the hitman

Not been out for a while with work and family commitments, however I have been looking. We had loads on drillings and stubbles recently, and I am seeing more and more feedback on beechmast locally. I am thinking that we will see quite a few about as they begin to flock up as they have had another dry warm summer, and I am seeing quite a few juvenile birds. I definitely need to find time to get out again soon- my old dad used to say to me “ do what you love doing when you can as the day will come when you can’t “. Hitman

Very sad new indeed A true monarch the likes of which we will not see again. RIP Queen Elizabeth Long live the king.

Sad news indeed I went for a prostate check after Bill went public with his diagnosis- let’s hope others follow his advice and get checked out. I enjoyed his humour and observation one liners.

Nice write up- a very enjoyable read. Glad that everything came together on the day and you would have enjoyed the left and rights . 88 is a cracking bag - well shot sir.

Nice report of what sounds like a great day out and with a cracking bag. I love the kind of flightline shooting that you described- it is indeed like shooting driven birds.

MM the situation with stubble is much the same locally with rape stubble the preferred choice. Last summer I had a couple of good days on pea stubble- unfortunately all harvested and ploughed in 48hrs this year. September can be a good month for cereal stubbles provided the plough is kept away for at least a couple of weeks. Mum is now a care home resident which was the only option- she is happy, safe & being looked after, which is all we wanted. I live a five minute walk from the care home so she is seeing plenty of me- and thank you for enquiring.

Having been in the pigeon shooting wilderness recently and not really finding time to have a decent recce of my permissions - a call last night from an old shooting friend inviting me out - was greeted with a solid yes. He had spotted a good flightline but was unsure where they were heading so a recce was required- which soon identified a field of rape stubble on his permission. Hides up and decoys out by 1pm - a good S/Westerly was blowing and birds were moving but not really committed to the decoys, however I killed the first 3 that came in - and the magnet was brought into play. We were picking away and getting a few- but a stronger flightline was crossing the field 200 yards away and exiting over a line of hardwoods. After 30 mins I could resist no more and with a belt of 25 shells I headed off and settled in behind a bale which was perfectly placed in the shade about 6ft from the trees. The birds where coming at me like driving pheasant and the shooting was brisk - only issue was the mass of brambles and a standing barley field behind me which made retrieving birds behind impossible so I was trying to shoot everything so it would fall on the stubble- not easy when they are flying so high and fast . My 25 shells were gone in 30 mins with 13 picked and 5 lost- all the time my friend was picking away. I left my 13 out as decoys and changed places with my friend as I was aware that I had had most of the shooting. I was back in the original hide and continued to shoot some lovely overhead shots which fell on the stubble behind, including one particular high pigeon which was very surprised to see fall - all the while I could see birds falling followed by the shot coming from behind the bale. We called it a day at 5pm as my friend had a family dinner appointment - so the bag was 51 with at least 10 lost. It was so nice to be back in the hide and the bag was a welcome bonus.

MM -nice write up, glad you got a few with your special gun, which looks stunning by the way. Nice pictures- glad the dog had a run out. Rape stubbles are being cut then ploughed straight away locally which is very frustrating, as pigeons are not showing any interest in cereal stubbles near me so far. Yesterday I had to resort to plan B and have an afternoon of drinking Punk IPA at Newcastle quayside in 30 degrees sunshine.

Very sad news . Poster girl for many a youth ( including me) during the grease period of the late 70’s. Very beautiful and talented lady who has been taken way too young.

Nice write up MM- glad you achieved your goal of a afternoon of sport for yourself and Bobby. As for running out of cartridges- I guess we are of a similar age as I also only carry about 200 cartridges with me, the thinking is that I expect to kill 70% over decoys and the walk back to the car is becoming more of a challenge with age. I have yet to have a crack at pigeons on stubble this year due to hospital visits taking up most of my time recently. Well shot MM - keep the reports coming. Hitman

Thank you for your kind message- it is appreciated-sorry I didn’t mean to hijack the post. Mum has limited speech but decent mobility- just waiting for social care (4 times a day ) to be put in place before she can come home for a trial run to test how she can cope. Having a pendant alarm system fitted at her house on Thursday as she would be unable to use the phone to call for help. The social care package might take some arranging as there are simply not enough care workers. Now let’s get back to the shooting reports.

Excellent write up - thank you for posting. Nothing worse than getting baked in a hedge with the sun full in your face. Good that you braved the heat and at least got a couple of hours shooting and with pigeons for the pot. No harvesting yet in my patch unfortunately. My old mum had a stroke last week and is in hospital in Newcastle which is an hour drive from my home- so my days are spent visiting rather than shooting at the moment. Its going to be very hot almost everywhere in the coming days- so look after your elderly relatives and gun dogs .

Made some cracking films - Sonny Coleone was a great character for him to play after he had originally auditioned for the part of Michael. He starred in a Michael Mann film called Thief- which is one of my favourite Cann movies. RIP

Nadhim Zahawi - could have both top jobs in a week. Jeremy Hunt will be lurking in the shadows waiting for his moment to embarrass himself. Hitman

Nice shooting MM- the conditions you described are indeed good for shooting- and 21 is a good day out in my book. I love it when you can get the car to the hide - and I have on occasion not shot as many as I could if the walk back to the vehicle is a little bit too far for my ageing body .it’s been a mild winter and fairly dry spring so the pigeons will be reproduced at a high rate. I currently have a wood pigeons nest in my garden with 2 eggs in it.

Nice write up- and well shot. As MM said it’s a early for pea stubble this also applies to me but I still have it to come. Hopefully you will get another crack at them before the plough comes out .

What a result- 2 cracking days . Were the corvids mostly rooks ? Did you shoot many carrions?

Hi MM Nice write up and obviously an emotional time for you. Good to see that your tradecraft worked to your advantage with a very respectable bag of pigeon. I have been using the Geoff Garrard method of propping pigeons up using long bendy rods - which work well on tall crops like peas. Glad that you remembered a lost shooting friend in a very fitting way by having a day in the hide.

Nice shooting chaps- respectable bags . Clover and peas - nice crops to shoot over.

Nothing on barley yet here in North Northumberland- however the conditions for growing have been very good so perhaps something to consider soon. Great effort on the clover and peas 👍

Hi Folks I finally got the decoys out today after a prolonged spell of inactivity. I had been watching a couple of back to back pea fields which have enjoyed some fantastic growing weather recently- and I spotted about 50 pigeons scattered over one of the fields. Today was my only opportunity and the conditions were good- if a little bit too wind. I was at the field at 11am and spent 20 minutes watching the flightline into the field before deciding where to set up. I had a nice hide in a high hedge which gave me shelter from the wind. The sillo decoys were bellowing like a pipers cheek- and the first two came straight in - good I thought it will be two for the magnet- I stood up and fired at the easy one first and totally missed, the second barrel was pure hope as they were off on the wind- well it’s been a while. Next a bunch of five came in and I connected with one - again the wind was so strong that a flick of the wing and they were out of range. More begin to arrive and I was picking away- mostly singles including one high one which flew over the hide. Not sure if the magnet made any difference today as everything that came past came for a look before I set it up - but as I had carried it a long way I thought I would use it. The flightline was not a strong one and I had long spells without a shot. By 4pm I had had enough and packed up my 25 pigeons plus 2 I lost in the rape field behind my hide. It was just nice to be out again- I hopefully these fields will give me at least one more opportunity. Hitman

Hi MM Glad you got out with a respectable bag- I have vining peas being drilled this week and some drilling 4 weeks ago so will keep me going- hopefully.

I folks I am currently enjoying half term in the picturesque Andalusian town of Nerja- where the waters warm and the drinks are cold and the only birds I am spotting are on the beach. I have peas to go at when I return so hopefully a few posts and pictures from me soon. Hitman

Hi Al I also have not set a decoy on drillings this year. I have a perm where 2 pea fields were drilled on Tuesday. I check both fields every day this week including today- and not a pea or pigeon is visible. I am however optimistic as these fields have historically produced good sport, so hopefully when they green up the pigeons will find them.

Deny Essex This must have been a difficult call, but ultimately the correct one if your physical health is going to suffer. I have often mentioned on here that it’s a physically demanding hobby. Never say never as you might get an invitation someday. Hitman