Nmb

Welcome to pigeon watch and good to see another from the north east on here! Where abouts in Aberdeenshire are you from?

Signed, good luck!

Haha yeah beating dog on her first ever driven shoot, made even the quiet drives interesting as she kept going round in circles trying to hunt the stubble or grass. Would usually use my lab but she was in season.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=em-upload_owner&v=KllN3OvjOn0 This is a short video of me shooting at a beaters day in Aberdeenshire. It was a brilliant day with a strong wind making the birds fly really strongly. Unfortunately due to a couple of batteries going flat and it being very bright it was a struggle doing the day justice. drive 1- This was a duck ambush involving all 15 of us approaching a ditch in a line. As you will see I really picked the sweet spot and managed a nice left and right! Drive 2 - my battery died just as the action started however I shot poorly and only managed to shoot a single bird which was runner. Drive 3 - I was an end gun and the partridges flew so quickly you can hardly pick them out with the camera! Really seemed to struggle to give them enough lead and in hindsight the fact I kept swapping guns wouldn't have helped. Drive 4- this was me walking through a gamecrop. Again the sun made it difficult. Drive5- these birds were mental! So quick that they beat a pretty decent team of guns! I only managed one and despite shooting it well out in front it landed well behind! After this drive we had 3 more and typically I run out of battery when I had finally got my eye in! Managed a few screamers at pheasants and shot my bird of the season at a pigeon which was well up! Hopefully will get some more videos up next season!

Wow he seemed to struggle with those birds! First time I have watched one of his videos and felt like he was shooting at birds that were out of even his range!

We have released mallard and have never had a problem getting them to fly. My dad and I usually walk down either side of our pond with the dogs and try and flush them into the wind. Sometimes takes a few attempts over a few days but they always end up flying pretty well. This season coming however we are going to try and encourage the wild ducks and for get about the reared ones.

Sorry to hear this. At least it sounds like you have some lovely memories of your first season together. I lost my old black lab last season. I wrapped her up in my tweed jacket and buried her near our other dogs.

We had an additional piece of ground about 50 miles away from our syndicate shoot. We seen it had potential and put down 150 birds. Our return was over 100% and it was a cracking wee shoot however due to commitments to our main area we had to give it up this year. Guess it depends how busy you are as to whether another shoot is viable.

I had a 20 bore as my first gun and loved it got a 12b version as well before selling them both for a beretta O/U. Never had any trouble with either of mines over the 6 years I had them.

The week running up to our shoot days I always hope for snow to help pull the birds back in and until now it's been rain or nothing! Today however it's a whiteout and I don't have a big enough team to do it justice! Anyway hope everyone has some cracking shooting before the season is done. Nick

Haha go home and cry after missing!

Thanks for the comments. Was a really good day and we all shot well apart from one drive (the one with the teal) after lunch where we all shot rubbish with a ratio of 1:8! Something which made the day better was the fact my dad and I were pegged next to each other as was Charlie and his son Cammy who is over from Hong Kong. This was my first time at the pheasants with my beretta Supersport as my dad seems to have claimed my 686s! I shot quite well however the added weight meant I had to think about things more. It's great seeing things back on the videos as it gives you an idea what's making you miss. I'm out at the same place on Friday for a beaters day and then out on our syndicate shoot on Saturday and Monday so will try and get some new videos up! Nick

https://youtu.be/icIgYr5fwPcMy 2nd attempt at a shooting video! This was a 50 bird day shot by 8 of the guns which are in our syndicate on the ground which is literally across the road from this one! I started off shooting well however after lunch I couldn't hit a thing!

As above, take them quickly I had trouble a few years back and after getting onto them quicker I'm shooting much better. A high bird fan I shoot with occasionaly swears to me that you should shoot high birds at 12 o'clock however no idea if this is the case or not.

I have 3 o/u 12 bores 1 o/u 20bore 1 sxs 12bore 1 semi auto 12 bore 2 - 243 rifles 1- 22-250 1 .22 rifle And looking for a couple more shotguns yet!

Wow you guys are getting much better returns than we are! We have had a slightly poorer than average year mainly due to mood weather and flooding. At the moment we have shot 268/1200 pheasants and 69/250 red legged partridge. Have one last day next weekend and a walk about on the 1st. Looking forward to a rest for a month or so and then it all kicks off again!

I have been out Thursday, Friday and Saturday and have seen easily 20-25 woodcock flushed. Seen 7 shot and most appeared to be in reasonable condition.

Nice report and some cracking photos! Nice to see some greys up here as they are non existent near our shoot at Banchory.

Thanks for the feedback.Still trying to work out how to get the best out of the camera so will keep practising with it! Must remember to duck down more around trees and doors etc ! I have a syndicate pheasant shoot on Saturday and a bought day next Thursday so will try it then!

I was out at the shoot today for a wander about. Seen a lot of Pheasant and Partridge in the Containerwood which was nice after getting a blank there last shoot. Loads of still lying around the fields from the torrential rain which has been battering us here in the last week. Managed to get a headcam footage of me shooting a couple of jackdaws which I have added to the video section but here is a link https://youtu.be/tNgqSmmfTgg There is a shoot this Saturday and with the potential of snow arriving later in the week I am hopeful that we could have a good day. Also having a whiskey tasting and Chinese carryout after the shoot in the bothy which should be good. Cheers Nick

This is my first attempt at a video on here so very much learning and open to tips and advice. Just a couple of jackdaws I managed to shoot whilst out on the shoot and a random stoat which made an unexpected appearance at the end of the video. cheers Nick https://youtu.be/tNgqSmmfTgg

Our shoot has been pretty badly affected by flooding in the last week.Got some snow now so hopefully that will pull the birds back.

I know of a litter of labs pups born last week. Comes from working stock and a very knowledgable gun dog trainer. They are in kingswells. I can ask for more details if you want?

I bought a 682 Supersport which is 26 years old. Lovely wood and really enjoying shooting clays with it.£400 well spent!

Great write up! Sounds like you had a great day and was nice to see a picture of some of the pigeon watch legends!