contract killerz

I'm training a black lab and the above posts tend to tell it all. Just be patient gradually introduce it to lound noises perhaps leaving him in the kennel and firing some shots from a distance. In his kennel he is safe and will be calm. Then have a friend fire some shots while you train keep a good distance from the noise and then slowly bring it closer. Never forget to give plently of attention to your dog keep him happy and he will do the same. Good luck.

Will do we are out again next monday at a bigger shoot close to home. Its run by my uncle so no room for error. C.K

As i have previously posted i had decided to take my lab pub tess out on a rough day's shoot. I half expected to be letting you all know that tess had a tough time would just be my luck. However i started the day on a snipe bog which gave me a great opportunity to watch her closely and see how she reacted to the commands i gave her. This went extremely well. Next the kayle, I decided to keep her out of the beating line for this as the large amount of pheasants in a small space may excite her. So instead i stood with the guns and had her patiently sit while the drive produced plenty of high birds which mostly got missed by the farmers with guns!! For the rest of the day tess responded well and flushed the birds well not chasing or making any noise. I was delighted. The dinner speaches consited of many thanks for the landlord and the estate agent, my father and a special thanks to me for providing an "excellent" dog which showed up my fathers and all the guns asked me to come back again. I guess this answers my question that a dog is never too young if she is calm enough.

Thanks for the advise. I have decided to jump in at the deep end and take her on a rough day tomorrow. It should be ok as i will be taking a gun and if all fails with the lab i will enter the line of guns and see if my gun skills beat my dog judgement. Will report beck with the latest.

I have been training a black lab. She is nearly 8 months old now and she is coming on well. I have taken her duck shooting with a few friends and she is very calm and steady with the gun. However, i have not let her take any retrieves as I don't want to rush things. Last thing I want is her to pick up bad habbits. I have been concentrating on her in the woods and cover recently letting her flush pheasants and she has taken to it leke a duck to water. Always stopping once the birds get into the air and responding to the wistle and comands well. Does anyone see a problem with me taking her beating in a couple of weeks. I think this would be a good chance to let her work with other dogs and yet still not have much resposabiltiy. I wouldn't usually take a dog out in her first season but my lab is far steadier than most and acts twice her age. Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Best advice for leads is to be gentle don't let the pup associate the lead with a fight. Could lead to a pulling dog. thats the last thing you need when trying to enjoy a day out.

Could anyone tell me which crops pigeon feed on at different times of the year?

three people = three trigger fingers want to work on your maths. perhaps u really are braindead! :unsure:

I went out today it was nice and windy. The total bag was 3 crows and 3 cases of frostbite to the toes and trigger fingers. Thanks for all the advice worked a treat!!!!! I recently returned from argentina where there was a serious case of the pigeon form of aids. Maybe it has spread!!!! :unsure:

I have attempted to apply the tips u have all given me and have found 3 areas where i hope that the pigeons are roosting in a new wood away from the keeper's overshot woods. I have been out watching 2 times now and have seen a load of pigeon flocking in. Going out tomorrow hope to have a good day. Has anyone else noticed the high numbers of tree rats at the moment. I had 15 when i was walking the dog on sunday. Why so many?

Thank you all very much for the help i'm sure that i can make adjustments to my methods and hope to get better bags.

Today i had a shoot with my brother and i had 5 shots and got 3 so i do manage to hit them quite well. I have had a considerable amount of pheasant and duck shooting but have only recently been interested in closed season shooting and have found it very enjoyable. The keeper was shooting a couple of woods away tho and i could hear a considerable amount of shooting from there. I think that my judgement of wind and other weather conditions could be better. I have also noticed a consistant flightline durring the summer months which i attempted a couple of times last year. However they seem to fly a touch too high. Would it be worth attempting to set up decoys or would that just be a waste of time? CK

Thanks a lot for the advice. I know the general positions that he uses and can see where the birds are roosting yet i still seem to have only limited success when i am out. Would you suggest better cammo. You say that february is coming to an end, should i be looking to change my methods in the next few months? there is little crops such as rape in the local area yet the woods still seem to have plenty of birds all year round.

I have been out quite a few nights recently looking for pigeons. Can only seem to shoot two or three but more flying about. the gamekeeper has shot a couple of 30+ nights. i have plenty of woods to shoot in but finding it hard to know exactly where abouts in which woods to stand and looking for tips on what else can be done to improve my bag? ck