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My shooting mate Bluebarrels has been showing an interest in buying a Hushpower 410. Couldn't quite bring himself to part with his hard earned cash and instead, is lavishing it on his good lady abroad as I type So I decided to give mine an outing today, popped a couple of boxes of 3" subs in the kit bag, and threw the rest of the decoying gubbins in the truck! I took the 20g as a bit of insurance. The farm has been really overshot by one chap, and the very few birds that are about are understandably, very wary! I arrived at the farm at 10am. Drove round the whole patch and not a bird anywhere The farm manager was hedging, so he stopped for a natter. He was trying to get it all done so they can get on and sow the rape. They have a terrible time with the EU bureaucrats. Next year, they aren't allowed to cut the hedges until September, and the crops need to be sown by the end of August. So as soon as the sowing is all nicely done, then you have to drive all over it to cut the hedges, you couldn't make it up Anyway, I found a pathetic few birds showing a bit of interest in the last bit of stubble. It just confirmed my belief that its not the grain they are interested in, as there wasn't a thing on the ground, it was the assorted weeds. Looking back over 30+ years, we used to shoot stubble right into December, for that very reason, and good shooting it was too! So I set up with a few full bodied decoys, some feeders, some normal. I pinched Chris Greens idea a while ago and made hangers for them to hook onto fishing line loops through their backs. They worked really well in the breeze, and looked very realistic. No magnets,flappers, floaters or angels. There wasn't a great deal of traffic, just the odd one passing by now and again, but just enough to keep the enthusiasm going Every now and again I thought, That's it, I'll pack up, and one would fly in I missed the first bird comprehensively, and confidence shattered in the little gauge ( couldn't possibly be my shooting ) I got the 20g out. Missed the next bird and OMG, the noise......... sleeved that and got the little Mossberg back out!! I connected with the next three birds on the trot, so back on form, I stuck with it. The "clack" from the shot and a bird folding kept a silly grin on my face for the afternoon At 4pm, I decided that really was it, and reluctantly, packed up. I finished on 18 birds, and whilst it won't be the biggest bag on PW this weekend, the happy factor probably will be