knows her way around a kitchen, having once owned and managed a two-Michelin-Star restaurant, and she did a sterling job, providing a superb menu of three courses every evening.
However, on the last night, she stepped aside for Tony Parkin to take-over. Tony, a Michelin Star chef and former Gordon Ramsay protege, crowned the week's culinary delights with a four course meal, including some pheasants the team had shot earlier in the week.
The Caynham Court Shoot Party has become something of an annual tradition for many in the group, with a couple of newbies added each year. Some of the team were here for the fifth or sixth time.
We now have a break over Christmas before thoughts will turn inevitably towards next year's event. We do not advertise or promote this in any major way and we do just one party each year. This keeps it intimate and special.
If any readers of the Vintage Gun Journal would like to enquire about joining us in Novemeber 2026, please do so via the editor. dig@vintageguns.co.uk
Published by Vintage Guns Ltd on (modified )
