FEMALES ARE breaking the trend in country sports participation – an area often seen as a male domain.

The number of women taking part in both clays and game shooting, such as grouse, in Scotland has risen steadily over the past few years. Figures are at an all-time high, with almost 11,000 female members of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), up 10% on last year’s numbers. Similarly, grouse shooting in Scotland has seen an increase in female participation in line with this trend.

The establishment of organisations including the Scottish Ladies Shooting Club and Glad Rags and Cartridge Bags has been a catalyst in terms of increasing participation by women in Scotland.

“Everyone is welcome at one of our events, from ladies who have never taken a shot to more experienced guns,” explained Mhairi Morriss, founder of Glad Rags and Cartridge Bags.

“Shooting sports are becoming much more popular among women and we provide all the equipment and tuition needed, so it’s easy and affordable for anyone to come along and join in,” she continued. “There are many events organised through ladies shooting clubs which is a great way to allow novice shots to join like-minded guns and gain companionship and encouragement.”

Mhairi set up he organisation four years ago with the aim to make it easier for novice shots and women from all backgrounds to progress in the sport. Over the past four years Mhairi has organised over 54 events with 1300 attending and over 370 individual ladies having shot with the club.

Justine Muir from Cupar, Fife has been shooting game for the past three years: “I am a former city chick having grown up in Edinburgh and working as an accountant, which I still do, but my husband and I had a hankering seven years ago to move to the countryside to embrace rural living,” she explained.

“It’s then that I first got into clays as my husband shot clays and it looked fun. I shot on and off but not regularly until I joined the Scottish Ladies Shooting Club. This allowed me to build experience and confidence and move onto game shooting,” she said. “The safety aspect when shooting grouse is imperative and a real step up from clays as you need to understand the positioning of the dogs, beaters and gun safety, and that’s where joining the lady’s shooting club has been invaluable.”