How low is too low?

[Alycidon]

Anything that is not a challenge to kill is to low. This will of course vary depending on how good or otherwise a gun is and frankly how experienced the gun is. As you get more and more years under your belt you get more selective but as a young lad I am sure I wacked my share of 20 yarders.

 

I have arrived at this after many years of driven game shooting. If however I am pest control shooting then its anything thats safe.

 

What does annoy me are 'killing' drives on commercial pheasant shoots. Usually birds walked out of the home wood into a game plot leading away from the wood. This is then driven away from their home wood which is maybe 20 years old so 30 feet high trees. Birds get up come back past the beaters at 30 feet to a gun line slipped in behind the beaters, and of course the guns are pegged 30 yards apart !!. That can be murder. Birds cant be shot in front safely, overheard they are only feet away, going away then you only have maybe 20 yards to give them one up the wrong end. Last time I stood in a line like that I watched over 1000 pheasants come past with an open gun. I think over 40 were picked. In most gun lines some are more selective than others, this drives around experience.

 

In my pre shoot talk I tell guns what they can and cant shoot and height wise shoot what gives them pleasure but concentrate on the cocks. . The regulars know the crack, they tell any guests they invite so I have no issues other than an odd mistake.

 

A

[figgy]

Low birds are fine at fifty yards out. Some shoots don't show very high birds and you can only shoot what's presented. To some who are poor shots a low bird is a tough bird to them, wonder what the cart ratio was.

 

Let's face it to commercial shoots does it matter what height they are shot at so long as the bag is made and the guns are happy.

 

Nice to see good birds fly over and to drop some.

 

Figgy