Fellside

Well done Dad…!! Great experience for your boy.

Enjoyed reading that report. So I’m not the only one that has a ‘missing phase’ now and then….🙂 It happened to me mid afternoon yesterday. I stopped and went for a stroll, pie and drink in hand. Hey presto, the reset button was pressed and I got back on to them.

Nice report. 12 for 16 shots is good going!

When I’m ‘doing my job right’ as you say I will often use Italian 7 1/2 (2.4mm) on the average decoyed birds. They work - no doubt about it. However, even when the birds are decoying well, there will always be the odd long crosser or a second further bird of a pair. I tend to use number 6 cart’ in the second more choked barrel for these. It’s just what I find works for me. It’s probably also become a confidence factor if you know what I mean. It’s all good - whatever one’s ‘magic formula’ might be.

Yes agree - 40 yards is a long way. I get feasible patterns out to 50 yards with well selected/tested chokes and cart’s, but 40 to 45 yards is a reasonable normal limit. If I pattern at 60 yards however, it’s almost as though the pattern board has been missed - virtually nothing on it.

Good idea 👍 Yes it was good fun Scully. Didn’t brave it with the 410 today though. I took it with me, but the birds were tricky with a lot of long crossers. Cheated and used the big canon instead…… 🙂

I personally find that longer birds beyond about 40 yards need a size 6 pellet.

Old Boggy, nice report, enjoyed the read, thanks. Hitman - hope you’re mum makes a good recovery.

Sad to hear that Lsto - re shooting permissions. I can’t believe that people are actually paying to carry out vermin control. That transaction seems to be the wrong way around…..?! At least it seems strange where I come from. Is it possible to cast your net further away from the crazy ‘London effect’? I know that being a dedicated dad is a busy time, but you need to get away from it all occasionally. There’s no better escape that a little bit of old fashioned hunting. Besides, in years to come you might be taking your children. Don’t give up!

Agree with the above ‘scrap it’ voters. Even if you kept it as a bad weather roughing about gun, you would be constantly battling against rust. Some guns just reach the end of their road.

I would say that -8% figure and a Covid backlog is just too much of a coincidence.

I couldn’t agree more.

Most sports / activities have declining numbers of participants. It’s the same across the board. While of course there are exceptions - children and young adults appear to prefer ‘gaming’. The real world has less appeal…..?! Apparently one of the big pre Covid growth areas in shooting was women taking part - a most welcome change. Let’s hope the growth continues once the licence backlogs resolve. I do wonder if the 8% decline in licence holders is a real concern or a temporary blip, while the slow police forces eventually catch up. Good that BASC are applying some pressure.

Have you thought about just putting more shot in the pattern? An extra couple of grams would probably give you the 0.005” (equivalent) pattern % you’re after. For example - going from 30 gram to 32 gram….. or perhaps dropping a shot size to increase pellet count….?

👍

I would say just go for it. Obviously the youth stock is more difficult to shoot naturally with - as the gun mount has to be manipulated and is somewhat unnatural. Can be made to work though. The adult stock would be far better. I think the vast majority of pigeons we decoy are about 20 to 30 yards out - that is perfect 410 territory really and great fun. I’ve often found the 12 to be overkill, except on the few longer passing shots perhaps. These are only pigeons after all.

Indeed happy days. I also messed about with a 410 when I was a boy. I suppose that’s why the little gun has a special nostalgic appeal. Also surprised how effective it is really. I think today’s cart’s are a lot better than they used to be - perhaps that helps.

Thank you marsh man. Sounds like they are building up on your patch. Good shooting soon hopefully.

Don’t think it’s quite that terrible. Certainly a few challenges, but not insurmountable.

Like the idea of a mod….!

A farming friend phoned - ‘there are pigeons on my laid barley’. I dashed out the same day for a look and sure enough there were some flat patches, but this huge field seemed to go on to the edges of the earth. Where to start? There were plenty of pigeons curling in on the strong westerly, but which laid patch to set up beside….? In the end I decided to build a hide near the closest laid patch to a field margin. A wide grassy strip between two barley fields provided limited hide potentials however - no hedge whatsoever. There were a few bushes strung out along this strip, so I decided to build a false one near my laid patch - using the usual poles and hide netting as a base, and building around it with cut branches. Once built I was pleased with the result. At a casual glance it did seem like one more of the several bushes present. I then retreated to let the birds get used to it all day. The next day I arrived to find the laid patch full of pigeons. As the furthest part of the patch was only about 35 yards from the hide - the middle being about 20 yards - I decided to have some fun with the 410 using 14 gram 71/2 cart’s. To be honest, I used these cart’s as they were all I had available at the time - no clever ballistic calculations involved whatsoever….! I settled in to the hide and while I was fiddling about with my seat position, the first bird rocketed overhead from behind, and threw me a left hand curve as it dropped. I stood up and took a quick shot. Thankfully it tumbled. I was pleased as this gave me a bird for the flapper. Once the flapper was working well, it seemed to draw the birds well. The little 26 inch barreled Yildiz I used is a youth version with a very short stock and zero cast. While ideal for my 12 year old son, I’m 6 ft 2 inch, so to say it doesn’t fit is a gross understatement (excuses I know…….?!). However, I overcame the high comb by shooting under the birds…… when I remembered, and rolling my head slightly over the stock. A most unnatural gun mount, but it seemed to work….well, usually. The birds came in from all angles, sometimes against the wind and others flying with it at great speed then suddenly slamming the breaks on and turning in front of the hide and dropping like a stone. The latter were the most challenging and satisfying. The little clay cartridges kept folding birds convincingly - pop, feathers, tumble. I was surprised they were so effective. There was a mid afternoon lull when I only shot a crow and a few pigeons. However, the pre roosting shift kicked in and there seemed to be larger groups arriving. However, these birds tended to skirt wide around the patch and only offered longish shots. It was during this spell that the little 410 demonstrated its range limits. I managed to fold a few, but my cartridge/kill ratio tumbled more than the pigeons did during that phase. At the day’s end I resisted going in to the standing crop looking for shot birds - which I think does more harm than the pigeons do. Hence I only picked the minority of birds from the grassy margin or the flat patch. Thoughts on the 410? Well, it was surprisingly effective on the average birds - which make up the majority of course. I did shoot one bird at about 40 yards, but I think it was a fluke with one pellet in the back of its head. What I really noticed was the recoil - or should I say the apparent lack of it. I think we all normalise 12 bore recoil and for most it’s not really a problem. When it seems to suddenly disappear altogether however, this seems very noticeable, and I have to say quite pleasant. As for the effectiveness of this tiny caliber and it’s 14 gram poppers…..? I’m no world champion and am quite happy to admit that I usually average about a 66% kill ratio with my 12 bore. Shooting yesterday with the little gun, I was surprised to be matching that for most of the day. It was only the late tricky birds which dropped the ratio to about 50% overall. However, the enjoyment of seeing birds falling out of the sky to this sweet little gun was worth the small sacrifice of a few less long birds. Lesson to self: try not to be tempted by long stuff next time.

Yes agreed. For me it’s in my DNA. My father before me etc. etc. Certainly a ‘way of life’ as you say.

Yes agree - even at the current prices cartridges are more affordable relative to income than in the 70’s for example. What is likely however, is that manufacturers will hike the lead cart’s price in advance of the change to steel. This will increase their margins when selling mainly steel if/when we change. In fact I have heard from a very reliable source that this is a planned strategy.

Sorry I don’t subscribe to all this doom and gloom. Hobbies and sports pursuits have always expanded/contracted over time relative to the economy. That’s perfectly normal. It doesn’t mean that shooting is terminally effected. Having said that, I do feel for people on or below the breadline who have to make tough decisions. High inflation always hits lower incomes harder.

Hopefully you won’t have any issues, if it’s been going strong for 4 yrs, should be alright. The chap I met had only just bought his.