Pheasants Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Hi everybody, I just want to know when sewelling should be set up... at the beginning of the drive, when the beaters are coming? Or should I place it the eve of the shooting day? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Times I have seen it used two of the beating team obviously with knowledge iof the SHoot were sent to set it up at the finish of the previous drive. If its left in position pheasants will get used to it and simply walk under or over it. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheasants Posted January 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 ok thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodney Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 We used to have one attached to a large cable spool which, at the beginning of the drive, someone would pop down the ryde and pull it out, then once the drive had finished it would be rolled back onto the spool. It worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sky gipsy Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 We used to have one attached to a large cable spool which, at the beginning of the drive, someone would pop down the ryde and pull it out, then once the drive had finished it would be rolled back onto the spool. It worked well. I think thats a good way way to do it too rodney....little noise or disturbence within the wood / cover untill the birds come out to sneek away & find the sewling blanking them back into where they should be to be flushed later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 We used to have one attached to a large cable spool which, at the beginning of the drive, someone would pop down the ryde and pull it out, then once the drive had finished it would be rolled back onto the spool. It worked well. Same as we do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 (edited) (This depends on how long the flushing point is and how many birds that are in the drive). On our shoot the forked sticks are along the ride all of the time. As soon as the previous drive is finished a couple of beaters are sent on a quad to the next flushing point of the next drive and quickly run out the sewelling hooking it with a twist onto the forks as they go. This holds the line onto the sticks and keeps it up, otherwise is can sometimes fall off of the sticks and just drag along the ground which the birds just run over. The sticks are loose in sideways slots the soil which allow the whole line to be pulled back and forth. It generally is best to have two people because the sewelling sometimes gets in a right old tangle. As the beaters run out the sewelling they also tend to push any birds thereabouts back into the drive. When the whole load of line is paid out the two beaters just quietly walk backwards and forwards along the line acting as end stops so that birds don’t run out through the end of the drive. When the drive starts a couple of extra beaters are put out in front of the line to act as flaggers. Nothing is set in stone and the beating team have to play each situation as it goes and have to communicate by radio or whatever to whoever is controlling the beating line so that you don’t get bunches of birds mass flushing at the same time. Edited January 26, 2013 by fortune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheasants Posted January 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 Great! Thanks a lot! I tried to find some books about how to manage a shoot and game crops for pheasant shooting... Any ideas? (I already have "running a shoot" and "a practical guide to modern gamekeeping" from J C Jeremy Hobson) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 Is this some sort of academic exercise or do you intend to run a shoot? Where are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheasants Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 From Belgium, I try to manage a shoot (600ha) with some friends. Were all between 20 and 22 years old so we haven't much experience.. And to be honest.... Pheasant shooting is not very popular here, people release some birds in a pen but don't always have the knowledge of how to manage their estate. I really want to learn about it and I even thought about going to the UK for a year and working with a gamekeeper to acquire some knowledge.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 There would be no subsitute to travelling to the uk and working with a keeper (would imagine be hard to organise thou, jobs fairly rare and easier to get if u have 'contacts') possibly a college course would be easier (Sparsholt has a very good rep) U also could possibly try to arrange a weeks beating on a commercial estate as a working holiday to get some ideas how the big estates work a shoot day, not sure if many english estates do this but some off the scottish grouse moors take on 'bothy beaters' where they provide accom and food plus beating pay and often other estate/shoot jobs on non beating days. U could also either look on the BASC website or the GWCT site oth should hae a lot off advice on the basics, sometimes they also run short/day cousres in keepering/management For books David Hudson has a not bad 1 running a small shoot, i'm sure i have read a book by Ian Mcoll that was aso very good, or Mike Swan. I think all 3 are GWCT advisors/staff so do know there stuff Basically for DIY/hobby keepers the main thing u can do to hold them is getting ur feeding right followed by habbitat and vermin control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) There would be no subsitute to travelling to the uk and working with a keeper (would imagine be hard to organise thou, jobs fairly rare and easier to get if u have 'contacts') You could also possibly try to arrange beating on a commercial estate as a working holiday to get some ideas how the big estates work a shoot day, Basically for DIY/hobby keepers the main thing u can do to hold them is getting ur feeding right followed by habbitat and vermin control The text above is very good information and covers some of the basics. Jeez. Talk about a clean slate. From what you, (pheasants) have written it is fairly obvious that you have got your work cut out. On the shoot here the work for next season will start in a about a months time. Cleaning and storing equipment to resiting rearing field and pens. I dont even know where to start to advise you. Firstly what is your land like? is the ground all flat or do you have hills or high areas? How many birds do you intend to put on the ground and do you think that you will be able to produce driven birds or will it just be walked up? Is the shooting going to be for your own pleasure or do you intend to try to sell some shooting days or by the gun? AND I suppose the most important thing is how big is your budget for setting up and operating the shoot? Edited January 28, 2013 by fortune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheasants Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 Actually on the shoot that we have with some friends, we generally shoot duck ( bags of +- 60 sometimes 80 birds in one morning and we do that 5 to 6 times on a season) It used to be a great estate for pheasant shooting ( In the time that the grandfather of my friend was running it) but unfortunately the man died and the estate was abandoned. Now we try to make something of it.. but it's not easy.. farmers are not very cooperative for crops and the legislation in Belgium isn't great either... ( ex: we can't go foxing at night) but despite everything were doing our best to make something of it. We have 35-40 feed hoppers dispatched on the estate and have 3 ponds for duck shooting. Their are I think 3 or 4 groups of grey partridges and some pheasants but we didn't release any birds yet.. this year we thought releasing some pheasants (+-300) Of course our budget is limited We do everything ourselves (feeding, etc..) except fox snaring... that's the job of the old gamekeeper(78 years old now) In Belgium you have let us say 35-45% of the country that is flat.. and the rest is more hilly.. on our estate we have both.. one side is rather flat.. :s and that would probably not be easy for 'high pheasants'.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheasants Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 It's more for our own pleasure, the woods were (60 years ago I think) planted for (driven) pheasant shooting... but there is some work to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 I would try and learn as mch as possible from the old keeper who does ur snaring as he will be familar with the ground and rules over there. I'd also say i have seen some very good birds shown on fairly flat estates, plenty off shoots and syndicates in the uk don't produce great birds, U can try things like driving the birds away from guns into wind and hope they should lift and curl back over guns if pen in right place. If the woods have been planted for shooting the should be in the optimum places for showing birds, if u can find out how they done the drives then it might give u a better idea. I obviuosly know nothing about the type of woodland planted over there but quite often in woods off that age or older (in the uk) u might expect to have rhodedenrum's at the flushing points or where pens where (often also the flushing point in the old days) I wouldnae worry to much about showing sky high birds as long as ur enjoying it the high birds are a bonus, walking up and shooting over ur own dogs can be just as enjoyable. They are decent bags of duck's ur shooting, but realistically i'd only be expecting to shoot around 100 pheas out of 300 released, around the 30% is about average in uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodentermite Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 at the beginning of the season and just leave it out through the season and gather it at the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malantone Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 at the beginning of the season and just leave it out through the season and gather it at the end as has been said if you leve it out then birds get used to it and it becomes useless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 i have seen some very good birds shown on fairly flat estates. walking up and shooting over ur own dogs can be just as enjoyable. They are decent bags of duck's ur shooting, but realistically i'd only be expecting to shoot around 100 pheas out of 300 released, around the 30% is about average in uk Several times I have seen superb birds presented by using the wind to power assist their flight. In one instance the birds were driven through some scrub and a small bit of wood and run up a thin strip of maize to an old dried up pond or pit. On the other side there was just a field that hadn't been planted and was just soil. A couple of beaters had been put out there as flaggers. As the birds emerged out of the pit into the field they took off and with the strong head wind and the presence of the flaggers they turned back over the pit and the maize back to where they had come from. The guns were in a line at the edge of the wood and by the time the birds went over they were really fast and high. A lot of the guns could not match these birds and the ones that were shot came down a long way back from the line. These birds were as good as anyone could want and it was a real talking point after the drive about how good they were with much joking about how the guns were too old and stiff for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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