sandersj89 Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Another Saturday morning and it is a shoot day. I cant quite believe how lucky we have been so far this season with the weather, 2am this morning and it was chucking it down, stair rods. Come 7am and the sky was clear and the sun was making a good fist of it. Car loaded and we headed off to pick up some one who wanted to come along with us for the day, he used to beat when he was a kid some 30+ years ago and is interested in getting back into the sport so I said come along for the day. He joined us in the car and headed on to the shoot for the normal pre event of chats and rib taking. As the guns were called together for the usual pre shoot brief we were updated on the events of the previous meet, the 2 guns have now left the syndicate and all seems fine with them, fingers crossed we can move on and forget about that incident and have a good days shooting. Pegs drawn and I am 7 to start with, up three each drive. At least the leaves have turned and trees a little more bare, giving us the chance to see the birds a bit clearer: Drive one is Chilly, a mix of thick hedges, copse and game cover (about 2 acres). I am stood mid line in a dog leg with the main crop directly to my front on an elevated site. Beaters come down the valley from my left and directly to my front. Guns to the left soon get some sport, a mix of pheasant and partridge and I soon join the fray taking my first bird of the day, head on and high, with the first barrel. Mid drive I get treated to the highest bird I have ever seen at the shoot, don’t even bother raising my gun to it. By all accounts it got up at the back of the game cover and headed for the top of the hill behind me. The keeper estimated it at at least 100 yards up.....looked like a starling to me so simply waved it on it’s way with a salute. I ended the drive with 8 shots and 6 birds to my name, nothing made it past me so that was a nice start to the day. The game cart starts to fill: Onto Gunners, a short walk and I am stood in the heart of the valley with a rising wall of trees to my front and game crop behind. The decision was made to sweep the game crop and not the wood, to pick a few birds from the previous drive. This peg as some good potential but today birds dropped mainly in front of me as they came of the cover but I took a nice partridge and a single pheasant, partridge dropped to my second barrel and the pheasant to my first. Belinda shot off as soon as the horn was blown to pick the partridge as she loves the look of them! Next drive, Reservoir, and my peg makes it clear why it is so named: At one end of the line you shoot over the reservoir and in front of all the guns is a large area of semi permanent cover crop on the side of the hill, mix of millet, miscanthus, kale, sun flowers, etc. Not sure of the exact size but in excess of 8 acres. As I reached my peg the air stank of fox, not a good sign, and I saw little to begin with and then a few birds started to move, but low and to my right heading up the valley. I only had the chance of a single hen as the beaters moved across my front, she rose well and headed to my left and I dropped her side on with the first barrel, only to hear some one cry......”shot up the back side but she dropped!” Hmmm, think he needs a lesson in geometry.....back side indeed!!! Beaters going past me: And here you can see the mix of crop, and how high and thick it is: Lunch, and we are all ready for the break as it is warm and balmy, I shot all day in just a light jumper and shooting vest, no need for thermals at the moment! Post lunch and we move out onto the Moor for the next drive, my peg sees me right out in the middle hoping for the duck to swing my way, wind from my left. But no duck to the top pond and just a few pheasant, none come my way but a good few birds are dropped way over to my right. Suddenly the shout of snipe rings out and I look to my left and see it jinking high and heading to my left, gun up and I drop it.....just over 40 yards. Picked cleanly by one of the beaters with her dog well handled onto the spot....first snipe of the season for me and the shoot in fact: So, drive ends and I have pheasant, partridge and snipe in my game book, hoping for a duck on the last drive to make the 4 some! Final drive of the day, and I have a decent chance of a duck with my peg, we move into place and the wait begins for the beaters to get in place. I soon get the chance at a pheasant and drop a left to right crosser in front and a cock head on. That second chance should have been a left and right but I dropped the gun after the first shot to reload only to see a second cock sail over my head...doh! The call of duck goes up and I get my chance: Another left to right crosser......but did I get it? Well not with the first barrel but yes, second barrel it rolls in the sky and hits the deck. I follow it with another but fluff 2 chances at pheasant.... I let this one go on: I keep a diary of each shoot day, you can see more at the shooting community site.... I was very happy with my days shooting today, one to remember as I said before, good mixed bag and some great birds over the guns. As for my guest, well he enjoyed it so much beating or standing that it looks like he will be along next time as well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky T Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Great write up and cracking photos too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandersj89 Posted November 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 What a difference 2 weeks make….woke up after a very disturbed nights sleep to see the clouds scudding across the sky at break neck speed chasing showers across with rain near horizontal….this should make for an interesting days shooting!!! Load up the car and head away to the shoot, leaving 20 mins early just in case I have to detour around any flooding or fallen trees. Indeed, as I drive down the Culm valley the fields are flooded and crossing over the Exminster Marshes it is a sea of water where there should be grass. The wildfowlers should be having some good sport. No detours needed to get to the shoot and arriving nice and early have plenty of time to sort the kids out and get ready. Only the kids with me this week and they were pretty brave to be out, especially Belinda, as she is such a little thing and could have been blown away! Pegs drawn and I start at 9 and we head out to one of the biggest drives, reservoir. I am at the far end from previous weeks, facing 45 degrees on to the wind with cover crop to my front: With the wind I am expecting fast birds, but not sure how fast…..in the end they were rocket propelled. Both guns either side of me were soon in the action and shooting but not hitting much. I then get a chance at a hen crossing to my right and drop it with my first barrel side on, not particularly fast but a decent bird. Next is a high and fast cock, no chance, missed behind by a country mile…oops Take an easier cock and then get a screamer of a hen bird that swings out wind in front before riding the wind in over my head, second barrel and she tumbles mid air and must land some 75 yards behind me in cover, later retrieved nicely. The threatened weather did make John don his wild fouling gear rather than this normal shooting attire and I blame him entirely for the next drive’s weather: So far we have been lucky, the rain has held off and we move onto the second drive of the day Gunners. As we move out on the peg, I am tail end Charlie, big numbers of pigeons start to move around the woods, several hundred in big flocks swirl around and the shots are soon ringing out…….and then the heavens opened! Belinda made a made dash for the gun bus, very sensible as she stayed dry, whilst I stuck it out on the peg in the open, no shelter where I was. I was soon soaked and visibility was severely hindered as I wear glasses, needed full speed wipers on them!! A couple birds came my way but mainly slinking along the tree line to my front so left well alone but I did have a god at some of the pigeons and even managed to connect! As the horn goes for the end of the drive the skies brighten and the rain stops, typical! Onto Chilly and I have a nice mid line peg. Birds soon cross over guns to either side and I call to my neighbour on the right as he is slightly un sited by a tree hoping to help him place the shots in good time but he seems more intent on looking at his feet and misses some good shooting. I could have taken the shot at some but left them for him as they would make more sporting birds…hey ho. I do bag a nice cock bird that lands with a big puff of feathers on the top of the hill behind and a hen that nearly takes my head off as she came down. Lunch is called and we head back up to the barn for hot soup and a few nips of slow gin. Belinda was keen to test the wind direction as we took our peg for the Moor, this placed me on the top of a hill staring into the teeth of a full blown gale: If you look closely at her hand you will see a barley grass bent over, good force 7 or 8 with higher gusts: Not too many pheasant in this drive, a few went out the back door into the wind but the ones that rode the wind came along to my right very very fast. My neighbour and one other gun further up the line both shot stunning cock birds, looking at the fall of one he must have hit the deck over 100 yards behind the gun with the gun taking the shot to his front, gives you the idea of the speed and wind! No pheasant come my way but a small group of duck do and they wheel high over me, single shot and I pick off the last one, as he tumbles the wind takes him into the next field where he lands in a heap, paced out to just over 120 paces from my peg, mad weather!! Parkers is the final drive of the day and duck is on the menu again and I bag a couple of nice ones when the cry of “Cock” carries across on the wind, I look to my left and see movement through the trees and he breaks cover and heads right at me, 2 barrels and nothing….2 more from the gun next to me, nothing, 2 more from the next gun, nothing, and he slips away across the moor….oops! That is the end of the day and even though I felt I did not shoot as well as I could have compared to last week, I still had a cracking day. We ended the day with the record shot count for the shoot, 415. Bag was 70 or 74 cant remember, so a 6 to one return. Not too bad given the weather conditions I think. If it had been calmer then I am sure it would have been a 100 bird day but that does not matter in the slightest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballymac Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Good write up keep trying for the woodcock though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleTap Posted November 19, 2009 Report Share Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) Great post and excellent pictures, especially the action shot of you shooting. keep it up Edited November 19, 2009 by Tayler96 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjimlad Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 An excellent record of some lovely days out. Thanks for sharing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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