Shooting Seasons

Each shooting discipline has an open and closed season. It's illegal to shoot during the closed season. For many other birds and animals, there are closed seasons that you need to respect. These were put in place to protect birds and animals whose populations could be in jeopardy if hunters are allowed to shoot them all year round.

As a shooter, you need to be aware of when the closed season is in your discipline, particularly if you have more than one shooting discipline to think about (for example, if you're a game hunter and a wildfowl hunter simultaneously). It can be easy to lose track, and this can land you in a lot of hot water. Here is our guide to the open and closed seasons for some of the main shooting types.

Game and Grouse Shooting

The grouse shooting season opens on August 12th. In Northern Ireland, November 30th is the close of the season, but it doesn't end until December 10th in the rest of the UK.

For other game birds, there are individual shooting seasons that you need to be aware of.

• Pheasants: The pheasant shooting season lasts from October 1st to February 1st in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, it lasts from October 1st to January 31st.
• Partridge: The partridge shooting season lasts from October 1st to February 1st in England, Scotland and Wales. Like the pheasant shooting season, it closes a day earlier in Northern Ireland.
• Ptarmigan: The ptarmigan shooting season lasts from August 12th to December 12th. The birds are found mostly in Scotland, so there is no shooting season in Northern Ireland.
• Blackgame: The blackgame shooting season lasts from August 20th to December 10th in England, Scotland and Wales. They aren't found in Northern Ireland, so there is no shooting season there.
• Common snipe: The common snipe shooting season lasts from August 12th to January 31st on the UK mainland, and from September 1st to January 31st in Northern Ireland.
• Jack snipe: The Jack snipe shooting season lasts from September 1st to January 31st in Northern Ireland. The bird is protected at all times in England, Scotland and Wales, which makes it illegal to shoot or hunt it all year round.
• Woodcock: The woodcock shooting season lasts from October 1st to January 31st in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the woodcock shooting season starts on September 1st and closes at the same time as the rest of the UK.
• Ducks and geese: Inland, the shooting season lasts from September 1st to January 31st in England, Scotland and Wales, and this is the same in Northern Ireland. If the HMV is less than ordinary spring tides, the shooting season closes on February 20th on the UK mainland.
• Coots and moorhen: The shooting season lasts from September 1st to January 31st across England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, the birds are protected at all times, so it's illegal to shoot them at any time in the year.
• Golden Plover: The Golden Plover shooting season lasts from September 1st to January 1st all over the UK (including Northern Ireland).
• Curlew: The curlew shooting season lasts from September 1st to January 31st in Northern Ireland. It is illegal to shoot curlews in England, Scotland and Wales, as they are protected at all times.

Wildfowling

The wildfowling shooting season opens on September 1st. As with grouse and game shooting, the shooting season closes in Northern Ireland first. This happens on January 31st. The wildfowling shooting season continues across England, Scotland and Wales until February 20th.

It's essential to be clued-up on the shooting season(s) for the type of game that you're going to be shooting, as failing to stick to them can easily land you in trouble with the law.