Charlie R

A goose all in my hands. It is probably the best invention known to man to hlp with conservation. Just can't get with it. However a duck I'm ok with.

Great photos.

I managed to get 6 Canada geese a couple weeks back.carry them, the gun, and decoys was a struggle but worth it. Did a recce the day before work out where they were feeding, next morning lied in wait under a net in the middle of the field and in they came. Like you I stopped well before the flight had ended as the freezer is only so big. Roll on the 10th when I will up to scotland to do some proper fowling. I can almost smell the mud from here.

Last season we were using 42g "1" for geese and 36g "3" for duck both game bore. At the right range both will do the job and you don't require a mortgage to pay for some shells.

Old school values or knowing the range of your gun / cartridge? Anyone shooting sky high because they travelled that far doesn't Deserve to call themselves a wild fowler. This season I have used #1 mammoth steel and The results were disappointing. Next year I intend to use bb in steel as I would rather miss by miles pattern etc than maim. I think if everyone approached the sport on the basis that every move was on camera there would be less sky busting. While I understand no one wants go home with n empty gmr bag surely if he result is that outs wait rose us an easier option?

This season both jackets I took up to Scotland leaked like a sieve. A pro logic max 4 jacket ok but in a downpour very damp. I am buying 2 new ones from decathlon which look good but then the foreshore is a unforgiving place. Why buy 2 jackets? Simply having travelled 500+ miles to get there I like to have a spare gun, set of waders, game bag, coat etc etc.

I can recommend Ron Thompson nylon chest waders. I do not recommend any waders supplied lidll as despite costing a tenner they were shocking.

My season lasts exactly one week and this year has been the best yet. The numbers of geese and duck up on the northern firths is probably greater now than when I headed north but that's part of the magic of wild fowling, ie not knowing how its all going to unfold.One of my favourite days was the first monday flight when after bagging a goose we then tucked ourselves into the holes on a point now named englishmens peril and waited for the widgeon to flight over with the incoming tide. As the southerlies blew the duck got lower and proved challenging upwind and practically impossible downwind. As with many to claim you hit the one you picked out was always more chance than design. Having no dog retreving your own ducks in the spray was also fun ehich meant you reallly picked which ones you went for. Overall it was a bloody good trip and with some excellent tips passed on by Lindsay I have now discovered some new areas to explore. As with each season it's not necessarily the size of the bag but more the company one keeps. I still chuckle at myself having watched my mate go over his waders in a creek only for me to repeat the same error with perhaps a little more style than he. As always my good friend kelvin was on hand to keep us southerners in order although I thought the offer of water wings was taking the joke a little too far. The fact he can call geese from the heavens and knows the places to lurk makes him irreplaceable. I can learn more from him in one flight than days floundering on my own. For those who are yet to experience getting up at 5am to march out into the dark to watch the sunrise and hopefully get a shot or too I wish you all straight powder.

6 days to go , think im ready but then I've been getting the gear sorted for the last month not like some let's pack in one day johnny come lately fellas

Nice write up and great photos. Counting the days until I am up in Scotland.

Bored of shooting? Not likely for me. The fact I only get 5 days fowling a year means every trip is cherished and looked forward to. Like most I drifted away after university and spent time fishing but with the kids turning up, a few hours out with a shotgun was always a better bet for a release from the world than sat on the bank surrounded by tanglers . Since my return to shooting I have always kept a diary of ech and every trip and while some may find it boring I can recall days out like when my mate and I got stuck in the mud outside Dingwall. The fact he was wearing clown waders made of neoprene 2 sizes to big with felt soles is a lesson to all. Never assume that the guy you take out for the first time has got the right kit.

Went out tonight to see if i could get some duck off a pond on my permission and despite not having a dog managed one mallard. Got thoroughly soaked getting it back and one of my decoys decided to turn into a submarine. Roll on October and my annual trip north to get some proper fowling done.

Good write up in any case. At least you are successful. I spent a week in Scotland getting up before dawn to lie in the mud to wait for something that never flighted over. On the last day I got it right and ended with 3 teal in one shot. Did you use to shoot on willows farm or model farm?

Can't have been that nice for the fish either?

Teal but slow cooked greylag with chorizo was also very nice. Didn't have recipie it was a case of chuck everything and hope.