deny essex Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 One of my small local permissions I had managed to check this week had a respectable build up of birds useing one small pea field. Saturday came and the weather looked good enough so off I went in the disco for the six mile journey. As is often the case not so many birds when you are there with a gun , but decided to give it a go as the bulk of my permissions are another hour plus away. I walked down the field edge to a depression in the centre of the field that seemed to run all the way up the slopeing field to the top as the birds on my reccys seemed to have a preference for landing in the depression. As I got to the spot where I intended to set up it was then I noticed it had the signs of a hide setup possibly the day before,Im not the sole shooter so just one of them things, but that would account for the lack of birds but none the less I set up on the edge of a six foot ditch embedded with hawthorn and trees etc. As a road was 120 metres to my left alongside the field the direction the wind was from I set my hide and decoys a little more downwind than I normaly would and the left poles of the hide set high to restrict any gun swing towards the road. I set out the 10 decoys , my six modified FUDs and 4 flocked shells , 5 of them with Dippa's attached. Within a few mins while still faffing around settling into the hide the first bird came from behind and without hesitation landed straight in with the coys, I picked the gun up slowly with my eyes on the bird and he had his his eyes on me,he took off and I went bang , one on the clicker, a little while of reasonable decoying and **** shooting passed. Then things went quiet and I wonderd why , the culprit then appeard over my decoys, a buzzard circling to my decoys , came down to about 60 feet before spotting me and off he went, was good to see though and wouldnt have minded him stopping for a woody lunch. I had an hour or so of slow shooting with single and double birds comming from all directions and to be honest my shooting was rubbish, I was beginning to get uncomfortable as the sun blazed down on me from behind , I was roasting. I upped sticks and moved the hide under cover of a tree surrounded by hawthorn 4 metres away, not quite as level ground but would do. By about 2pm the birds started to get a little more active in the area and I put a single floater out to gain the distant birds attention with a little luck. It worked and drew a few distant birds to the gun , one bird rapidly flew in from behind the hedgerow on my left to the decoys , from a sitting position bang! missed, on his way out to the right , bang! missed again and ohh **** I'm now on a journey through the hawthorn bush and down the ditch on my back as the soft dusty ditch edge gave way under my seat. Absolutely nothing I could do to stop myself, caught my foot in the net an ripped the hide up which came down on top of me, but some how managed to lob the gun safely to one side as the semi still had a shot left in it, as I passed through the hawthorn bush on my downward journey that little thought that pops in your head at those sort of times of "ohhh this is gonna hurt". Hurt it did on the way down and laying on my back head down a ditch feet on the ditch edge under and entwined in a hawthorn bush wondering how the hell I'm gonna get out. After much wrigleing , twisting and getting pricked I managed to crawl out of the ditch, sore , arms nicely coverd in hawthorn tears and blood, thorns stuck in me but no serious damage. Why is it that when something like that happens it seems to replay in your head in slow motion but undoubtedly was a more blink of an eye action, I definately would have loved to have seen that from the outside would probably have been one for you-tube. After a hide rebuild and a regain of composure I managed a few more birds and finished the afternoon with 23 not a big bag but then it was an eventful afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 A good read and a good laugh (sorry about that). I can sympathise with the "falling through the hedge into the ditch" moment, been there, done that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted July 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 A good read and a good laugh (sorry about that). No problem , I was there solo and laughed at myself (after the pain and blood flow eased )anyone wants to laugh with me be my guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Why is it that when something like that happens it seems to replay in your head in slow motion but undoubtedly was a more blink of an eye action, Why is it when that happens no one is there with a camera :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Great write up Denny, glad you didn't hurt yourself mate, but gutted I wasn't there to witness it, a picture or two for the PW crew would have been good! I wouldn't have laughed of course!!!! I would have ****** my self...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushpower Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Haha made me chuckle ,been there done that with nettles and brambles as well,OUCH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted July 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 I dont think you could have stopped laughing to shoot Cos, think it must have been a sight to witness , when I got out of the ditch looked like the hide had a grenade attack, think I must have tried to grab at anything includeing the hide poles , everything was everywhere lol Wife didnt have any sympathy for me just laughed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACK-GUN Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 deny, i hear this is not the first time you have fell backwards in a ditch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 deny, i hear this is not the first time you have fell backwards in a ditch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 deny, i hear this is not the first time you have fell backwards in a ditch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tycoon01 Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Great write up. I fell in the river once putting a small chub back in, the water had undercut the bank and the grass I stood on had nothing beneath it but water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted July 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 deny, i hear this is not the first time you have fell backwards in a ditch. Ahh I have a snitch in the camp do I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACK-GUN Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Ahh I have a snitch in the camp do I i am not going to tell you who it was (COS) i am not a grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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