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Driven hares


Dannyboy220
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Ok the basics are that you get a beating line across a field a couple of guns to the front and a couple in the line.

 

Beat the field flush the hares and hey presto driven hares!

 

The trick is that the beaters coral them by forming a curve in the line therefore driving them in the direction of the guns.

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I ain't knocking it or any shooting, but I too would rather see a re-run of the Waterloo Cup....

 

I too don't Think it's particularly sporting but it's no different from pheasant shoots(which I've done,so who am I to judge). I'd rather see hares in the field and I'm fortunate enough not to have a hare problem anywhere. obviously if there is a hare problem at that farm/shoot let the shooting commence!

Edited by tomhw100
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I'd love to go back in time and have a day at the Waterloo Cup.

 

I can remember watching it on telly with my grandpa. That and the cricket and wrestling. He handed me my first airgun and used to shoot magpies in the back garden. That's a bit of me through and through. Good times. I digress..... :lol:

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I don't have a problem with it just think running a hare gives it a 50/50 chance. I respect and understand that if they a damaging crops in large quantities they do need controlling and driven hare days are an effective way of doing so. It just gets on my tits when you see propaganda programs like wildlife police making out that hare coursing has decimated the hare population when on the other side of the coin days are being sold for a lot of money to wipe them out in there 100s.

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I'd love to go back in time and have a day at the Waterloo Cup.

 

I can remember watching it on telly with my grandpa. That and the cricket and wrestling. He handed me my first airgun and used to shoot magpies in the back garden. That's a bit of me through and through. Good times. I digress..... :lol:

 

Been to the Waterloo Cup few times mate, cracking day out :good::good:

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Many moons ago when I lived in Germany and studied for my Jagdshein (hunting licence) we had to learn about the local shooting customs. They are big into hare shooting there and we learned about the (from memory, wording may nor be spot on) the kessel treibe or circular hare drive. Shooters would form a huge circle over several fields known to contain a lot of hares. They would walk inwards contracting the circle and shooting any hares that tried to run out of the ring. At a given point, just before the circle shrunk to the point where shooters in the circle were in shotgun range of each other, they would about turn so they were shooting out of the circle, walking backwards till they all met in the middle. I never got to try it but am told it worked well and avoided the need for beaters.

 

I think they're fascinating creatures and love to see them. Athough I see a few about on my permissions they're not at a level where they're causing a problem so I currently leave them alone. I do have a real hankering to try jugged hare though so might have to lift the cease fire temporarily at some stage!

 

I know they are at pest proportions in some places though, and I don't see a.problem with organised drives where thats the case.

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Sounds ok like some have said just like a pheasant drive, except the hares are wild and not reared purely to be shot. They also I would imagine are a lot quicker than the average pheasant and possibly have a greater chance of getting away? ??? I haven't got any issue with pheasant shooting or driven hares, would like to have ago at most things shooting wise. I only generally shoot things I can eat other than rats, but I have never seen a live hare and we don't get many running around in Medway so unless they were overrunning somewhere as they clearly are in some members locations I probably wouldn't shoot, but I ever get the chance in Norfolk or elsewhere Where they were a problem I wouldn't hesitate, plus being an ex chef I wouldnt mind cooking one up to try.

 

Thanks for the info by the way chaps

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They do it up north on some of the estates I believe because they are hosts for ticks and this helps I think they also use sheep as tick sponges but again we all shoot you may not like another mans sport/pest control but live and let live. :yp: They are delicious though so I reserve the right to shoot one for the pot. Hymax 4 was my favourite shell for them. :good:

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Sounds ok like some have said just like a pheasant drive, except the hares are wild and not reared purely to be shot. They also I would imagine are a lot quicker than the average pheasant and possibly have a greater chance of getting away? ??? I haven't got any issue with pheasant shooting or driven hares, would like to have ago at most things shooting wise. I only generally shoot things I can eat other than rats, but I have never seen a live hare and we don't get many running around in Medway so unless they were overrunning somewhere as they clearly are in some members locations I probably wouldn't shoot, but I ever get the chance in Norfolk or elsewhere Where they were a problem I wouldn't hesitate, plus being an ex chef I wouldnt mind cooking one up to try.

 

Thanks for the info by the way chaps

 

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: now thats a sensible post :good: :good: BB

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:rolleyes: :rolleyes: now thats a sensible post :good: :good: BB

 

Cheers

 

They do it up north on some of the estates I believe because they are hosts for ticks and this helps I think they also use sheep as tick sponges but again we all shoot you may not like another mans sport/pest control but live and let live. :yp: They are delicious though so I reserve the right to shoot one for the pot. Hymax 4 was my favourite shell for them. :good:

 

Exactly thank you. How do you cook yours?

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Use a classic receip like Coq au vin or Chicken Chasseur with lots of red wine peppers onions garlic courgettes mushrooms rosemary & Thyme I modify these classic receipes depending on what fruit or veg is available but a slow cooker is your best friend for this or a good casserole dish. My daughter works in Scotmid and they had an end of line sale I was getting bottles of special reseve port and decent sherry at £2 and £3 a bottle then 10% staff discount :D I've just finnished dressing the last of the Pheasants and Geese for the freezer so I won't be short of some half decent ingredients :good:

 

Use a classic receip like Coq au vin or Chicken Chasseur with lots of red wine peppers onions garlic courgettes mushrooms rosemary & Thyme I modify these classic receipes depending on what fruit or veg is available but a slow cooker is your best friend for this or a good casserole dish. My daughter works in Scotmid and they had an end of line sale I was getting bottles of special reseve port and decent sherry at £2 and £3 a bottle then 10% staff discount :D I've just finnished dressing the last of the Pheasants and Geese for the freezer so I won't be short of some half decent ingredients :good:

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i've shot hares plenty of times, i don't really like it but it does need doing. i shot 14 out of one small beet patch a couple of years ago, i had my sisters young lab with me he was really steady and always stayed close so we was just walking up and down the rows shooting over the lab as he flushed them, i managed to snap the strap on my game bag carrying 3 of the beggers so dumped the bag and kept gutting the rest as they was shot and taking them back to my heap before setting off again.

 

i was told by an old chap who i knew never to go on a hare shoot as it scarred him for life, they netted along a couple of fields a pushed the hares towards the netting then opened fire at 30-40 odd hare's apparently it was the most hideous sound and sight he'd ever experienced all screaming. doesn't sound like my cup of tea in that scenario but i did enjoy my day with the lab.

 

i only shoot with a rifle now as they can be tuff beggers to kill with a shotgun, i'd get some no3's or no4's if you ever go on one and choke it nice and tight.

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There was a similar thread on here a while back about shooting large numbers of hares and one lad, can't remember who, posted a few photos. Lurchers???? You're having a laugh. The number these boys shot where there WAS a problem, was larger than most people's pigeon bag on a very good day.

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Long ago I was invited to a hare shoot among the Border Hills, it was one team walking one team standing. Well I was young and foolish, now I'm old and the latter, but there I was in the beating team at the start of a long drive, when a very very large hare for some reason lopped along the line of guns, bang after bang all the gamekeepers and sheperds were missing the beat but my trusty Army and Navy hammergun bowled it over stone dead. It just fitted my game bag and was I bowed to the knees after a mile across heather carrying the prey. On subsequent hare drives nothing would induce me t shoot a hare when in the beating line.

 

Where known hare runs existed such as through gates in dry stone walls whe drive was towards those when the standing guns could have hot barrels. That was before then decline in hare numbers in this part of the world although they do seem to be making a comeback today.

 

Blackpowder

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Blackpowder summed it up shoot a hare carry a hare I love it when one of the youngsters beg to shoot a hare one young guy Stewart asked me could I shoot a hare we could see in the grass park I said only if you carry it I said so I shot the hare he was carrying it. Later on another hare jumped up in front of Stewart this time he shot it my lab brought it back he went to put it in the bag and took out the first hare and handed it to me I just put him straight he wanted them he carried them a lesson learned :lol:

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