loriusgarrulus Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Went through Nantwich on the way there and on the way back. Went to Snugburys Jersey Ice cream farm for a cheer up on the way back. Mine was a double sugar cone with Honey comb and fudge and OH had Rasberry ripple and clotted cream vanilla. Did have the compass in the Tramper locker in case we got lost. Could have put OH's scouting skills to good use. Edited January 3, 2015 by loriusgarrulus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted January 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 we got lost there last time the mist came in Haha, blame your bad guide. You'd think after nearly 10 years on the place I'd know my way around them rushes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Haha, blame your bad guide. You'd think after nearly 10 years on the place I'd know my way around them rushes Trouble is one patch of rushes can look very like another in the mist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Cracking pictures. Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 We had another one of them days today... 😁 This was the view that greated us on arrival. It looks nice but it's a hard slog walking through the stuff. Needless to say the birds were tucked up in the woods, so the bag was a small one this time. A great day none-the-less Rolo working the banks... The mornings view... We pushed the heather through next... Which produced a nice woodcock, and a very good retrieve for the mut I finished on a woodcock, a magpie and a fox. Missed a cock pheasant and put another 5 up which were not shot at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoot and be safe Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 I bet it was cold up there today Todd. Well done on the woodcock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Certainly was, especially when the wind was blowing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Worth the trip well done buddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDP Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 What a brilliant read! Would anyone mind letting me know what the sort of costs and time commitments might be to join a small group like this? Assume minimal knowledge of game shoots! This looks like my perfect idea of a regular winter haunt :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dafydd1983 Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 What a brilliant read! Would anyone mind letting me know what the sort of costs and time commitments might be to join a small group like this? Assume minimal knowledge of game shoots! This looks like my perfect idea of a regular winter haunt :-D Money wise, it all depends on what you want out of the shoot, weather you have to rent the land, buy in birds, feed, equipment etc. keep it small scale, 10ish birds a day, some ex layers 100 or so and keep feeding, I'm sure you can do it for only a couple hundred pound each between a small group of friends. I suppose it's what a lot of friends aspire to, but finding the right land is the key! Commitment, well how long is a piece of string! The more you feed, the more you cut rides the more your are generally on the shoot the more you will get out of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rimotu66 Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Money wise, it all depends on what you want out of the shoot, weather you have to rent the land, buy in birds, feed, equipment etc. keep it small scale, 10ish birds a day, some ex layers 100 or so and keep feeding, I'm sure you can do it for only a couple hundred pound each between a small group of friends. I suppose it's what a lot of friends aspire to, but finding the right land is the key! Commitment, well how long is a piece of string! The more you feed, the more you cut rides the more your are generally on the shoot the more you will get out of it! Agreed, but do not forget that any 'working' syndicate, say of 8 guns there will only ever be 2 or 3 that ever do any of the work, the rest will turn up on shoot day and moan if they disagree with the way the day is run or the lack of birds. Dafydd, yours definitely looks like a shoot I would love to be part of Edited January 16, 2015 by rimotu66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I have to mirror Daffyd's comments... For us, the rent is reasonably cheap at £1300/yr (given the acerage). Poults where at £3.65/bird this year, and we turned out 200. Wheat has been a good price this year too, though we've not fed anywhere near as much as we should have, that's the problem with being so far away from the land! As has been said, they'll be individuals that you never see, and some that turn up everytime. But Summer WILL be busy if you go down the poult route. A friend of mine uses ex-layers on his ground and has good results, we've not explored this on our shoot... Yet?? The bottom line is the more you put in, the more you'll get out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 One final wintry walk... I had received a number of invitations off some very generous friends for the final day of the season, but there was only one place I wanted to be. The wife was available too, so we woke early, loaded the boot with goodies (and a spade - just incase), and set off to 'our little rough shoot'. The local villages showed only a light dusting of white on the cottage roofs, but as we climbed the big hill, the temperature started to drop, and the snow thickened. When we neared the summit, the road got VERY slippery, despite it being recently ploughed... After a bumpy mile, we had made it to the farm, but it was clear that any pheasants where going to be tucked up somewhere warm. So expecting nothing, we booted up and head off to see if anything was milling about. The open fields were ridiculously hard to walk through, easily 5 inches deep with snow drifts up to your waist. But the rushy patches weren't as bad, particularly those with water running through. So we concentrated on them, and it wasn't long before a few snipe appeared, offering some testing shots. With a couple in the bag, we head back to the car and fired up the cooking stove. We indulged on goose stew and crusty cobs, washed down with a drop of Glenfiddich. The dog had worked hard all morning, and was rewarded with a small portion too! After lunch we pushed one more area through, and the pheasants gave us the runaround! As I approached the heather, I could see 2 cocks and a hen the other side of the fence, running down the side of the wood. This particular piece has been problematic all year, as there is a pheasant sized hole half way down the fence. I'm convinced that once the birds hear the car door shut, they all make their way to this cubby hole, and jump back in the safety of the neighbouring wood - we don't have permission in this bit. As expected, the dog did his nut when we reached this area, plenty of scent, but no birds to show for it, however the fresh tracks in the snow proved my theory A little further along, the dog flushed a nice cock, which I missed with both barrels, ahh well! And on that bombshell, I decided to call an end to another memorable season. A QUICK SEASON SUMMARY - The weather was against us this year, as the shoot has pretty much been covered in thick snow since Boxing Day. We managed to have 5 'organised' days, although they where poorly attended due to work and shoot clashes, and one of them was 'fogged off' at lunch. We then threw the shoot open in January, with a limit of a brace pheasant per gun per day. I'm just waiting on bag numbers from a couple of people, but I think we've made the low 30's this season (pheasant), with a dozen or so wild quarry (woodcock/snipe) featuring in the bag, excluding vermin. I suspect they'll be some more membership places available next year, so keep an eye out in the 'shooting available' section if you think you may be interested. Many thanks for all your kind words throughout the season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 A nice end to the season mate well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Very well done Great to read and a lovely place Thanks for sharing All the best Of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl_h Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Cracking pictures, no snow down here. That looks much more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I have enjoyed your posts and the obvious enjoyment you get from the shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuddster Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 great write up for a great day out. what car is in the picture? cheers fudds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 what car is in the picture? fudds It's a Kia Sportage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoot and be safe Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) A nice read there Todd I also took a last trip up there on Friday after our day on the woodcock, well it was only 10 miles away so would have been rude not to. The snow was, like Todd said, a light dusting in the valley bottom, but as you climbed the lane up to the top it got a little deeper. But the views were spectacular. This is a complete 360 degree view. Sorry about the twisted neck. I parked up in our usual parking area and set off in the direction of the heather below the flight pond. No sooner than I was in the field, Indy flushed a lone hen which I duly dropped with a single shot. A little later on, a cock flushed but at the time I was negotiating a fence, always the way Indy and I then went over to the rushes in the hope there might be a snipe about. Unfortunately the snow was too deep which made progress slow, especially through the drifts. I decided to call it a day after about a hour and a half but took another panoramic view from the rushes. Indy with the hen she flushed, I shot and she retrieved. I have had some good times up here and met some good chaps. I enjoyed chatting to Bill, who has been shooting up here since he could walk with a gun and he knows the ground very well with some great tales to tell. Todd runs the shoot very well and is truly passionate about it. I have had some great and memorable shots up here, especially the first cock I shot, a 50 yard+ crosser from left to right retrieved by Indy. My total bag was only 3 from three and a half visits. Plenty of opportunities for snipe, but my reaction/identification time was too slow oh well, maybe next season. Thank you to Todd, Bill, Peter, Andrew and Russ for your company this season. One last word LEEEEEOOOOOOO Edited February 1, 2015 by shoot and be safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 One more last word Baaaaaaaaaaaa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Less of the handbags please everyone. Mark, the pics suggest you took the steep hill to the summit? You're a braver man than me, I went the back way, in fact, I've taken the back road since December! Haha I should have said earlier, many thanks to SABS (Mark), victorismyhero (Andrew) and Russdy (Russ), for your contribution this year. I hope you've had some memorable visits, and I'd be interested to see any pictures you may have snapped whilst we've been out. Having just glanced at the bag return, my personal tally this season was 12 pheasant, 3 woodcock and 3 snipe Thanks again to you all, the hard work will start again soon enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misser Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 very good write up and top pics......good little shoot there with good company.... ....pity there wont be any more write ups and pics for a while.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 Following our AGM meeting last night, 2 places have come available on our syndicate. Please see the 'shooting available' section for more details, or drop me a PM if you're intersted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted October 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 It's that time of year again! Here's a few snaps from today's walk round the boundaries. The bag was a small one, with only 3 pheasants and a hare finding their way into it. A couple more birds flushed without being shot at, and the odd snipe proved to be too difficult on this occasion. Ah well, they're there for next time Here's wishing you all a successful and enjoyable season! And a warm welcome to our 2 new members from PW - 2sledge and Karl_h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.