the hitman

Hi Al Welcome back- hope everything is ok with you.

I recently bought a pair of Harkila wellies- I have only worn them a couple of times but so far so good. Good fitting and comfortable to walk in.

Sorry I replied on my mobile and hadn’t noticed the error- thank you for pointing it out.

Yes -most you have mentioned are available, but perhaps not on all supermarket shelves. If you are a blended whiskey drinker - then can I suggest Johnny Walker black label - £20 in most regular places. Its a beautiful whiskey- just add water to your own taste.

Agreed My wife loves visiting Madrid- which I would consider a working city like London. Barcelona is very touristy but with nice beaches. Seville is just on a different level- it’s absolutely stunning and steeped in history and a good base for visiting the likes of Cadiz & Cordoba . Once you visit Andalusia you never want to leave. Just booked Nerja in august.

Hi Munzy Not a fan to be honest- I attended a bullfight in the mid 80’s with a female Spanish friend I had at the time. The crowd were very enthusiastic and cheered the matador. There were 6 bullfights that day - 5 were put to the sword and one was released as it broke a horn when it got its head underneath a horse - the horse was very badly injured and probably died. I can imagine how much time goes into producing such fine specimens. I can understand the theatre of a bullring- it has a primal colosseum feel- but it’s not an experience would want to repeat. Each to their own.

Not been before- so not sure the stench is . Third visit to Seville- I would definitely recommend this as a city break- just not in the summer as it’s know as the frying pan of Europe. Should be around 20-24 degrees when we go.

Mrs H and I having a bit of an Andalusian tour this year. We are heading to Seville & Cordoba next weekend for a 10 nights. Malaga city, Ronda & Nerja to follow in August. Largs on the Scottish west coast will be visited in late May. We have a holiday in July- but no destination decided yet. Got to do it while you can is my moto.

My opinion is that you should stick with one type of decoy- sillo’s work well for me and I would not mix them with shells as it just looks wrong and might be the problem. Always a magnet on winter rape in the first instance- it works 8/10 times for me. You can have a very poor hide if you can sit very still with your face hidden when bird are approaching. finally I would not be shooting that close to a road.

Hi folks So yesterday was my first day shooting since September - and after a drive around some local permissions I spotted a good number drifting onto a field of OSR. It was very windy and this field was quite exposed with no hedge line to build a hide, however the line into the field crossed a line of willows and silver birches, which appeared to also be a daytime resting spot. I took all the gear, built a hide and set up some decoys on the winter wheat just to catch their eye. It seemed to work as I quickly had 2 for the magnet- which then pulled birds in. The westerly wind picked up to a point where the birds on the magnet were not presenting very well and was now putting the incoming birds off, and was quickly brought in. I had about 12 out as decoys and most of the birds were now crossing about 100 yards up the line of willows, however a few were still decoying. The next hour and a half were spent between shooting from the hide or getting under the line 100 yards away, which provided some excellent snap shooting- and some slow reaction misses. By 3pm it become obvious that they had found somewhere else and I packed up with 27 picked.

I didn’t watch it live, however I have seen the highlights. Very convincing performance from Eubank- the was getting through Smith’s defence with repeated uppercuts. The ref did well to step in before Smith received further punishment. I don’t think a rematch will happen after such a one sided contest.

Hi MM The second half of your post just about sums it up nicely. Years ago the bag was more important to me than it is now . I would still move if I wasn’t getting any shooting, but if I feel that I am being kept busy enough then the thought of moving position is less appealing.

Hi folks So I have been watching pigeons working a block of 7 stubble fields with no real favoured spot. I know this area and when in doubt I would always choose the only field in the area with 3 beech trees on the western edge. I went this morning at 10 - and although there were very few about I set up under the beeches. The wind was a south easterly, not ideal as I had the wind almost in my face. First 2 came in were shot and set up on sticks. I spent the next hour watching pigeons trickling onto the adjacent stubble, I decided to move and just as I was taking my hide down, two juvenile sparrow hawks - probably siblings buzzed my decoys then headed off in the direction of the pigeons on the other field- sure enough the pigeons lifted and headed towards my decoys- gun reload and 2 were shot. I had second thoughts moving and set the magnet up. Although pigeons were still going to the other field, I was suddenly getting a good amount of shooting. I was taking birds coming in on the wind above the beeches, the field behind was set a side with waist high thistles so I had to shoot incoming birds further so they would fall in front of the hide. It was good sport today- I had some cracking kills and some head shaking misses. I packed up at 4pm with 51 picked and 4 lost in the thistles-all shot with Eley Olympics. I could have stayed for at least another hour, however my days of staying to the bitter end are long gone. Added bonus that I could drive to the hide so no long haul for my old bones.

Agreed- Hemp is an absolute warrior, she chases every ball, and puts in a shift every game. They will have James back for the final - regardless of her suspension she is our most exciting player, the opportunity to go from hero to villain to hero again if she scores the winner. Spain are a quality team, and it will be a close contest.

Nice write up- it was a lovely read. Always nice when you can drive to the hide. All shot with that SxS ? Is it a BSA ?

Here is the one I shot in 1990- I haven’t seen another one like it since.

That’s funny 😄 Good result - well shot. Well done getting out on a very hot day. I have a stuffed speckled woodpigeon which I shot in 1990 - never seen one that colour before.

Hi MM I imagine it’s to help when ploughing perhaps? It’s a common practice locally, and the plough is normal not far behind. A couple of dry days forecast here so maybe a few more stubble to go at soon. Good luck with the peas -hopefully you will blow the cobwebs off soon.

Hi folks So spotted a cut rape field late yesterday afternoon with a nice line in and a few down. I arrived at the field at 11am to find the farmer shortening the stubble- thankfully he was almost finished, I was just hoping he hadn’t disturbed the flightline. I know this field well and set up in front of a line of hardwoods, with a good S/westerly blowing. The birds were flitting all over the field and showing more interest in the trees than my decoys- but I was getting a few. I decided to change tactics and make a small hide among some thistles which gave me a nice view of pigeons flighting over the trees. This was great sport, and I pulled of one high shot which surprised me. I was moving between shooting over the decoys and flighting over the trees. The shooting was really enjoyable but not exactly non- stop, in fact there were long periods where I didn’t see a pigeon. I must say that the Eley Olympic blues through full choke are a good combination as I didn’t have a runner all day. I called it a day at 5pm with 28 picked and 3 lost in a thick patch of brambles. Not the biggest bag but a very enjoyable day.

Spotted a cut rape field on my patch with pigeons on it - it must have only been cut yesterday as the farmer is currently cutting the adjacent field. Decent forecast tomorrow- so hopefully I will get a day before the plough moves in. A settled spell of weather is forecast locally, so they will be working long hours to get it in during this window.

Hi folks 90% of rape and cereals are still waiting to be harvested locally- so I might have a shooting report to share in a week or so. I personally enjoy stubble shooting- mainly because I can usually get the car to where I want to shoot from, and saves my old legs. I agree that it’s very time sensitive as the plough is almost following the combine.

To answer Bobba’s question- yes you can use a 28g no7-7.5 cartridge to shoot pigeons. My last outing resulted in 20 birds all shot with Eley Olympic blues with 3/4 & full choke. In my opinion it’s pattern that kills pigeons and clay loads do this very well. I am not trying to test myself with long range shots- I am shooting pigeons as a service to farmers, so clay loads suit my shooting. Cartridge companies are big on packaging and marketing- and will promote heavy loads to kill pigeons. If I was a cartridge manufacturer I would produce a pigeon load of 30g no 7, which I would consider to be a cracking all round load.

I was a mod back in the early 80’s so the Jam was my music of choice- so it’s Paul Weller for me.

Great result- your barrels must have been hot - excellent bag in a short session. Thank you for posting.

Excellent result- and thank you for posting. The 100+ bags are a real achievement- well done you - you will be seeing pigeons in your dream tonight.