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Hello everyone, A couple of us decided to try some decoying last Wednesday as there had been lots of crows and pigeons feeding around the shoot. With this in mind we setup a hide near the Sunflower crop underneath a sitty tree. We put out about 30 pigeon decoys including a flapper and rotary. We also put out 24 crow decoys and a flapper to the side of the pigeons in the hope of attracting both species! After we had set up and went back in to the hide I thought we would have to wait and let things settle for a while however within 5 minutes pigeons were committing to the pattern and the shot count quickly rose! We had 115 shots for 20 pigeons, 2 crows and a jackdaw so shooting must get better haha!

I have shot a 1989 beretta 686s since I was 12 and it's done everything I could want and is still tight and barrels are in good condition. Beretta don't seem to be popular on here but you won't go wrong if you choose one. Also Brownings are great too from my experience.

Hello everyone. We had our 7th formal day of the season on the 7th of January and the mild weather continued on from last year to make for a difficult days shooting. First drive would be Hattonburn for my team and after seeing lots of birds there recently I was hopeful of a good start. Unfortunately the birds are getting wise to our beating manoeuvres and decided to fly the opposite way from the guns and across a main road to safety. It isn't pleasant getting outsmarted by pheasants however I have a cunning plan for next shoot so watch this space! Next up was Kilduthie which has been consistent all season and after a poor start to the day I hoped it would again provide some good sport. As usual the small block of willows were blanked in first which provided some very good flying birds for the low numbered pegs. It was then on to the wood itself and again there were some challenging birds which managed to beat the line and survive for another day. After this it was the Containerwood for my team and unfortunately I had drawn peg 8 which is a fairly poor one. Today however it was the hot peg with one cock pheasant flying my way. After a sloppy first barrel miss I killed it cleanly with the second. This was one of only 4 pheasants flushed and the only one shot! After an extended elevenses it was off to the Ruinwood which had a few Partridge and pheasants however things were really quiet which we found surprising given the 3 week rest from the last shoot. I also failed to connect with a goose when a good 200-300 were flushed over the beaters before the drive had started! I was a walking gun at the Willows for the 5th drive which meant I heard the shooting without seeing very much happening. I didn't get a shot here so can't really say much about the drive however judging by the shots fired we should have had more than 2 pheasants! Last up was Matt Steeles and I was really hoping it would boost the bag. We had noticed a healthy number of birds here when feeding and after the first half of the drive had been done we flushed 10-15 birds of which 3 were shot. Again it wasn't really as good as we hoped but there is so much more to the day than pulling the trigger! It wasn't a great day in terms of bag however it is almost the end of the season so time to start planning for the next one! Total bag 12 Pheasants 1 partrodge 3 pigeons 1 Snipe

I'd be keen to come down from the far north!

Do you have to deliver the barrels to these places in person or can you post them in some way? Obviously barrels are not dangerous on their own but wasn't sure what the law is?

Was delighted to see you had done some write ups and yet again an interesting read and great pictures!

Cracking write up and pics! We fairly seem to be blessed with plenty of pigeons and geese up here at the moment!

Our first shoot of 2017 was held on the 2nd of January and we all hoped to bag our first bird of the year. It would be a fairly similar day to the Boxing day shoot. We split in to two teams of six with my team walking the jaffreys crop while the other did the Sunflower crop. Birds were flushed in both and my team even had some geese fly low over us however we didnt bag a single bird from our first foray of the year! Next up was Hattonburn with my team standing. We blanked in the Neuk and beat through a field of Turnips before standing while the other team walked through Bohill which is situated accross the road from Hattonburn. My dad managed to bag a Woodcock and Ian shot a Snipe there so it was worth the extra walk! Hattonburn itself was again well stocked with Pheasants however the bulk flew the wrong way which was a shame. My team walked through the Splash whilst the other did the Lwood. Unfortunately the Lwood was empty however we managed to shoot a Snipe and 2 Hen pheasants in the Splash which was an unexpected bonus! There had not been a pheasant shot here for over two years so it was good to see some birds appearing here again and with a bit of work before next season we can hopefully make it into a proper drive. Glashmore and the Tall Trees were again quiet however one pheasant was added to the larder and a few pigeons provided some challenging sport for us! Despite both being boundary drives I had hoped to see more birds here. We waited for ducks again and had another good flight with Mallard and Wigeon providing a fantastic end to the day once again. Total bag 9 Pheasants 6 Mallard 2 Wigeon 2 Snipe 1 Woodcock

Happy new year everyone! Its been a mad couple of weeks so finally got the time to write up the shoot reports. It was a shock waking up on Boxing day to find a covering of snow outside however it made it feel much more like a shoot day rather than the mild weather we have been stuck with this season so far. Our Boxing day shoots are not proper driven days and we tend to do drives on the boundaries and some walked up areas that very rarely get touched. We split into two teams of five and headed off to the first two drives of the day. My team beat the Jaffreys crop however before we were within sight of the strip a large covey of Partridge flushed and flew towards the Ruinwood. The few birds that remained managed to beat the line and make it to the safety of the Big pen. Next it was my teams turn to stand at the sunflower crop which had plenty partridges however the bulk decided to fly low over the guns which was a shame however they were all flying back into the heart of the shoot which is part of the reason for having these days. After this we headed to the opposite end of the shoot to Hattonburn which we had not tried for a while. We blanked in the turnips before swinging around and beating the rough ground around the farm steadings and the ditch towards the guns. There was a lot of Pheasants here and it would have been a good drive for one of the driven days however we all enjoyed getting the chance to get a shot and 8 Pheasants were added to the bag. Glashmore was next and despite plenty of extreme pigeons presenting themselves it was disappointing to only see one Pheasant being flushed. We then tried the Snipe bog and although we flushed 20-30 Snipe they all avoided the guns and headed out the side of the drive. The last two drives were the Lwood and the Tall trees both of which were fairly quiet however shooting was had in both of them so it was worth doing. Some of us decided to stay on for a duck flight and we were rewarded with the best flight we have ever had. Mallard and Teal were almost constantly coming into the pond from all angles and we all very nearly ran out of cartridges! A quick pick up and it was time to head back to the bothy for a dram and something to eat! Total bag 10 Pheasants 2 Partridges 4 Pigeons 16 Mallard 1 Teal

Deffinately agree. I'm a big lad and struggled to stay steady when trying to use a 40lb bow!

Just noticed this thread and really sorry to hear about all the problems you have had. It's a long way upto Aberdeenshire but if you ever fancy a trip up you would be a welcome guest. Nick

Was delighted to see a another video from the head cam master! Great footage despite the unlucky pegs and nice to see rob!

Thanks for the kind replies. Hope everyone has a great Christmas and I'll hopefully have a report from our Boxing Day shoot before the new year.

some pictures from the shoot day courtesy of Tom. Brian with his pup my dad complete with cigarrete! Brian hiding from the team captain! John at the Willows Yours truly with guest Ken

Hello everyone. We had our 6th Formal shoot of the season on the 17th of December. It was another mild day which made things difficult as the birds have no interest in being in the woodland drives. My team would be beating the Containerwood first which had been fairly poor on the previous shoot so we were hoping it would be back to normal today. It was a slow start with nothing much showing apart from a lone Mallard from the duck pond. Pheasants started to flush from the mid point onwards with the bulk of the line getting shooting however the partridges are getting smart and decided to fly back over our heads! Next up was the Ruinwood for my team and again it was a fairly slow start but this time the guns also got the opportunity to add some Partridges to the bag. I was a walking gun which meant I was out of the shooting but it was good seeing Harrie shooting consecutive left and rights! We did Matt Steeles next and if the guns had to wait a while for some shooting at the previous drives this was even worse with the first bird being flushed about 50 yards from the end! Once the first was flushed there was quite a few to follow. A half dozen pheasants were added to the cart which was much the same as the earlier drives. Kilduthie and then the Willows followed and both had a good number of birds present with a reasonable number being added to the bag. Its been a good season so far and I think part of the success is these drives which are on our boundary producing good returns. The only problem is the Willows are difficult to beat through due to the sheer size of the plantation and the jungle like formation of the trees but as long as the guns get shooting its worth battling through! Last drive of the day was the Big pen which again was steady enough without ever really producing a flurry of birds. I finally had a pheasant fly over me which I managed to hit first time. The rest of the guns shot well which meant most of us had a bird to carry back to the bothy! The birds are starting to thin out however you cant shoot 300+ and still expect the drives to be full. I was pleased that all the drives had birds and were fairly similar as there is nothing worse than one team getting all the shooting. Total bag 34 Pheasants 2 Partridge

That is the model that almost swayed me from beretta. Really nice looking gun!

I use merlin for all my archery stuff and they have always been good. It's great fun especially in the summer when we have a clay shoot and bbq followed by a bit of archery!

I'm a mechanic and we do get the odd problem with them. I kept an old pre particulate filter mondeo on the road for years until I was confident that they were not going to cost me a fortune! From my expereince if you have one reasonable length of journey every few weeks and give it some wellie now and again you won't have any problems. When we have cars in with dpf problems we park them outside and regenerate them via a diagnostic computer. This basically involves the computer revving the hell out of the engine for 40 mins which generally clears them.

I live in Aberdeenshire and see hundreds of geese every day when they are over here but iv never shot one yet! Plenty feed on our ground but never been much good at decoying them. Day off tomorrow though so you have made me think off giving it a go! Looks like great fun and glad to see them getting used! Duck flights must have been cracking sport!

I was a huge le chameau fan but was advised against buying them from a gunshop and instead bought the cheaper aigle wellies. By far the best on the market in my opinion after trying many of the other brands.

Hello everyone. Our 5th driven day of the season was on the 3rd of December and after a 3 week gap since the last shoot we were all eager to get out again. First drive of the day would be Kilduthie for the A team. The first drive was meant to be Hattonburn however after my usual pre shoot scout of the ground i had noticed a fair number of pheasants around the Kilduthie wood. Its always risky changing the plan but it seemed to pay of with a good show of birds being presented to the guns. This drive seems to have improved since we relocated the pen and netted it so looks like the extra work has paid off. My teams first drive of the day would be the usually consistent Containerwood however very few birds were flushed this time with only 5 pheasants being added to the bag. Hopefully it was just a one off as this is one of the best drives on the shoot normally. The big pen was next and like its predecessor it was fairly poor. There were a fair number of birds but considering it was the first time we had driven the pen we had hoped for more . Unlike Kilduthie these two drives are mainly thick dark woods so the chances are the birds were enjoying the sun in the stubbles. I was peg 6 for the willows which is usually a hot spot but all the birds seemed to fly as far away as possible from me which meant I was left to watch some good shots and some equally bad misses! Good to see this drive producing the goods especially as its a nightmare to beat through. Next up was Matt Steeles and due to the layout of the ground my team would be shooting again. As before there were plenty of birds trying to avoid my peg however I managed to get a nice bird which had tried to get through the gap in our line. This was by far the best drive of the day with birds consistently testing the guns and providing 12 pheasants to the larder. Last drive of the day would be the Ruinwood which usually starts to struggle at this stage of the season however the birds were still there in healthy numbers and we finally managed to catch up with the partridges which had managed to evade us all day. The birds seemed to spread out nicely across the line which meant a good end to the day for the bulk of the guns. Despite the numbers starting to decrease almost everyone seemed to get some shooting which is what we want. We could really use some snow to get the birds back into the heart of the shoot as they are spread all over the place! Total bag 41 Pheasants 4 Partridge 6 Mallard Ps I heard wild rumours that iain managed to shoot 3 ducks with one shot so thought id say well done as I know he usually reads the reports!

Hello everyone. A very late account of our woodcock and snipe day which was held on the 19th of November. I was hoping for mild weather which seems to help keep the woodcock and snipe on our boggy ground but as soon as I opened the front door it was obvious it was far from the desired temperature! When we met at the bothy it was -8 so thoughts of a bumper bag of waders went out the window however being the dedicated bunch that we are we decided to give it a try and see what was braving the cold. We split in to two teams and as my team lost the coin toss we would beat the sunflower crop before standing for the jaffreys crop. Both drives had plenty of partridges numbering between 20-30 however without the usual flaggers being in place the majority barely left the ground to offer sporting shots. Next up was hattonburn and plenty of pheasants were seen however again they didn't really fly well which was a shame but they will be there for the next driven day! We decided to try the snipe bog and glashmore before lunch and despite the frozen ground there was still a good number of snipe in the bog however in keeping with the luck of the day most of the birds flew out the side of the drive and to safety. After a bowl of stovies for lunch it was time to brave the red moss in the hope of seeing some woodcock. The moss was really solid which resulted with only a single woodcock being flushed which escaped the line. We would normally try 2-3 areas but it was clear it just wasn't going to work so we decided to make our way back to the bothy for a cup of tea! It was a good day with plenty gamebirds on show and despite the weather I think we all had an opportunity to add something to the bag. Total bag 8 pheasants 1 partridge 1 snipe Shots 78

little video of me shooting. Unfortuantely i wasnt lucky with my pegs and my battery died before i shot a pheasant and snipe. will get a video of the woodcock shoot this Saturday.

Looked like a fantastic day! Beats a driven day hands down in my opinion!

Hello everyone, We had our 4th Driven shoot on Saturday and after having three 60+ bags we were hoping the good days would continue. It had been a cold week leading upto the shoot day however it was quite mild when we all met at the old bothy. My team would be shooting Kilduthie for the first drive of the day and after being rested the previous shoot I was confident it would provide a good start . As usual the small block of Willows were blanked in first and between 10-15 pheasants were flushed over guns 1-3. I was number 2 and managed to hit a nice cock bird which I was pleased with. Unfortunately the wood itself was quite poor and the birds which were flushed managed beat the guns. Next up was the Containerwood. This has proven to be a reliable bag filler over the last few seasons and after a slow start a good number of Partridge and Pheasants were pushed over the guns. Throughout the day it was noted the Partridges didn't seem to be flying as strongly as normal. Not sure what would have caused this however it was good to see them in such good numbers again. The Ruinwood was next and just like the Containerwood it has been a good drive this season. Partridges were flushed over guns 2-5 throughout the first half of the drive however they just wouldn't fly and very few presented the opportunity of a shot. As normal the pheasants flew mainly over the high numbers and plenty birds were shot at this end of the line. This drive was fairly poor last year with only 26 pheasants and partridge being shot over the whole season. This year we cut rides in the wood and spent time creating ground cover using branches etc which has resulted in us shooting 75 birds already. After lunch my team would be beating The Willows which is quite a challenge as they are thick! Plenty of birds were flushed with 6 being added to the game cart. This part of the shoot seems to be holding plenty of birds which will hopefully be reflected in the returns at the end of the season. Next up was the Opposite pen which hasn't been shot this season yet. We normally do this along with the Big Pen however we decide to leave the birds there for another day and instead tried the Tall Trees with it. It was a reasonable drive however we could have pegged out differently as the guns who normally get shooting from the pen were out of it a bit. I managed to shoot a nice partridge and Pheasant however missed my first woodcock of the season! Matt Steeles was next and as per usual it performed solidly providing the bulk of the guns with shooting. They seem to be flying stronger as the season goes on so fingers crossed this can continue We decided to drive the Snipe bog as a bit of fun and it was well worth doing with a huge amount of shooting being had with mixed results! Kenny managed two birds with one shot which was good to see and I managed to bag one myself. Total bag 46 Pheasants 10 Partridge 9 Snipe Another cracking day with 6 steady drives which meant everyone seemed to get some shooting at some point during the day. Thoughts now move on to the woodcock and Snipe shoot which should be good fun and hopefully a mixed species bag.