Catamong

Another great video Simon, very well done.! Cat😎

Great video, thanks for posting.! Cat😎

Hi Yicky, hope you're keeping well, I post only rarely nowadays as most subjects on the Forum have already been debated ad nauseam over the years, and as I don't discuss my political views on an open forum, there's not much I can add to most topics. I don't shoot many pigeons nowadays, it's very hard work over the vast acreages of Winter Rape in our area, Spring drillings are also now a thing of the past, and I've never been too keen on Summer pigeon shooting, as you lose so many birds in standing crops. Also, even Steel shot birds are becoming increasingly difficult to offload, and I will not shoot birds that I cannot properly dispose of. As regards the shoot in Holland, it was a fabulous event, really well run, I was also fortunate enough to be shooting with one of the "original" PW members, (Mr Potter), who used to captain the Northern team at our North V South Charity shoots. I used Fiocchi FSteel 28 gram 7's, and I'd have to say that they were every bit as good as a standard 28g lead load, with excellent kills out to 40 metres, even with relatively open chokes, (I shot most layouts with Skeet / Quarter in my Invictus Ascent). All the best, Cat.😎

I saw our first Swallow at the farm in South Hertfordshire on 8 April, a tad earlier than normal. I also saw the first Swift of the season zipping over the NT Ashridge Estate near Berkhamsted, Herts on Saturday morning. Cat.😎

Hi Derek, You're welcome to join our syndicate, a space is currently available, let me know if it now works for you? Cheers, Cat.😎

My total for 2023 is 91, mostly shot with 12 bore and thermal spotter later in the year, however I do now have access to a large area of mature woodland and have built a permanent hide, (completely weatherproof!!), with a peanut feeder hung on a nearby tree. I didn't get it going until June this year, but will start earlier in 2024 with the BSA Ultra SE .22 PCP, once the Game season has ended. Happy New Year to all.! TOTAL 2995 Cat😎

Very sorry to hear this news, Brian "Hebby" Hebditch was a fine shot, a decent Guy with a wry sense of humour. Rest in peace Brian. Cat.

Thanks Guys, kind words much appreciated. I always enjoy shooting the Home International events, a great atmosphere all round, and I always consider it to be a light hearted event, not to be taken too seriously.! Perhaps that's why I was lucky enough to post a decent score.? I've also made changes to my gun over the last couple of years which have helped me, by switching to a release trigger, (a difficult transition would be an understatement), and also switched to 30" barrels on my CG Invictus Ascent from 32", which has helped me on those close, whippy targets. Looking forward to doing more events in France, Holland and Belgium next year, I've had to curtail travelling this year due to health issues within the family. Cat😎

Thanks, yes, I'd already reported it on there before I posted the sighting on PW, they did reply to say that there hadn't been any other sightings in the area. Perhaps he was just passing through? Cat😎

I saw a White Stork recently, in the valley of the River Ver, near Redbourn, Herts. Only one on it's own, I recognised it soon enough as I've seen a few pairs on stubble fields alongside the motorway between Boulogne and Calais. Apparently they're rare in the UK? Cat. 😎

Dave, If you were a bit further north you'd hopefully be pleasantly surprised, I've just got back from doing the NC500 road trip from Inverness via John O'Groats and a whole host of simply lovely places along the very North and West coast of Scotland, once we turned South from Cape Wrath, and stopped in 5 or 6 different campsites, there were Cuckoos literally everywhere, I was so pleased, and very surprised, as they are now pretty scarce down South. My question is...why the hell would they fly all the way from central Africa, only to bypass the Southern part of England, it makes no sense to fly another 600 plus miles into dreadfully cold and wet weather, and I won't mention the ******* midges.!!!? Cat.😎

I decided not to do the Essex this year, which was a tough decision for me as I've not missed one since the very first event way back when. As far as I'm concerned, the "sparkle" has gone out of the event once they lost the use of the old railway track. It's obviously still very popular with U/C shooters, and I hope they all enjoyed it. Very best of luck to those PW members still to shoot. Cat.😎

I'm surprised to see the words "snobbery" and "etiquette" in replies to this post, as if this was a post about shooting game with a pump..? I'm also very surprised that some posters can't see what's wrong with loading 3 shells on a clay stand where only 2 birds are thrown, they obviously don't have much experience in clay shooting.? The fact is that pumps are not used by clay shooters in the UK, as you need a very high degree of skill to use one properly. There are, I believe, a few shooters in the US who are regular pump users, but they are experts, and mainly sponsored trick shooters. I'm not aware of anybody in the UK who uses a pump in Registered Sporting events, I've never seen it, and doubt I ever will. Most shooters that turn up at straw bale shoots with pumps have very little experience in shooting and safe gun handling and are consequently considered a danger to themselves and others, that's why most grounds have sensibly banned their use. I well remember back in the mid '80's at a 50 bird open re-entry competition at a ground local to me, a group of young lads in front of us on one stand were sharing a pump, the gun was passed from one guy to the next, who loaded it, called "pull" on a simmo going away pair, he only fired one shot and was clearly struggling to cycle the next round, to my horror he swung round with the gun at waist height, pointing it straight towards me, with his finger on the trigger and at the same time trying to crank it, whilst calling to his mates, "I can't get this to work.?" Fortunately, one of his mates pushed the muzzle up into the air before I had time to grab the gun, but it could have been a very nasty incident for all concerned. Cat.😎

My total for 2022 is 30, all shot with airgun or shotgun, and nearly every one of them would still be around today if it hadn't have been for the Thermal spotter, a great piece of essential kit for serious squirrel hunters.! The total is a bit down on last year, as I haven't done any trapping, also we gave them a real hammering last year, there are definitely fewer around this year. 3522 Cat😎

Shocked to hear this sad news, I first met Beardo many years ago through this forum, a really nice guy, I remember taking him pigeon shooting on my patch on a cold Winters day on some rape, got him set up under a small oak tree before first light with the deeks spread out nicely, I said, just wait until it gets properly light, you'll have a bit of sport.! Anyway, I got set up on another block of rape nearby, and as it got light, sure enough, the birds piled in, and we were bouncing them back and forth for the first hour, barrels getting hot, and birds coming in right, left, and centre. I then noticed the birds still pouring into Beardo's set up, but no shots forthcoming.? I checked through the binos and saw him standing up, waving at the birds dropping in as if to scare them away.? I got him on the phone and asked if there was a problem, he said, "I've run out of cartridges, I only brought 3 boxes, I thought that would be plenty" He was so apologetic, and spent the next hour or so trying to push the birds my way. Rest in peace Nick, I know the pigeons around St Albans won't miss you, but a good few pub going music lovers in St Albans will. Cat.😎