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I was replacing a broken coil spring on the front of a transit van yesterday and dropped the strut assembly which fell on my little finger of my right hand which it made a right mess off. So finger strapped up, bandaged and minus a nail I headed off today in search of a woodcock. Trying to avoid all the flooding we have I headed for the long mountain. About 5 miles from home and some 500ft above sea level I was hoping for good results. Its very rough ground consisting of heather, briars a mix of spruce and willow trees and the dreaded white grass. Awful stuff to walk through, having to lift your legs to waist height every step. I had done a 15mins or so when out came the first bird, directly towards me. I turned as it passed close by me and let it out 25 yards before trying a shot. Ouch!!! that hurt. My finger was throbbing with the recoil through my hand. I fired a second shot but was so distracted with the pain and missed cleanly both times. I let it settle for a few minutes before sending Molly into some spruce trees along a turf bank and to my surprise and horror out came another. I tentatively raised the gun gripping very lightly and squeezed off a shot and managed to get this one. The finger didnt feel so bad this time but maybe it was just the joy of getting the bird. The next bird again I was trying to avoid pain and missed and this went on for some time. Bird after bird flushed, shot after shot I missed, my mind not on the job. By now I had but a dozen shells in my pocket and a couple in the gun after starting with a full box. I had flushed 10 and shot at 7 birds I had to get a grip, give myself a good shake and promised myself not to miss the next. Sure enough out it came, I gritted my teeth, locked on and scored. Then another, Bang again and molly retrieves my 3rd of the day. Im feeling better now and push on with confidence. A good half hour passes now without a bird. Im hunting along a small block of conifers and the birds are obviously not there. I carry on out across the heather to where some individual conifers stand. Molly picks up a scent and im poised ready heard thumping away. Biff Biff down he goes into chest high rushes and briars. This birds going to be a nightmare to find. Molly heads in in search but soon comes out due to the impenetrable vegatation. Im standing in the position the below photo is taken. Bird to the left of the photo. Molly heads to the spruce trees to the left of the photo an as soon as she enters the bush out comes a pair of woodcock 6ft apart and flat out through the gap in the trees centre pic. Without even thinking the guns up Biff Biff and two birds crash into the trees just below the weak sun. GO ON. YES!!!! That made my day. My second R+L this year. Firs time getting two in the same season. When your in the woods alone and you shout at the top of your voice do you make a sound? Yes definitely. This is the second of the pair being presented. I went on to flush and shoot another two and miss a difficult 3rd. About 100 yds from the car I had to push through some very heavy cover. You know the type you have to go through **** first. So I put the safety on the gun which I don't normally have on but I'm very wary of a branch catching the trigger. On emerging a woodcock flushes at my feet, in open ground flying straight away from me. You can guess what happened next. Yes that safety caught me out and by the time I got it off he was giving me the middle digit and off he went into the sunset. I could only laugh. I had 3 shells left a throbbing finger and a bag full of woodcock and was as happy as could be. A photo of Molly posing in the last sunlight of 2012 And the final bag. I never found that bird in the rushes! A couple of these birds are as big as wood pigeons.