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The National Organisation of Beaters and Pickers Up (NOBS) are the sole organisation specifically designed for beaters, pickers up and loaders. NOBs help get people involved with beating and picking up regardless of whether they have participated before or are complete novices. NOBs also act as an active link between gamekeepers or shoot captains with beaters and pickers up.

The National Organisation of Beaters and Pickers Up came about because when Chairman and founder Mark Elliott noticed a distinct lack of information for beaters and pickers up about this enjoyable pastime, and how to contact shoots in their area.

There was also a lack of youngsters being encouraged to take up beating or picking up. Thinking about it he also realised that there is nowhere specifically for a gamekeeper/Shoot owner who is short of beaters to find them at short notice, especially if he has exhausted all his contacts. This gave him a base to build the organisation on and plan for the future.

NOBs believe there is no end to the potential of the organisation, and aim to run Beating Courses and educational fairs for youngsters. There are tens of thousands of beaters and pickers up across the United Kingdom and NOBs hope that they can provide them with a proactive and supportive voice, not only making a contribution to shooting but to the whole countryside.

The organisation has great interactivity with their members through newsletters and an excellent discussion forum. All of the NOBs team is involved in the forum ready to offer advice on everything from veterinary issues to what's best to fill your hipflask with! It's an excellent place to visit for advice, recipes or even a chat with members across the United Kingdom to discuss whatever you want to get off your chest. The forum can be visited by through the NOBS website here.

NOBs works by linking up gamekeepers or shoot captains with beaters, pickers up or loaders in their area. Firstly people need to register (Membership fee of £5 per annum - £10 for shoots/game keepers or now purchase a lifetime membership for £150) by clicking on the register button and selecting the correct form for them depending on who they are (you can register in more than one category - Only one payment required)

Once registered your details will be entered onto a secure database where we will keep them until a gamekeeper or shoot captain requests people. We will then contact the people in the area to find out which people are available. Their names and phone numbers are then passed to the gamekeeper or shoot captain who can call them to have a chat about the opportunities. There are over 130 County Representatives who are actively working to find opportunities for people and link shoots up with beaters and pickers up

For more details on NOBs and how you can get involved, click here.