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I bought a set of vortex and have to say I'm very impressed.

I bought a slab and filled my cartridge bag up for a pigeon and crow day. Back pain got in the way however so I told my dad to grab the cartridge bag and give them a try. 67 pigeon and 21 crows later he proclaimed them to be brilliant but he couldn't undertsand why the cases were not clear and a weird olive colour. Turns out he had taken my clay shooting bag filled with cheddite 28gram 7 1/2s by mistake! Makes me wonder if it's all marketing nonsense with this heavy diamond shot and fast powder marketing! I am out this weekend so will see how the new version perform. I remeber using the old clear pigeons on pheasant days years ago,and they seemed to be popular back then.

Hello everyone. Had another explore around the ground on Saturday evening. Met my dad at 19:30 and gave him my trusty tikka 243 in exchange for our old Parker hale 22-250 which will be shortly exchanged for a steyr mannlicher 223 pro hunter. I was keen to get a chance to use my new primos tripod sticks which despite being expensive looked and felt right to me so were duly bought and now all that remained was to justify the hefty price tag with some venison! I had seen a couple of bucks near a scots pine wood surrounded by wheat fields. I had only travelled for a couple hundred yards from our meeting area when I spotted the younger of the two bucks standing in the wheat perhaps 700-800 yards away. The wind was in my favour and I decided to attempt to stalk into it and see what would happen. I had a high seat as a back up plan however I prefer to be active in pursuing the deer so I was keen to test my very raw skills! I managed to get to the end of the rape park next to our meeting place which borders the wheat field where the buck was still standing oblivious to my approach. About 20 yards from the field edge two young roe along with two does were aware of my presence however I retreated back and went around and they seemed to accept my submission and continued to feed albeit more wearily. The buck was still standing next to a ditch which split the large park in two up the middle. I went up the opposite side however it was difficult trying to stay quiet in the field of crop. Not being familiar with the rifle I wanted to get as close as possible and this proved to be my downfall as the buck suddenly bolted away to my left. I crouched down and tried my best bark impersonation, It did stop however I wasn't happy with the shot so let it continue on. I tried my buttalo in a last ditch attempt to grab it's attention but it was to be in vain or so I thought. After a few minutes I retraced my steps back towards the field edge however I got a shock as I seen a nice buck heading rapidly towards me! It was easily within 50 yards and seemed content to mark the broom which ran along the field edge. I couldn't get a clear view so decided to climb up the bank to ensure I was getting as safe shot as possible. I couldn't see it and started to wonder whether it had escaped during my position change however just as I had set the rifle onto the sticks it appeared again. I set the hair trigger lined up on the neck and fired. It collapsed on the spot which was satisfying so I held my position for a few minutes before approaching and confirming death. They seem to be getting bigger and bigger this one being a six pointer with one point almost flattened and its ear torn. Another great night and another clean kill! 26 and 3/4 years to get one buck and suddenly I have 3 in two weeks! This stalking game is an addictive pursuit!

Do you wear any special socks with your dunlops? I have a pair for the garden and have tried them when rough shooting. They are great value but my feet get absolutely freezing in them? Are they neoprene as mines are just lined which is what I put the cold down to?

That would be like cutting off your arm because you have a sore finger hahaI feared my 690 had a faulty ejector from new however turns out one had been turned off- very relieved when I found out all I had to do was turn a screw a half turn!

You won't go wrong with aigle! Iv had my pair for 3 years and wear them atleast twice a week without any issue! Before them I tried muck boots, hunters and seeland and all were ruined within months! Still have my old le chameaus which are torn but lasted 7 years. Much longer than their modern counterparts seem to!

Heading out tomorrow so will hopefully have a another good morning to talk about!

My second solo outing was a morning stalk last Saturday. It doesnt stay dark long up here and upon arrival at the farm at 03:30 it was already light enough to comfortably see through the binoculars. i walked the same route as i had on my previous visit which was a rough track with barley to my left and a wood on my right. As i approcahed the area where i had shot my last buck i started scanning the clearing for Roe however as i turned to continue on i froze as a Buck was crossing the barley heading towards the path about 30 yards infront! i stood still and watched him cassually cross me and jump the low fence before starting to mark the gorse snd silver birches along the clearing edge. I couldnt retreat as the wood would block my view and if i advanced i thought he might scent me so with no safe backstop i watched as he went into a large patch of gorse then continued on hoping to catch him later on. There was plenty of Does on the go but I started to wonder whether I should have pursued the buck for longer. I had planned to turn right at a fork in the road however for whatever reason I turned left. By the time I had realised my error I thought I may as well carry on and see what was on show. The path steadily rose through a fern covered hill and on my right I could see down into the clearings I had meant to head to from the other path and on my right was large areas of ferns. About half way along I spotted a Beast however I couldn't identify the sex. I continued on trying to get a better view and made a newbie mistake of forgetting to check elsewhere! I looked to my left and seen a buck standing on the hill about 90 yards away staring at me! I knew if I moved the game was up so I waited to see what happened. He couldn't scent me but wasn't happy and made an escape attempt however I readied the rifle quickly and gave a shout. He stopped just long enough to squeeze the trigger and after running about 15 yards he was down! Gralloch done it was back to collect the car. On my way back I passed a really foxy looking moss and as I always carry my rubber band caller I settled down and gave a squeak I hadn't even taken the caller from my mouth when a fox was charging towards me! Feeling like the new Roy Lupton I steadied myself and shouted. It stopped front on and ..... click! I had only left the rifle empty after gralloching the beast! Feeling like an idiot I went and collected the car and recovered the beast. Another memorable morning! it was and the fillet steak cooked with just salt and pepper and 6 drops of whisky really did end the demo well! Amazing talent view from the hill

Thanks for the replies everyone! Something I have noticed is that pulling the trigger is of little importance it's watching nature going about its business that makes it such an enjoyable experience. The beast was for myself and family so I got an excellent demonstration from one of our game shoot members who is a chef speciallising in game cooking. It was amazing seeing how he went about getting the most from the animal!

no idea whats happened but managed to eventually get them uploaded. Bit of a nightmare though!

My first night was to begin after work and as the day progressed i think i had imagined evey possible outcome for the evening ahead. We had secured high seats in some fabulous locations and deer were showing everywhere. My dad and Bob (Two pie) were all going to take a seat each however due to the fact i finish work much earlier than the others i could have a quick scan to see what was showing. i parked in the farm yard and made the 1/2 mile walk from the steadings towards the first clearing which is at the base of a hill. A wood runs alongside the path and as i approached its end i stopped to glass the clearing. The sudden appearance of a Roe gave me a jolt of excitment and this only intensisfied as i noticed two very short spikes protruding from its skull. The wind was in my favour so i took up postion with my rifle on top a fencepost and watched as the buck made its way infront of me and stopped infront of a bank about 80 yards infront. I eased the safety off, steadied myself then fired. To my great delight the animal fell on the spot and a sudden rush of addrenaline came over me! i unloaded the empty round and waited for 5 minutes or so to let things settle. Upon approach the animal had clearly expired and this was confirmed by the eye blink test. My dad was close to the ground so i gave him a phone and we agreed to prepare the beast back at the farm. Perhaps I should have retrieved my car however I removed the magazine slung my rifle and chucked the wee buck over my shoulder and made the 1/2 trip back to the farm. I was a bit out of breath and had blood on my deerhunter but I couldn't have been happier! I gralloched it under the watchful eye of my dad who has his DSC and food hygiene tickets. It had been shot through the heart and had caused minimal meat damage so a great way to begin my solo stalking journey! 3.photobucket.com/user/nickltz400/media/IMG_2930_zps62a4k44z.jpg.html][/url]

Hello everyone. Some of you may be familiar with my shooting syndicate thread however having just gained 750 acres of ground to stalk on in Aberdeenshire i thought id start this thread to chart my sucess and failures in pursuing one of natures prettiest animals. My stalking experience when younger wasnt great to be honest. My dad was part of a heavily shot syndicate and my memories were of being told to "stop making so much noise" and i was never lucky to witness a succesful stalk. As the years passed pheasants took over our sporting lives and it was in this area i became confident in. Foxes are a huge issue on the syndicate shoot so my old heavy barreled Tikka 243 gets a fair bit of use and can fairly knock them down. My only experience of stalking was when i had been kindly invited to a couple of evenings with keepers which accounted for a single doe and buck giving me a very basic idea on how to gralloch and prepare the animal properly. Anyway fast forward to a month or so back and having gained our ground I was excited about finally getting out whenever I wanted a getting in amongst the deer! and that brings me on to my first evening.

We have pheasants! The cycle has started again!

interesting times in Scotland! Alex salmond and Angus Robertson were big hitters for the SNP and both gone! North East of Scotland and the Highlands seem to finally have seen sense

Ever since i have taken an interest in the lions tours I have had no issue with the lack of scots included however this time I'm really annoyed to the point where I won't be watching. I just can't see why Wales have so many players picked.

I have a 20 bore diamond x and I really like it. I bought it for my girlfriend to see if she would like clay pigeon shooting. It's never been any problem and it's my go to crow decoying gun as i seem to shoot it really well. Iv heard negatives about older guns but mines is a 2012 and as I said been great value for money

Cheers for the tips. We really hit the magpies hard a few years ago and it's only this year we have strarted to see them regularly again so hoping I can hit a few before they multiply again. I think I'll set up a couple of dozen crows with a couple of floaters to add some movement. There is a really nice sitty tree where I'm planning on setting up so will put a few crows decoys in the tree which might attract some attention. I'll whack a rabbit with the .22 and put the magpie beside it too

Thanks for the reply. I'll give it a try and see what happens!

Planning on shooting some crows at the weekend and know there is a couple of magpies around our ground. Just wondering whether I could put a magpie decoy out near the crow ones or whether this wouldn't be natural? Also do crows work well on bouncers. I have a few but never used them on crows? Usually just set out full bodied decoys but having to pull them in from a distance due to calves being in quite a few of the fields at the moment so trying to get some movement to grab their attention. Any advice would be welcome Nick Ps I have a crow flapper but had mixed results.

Our birds have went up by 20p and We were told to get in early incase of a shortage.

Never come on here asking about new berettas! Only Brownings and ceasar guerini are allowed! Joking aside I bought two new 690 fields in July last year and have loved them so far. Never given me any cause for concern and have received a lot of compliments from friends who have tried them. Not sure of the difference between my fields and the black version but I'd advise to go and try various guns and ignore the biased nonsense on here.

We have four pheasant pens. Two netted pens which have 450 birds between them and two non netted ones with 850 birds between them. We achieved a return of 38% in the netted ones and only 17% in the open ones. Also worth saying that last season one of the pens went from 20% when non netted to 41% this season with a net over the top. Our netted ones are in open areas with broom, ferns, nettles etc and we also add lots of branches to provide cover. We are looking at netting the others this season as we feel it helps a lot. Nick

So that's it for another season! our AGM is next Saturday so time to get the plans in motion for the 2017/18 season. With some land tax laws coming into play it will be an interesting year for Scottish syndicates so fingers crossed things go well! I'm planning on trying to do write ups of work days, social events and clay shoots etc so will try and give everyone an idea of how things are progressing. Finally thanks to everyone who has read and replied to the thread! Nick

Hello everyone. Time for the last shoot reports of the year! I was shooting at a beaters day for the last mini formal day on the 28th of January so can't really give much of a report however yet again mild weather and wily pheasants made for a tough day for the 4 a side teams and only a bag of 7 was achieved during the day. A better flight was had with a frantic 20 minute spell providing 4 Mallard and 4 Teal. Next up was a walk day around the shoot on the 31st which Harrie, Iain and myself attended. Harrie would be late due to work commitments so Iain and myself left the bothy and headed to the-sunflower crop and it didn't take long to bag a partrdige and a pheasant. We noticed several hundred geese lifting and landing several fields over so we decided to focus our efforts on trying to get some geese! I have never shot a goose before despite having a few chances so I wasn't feeling confident. We both crept up a slight rise in the field towards a dike which the geese were at the other side of. To our surprise we reached it without being spotted and after a quick shout on the radio we sprung up and flushed a sea of the huge birds. I fired the first barrel and to my great surprise two birds fell stone dead to the ground! My shots pushed them towards Iain who managed a left and right so a great start to our day and heavy game bags! We met with Harrie and headed to the Snipe bog to see if we could manage to add a fourth species to the bag. We flushed about 30-40 birds and managed to shoot 4 between us with Harrie shooting his first and second ever Snipe. After this we did some of the partrodge drives like the Ruinwood which I bagged a left and right at partridge in, Jaffreys and L-wood. There were plenty of birds to shoot at and by the time we had returned to the bothy we had all used almost all our cartridges. After lunch we did matt Steeles which produced a few pheasants and afterwards decided to finish for the day as the rain had soaked us through to the bone! Being the 1st of February we were restricted to pheasants and pigeons. we quickly bagged our first pheasant in the splash followed by another two in the Red Moss. After this we walked the Ruinwood and gamecrop drives before doing the Containerwood before lunch. The amount of birds on show was impressive and we all had plenty of shooting and started wondering just how high the bag could go! After lunch we did Matt Steeles, Kilduthie, Hattonburn and Bohill which all showed plenty of birds and provided a fantastic if slightly tiring end to the season! Total bag for the two days 14 pheasants 8 partridge 4 Geese 4 Snipe 3 Pigeon 1 Woodcock

Hello everyone. We had our last formal shoot of the season last Saturday and after a few of us had been shooting next door the day before we were hoping to get a few more pheasants to test us again! First up was Hattonburn which we tried in the opposite direction. We flushed a few birds however yet again they missed the line of guns. Next up was Kilduthie for my team which proved to have a few more pheasants than Hattonburn . One was added to the bag along with a pigeon I managed to shoot early on in the drive. The container wood and the Sunflower crop were the next two drives and continuing the theme of the day there was a lack of birds however richard had the misfortune of having two pheasants and a partridge fly over his peg whilst reloading his gun! A few birds had been shot which meant the game larder wasn't completely empty during elevenses! We headed back to the far end of the shoot for the next two drives which were the willows and Matt Steeles. These proved to be the best two drives of the day with birds testing both sides of the line. As a bonus a woodcock was shot from the willows which was only the 2nd of the season. Ruinwood and the Big pen would finish of the day and after only one pheasant was flushed from the Ruinwood it was nice to flush a few from the Big pen to end on a relative high.This area has been better than last season however it has been noted that our netted pens in the far end of the shoot seem to produce much better returns than the non netted pens in this area. The duck pond was frozen over so it was back to the bothy to count the bag. Total bag 14 pheasants 3 Pigeons 2 woodcock