old'un

We lost a few fish some years ago when Herons moved into the nature reserve across the road, since then we netted our pond but they still come into the garden and stand looking at the fish, a lump of dirt usually puts them off for a bit.

A busy week, well done, there's a lot of poor rape this year, not sure if it was the poor sowing conditions in August or the very wet winter we have had, those rape fields look dryish, is it light soil?

I like cabbage but we usually have spring of savoy, savoy being a bit milder, so whats this sweetheart cabbage like?

Out of luck mate, just spoke to the wife and she give them to the local charity shop, shame as he had only had them six months before he died, virtually brand new, one owner. How I wish there was a tongue in cheek emoji...

For those of you who do their own bacon curing (Jonty) Multipurpous slicer...https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/silvercrest-kitchen-tools-electric-multi-purpose-slicer/p10012475 Got one of these and would not be without it, Vac sealer...https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/silvercrest-kitchen-tools-vacuum-sealer/p10012480

Think I still have my dads old dentures somewhere, if your interested let me know?

It’s wymberley, his posts are sometimes like ‘Only Connect’

think the guy's had some flak over this as he's removed the video from his YT account.

Jonty is your man...https://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/profile/8521-jonty/

I just cannot understand it, we all know the pressure shooting is under and you get someone posting a video with what looks like dumped game, with the right story behind it and leaked to the press its pure gold for the anti shooting mob.

true, but he does have a YouTube account promoting all his videos for all to see. He’s obviously had some stick as he blocked comments on this video and added the note below. note :- the land owner puts the bait down on his land I have nothing to do with it . he decides its his land all I do is the fox control for them any problems with this contact them not me , absolutely fed up with this is why I came off all the shooting pages on social media and I'm close to wrapping this up as-well.

agree, but the man should know better, doesn't look like he is new to shooting.

brilliant day and write up, almost felt I was there, thanks for posting Dave.

Must admit I can see no signs of the birds being butchered or damage from the fall but it’s pure gold to the antis, think the guy needs a word in his ear.

Yep, they certainly don't look like they have been handled with kid gloves, their court appearance is not till May, don't think they will last that long.

But who were their pay masters?

Unless I need to go to specsavers it might help if you add a year and location.

Your brown sauce looks very red?

I also think keenness in all things country starts at an early age, most of the people I know who still go out shooting regularly are in their 60s-70s and have been involved with shooting all their lives, like me, they spent most of their youth down the woods climbing trees, collecting frog spawn, bird nesting, taking some bread, sausages and a drink down the woods and making a fire to cook them on, shooting the sparrows off the next-door neighbours chimney pots, setting a few snares to catch rabbits (without permission) and generally getting into mischief. As I got older these things progressed and the keenness grew stronger, I am now in my 70s, still keen, perhaps not as keen as I was in my 30s but still out chasing pigeons, still shooting a few crows, rabbits and squirrels. Are times harder for youngsters today...maybe, but I don't think there's the keenness for shooting (apart from clay shooting) that there was in my youth in the 50s 60s when every other lad had an air rifle or a catapult. Thinking back to the 70s 80s and the 90s it did seem there were pigeons on every rape field and in big numbers, bags of 80, 90 and 100 plus were common, specially the early days in the 70s, although before rape took off I would shot some pretty big bags on the corn stubbles.

I also had to earn a living and pay a mortgage, I had 3 days a week where I could go out looking for shooting, Saturday, Sunday and one day during the week, during the summer I would take my gear to work and finish about 4pm and go looking for shooting, fortunately I had a very understanding wife. Like TIGHTCHOKE said, I/we put a lot of effort and time into getting shooting, I have built up contacts and I’ve had some lucky brakes but never found it hard to get farms to shot on, this last 15 years I have given up lot of the farms I have shot on for years to newcomers, I have taken people off here pigeon shooting and last year introduced someone off here to a farmer with a lot of land, think you need to make friends with someone like me who is getting on a bit.

All the above is true to a point but I also think it takes someone who is keen, very keen….to go out in all weather and any time of year, to drive to farm after farm looking for that one day when everything falls into place. Over the years I have meet a few youngish shooters 30-35 and they tell me they are the next best thing to sliced bread and are going to get farm after farm and they will be checking the field every week, I always say good luck to them but usually after a winter or two chasing them on the rape they just disappear, never to be seen again, mind you, you do get an upturn in shooters come stubble time, so they do have the time and the money when things are easy.

It always amazes me how little take-up there is on offers of shooting, I cover a fair area, mainly pest control, pigeon shooting being number 1, years ago I would bump into other pigeon shooters regularly but now I might meet another pigeon chaser every 2 or 3 years and most of those are getting on, so where are all the keen young shooters, clay shooting?

Blimey, you got a hotline to the FSB?