GADWALL41

Thanks MM. , we are indeed in better form today , dog on meds until the weekend . The speed of the attack was a surprise and trying to get the Beggars out of his fur was difficult . Lots of sandy soils down to the shoreline here and they seem to like that . Cheers.

30fps sounds good , as does the 25, 30 yards . With a narrow fov , a shot at a pheasant should be large in the frame , but as I mentioned , wider angles smooth out the footage better . I do a lot of walked up shooting to , snipe etc and my sony 4K is good on snipe to 40 yards in anti vibration setting and a medium field of view . Also head mounted smooth's out the video footage . Once you see what it captures at a few different distances and equate that to your fov , play around with your frame rates and after that all you have to worry about is the light level and an external mike possibly as some of the GPs , newer types to have a poor internal mike. It sounds like you have a good grasp of the basics . In the future I am sure at the driven shoots you will want to place a camera behind you . A 3 or 4 foot hazel stick with a GP mount screwed into it and pushed into the ground works wonders , just counter sink the screw on the mount to slide the camera on and off . The difference between fixed and a head mount footage is night and day . I just wish I had this kit 40 Years ago , still happy days and Kodachrome of the Mind , lol.

Thanks lads . Dog is in better form now but he is still swollen in the sting zones , in front of the fire and getting plenty of rubs . Need some frost to put those Bugs to sleep , no sign of that anytime soon with all that warm Air coming in from the south west.

Just a quick heads up . Now I'm back from the vets with my dog . Out yesterday and well suddenly , within 4 seconds up to 50 wasps were in my dogs fur and the other part of the swarm on me . Dog got zapped , I got zapped , he was on a drip overnight and 5 days of pills to take . I have been stung before but this was on a different level of pain and I still had live wasps in my jacket when I got home an hour later . Now looking like Kim Kardasian , pouting lips and all my shooting will be on youtube for the next few days , Be , or wasp , careful out there ! if it buzzes , run.

Here is a pic of my ext battery pack . I can stick it in a pocket or mount it on a fixed camera . Note the 90 bend on the cable to camera plug , you can get these in left or right and this makes a difference in keeping the cable close to your clothing , stops snagging . All available on e bay or amazon . When decoying , or flighting Duck I use up to 3 cameras and have 2 of these battery packs made up. Size , battery is about 4.5 inches long . I have a hole cut in the top of the case for the cable to plug in . You should get all day out of the pack , note cheap battery does not equal cheerful , do your homework .

Hello, I have used Sony , Go pro and other sports cameras while shooting for a few years now . Here are a few of my thoughts on them. Firstly Go Pro , in general are very poor in low light , so dusk and dawn clips will be poor no matter what your settings are . Sony sports cams capture low light images better , but no wearable camera is going to be perfect in low light . Experiment with the settings yourself because if you are decoying at 20yds a wide setting is fine , if you are shooting snipe at 40yds it will not be . As you don't say what you are shooting , play around with it . You can get after market lenses that allow you to have a narrow field of view zoomed in more . Now , where to mount the Camera is the single most important decision to make . I used to have my first one on the barrels , But while it records the hit , or miss the drawback is if you want to video a retrieve or you shooting buddy getting his first goose or whatever , well your pointing a Gun at them aren't you . I wear my Sony at the side of my head and I can use it to record everything , safely . Go Pro is usually worn on the forehead . Make steady movements to smooth out your film , try not to snap your head from side to side suddenly . You will capture kills shots well from a head cam . If you are in a Hide I would suggest you have a second camera mounted behind you on a pole or tripod to give a stable image and you could edit in footage from a head cam kill into your final video . Cameras like a shotkam are great for learning where you miss or hit etc and that's there design philosophy , a few seconds recording either side of a shot , but you will not see the flocks approach or the retrieve being made on a shotkam . Watch FSB those shots are taken by David etc beside the shooter . For the best all round video , head mount it , if its just the kill or miss you want , gun mount it . The more you narrow your field of view , the more Camera shake will be an issue . Once I put the camera on , I forget about it , just takes a bit of time and you will get used to it .

As C S states in his 2nd line , Permits applied for , which would include access permissions also , one would imagine . I am well aware of the law in Both Scotland AND England and Wales regarding HWM and accessing same , that's down to CS . Why I chose to reply was because 50 + views in no one had answered and I was concerned for the safety of both of them on the foreshore , as I said I do not know that estuary . Still I would rather see him alive ,prosecuted by The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal for whatever above HWM transgressions and not to have to read of another Tragedy by drowning .

Hello, firstly let me say I do not know that estuary or stretch of coastline . Reading your post and looking at your pic several things spring to mind , including an absolute worst case Spring tide scenario , which from your pic is not going to be Your red Line . Most important things first and not telling anybody what to do , I would not be bringing any child of mine onto an estuary I did not know inside out by Day and by night . As a shooter new to the sport remember if you set up below the HWM on an incoming tide you will be forced to move and doing so mid flight may come at a cost of missed opportunities, or worse. Set up above the HWM until you have more experience , that way you can move along the shoreline easily to intercept birds that are not coming into your decoys , as you mentioned passing Tufteds etc. See my drawing on your map , those black arrows are on a creek running into your river or out of view to the sea which looks to flood and is Above your High tide Mark , so either You have misread this map or I have ?, either way a dangerous situation .That tide will flood up to those black lines . Other questions I would have before I could say set up here or there would be , what is the prevailing wind direction and are there any large bodies of fresh water close by inland ?. Might be best to Buddy up if you can and learn the ways of the water there , that water will Kill you if you let . I don't mean to preach and yes I'm sure all our blood is starting to rise a bit as the days creep by . pic here

Hi, there are several cds , mp3 packages available for UK bird calls , but this link should have most of what you need for free. http://www.british-birdsongs.uk/alphabetical/ What book do you refer to ?. The Collins Bird guide has some very good illustrations on all European Birds . Or get it as an app. http://collinsbirdguideapp.com/ As for film footage , well I must have close to 30 dvds on Bird shooting and I know of no single dvd that would contain all that you need to know . For a beginner I think Chris Greens series on Wildfowling would be helpful to you . There videos on youtube which would be of benefit to , but you must remember , that what works on film best is nice sunlit decoying ducks with brilliant plumage nice and visible . So when its half dark and sleeting the same duck looks half the size etc and doesn't get filmed and if it does theres probably a nice big rain spot or two on the lens so those films don't get uploaded as much. Havinng said that there are some good French . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI165ZGD4Ac videos and these are helpful top you as they show shooting and flight angles of Birds we cannot shoot here . Remember you will need to know the flight of the ones you must let fly on also . Have a look at this guys other films and the links off it also , I am sure it will help . Good luck and enjoy your first season out there , Quack quack.

Hello, this chart will help you out a little . I am going through a Change of gun myself through this season and even though I have the gun laser sighted to mount bang on dead centre , the gun is still shooting low ( as per the I net review of same) so it looks like an adjustable comb for me after the Season . Adjust LOP before you purchase another pad or a pad extension, or as I have some strips of leather ( on my comb) . Hope it helps a bit.

Priceless ! absolute classic and so fitting for my last evening flight . Shellies only showed up, but then again Cork harbour does hold 100s of them . Still laughing my cuppa is going cold !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

In the past 18 months I have had 2 pairs of Le C wellies fail on me , Heal area separation last time . Got a full refund from UK supplier , but I will not be buying them again . Agile user now , first season and I really like the sole grip , hopefully they will survive a few more seasons.

Hello M G. I know all about Nut Jobs and this guy just does not stop , when he gets an idea into his head , that's that no amount of calling , hand signals, whistling or much else will turn him . Combined with a little deafness and an I know Better and your with me, not I with you attitude . In many ways he is just too clever for his own good at 9.5 yrs I have just got to be patient and work around him . He just loves being out and swimming and swimming and yes more swimming . Here he is trying to retrieve a Bass ,( pic pulled from a vid) having been told to get out several times . Fish was safely released , By me , lol. A new pup in the new year , a Lab for sure this time .

If I am shooting over decoys , I put the Vest on him . If jump shooting , or ambushing them in creeks and corners , he will be walking running about , so unless it is very cold I will let him be , Vest less. Note that they also help can act as a buoyancy aid and some have extra lateral strips in the vest for this . It does keep them warm and the shaking and shivering impression is nervous tension , most of the time .

Wind and Rain ?. Late evening , early morning lying in bed and the Hackles rise as it pelts against the slates , I cannot get out into it fast enough . I love the challenge of a good stormy days flighting , though given the frequency of Storms last Winter I was beginning to Doubt my Sanity there for a while . No wind bar one day in October just past and nothing on the Horizon this week either , for us here at least . I have had my best bags on the worst of days and the Unusual often puts in an appearance on the shoreline to . The exhilaration of shooting in a good blow , of being the only person (idiot, myself , no reflection on other readers) out in it makes me feel alive . and no I have not just watched Moby **** ( edited by the site ) The whale - and seen Capt Ahab give his speech from the bow . At least 3 days rain needed here , all rivers low , estuaries with Salmon waiting to run and spawn , with seals making hay right now with low water levels . I just hope we do not get the floods to coincide with the very high tides due later this month . My current kit is so much better than the Oil skin jacket and matching Sou wester hat , in shinny black I started shooting in . I need my Fix of wind and rain , now .

I will be in the market for a new Pup myself in the not to distant future and it will not be a GSP . No Prejudice , just practical experience . I have shot over at least 5 GSPs and 2 Wire haireds for good measure , all types of shooting . Boy are they hard workers and hard work to control , as is any dog that is not properly trained . I would advise anybody contemplating getting one to try and see these dogs working in the field first hand . Yes I will have to say that some of those I have seen were not the best trained , to the point that to get one to return to heel a smoking hole was usually left in the ground .My next invite there was politely declined . I myself had a Llewellyn setter that would retrieve duck from any location for me and stayed quiet as a mouse on flights . All breeds throw up the whinger , I am miserable get me outa here type and a few hours of that would put a sane man off his shooting mighty fast . My next pup will be what the guys in the gun club here call an old mans dog , my run of Springer spaniels is coming to a close and a Labrador pup is the next plan. But to each his own.

I am sorry to read that , 6 is young for a Springer to fall to Arthritis , but it does happen . My guy is 9 and earlier this year I had to bring him to the Vet with the Big A. He took xrays and then gave him injections into the joints , 2 front legs and a course of tablets . I fear he might be facing his last season this year to and I take care not to run him too hard . I know he will not be a Happy dog without his hunting days. Clint..

Just a quick for the Record post . While roaming the WWW earlier came across this , so a Little closer to home than the US of A. France in fact . 12 g Flare shells . http://www.europarm.fr/chasse/en/produit-1731-LIGHTS-AND-ROCKETS 14 Euros for 6 . Just make sure you put them away in a watertight bag , in a distant pocket and not on your belt . Can you imagine a flight of Pintail comes over and , whizzzzz ! star shells , we Salute you , lol.

Hello. I am unaware of any 12 G Flare shells , Though I would guess such a thing may exist in the US of A. If you feel the need go into any Boat Chandlery store and buy these . I have them in my Boat bag along with Orange smoke and Red flares Large . As you can see they are quite small and handy , the Launcher is in the cover . No I cant tell you how bright they are , suffice to say that they are professional grade , so up to the job . MINI HANDHELD FLARES.

your welcome .

Hi SG75 , the chokes were no benefit on this mornings tide as I got no shot . That's right I sent in a pic of my chokes previously . So how do I find The toxic stuff works through them ? good question and why do I use them ? very long answer the last question . I have been using ext chokes for over 15 years Id say at that time Manufacturers chokes . In the semis I always used 1/4 choke ext and No 5 lead 36gr load , usually Alphamax , shooting out to about 55yds max. For me works better than no 4s , I prefer the extra few pellets in my pattern over the greater pellet size . ( slightly off topic . Why would I be shooting Duck at those ranges and not decoy them in ?. Well, there are very few good shooting places here , so the good ones can be heavily shot some years and the duck can be shy . no clubs on the foreshore here as it is all state owned , so everyman for himself so to speak . Many call themselves fowlers in September over here until the weather changes and the Pheasant season opens , the clock goes back and I shoot most of my duck then as the place frees up , on those wet and windy evenings or morns , it is but my car you will meet parked at the tides edge . Also , just to let you know the Wegion show up here say , mid October the first flocks move in .They get shot at and start to move off . Into November and depending on the winter , for us it has to be not just Cold on mainland Europe where you then get the birds in the UK , the UK must be freezing for the numbers to build and move over here . So anyway , generally there is another movement of birds , Wegion and Teal onto the south coast and you can tell these birds are not as warry , you can approach them closer than the earlier arrivals . Man is new sight for them . At this stage there are only 2 other guys I know who will be shooting the shore here .) Chokes . Lead in aftermarket chokes . Mullers , and I have emailed them and discussed lead use with them , are designed for all types of shot , there is a chart detailing shot sizes choke type and shot size quarry type for there chokes somewhere on my pc , I will track it down. I find Mullers are the best for lead , with the Non Ported choke , again with shot size 5 my fav . Patternmaster , I have also used lots of lead through those chokes . I am not a fan of these ported chokes with bigger shot sizes , 4 and 3 giving patchy patterns , slightly better with 5 . I have since sold off my Masters. Steel loads are hard to find in stores here and I have only tried maybe 150 shells , so not an expert there but 4 steel in PMs did not impress me on live quarry , again Mullers were better , but I will hang onto my lead as long as I can . Beretta factory ext chokes , in 12 and 20 gauge Optima HP work well for me in lead always have . Comp n Choke Light Mod and 3/4 in 20g I find pattern very tightly , equivalent to nearly one choke size tighter , so again I find myself using a Factory ext 1/4 choke with a no 5 shell at ranges under 45yds clean results . As an aside , the A 400 20 has never ever had a Fail TF or TE , now the 12 g 400 is another story . As for a Ban on toxic ammo in Ireland , I thought it was coming in to effect a few years ago . Talks were held between shooting bodies and Government , but a grassy meadow one day is another mans wetland the next day over here , so talks got Bogged down so to speak . I fear the EU will deliver an Apple type hatchet job fine for non compliance of that particular EU directive one of these fine days . MULLER CHART ATT re use of LEAD SHOT -------- Remember shot sizes quoted are US sizes

I used MULLERs H20 Waterfowl chokes in a Maxus and a Beretta A 400 . Passing and UFO , I found passing much more user friendly and shot everything from 20yd Snipe to 55 Yd Duck with it . UFO on the other hand I unscrewed and left it in the Box , now if we had The big boys around here I might have used it , but we don't .

I just checked a catalogue I have from Gemini Chokes an Italian company . they have a few Yildiz ext chokes also. I e mailed them last year about something and got no reply though . If you cannot get anything you want in the UK online , try French and German search engines , lots of hunting stores that will be happy to ship stuff to you . Myself I use Mullers H2O Waterfowl chokes , Passing , I find that the UFO is way to tight for me . Windy day , 25 , 30 yard Teal and UFO is not the choke to have in my Semi. Yes it is the operator and not the tool. I know my limitations , passing will kill out to 55 yds on Duck for me . Teague chokes in the OU , Short type and they are fine for me . 20g Semi I have ext Beretta and Comp n choke and I am very surprised at the range it kills birds . Remember not all ext chokes shorten the shot string , In fact some companies market the fact that there chokes maintain the length of shot string . Just find a combination you are comfortable with , test it and stick with it . Some days it is best to just forget what you have screwed into the barrel , don't think about it , mount , swing and shoot - " " too many minds" to quote a decent movie will cause you to miss .

Here you go , Mandel chokes , contact them if you wish

I am sure you could get a pair of chokes made up to fit your gun . there is a UK company that does this , who's name escapes me just now , but it can be done.