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A couple of days away.


JDog
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It has been said that I have eloped with **** ****** and that we would be producing children at a rate of knots. That scenario is incorrect. However I have not posted much in the last month or so as I felt that the forum was being taken over by one of it's members and I resisted posting as a form of silent protest. That being said it is straight back to my normal dull and uninformative posts in which there will be no diatribe.

 

Last Thursday evening after hosting a shoot here in the Wolds I headed to Northumberland for two days shooting. The journey went well and I was in time for dinner with nine other guests round the table. It seems that only I can pass the port round the table without filling my glass and remain unseen and my head was clear for the start on Friday morning as we headed out in -4 degrees.

 

As in previous years we were to shoot in England in the morning and Scotland in the afternoon. This is my type of shooting, four guns, a small team of beaters and plenty of varied game. The first drive produced a hand full of pheasants, two Grey partridges and two pigeons. The second drive was the bog which normally produces Teal but which was frozen over. It did though have a few pheasants and several woodcock and the tally grew. The third drive was pretty spectacular as the birds came over a steep bank, their original ascent was unseen and they took some guns unawares. Of the pheasants shot without exception all were cocks.

 

A relatively short drive over the Border saw us lunching on the roadside before two drives in the afternoon. On the first drive I stood in a thinned out oak wood and a conifer plantation was driven to the guns. I had the pleasure of shooting pheasants, pigeons, a woodcock, a Jay and a Stoat from my stand. Two more drives produced more pheasants and woodcock and we slithered home in our cars on the icy road a tired but happy team.

 

Saturday was a more formal day with six guns and a full team of beaters. The first drive was poor as a result of the stops being in the wrong place. I was unfortunate enough to hear the conversation between the shoot host and the game keeper after the drive. The next two drives produced good birds and some were well shot. Our lunch was taken inside an enormous complex of farm buildings where three hundred head of cattle are winter housed. It was noisy but warm. The penultimate drive produced some screamers and I was lucky to be placed under them with modest success. After the last drive I was asked by the host to delay my trip to the pub to help him look for two lost birds. This meant a very long trek with him and his dog and Jasper. Proper shooting is all about looking for lost birds in this way and I was chuffed when Jasper came back with a live but shot cock and my hosts dog found the missing hen.

 

On my way down the A1 today I saw good lines into an old stubble in Kippylawkid country near Alnwick and I have sent him a message with directions in the hope that he can get on there.

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This was the view from my bedroom window. There are mallard and teal dabbling at the edge of the island on the Tweed.

 

20161125_084500%201_zpszjiwpkyn.jpg

 

Blackpowder of this forum knows this place well.

Lovely pic and great write up jd, good to have you back old bean, I was near the source of the tweed over the weekend at Moffat,

 

Tab

 

Flynny

Edited by flynny
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