Clodhopper

Excellent. Good time of year to be getting stuck into them. I also managed a magpie that stayed a little too near.

Today was due to be a busy day, I had a lot a tree felling and ride clearing to do on our small syndicate shoot in order to get so much needed light onto the woodland floor. The wood in question has a rape field nearby that the pigeons have been giving some interest so I thought I take the gun and get their just before light and try and sneak in a bit of sport before getting the chainsaw out. Dawn was absolutely stunning with a sharp frost adding to the magic. I stood next to a thin belt of trees that the birds often head along and managed six birds in the hour I stood there. I know the photos shows four but I shot two just after I had taken the photo. All the time I was stood there, skein after skein of Pinks passed high over, on their journey North. Once I had finished the days work there was just enough time to get the gun out and intercept another half dozen coming back into the wood to roost. For me it was as perfect a day as you could wish for.http://a68.tinypic.com/121btqd.jpg http://a68.tinypic.com/2s84sw8.jpg http://a64.tinypic.com/t82b7d.jpg

Thanks Willy’s. The terrain and the way the land is farmed certainly make the job easier. I believe you found a few that day on an equally stunning part of the wolds.

Top marks PC. We had a look first thing in the morning, tried a couple of promising fields but the birds did not want to play ball. However the half dozen we did shoot were like rockets on that wind.

Thanks for posting, I enjoy reading about people’s days out.

I have been using fibre wads for about a year now and can honestly say that I have noticed no difference in performance. If I do my bit and get it in the right place the birds come down.

One farm I shoot has been direct drilling rape, wheat, barely and oats for the last decade. The farmer tells me that his yields are as good as when he drilled conventionally but with considerably less establishment costs. There has been a lot of issues this year, just after drilling, with flea beetle severely hampering some rape, I do not think it matters how it is drilled once beetle gets to it, they can destroy it nearly overnight.

Thankyou for the positive comments gentlemen. I hope this past season has been as enjoyable for you as it was satisfying for me.

Top results again PC. Those long hours out keeping the farmer happy are often needed and are what keep your permissions going.

Inspired by the excellent reports to appear recently in this section I thought I would give a brief account of the first season on our little farm shoot. I wish I had done an account of each day but I didn't, so will try to give an overview from memory. It started back in March when my cousin asked me to help him re form the little syndicate farm shoot that I used to run nearly decade ago. We contacted friends and family who we thought might be interested and put together a group of six like minded people who would be up for the Craic and a little bit of shooting. There were no grand plans, we hoped to put enough birds down for everyone to get a bird or two. The farmland we shoot is in a beautiful part of the Lincolnshire Wolds with some nice steep banks that can, on their day, show some sporting birds. Spring trapping and pen building got underway and many hours were put in putting it all together. We then had an unexpected offer from the farmer next door who wanted to join in with the operation. An agreement was made that would benefit both parties and our little operation got a little bigger, more birds were ordered and pens increased in size and number. Pest control efforts were doubled as the acreage was doubled. We enjoyed every minute of it although our long suffering wives might disagree as we dragged them out to assist with game keeping duties. Birds arrived and we had lovely weather with very little stress on the birds. Wives and children assisted with the constant dogging in and feeding duties, fitted in around working hours. Then the season arrived and the enjoyment started to give way to a little anxiety as we were now in it for real and although a small informal affair, we wanted to give our friends a good day out. Due to work commitments and needing to leave enough time between days we were forced to start shooting earlier than we wanted, the 19th October being the first day. The day arrived and to say we were nervous is an understatement, would the birds be where we wanted them, would they fly well enough this early on? The Ace up our sleeve was that we had a good head of both wild partridge and pheasants which were older than our birds and much stronger on the wing. The guns were briefed to only take the good birds and they stuck to this. The day flew past for the two of us running the day but every body else seemed to enjoy it. Some drives went well, others not so. The final tally for the day was around 50 head with everybody contributing to the bag. The season was under way. Four more days were planned and each one seemed to fly by with us two panicking and trying to keep a calm exterior whilst inside there was always the feeling of treading water. The birds grew stronger and flew better and the guns shot well. Everyone involved met up for elevenses and lunch, had a good laugh and had a drink together. New friendships were formed and old ones reignited. Nobody fell out which is always a bonus. Some dogs were naughty and some were sublime, some were a bit of both. The little shoot was evolving into something that everyone looked forward to with many people wanting to come out to to enjoy a day in the countryside, be it shooting, beating, picking up or just coming along and counting the shots. And this brings me to the last and probably my favourite day of the season. It is the day when we can ask all those who have helped out to come and enjoy a day with the gun. It was also a chance when we could get our guns out and have a go. And what a day it was, the wind was perfect with an overcast sky. There was a light covering of snow which added to the magic of the day. The birds made an appearance and boy did they fly, some would have graced any shoot in the land, whats more some were brought down to earth. Smiling faces were to be seen all day and as the sun sank another season was drawn to a close. As I write this I am enjoying a drink and thinking about all that was good and bad about the season. Not much time to dwell on it as next week we need to start thinning some woods to create a more welcoming environment ready for next season!! Thanks for reading.

I understand what your are saying MM, but in this instance it would appear that PC was not dropping shot on her property and made the effort to inform the occupant of his actions. Last spring I was followed and filmed by a trespasser on the farm who did not like me shooting crows. They also kept banging on about how it was illegal to shoot deer and that I would be reported to the local police for wildlife crimes. I told them that I would be only too happy to discuss it with the police, I never did get a visit.

Top results again PC. Pity you had to put up with an idiot. Why do they think they can abuse people going about their lawful business.

As suggested above, there must have been good number of duck using the pond. Some good packs of teal did come in too low to see/ shoot. I would love to get out again but work and family duties will make it very difficult. Still I am pleased I did connect with a few.

Following from my post in December I have had another go at the ducks coming into my pond and a marked improvement was made. As I was passing the pond this morning I called in to have a look and noticed all the grain was gone. I had put 3 buckets full in yesterday afternoon. Normally this will last 2/3 days. I had wanted to shoot the pond again but was not sure when as work and wife’s Birthday were going to get in the way. I was meeting Giles anyway this morning to get some other jobs done which would take up the rest of my time until school picking up time. We both were keen but could not see when we might be able to get out. But just maybe 🤔 we could manage it this evening if I could do the school run, get the boy home, fed, wrapped up warm and back at the farm before dusk. So that is what we did. I made it back the farm just in time. We were sat up at the pond 5 minutes before the first duck arrived. It was a pair mallard that came wiffling down, 2 shots and 2 misses. I told myself to relax, easier said than done. Minutes later I heard a different wing beat, teal. Staring into the darkening sky I strained to pick out the birds then whoosh, in cake a pair. Before I had shouldered my gun, Giles had fired and both birds fell to his single shot. I left these where they lay on the drilling nearby as they would be easy to pick at the end. Next in were 4 mallard, wobbling side to side, I picked my bird and took it well in front. I swung onto the next bird as it armed away and it too folded. I was improving! More teal came in, low down and impossible to see against the back drop of the wolds. I fired at 2 as they roared away at the last minute but failed to connect with either barrel. However, out of the corner of my eye I noticed one falling down toward the water. Giles had fires at the same time as me and his aim was better than mine. No time to dwell on my miss a single mallard came in and fell to my single shot, crashing down in the trees behind the pond. Time to call it a night after half an hour or so of fantastic fun. The spaniel was sent out and in no time at all I had all the shot birds at my feet. I think this will be my last outing of the season it was one that will I remember for a while yet. Thanks for reading. http://a66.tinypic.com/2rnipl3.jpg

Well, I met up with JDog at around 09.30 this morning,where I had seen a lot of pigeons. We looked at 4 fields around the village and did find the birds. Around 800 or so. They were feeding at the far end of a very long rape field, with a good line going in. The issue was that it was 3/4 of a mile walk just to walk them off and no guarantee they would return. Due to only having a couple of hours to shoot we decided to leave them for another day. We headed off a few miles to a permission of JDogs where there were a good few birds and others joining. It looked promising. We shot 4 in about 10 minutes and then they all clears off to pastures new. Typical rape shouting. But it was a lovely day to be out and I definitely would not have shot any at home.http://a63.tinypic.com/33ufhxx.jpg