SABS's Shooting Tales 15/16

[Codeye]

A great read mark sounds like a good trip glad you had a good couple of days

[shoot and be safe]

A great read mark sounds like a good trip glad you had a good couple of days

Thanks Dean, it was great company, great location and great banter I even managed to bag a few birds aswell

[BRNDL]

Good to catch up with you again Chris and glad my driving didn't put you affect your shooting.

You missed a good day yesterday by the way, I'll get around to the write up tonight hopefully

 

I heard mixed reports from the shoot..but looking forward to reading how your day went!

[shoot and be safe]

 

I heard mixed reports from the shoot..but looking forward to reading how your day went!

We had a grand day

The report was written Friday. I'm just waiting to add the photos when I get a chance. I was shooting on the Crown yesterday and been out on the clays today.

Thoes reports will follow in time too

[shoot and be safe]

Weeton shoot
17^th December 2015

This is one of the best family run shoots I have ever had the privilege to shoot on.
Fantastic hospitality from as soon as we arrived.

This was the first time that Amy would be shooting on a peg of her own on a paid day away. She was a little nervous, so a phone call in the lead up to the day, with magman, saw young maglad standing with her to load and offer advice.

We arrived at the shoot and directed to the parking area, we then made our way to the shoot room where we were greeted by the shoot captain and the offer of a tea or coffee.
We were given a copy of the shoot rules and asked to sign that we had read and understood them. Once signed in, we were offered a glass of mulled wine and the safety brief was given. A tot of port decided which pegs we were on, and decided the order we all introduced ourselves.

We then jumped on to the gun trailer and headed off to the first drive which was on a neighbouring farm. We then walked through the cow sheds on our way to the partridge drive.



The partridge were pushed from a cover crop on top of a bank above the guns. There were steady flushes of partridge throughout the drive with a couple of pheasants mixed in too, there were also a few ducks flying about in range and all were added to the bag.
Amy was pegged next to me and managed a partridge and a duck on this drive for just 7 shots.
I managed a pheasant and a partridge for, I'm not telling you how many shots

Second drive was the first of the main duck drives.
Amy offered young maglad to shoot this one.

He wasn't bothered about shooting as he knew it was Amy's day but after a little persuasion, he rose to the challenge and duly showed the whole line of guns how it was done. His first shot at a 45 yard plus drake, with the wind behind it, saw it fall from the sky with the first barrel. Well shot Jay. He then dropped another later on in the drive.
Some of the guns congratulated him on his shooting and wished they could shoot to the same standard.
I didn't have many ducks over me on this drive so didn't fire that many shots. I did connect with one as it passed in front.


The third saw us standing on the right of the cover as the beaters pushed through. This was a quiet drive on our side with the majority of the birds breaking over the far side. As the drive neared the end, a cock pheasant presented a shot and I duly dropped it, my eye was slowly getting in

The fourth drive was another duck drive which involved flushing 2 flight ponds.
This was going to be a busy drive with lots of duck being flushed.
As the drive continued TGL was enjoying the sport and duly dropped 2 ducks for 5 shots, again she then offered young maglad the opportunity to shoot and told him to get his gun out.

This he did and dropped 3 for 6.
I wasn't on form at all this day but did account for 4 ducks and again I'm not telling you how many shots I took

Lunch was next and what a lunch it was

We entered the shoot room and had the choice of a glass of sloe gin or port. We were then offered a mug of soup with bread roll.
Soon after that we were treated to a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.



If that wasn't enough, the choice of Christmas pudding or panettone bread and butter pudding or both, if you wished, was also offered.

Along with a cheese board, as well as a piece of Christmas cake.

Truly fantastic hospitality and nobody wanted to leave the shoot room.

Poor little Indy had to stay outside, but I did manage to get her a few bits of turkey and a few other treats.


Struggling to walk after the banquet we had just enjoyed, we climbed into the gun trailer and headed off to the Next drive which shall be forever know as Amy's Mega bird drive

The drive itself was a little on the quiet side which was quite good from my cartridge situation
There were a few birds breaking from the cover and heading over the guns. One of which was a cock pheasant, that flew passed Amy at around 30 yards up, to which her neighbouring gun loosed both barrels at, for it only to fly on. Amy had already spotted the bird but couldn't address it as she would be shooting over the line of guns. She instead waited and after a little encouragement from maglad took the shot behind. At the point of her pulling the trigger, the pheasants would have been 60+yards away. It flinched and Amy instantly sent the second barrel which wasn't required, the cock fell from the sky and landed with a thump. It was duly picked up by the picker up in that field who later on in the day praised Amy on the shot
That one shot made my whole day and I'm very very proud of Amy for shooting the shot of the day. She was obviously over the moon by it and all the guns that witnessed it, complimented her on the fantastic shot.
:yahoo:
Back on the gun bus to the next drive it was the topic of conversation.
Very proud

The railway embankment was the next drive and we were both pegged over to the far side of the line. We had a few opportunities but sadly we didn't add to the bag.

The final drive was back by where we parked up in the morning and was to be a duck drive.

We waded through the mud on the way to our pegs and waited until the other guns got to theirs.
On the sound of the horn, the dogs flushed a small amount of duck of the pond and on the first shot a good number lifted. The drive didn't go on for long but in the time it did I managed to add 3 to the bag for 9 shots.
TGL also added to the bag and then handed her little 20b to maglad to have a last shot or two.


We then reconvened back at the vehicles for the final count of the day which was
137 birds for 587 shots if I remember correctly.

Our personal counts were:
11 birds for ?? shots myself
7 birds for 28 shots TGL
5 birds for 12 shots maglad

We all had a superb day and retired to the local pub where the hospitality continued as the shoot captain treated us to a drink at the bar.
The formalities were conducted and we stayed for a hour talking with our hosts.
The pub also had a small fish pond with a bridge over it.

Don't throw coins in the pond as they are harmful to the fish Jay

Maglad mentioned that he had never seen Blackpool tower, so with us only being a short drive away, it would be rude not to take a detour on our journey home.

As we drove past the tower, young maglad was like Macauly Culkin in "Home Alone - Lost in New York"

:lol:

I would like to thank John, the shoot captain and all of the other people involved in the shoot.
The ladies who looked after us and prepared the fabulous meal.
Amy for taking the shot of the day
And finally maglad for loading for Amy and encouraging her to take some exceptional shots resulting in her finishing up with a shot ratio of 4:1.
I'm over the moon that Amy rose to the challenge and made me very proud.

Thanks for reading.
All the best,
Sabs Edited December 21, 2015 by shoot and be safe

[Mentalmac]

A lovely write up there Mark, must have been nice to have both you and Amy having a day each on the same shoot :-) - you'll be her full time loader soon!

 

Good on Maglad too - an excellent shot (I remember the scores at the last PW charity clay day).

 

That looks a nice Christmas dinner too!

[JDog]

Thank you for posting the report and pictures of what seems to be another excellent day out for you and Amy.

[OJW]

Nice one Mark, good report as always. Hats off to TGL.

[magman]

Thanks for taking the lad Mark , he enjoyed the day with you both whilst i was at work .He came home talking about Amy's long range shot so it must of been a fair way

Thanks once again

PS , worried about him all day as it was the first time away from me when shooting and hoped he done me proud

[Old farrier]

Thanks for taking the lad Mark , he enjoyed the day with you both whilst i was at work .He came home talking about Amy's long range shot so it must of been a fair way

Thanks once again

PS , worried about him all day as it was the first time away from me when shooting and hoped he done me proud

 

Just shows what a good job you did of training him up 😋

 

Well done to the lad and you 😋👍

 

Another great tale SABS realy enjoy your days out

And the good lady omg what a day 😋

She is the icing on the cake 🍰

 

All the best

Of

[shoot and be safe]

A lovely write up there Mark, must have been nice to have both you and Amy having a day each on the same shoot :-) - you'll be her full time loader soon!

 

Good on Maglad too - an excellent shot (I remember the scores at the last PW charity clay day).

 

That looks a nice Christmas dinner too!

 

It was a little daunting for me hoping that Amy would connect with at least one bird on the day, but when she dropped the partridge and duck on the first drive, I knew that her confidence would carry her through the day.

Her MEGA shot lifted MY confidence also. Young Jay did a great job mentoring her for the day

The food was great,the turkey was lovely and moist and the drinks were flowing.

Thanks for your kind words, looking forward to the 16th

 

Thank you for posting the report and pictures of what seems to be another excellent day out for you and Amy.

Not a problem JDog, I've been a little busy this week so haven't had a lot of time to add the photos. Glad you enjoy reading them. I'm looking forward to when we shoot together please go easy on me, I'm a little off form at the moment

 

Nice one Mark, good report as always. Hats off to TGL.

 

Thanks Ollie, I'll pass on your kind words to Amy

 

Thanks for taking the lad Mark, he enjoyed the day with you both whilst i was at work .He came home talking about Amy's long range shot so it must of been a fair way

Thanks once again

PS , worried about him all day as it was the first time away from me when shooting and hoped he done me proud

Thanks for letting him come The advice you gave him in his younger years must have sunk in a little, he advised Amy well.

You should be very proud of him, he conducted himself very well

How was your day in work? :lol:

Edited December 22, 2015 by shoot and be safe

[shoot and be safe]

Just shows what a good job you did of training him up

Well done to the lad and you

Another great tale SABS realy enjoy your days out

And the good lady omg what a day

She is the icing on the cake

All the best

Of

Totally agree with you on Robs training of young Jay. The boy can definitely shoot and gained the respect of the other guns after his first shot

 

Glad you enjoy them OF and yes Amy is shooting far better than myself at the moment. I'm still grinning from ear to ear having had the pleasure of witnessing such a superb shot. Very proud of Amy

We need to arrange a day shooting somewhere together again. I'll load for Amy

Edited December 22, 2015 by shoot and be safe

[Tam]

Great write up as usual TGL Amy should have been on a Peg a couple of weeks ago - if I thought about it I could have had someone stand with her I could have even done so Good a Lady showing the Lads how it's done & well done to young Jay (Maglad) for looking after TGL Glad the only shot he witnessed on Saturday was half decent

[shoot and be safe]

Great write up as usual TGL Amy should have been on a Peg a couple of weeks ago - if I thought about it I could have had someone stand with her I could have even done so Good a Lady showing the Lads how it's done & well done to young Jay (Maglad) for looking after TGL Glad the only shot he witnessed on Saturday was half decent

Thanks Tam

Amy didn't want to shoot this day either originally. She only ended up on the peg after the chap that should have been shooting it had to cancel and I couldn't find anyone else to takethe day.

 

Saturdays write up is almost finished. I just need one more photo to complete it.

Possibly tomorrow

[shoot and be safe]

 

 

Crown Shoot

19^th December 2015

We, the Crown Shoot, had the pleasure of hosting Tam and Hopper for the day on the shoot this weekend. It was to be a fully driven day and all drives were shot by one team.

Magman was in charge for the day with the assistance of Mr Brown looking after the guns.

 

Safety brief done and pegs picked, we were in the vehicles and heading to the "Nant".

 

I was out on peg two and had a few opportunities to bag a bird.

10 shots later, at both pheasants and pigeons, the drive was over. It was a light walk back up the hill for me as I had nothing to carry.

 

The 110 was next and following a bit of confusion regarding pegs by some of the other guns, I ended up on peg 2 again.

As it happens this was one of the hot seats so all was good, apart from my shooting that is I did manage to connect with a cock on my first shot in there but sadly all my other shots were just salutes to the birds as they passed me by.

 

Lunch was next and this was prepared by two of the guns and their wives. A joint of roast beef and a joint of roast lamb, both of which were from his own stock.

There was a glass of Port and Prosecco on offer to accompany the rare beef and lamb, followed by a chocolate log with cream for dessert

 

Once lunch was over, we headed off to the FF for the rest of the drives.

With my shooting being a little below par, I decided that a change of cartridges was in order. The best decision I have made.

 

I dropped 3 for 6 on the FF drive so I was now back on form little Indy also retrieved all 3

 

Aled's was next. A few birds presented opportunities for the line and were added to the bag, one by myself using Amy's 20b.

 

 

The final drive was the gulley and I was pegged out on the far left,on peg 1. With it being a mild day The Good Lady dispensed with her coat and showed off her festive jumper, well it was the last shoot before Christmas.

 

A number of birds flushed early and went back over the beaters. As the drive progressed, another couple of opportunities arose but sadly I didn't add extras to the bag.

 

This concluded the day's shooting and we reconvened back at the pub for the final tally. There was plenty of banter from the day, most of which was aimed at me for the amount of cartridges I shot

I believe Tam and Hopper bagged a bird or two and think (hope) they enjoyed their day.

 

Later on in the evening a few of us reconvened back at the Red Lion, where we enjoyed an evening meal and again much banter at my expense.

Thanks for the meal and drinks Lynelle, very much appreciated by all

The night continued on until late with much laughter and merriment.

 

 

I would like to thank magman for running the day, Mr Brown for organising the guns and working out the confusion in the 110. You handled the situation well with your farmers beating stick.

I would also like to thank, Izzy and Mei along with the ladies for providing tiffin (that's going to take some beating).

Finally to everyone else involved in the shoot for all the hard work put in and making Tam and Lynelle feel welcome

 

On the Sunday, we took a trip to a local clay ground. Only Tam and I were shooting and both of us not very well, but that said we did enjoy the round.

That concluded the weekend's shooting, we said our goodbyes and then went our separate ways.

Thanks again for the meal the night before and the bottle of port. Very much appreciated

 

All the best for Christmas and the new year

 

Thanks for reading.

Sabs.

[OJW]

Good read. I'm curious, if you don't mind me asking, what cartridges were you using and what cartridges did you then change to? Good to see Indy making some good retrieves. Merry Christmas.

[shoot and be safe]

Good read. I'm curious, if you don't mind me asking, what cartridges were you using and what cartridges did you then change to? Good to see Indy making some good retrieves. Merry Christmas.

Thanks Ollie.

I have been using Gamebore super game in 32g No5 for a while through my old English SxS as they are 65mm.

I swapped over to the same cartridge but in 30g No6 and duly dropped the next 3 birds with only 6 shots (2 of them were at pigeons).

 

I've never been one to stick with a cartridge as it all depends on what the gun shop has in stock when I'm there.

 

All the best for Christmas

Mark.

[Wildfowler12]

More fantastic write ups! Well done to Amy on her first driven day, sounds like she had a belter.

 

Hope you both had a great Christmas. Will no doubt see you sometime soon, Todd.

[shoot and be safe]

Cheers Todd

Amy had a great day and I'm still grinning from ear to ear about her shot , that is when I'm not telling anyone who will listen about it

[The Good Lady]

More fantastic write ups! Well done to Amy on her first driven day, sounds like she had a belter.

 

Hope you both had a great Christmas. Will no doubt see you sometime soon, Todd.

Thanks Todd and everyone else for your kind comments. Sorry I'm late reading and replying. I had a great day with Mark, Indy and Jay (maglad) at Weeton. The hospitality was excellent and I was made to feel very welcome on the team. I was over the moon with my shooting that day and glad I didn't let Mark down. The 20b is working wonders I wouldn't have attempted the mega pheasant as Mark calls it, if it wasn't for Jay, so am very grateful to him and so happy that Mark was pegged next to me. Jay's first duck was a mega shot too. I was so pleased for him.

 

It was great to see Tam and Lynelle (hopper) again before Christmas and we had an enjoyable weekend too with the Crown shoot.

 

Hope you all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Looking forward to next week's shoot in the Cotswolds, where I'm sure more great memories will be made

[Nmb]

Just found this thread and have spent the last few hours reading it from start to finish!

A very enjoyable read and great to see your good lady enjoying her shooting! If you guys ever fancy a trip upto North East scotland next season you would be more than welcome!

[shoot and be safe]

Just found this thread and have spent the last few hours reading it from start to finish!

A very enjoyable read and great to see your good lady enjoying her shooting! If you guys ever fancy a trip upto North East scotland next season you would be more than welcome!

Thanks for your kind words and the offer for next season, they are very much appreciated

The Good Lady and I would love to come and visit your shoot next season. I have enjoyed reading your write ups form your days and have imagined myself standing on your peg as I have read through them all. I've only just caught up with them after the rigours of the festive season

All the best for the rest of your season

[Nmb]

Thanks for your kind words and the offer for next season, they are very much appreciated

The Good Lady and I would love to come and visit your shoot next season. I have enjoyed reading your write ups form your days and have imagined myself standing on your peg as I have read through them all. I've only just caught up with them after the rigours of the festive season

All the best for the rest of your season

I will give you a shout with our dates for next season when we make them up and hopefully you can manage up.

Thanks for the positive feedback, I really enjoy seeing your pictures as it really helps make you see the lay of the land and get a feel of the day. Problem is by the time I line out guns and beaters I have no time lol!

[shoot and be safe]

Crown Shoot
28^th December 2015

Sorry I'm a bit late on parade with this write up, been a tad hectic over the festive period.

With Christmas all but a distance memory, everyone was excited about blasting away the overindulgence and hangovers with a day out in the countryside and the chance to bag a bird or two.

We all met up in the pub car park as per usual and passed pleasantries for the festive season. Soon enough it was time for the safety brief and on to picking pegs.

I drew peg 4 and the first drive was to be the nant.



I hadn't shot this peg before, so was looking forward to seeing how the birds flew from this peg. I wasn't disappointed and was in the hot seat. I had a couple of early flushes over me, nothing that high, but more snap shots as they appeared over the trees. I also let a few fly the line and had a little chuckle to myself as they received double barrelled salutes as they eluded the guns further along. As the drive continued I also had a couple of opportunities at some high birds as they curled back into the wood from the top cover crop and pine trees. I accounted a few for the bag,

one of which was duly picked up by little Indy.

The next drive saw us beating through the 110. As I have said in earlier reports, this wood has very heavy cover. This was the first time in all the times of beating more or less the same path that I stumbled across a ride cut into the vegetation. A fair amount of pheasants and woodcock were flushed over the guns, especially magman who accounted for 7 pheasants and a woodcock, all for 8 cartridges.

Tiffin was next and again this was served back in the pub car park.

Next it was Aled's drive and this time I was on peg 6. Usually this would see me in the bomb hole where you get some extremely high birds over you, unfortunately the wind was blowing from a funny angle and the pegs were moved around to accommodate this.



I was pegged in the field above but wasn't disappointed with the quality of the birds, in fact it took 5 double barreled salutes before I connected with the high birds coming over my peg. This is a great drive where quality is put before quantity.


Little Indy waited patiently for a retrieve.

With a smile on my face after the high bird off Aled's, I headed over to the far side of the FF drive to push through the kale cover with little Indy and The Good Lady.



We bounced a few pheasants into Richard's gully which was then pushed, flushing birds over the guns, as they made their way back to the pen. On past shoots this season, this part of the drive has been on the quiet side. On this day it was good to see a number of birds flushed.



As the drive continued we lined the fence to act as stops whilst the main pen wood was pushed through.
It was a pleasure to watch some of the high birds fall from the sky over the guns, especially one shot by the "less experienced guns".



The guns and beaters over on this side of the drive regrouped before heading back to the vehicles for the final tally of the day.



After a quick team photo it was back to the pub for some light refreshments.

It was a good day's sport and there were a lot more birds about this week, which made for a good day's shooting.

I would like to thank all involved in the day and especially Nigel for providing the drinks for tiffin along with Paul223 for providing the pies. Also Paul223 again for running the day so well.

Thanks for reading.
All the best,
Sabs.

[James1983]

Enjoy reading all your write up Sabs and it's really wanting me to book on my first game shoot next season