Wildfowling season 2015-2016

[anser2]

It seems a hell of a long time since the end of last season and it was great to be out again on the 1^st. My mate and I were up in plenty of time as we had a long walk and both of us old codgers have health problems so our days of running out onto the marsh are well over. At least the walk was an easy one over the short grazed meadows under a bright moon. We were going to decoy a large fleet dyke that usually produces a bird or two at the start of the season. I had just put the last decoy out when the first shots rang out in the distant. At least six guns were out on various distant marshes , but for a long time I saw nothing. It was getting quite light by now when I decided to put up a small hide against the gateway I had been standing against. Of course the moment my attention wavered the first bunch of mallard came. Six of them swung over head and were gone before I could grab the gun. And then for a long time nothing.

 

There was still a scattering of shots from across the river, but it was after sun rise before I saw another duck. A single duck came up the fleet, and then saw the decoys before setting his wings. I took him 30 yards out and he fell in the reeds across the fleet. My lab Meg made short work of the retrieve a cracking drake gadwall in full colour. A few mallard started to appear, but they all kept well wide of me though I saw my mate drop one.

 

As the sun rose quite a few pigeons started to appear dropping onto the flooded marsh for a drink before heading off inland for the stubbles. Several bunches of little egrets wound there was upstream following the river and one greenshank came into the fleet calling loudly. There were a sprinkling of duck about, but for a long time none came near. One teal appeared from nowhere, but stayed just out of range.

 

The fleet was brimful with water and some had spilled into the marsh flooding the grass both sides of the creek. One single mallard dropped into the flooding behind a big patch of reeds across the fleet. A pair followed and several more singletons. I was going to have to move these duck or nothing more was going to come into the decoys. Or so I thought, hardly had a walked 50 yards when a mallard circled the decoys before seeing me at the extremes of range. It would have been a gift from my hide. I sent the dog across the fleet to put the mallard up and a good bunch lifted with a welter of wings. Most headed off over the river, but one made the sort of mistake they only make in the opening days of the season and swung back over me and I made no mistake with the shot.

 

That was it, but I was more than content sitting back in the warm sunshine as another season was successfully under way. My mind wandered back 50 years to a time when as a novice schoolboy fowler I crouched along the very same fleet flighting duck on the opening day. Gadwall were a rarity in those days and the bag would have been made up of mallard and teal , but the landscape was unchanged, with the gaunt drainage mills standing guard across the marsh, bearded tits still called as they flitted through the reeds and a kingfisher flashed across the water with its twin reflection mirrored in the still water. At least some things do not change. Finally I tore my gaze away and packed up and made my way back to my mate who also had a mallard and a gadwall.

 

When we got home like a bloody fool I found I had left a couple of decoys on the fleet bank. Of course I should have gone back and got them there and then , but I was dog tired and knew they should be safe until the morning I used them as a excuse to take a second bite of the cherry and do a second morning flight. It was almost a carbon copy of the previous morning’s flight with a sprinkling of duck coming into the fleet. One gadwall landed 60 yards away from my hide and sat there looking at me for one long moment before taking off and flew towards me skimming the water. Thinking it was going to be a flapper I was about to let go unharmed , but as It drew level it turned on the after burners and shot skywards giving a difficult shot , but he folded nicely. A second gadwall gave me a very long shot and came down across the fleet, but Meg soon had it back and then as I was packing up two gadwall passed my 40 wards off. I missed with the first shot, but saw the bird jump to the second and it planed down 300 yards off splashing into the fleet and its mate followed it down. Meg shot off and as she neared the spot two duck took off. It looked as though it had been only very lightly hit and was still able to fly. After minuet Meg appeared and as I started to pick up the decoys came trotting back along the bank. At 150 yards I was sure she was carrying something, a moorhen perhaps I thought, but as she got closer I realised it was a duck and she delivered a very dead hen gadwall to my hand a few moments later.

 

That was the end of another cracking flight 3 duck in the bag and 5 over the two mornings, a great start to the season. There was one serious problem though. Meg started to hang back as we walked off and several times I had to wait for her to catch up. When we got back to the car she whimpered as I dried her off with a cloth, but I could see nothing obviously wrong and suspected she pulled a muscle during the last retrieve. She has perked up a little this afternoon but it may mean a trip to the vet tonight unless she shows a strong improvement.

 

Brought all the decoys home this time.

[hedge hunter]

It seems a hell of a long time since the end of last season and it was great to be out again on the 1^st. My mate and I were up in plenty of time as we had a long walk and both of us old codgers have health problems so our days of running out onto the marsh are well over. At least the walk was an easy one over the short grazed meadows under a bright moon. We were going to decoy a large fleet dyke that usually produces a bird or two at the start of the season. I had just put the last decoy out when the first shots rang out in the distant. At least six guns were out on various distant marshes , but for a long time I saw nothing. It was getting quite light by now when I decided to put up a small hide against the gateway I had been standing against. Of course the moment my attention wavered the first bunch of mallard came. Six of them swung over head and were gone before I could grab the gun. And then for a long time nothing.

 

There was still a scattering of shots from across the river, but it was after sun rise before I saw another duck. A single duck came up the fleet, and then saw the decoys before setting his wings. I took him 30 yards out and he fell in the reeds across the fleet. My lab Meg made short work of the retrieve a cracking drake gadwall in full colour. A few mallard started to appear, but they all kept well wide of me though I saw my mate drop one.

 

As the sun rose quite a few pigeons started to appear dropping onto the flooded marsh for a drink before heading off inland for the stubbles. Several bunches of little egrets wound there was upstream following the river and one greenshank came into the fleet calling loudly. There were a sprinkling of duck about, but for a long time none came near. One teal appeared from nowhere, but stayed just out of range.

 

The fleet was brimful with water and some had spilled into the marsh flooding the grass both sides of the creek. One single mallard dropped into the flooding behind a big patch of reeds across the fleet. A pair followed and several more singletons. I was going to have to move these duck or nothing more was going to come into the decoys. Or so I thought, hardly had a walked 50 yards when a mallard circled the decoys before seeing me at the extremes of range. It would have been a gift from my hide. I sent the dog across the fleet to put the mallard up and a good bunch lifted with a welter of wings. Most headed off over the river, but one made the sort of mistake they only make in the opening days of the season and swung back over me and I made no mistake with the shot.

 

That was it, but I was more than content sitting back in the warm sunshine as another season was successfully under way. My mind wandered back 50 years to a time when as a novice schoolboy fowler I crouched along the very same fleet flighting duck on the opening day. Gadwall were a rarity in those days and the bag would have been made up of mallard and teal , but the landscape was unchanged, with the gaunt drainage mills standing guard across the marsh, bearded tits still called as they flitted through the reeds and a kingfisher flashed across the water with its twin reflection mirrored in the still water. At least some things do not change. Finally I tore my gaze away and packed up and made my way back to my mate who also had a mallard and a gadwall.

 

When we got home like a bloody fool I found I had left a couple of decoys on the fleet bank. Of course I should have gone back and got them there and then , but I was dog tired and knew they should be safe until the morning I used them as a excuse to take a second bite of the cherry and do a second morning flight. It was almost a carbon copy of the previous mornings flight with a sprinkling of duck coming into the fleet. One gadwall landed 60 yards away from my hide and sat there looking at me for one long moment before taking off and flew towards me skimming the water. Thinking it was going to be a flapper I was about to let go unharmed , but as It drew level it turned on the after burners and shot skywards giving a difficult shot , but he folded nicely. A second gadwall gave me a very long shot and came down across the fleet, but Meg soon had it back and then as I was packing up two gadwall passed my 40 wards off. I missed with the first shot, but saw the bird jump to the second and it planed down 300 yards off splashing into the fleet and its mate followed it down. Meg shot off and as she neared the spot two duck took off. It looked as though it had been only very lightly hit and was still able to fly. After minuet Meg appeared and as I started to pick up the decoys came trotting back along the bank. At 150 yards I was sure she was carrying something, a moorhen perhaps I thought, but as she got closer I realised it was a duck and she delivered a very dead hen gadwall to my hand a few moments later.

 

That was the end of another cracking flight 3 duck in the bag and 5 over the two mornings, a great start to the season. There was one serious problem though. Meg started to hang back as we walked off and several times I had to wait for her to catch up. When we got back to the car she whimpered as I dried her off with a cloth, but I could see nothing obviously wrong and suspected she pulled a muscle during the last retrieve. She has perked up a little this afternoon but it may mean a trip to the vet tonight unless she shows a strong improvement.

 

Brought all the decoys home this time.

 

 

What an excellent read mate, a real good account of the flight. Almost seems as though I was sat there with you

 

Best wishes HH

[marsh man]

As already stated anser2 a very good account of your first and second morning start of a new wildfowling season .

 

Did you hear as much shooting as previous years ? as I was out when it was already light and weather I missed any early shooting , I don't know but the marshes round my house seemed pretty quiet , morning and night.

[anser2]

Hi Marshman, there was not as much shooting as last year, but I heard 50-60 shots , mainly on the Island and a couple of guys had a fair bit of shooting early on on Longs Marsh towards Belton.Nowhere as many ducks as last year and only saw a handful of greylags , except for a very distant flock going over the boat yard on the Wavenly . Fewer duck this morning and very little shooting. I guess thats one thing that is very different to when I started shooting, sometimes it was like the start of world war 3 on the 1st. The only duck I saw were mallard and gadwall with a single teal on the 1st. Last year there were also quite a few shoveller and one or two divers. Never saw a single snipe.

 

 

I think I am going to have to get a thiner recoil pad for the Browning Semi auto though. Both this year and last year I shot in my shirt sleeves at the start of the season. All the duck i shot at came down though two needed two shots. 10 duck for 12 shots, way above my normal average when wearing a shooting jacket.

Edited September 2, 2015 by anser2

[marsh man]

 

Been waiting for the morning of 1st September for ages and it didn't disappoint - a beautiful dawn and a decent bag - found a quiet corner of the marsh and managed 3x teal and 2x canadas - more than enough to carry off when i've had a summer getting soft...

Regards GS

 

Lovely photo of the dawn round your way G S, look like a Peter Scott painting without the fowl on it , thanks for sharing.

 

P S......And a good start to your season ....Keep you busy for a little while

[JDog]

Great read anser2.

[Konnie]

Well didn't get out in the AM, of the first due to work but did the PM tide, I managed to pick the right spot but did not get a shot as no wind was not in my favour as several high mallard flighted from , a stubble field behind the sea wall. There was plenty of shooting on a neighbouring marsh, on last light several groups of canadas came back onto the marsh but not near my position.

But still walked off with a big smile as maybe many of you did, the foreshore is just a special place to be.

[Fal]

Well I Finally got out last night. Met up with a few others for a little wander around the marsh, two of the boys bagged a nice mallard each.

 

We settled down for the evening flight, I managed to hit a mallard, well in range, it landed straight in a gully that had just filled with water, it dived almost straight away. I managed to shoot it again when it resurfaced, sent the dog and we could not find it anywhere!!!!

 

I worked the dog solid for 10-15 mins! He was so tired afterwards. It must have dived and swam up another water filled gully, there was no scent at all. There were plenty of birds in the air passing by, but I decided to leave it for the night and walk off the marsh.

 

I HATE losing birds, especially as it was alive. It has played on my mind all night. The dog worked well, just no scent at all! :(

Edited September 3, 2015 by Fal

[Aled]

Unlucky Fal, know the feeling its not nice.

Well done those of you who have ben out, some nice reads.

Cheers

Aled

[marsh man]

Well I Finally got out last night. Met up with a few others for a little wander around the marsh, two of the boys bagged a nice mallard each.

 

We settled down for the evening flight, I managed to hit a mallard, well in range, it landed straight in a gully that had just filled with water, it dived almost straight away. I managed to shoot it again when it resurfaced, sent the dog and we could not find it anywhere!!!!

 

I worked the dog solid for 10-15 mins! He was so tired afterwards. It must have dived and swam up another water filled gully, there was no scent at all. There were plenty of birds in the air passing by, but I decided to leave it for the night and walk off the marsh.

 

I HATE losing birds, especially as it was alive. It has palyed on my mind all night. The dog worked well, just no scent at all! :(

Don't worry yourself about it Fal , you know in your own mind you and your dog done all you could to retrieve it , we all hate it , but these things happen from time to time , sad , but its a part of wild fowling ........... Good luck with the rest of the season .

[fenboy]

My foreshore season started with a missed Mallard yesterday evening , last season started with 5 mallard for 5 shots so I hope that is not a sign of things to come !!!!

[Darno]

Managed 3 Canada's on the 1st, had a cracking day, took my cousin as a guest and he got his 1st Canada as well:-)

[SEshooter]

Well it's been a real up and down start of the season for me.

 

It all started at 2am on the 31st. Me and 2 mates had arranged to get out a day early to see what was about and decide where on the marsh we wanted to be.

I had sorted all the gear out the day before so set of bang on time. Met my pals in the car park and of we went into the darkness. The first bit of the journey we had to wade thought water up to our wastes to get to the higher ground. Once that was over it was plain sailing and 45mins later we arrived.

It felt good to be back out there. The sights sounds and smells of the marsh as it wakes up cannot be beaten. This morning we was in for a treat. For me shooting is not just what it's about.

It was around 4.30 when I heard the wing beats coming. Pack after pack of mallard flooded out over the sea wall and if it had been the first I would have had to call it a day after an hour.

The geese started moving at 6am plenty of skeins of greys and Canada's coming over 40 odd yards up at this point I was fairly confident that the next morning I would have my fist goose of the marsh. I have shot plenty inland but to get one of the marsh was my aim this season, I only really started true wildfowling halfway through last season and soon got the bug.

The geese stopped coming over at 10 am so with confidence flying high I decided to go and get some sleep. Spent the day chilling out and thinking about the steak I was going to have in the pub that evening. Around 5 we set off for the long walk back. The place we park the motors Is a shared car park with the pub so nice and convinent. Had some great food and drink. The banter was flowing and we was all pretty excited for the next day.

So for the 3rd time that day we marched back, set up out shelters and crashed out for a few hours well earned kip.

We all knew it would be busy on the 1st but as we had our spots, was not to worried. At 3 am I was woken by gun shots. Thinking it was someone having a bang at early ducks I was not bothered and it sounded a fair distance away.

Quickly packed up the shelter and made my way to my chosen spot.

I could not have been more wrong. It turns out some **** was out in a boat and had taken shots at geese on the roost, this In turn messed up the flight. With geese going in every direction far to early combined with a lot of guns out my morning was over befor it had started.

10 am soon arrived and I got a phone call from the wife telling me her grandad who has been ill for a long time only had a matter of hours left and that she was heading down to Brighton to see him. I quickly packed up and in record time was back at the van. We made it to the hospital in good time and 20minutes later he sadly passed away. Peter was a true gent who love to hear my shooting and fishing stories. He will be greatly missed.

We spent the rest of the day with my wife's gran and eventually dropped her of at my mother inlaws at mid nite. After sitting indoors for an hour thinking over the days event and feeling quite sad I decided the best thing for me was to get my myself back on the mash in search of my goose.

3am and I was back in the van on my way to the marsh. Think I got to my spot around 4.30 the first hour was slow I did not see or hear much. After having very little sleep in the last couple of days I decided to lay back and shut my eyes. Next thing I know it's 7.30 and the mrs was ringing to make sure all was ok. Had a quick chat and carried on checking the horizon. 5 minutes later I Clocked a skein of Canada's heading my way. They was not quite on the right line to give me a good shot but lucky enough another fowler decided to have a shot at them , this split 2 from the skein and they was heading straight at me.

Bang, first shot and my goose folded. my first goose of the marsh. I was over the moon and for the couple of minutes after all my worries drifted away. Peter would have been proud and loved to have heard all about it. This is a memory that will stay with me for a very long time.

A sat there for the rest of the flight thinking about the ups and downs of the start of my season. Another skien of greys did present a shot, but with one goose in the bag and the thought of carrying 2 back I let them sail on by.

I would upload I pic but only have access to my iphone. If any one would be willing for me to email a pic to them and upload it I would be very great full.

Thanks for reading and I wish you all good luck for the rest of the season.

Edited September 3, 2015 by SEshooter

[fenboy]

Well it's been a real up and down start of the season for me.

 

It all started at 2am on the 31st. Me and 2 mates had arranged to get out a day early to see what was about and decide where on the marsh we wanted to be.

I had sorted all the gear out the day before so set of bang on time. Met my pals in the car park and of we went into the darkness. The first bit of the journey we had to wade thought water up to our wastes to get to the higher ground. Once that was over it was plain sailing and 45mins later we arrived.

It felt good to be back out there. The sights sounds and smells of the marsh as it wakes up cannot be beaten. This morning we was in for a treat. For me shooting is not just what it's about.

It was around 4.30 when I heard the wing beats coming. Pack after pack of mallard flooded out over the sea wall and if it had been the first I would have had to call it a day after an hour.

The geese started moving at 6am plenty of skeins of greys and Canada's coming over 40 odd yards up at this point I was fairly confident that the next morning I would have my fist goose of the marsh. I have shot plenty inland but to get one of the marsh was my aim this season, I only really started true wildfowling halfway through last season and soon got the bug.

The geese stopped coming over at 10 am so with confidence flying high I decided to go and get some sleep. Spent the day chilling out and thinking about the steak I was going to have in the pub that evening. Around 5 we set off for the long walk back. The place we park the motors Is a shared car park with the pub so nice and convinent. Had some great food and drink. The banter was flowing and we was all pretty excited for the next day.

So for the 3rd time that day we marched back, set up out shelters and crashed out for a few hours well earned kip.

We all knew it would be busy on the 1st but as we had our spots, was not to worried. At 3 am I was woken by gun shots. Thinking it was someone having a bang at early ducks I was not bothered and it sounded a fair distance away.

Quickly packed up the shelter and made my way to my chosen spot.

I could not have been more wrong. It turns out some **** was out in a boat and had taken shots at geese on the roost, this In turn messed up the flight. With geese going in every direction far to early combined with a lot of guns out my morning was over befor it had started.

10 am soon arrived and I got a phone call from the wife telling me her grandad who has been ill for a long time only had a matter of hours left and that she was heading down to Brighton to see him. I quickly packed up and in record time was back at the van. We made it to the hospital in good time and 20minutes later he sadly passed away. Peter was a true gent who love to hear my shooting and fishing stories. He will be greatly missed.

We spent the rest of the day with my wife's gran and eventually dropped her of at my mother inlaws at mid nite. After sitting indoors for an hour thinking over the days event and feeling quite sad I decided the best thing for me was to get my myself back on the mash in search of my goose.

3am and I was back in the van on my way to the marsh. Think I got to my spot around 4.30 the first hour was slow I did not see or hear much. After having very little sleep in the last couple of days I decided to lay back and shut my eyes. Next thing I know it's 7.30 and the mrs was ringing to make sure all was ok. Had a quick chat and carried on checking the horizon. 5 minutes later I Clocked a skein of Canada's heading my way. They was not quite on the right line to give me a good shot but lucky enough another fowler decided to have a shot at them , this split 2 from the skein and they was heading straight at me.

Bang, first shot and my goose folded. my first goose of the marsh. I was over the moon and for the couple of minutes after all my worries drifted away. Peter would have been proud and loved to have heard all about it. This is a memory that will stay with me for a very long time.

A sat there for the rest of the flight thinking about the ups and downs of the start of my season. Another skien of greys did present a shot, but with one goose in the bag and the thought of carrying 2 back I let them sail on by.

I would upload I pic but only have access to my iphone. If any one would be willing for me to email a pic to them and upload it I would be very great full.

Thanks for reading and I wish you all good luck for the rest of the season.

A good read sorry to hear about your loss.

Congratulations on the goose , shame your first flight was spoilt as in most walks of life wildfowling has a few *****.

[marsh man]

My foreshore season started with a missed Mallard yesterday evening , last season started with 5 mallard for 5 shots so I hope that is not a sign of things to come !!!!

You still had the effects of Saturday night on your mind fenboy , well at least that's a good excuse

[fenboy]

I wish I could use that as an excuse marsh man , truth is I have been really struggling with my shooting of late , I may have to go for a lesson or two and find out why the wheels have come off.

 

Edited September 3, 2015 by fenboy

[marsh man]

 

I wish I could use that as an excuse marsh man , truth is I have been really struggling with my shooting of late , I may have to go for a lesson or too and find out why the wheels have come off.

 

 

Maybe to many things on your mind lately , what with making arrangements for your daughters wedding , work and a new puppy , plus anything else that crop up from day to day . Things will settle down and then you will find your shooting will return to a decent standard again . Hope so anyhow .

[silver pigeon 3]

I wish I could use that as an excuse marsh man , truth is I have been really struggling with my shooting of late , I may have to go for a lesson or two and find out why the wheels have come off.

 

Worst thing I ever did was go and have a few lessons when I started struggling. I had picked up so many bad habits over the years that after they were corrected I was great on the clays but useless on anything else! Re learnt my bad habits and all good again!!! Lol.

[fenboy]

Worst thing I ever did was go and have a few lessons when I started struggling. I had picked up so many bad habits over the years that after they were corrected I was great on the clays but useless on anything else! Re learnt my bad habits and all good again!!! Lol.

I have never had a lesson in my life and always considered myself a decent enough shot , but something has changed at the minute and I need to get it sorted before the pinks get here !!!

[anser2]

I had a similar experiance to Silver pigeon when I bought a over and under. I got quite good at shooting clays , but much worse at shooting live game. After persevering with the o\u for most of the season and a course of lessons my shooting did not improve with only one right and left all season I went back to the old s\s and had 5 right and lefts on the next duck flight and never went back to a o\u except for one occasion when I inherited a quality one , again disaster, had pigeons pouring into a rape stubble 224 shots for 54 pigeons and that was it, the O\U was quickly sold.

[kent]

My shooting improved when I stopprd using lead for crows and stopped visiting thr clay ground

[silver pigeon 3]

I think the thing is that clays are Ok but so different to shooting live quarry and then it's another step to shooting wildfowl, on your knees in the half light! I have said it before if it was easy it wouldn't be half the fun!!

[Fal]

It sounds silly, but the more I think about my shooting, the worse I get!!!!

 

I am much better at seeing birds late, mounting and swinging and instinctively taking a shot. I've watched ducks come to my call from 200 yards away, had plenty of time to think, and then totally fluffed the shot to the point where I questioned whether there was steel in my cartridges!

 

I think a lot of it is to do with confidence rather than technique, but I may be wrong, when I hit a few birds, stone dead, good distances I have a lot more confidence and seem to shoot better.

I don't think we should be so hard on ourselves as wildfolwers, the positions and situations we take shots from are far from perfect. We are not standing on pegs having nice birds driven towards us, we are kneeling, laying, sitting and god knows whatever else to keep out of sight. Shooting from these positions, at unpredicatable birds is harder than we realise!!!

I think the thing is that clays are Ok but so different to shooting live quarry and then it's another step to shooting wildfowl, on your knees in the half light! I have said it before if it was easy it wouldn't be half the fun!!

 

Hear, hear!!!

[anser2]

We all have our own ways of shooting and mine are very different to yours Fal. I like to see the birds comming from a long way off. By the time they are 100 yards off I have picked out a bird that i am going to shoot at. I weigh up its speed, height and angle before estimating the amount of lead I am going to give it and if I need to allow for any strong side wind. Then shoot. Mates who are shooting with me recon I am never going to pull the trigger before its past and out of range. Yet it works for me.

 

Give me a quick snap shot and I will miss 9 times out of 10. I seem to poke at the birds and never get the barrels in front of it.

 

Perhaps the most difficuly shots I have ever had were one morning in a storm force wind and heavy rain when flighting pinks. The geese were low perhaps 20 yards up and very slow in the head wind battling over the sand dunes. The cover was not good and they picked you up the moment you moved for the shot. The geese would flare up with the wind under their wings , slip sideways and allow the wind to push them backwards, dropping away from you. Almost impossable shots and it took me 27 shots to bag half a dozen geese and none of the shots were over 40 yards , most were a lot closer.

Edited September 4, 2015 by anser2

[cjm]

We all have our own ways of shooting and mine are very different to yours Fal. I like to see the birds comming from a long way off. By the time they are 100 yards off I have picked out a bird that i am going to shoot at. I weigh up its speed, height and angle before estimating the amount of lead I am going to give it and if I need to allow for any strong side wind. Then shoot. Mates who are shooting with me recon I am never going to pull the trigger before its past and out of range. Yet it works for me.

 

Give me a quick snap shot and I will miss 9 times out of 10. I seem to poke at the birds and never get the barrels in front of it.

 

Perhaps the most difficuly shots I have ever had were one morning in a storm force wind and heavy rain when flighting pinks. The geese were low perhaps 20 yards up and very slow in the head wind battling over the sand dunes. The cover was not good and they picked you up the moment you moved for the shot. The geese would flare up with the wind under their wings , slip sideways and allow the wind to push them backwards, dropping away from you. Almost impossable shots and it took me 27 shots to bag half a dozen geese and none of the shots were over 40 yards , most were a lot closer.

I'm the complete opposite if I have to much time to weigh up the bird coming I miss it but a snap shot i am much much better at. also clay shooting absolutely hopeless at it but live quarry alot better. funny old game this shooting!!