JD140 Posted August 21, 2017 Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) I have recently obtained a new permission which (in my opinion) has loads of potential. As it is new ground I've been spending a fair while up there, getting to know my way around and looking for flight lines and the best places to set up. The farmer is a really nice chap and allows other shooters there also. This is my quandary! A few days ago I arrived at a field of wheat stubble and noticed a Land Rover parked in an adjoining field, quick scan around with the binoculars revealed a hide in the bottom corner of the stubble field. I decided to stay a while to see if there was any activity, as I watched a chap appeared out of the hide and began walking toward me. By his body language it was plain that he wasn't just strolling over for a pleasant chat. As he got nearer and realised I wasn't going anywhere his gait changed and he approached me in a more polite manner. After listening to his tales of army service, being an A1 marksman and "only came over as I thought you were a gypsy, farmer's been getting lots of trouble from them you know", he sloped off. The next day I turned up again and decided to set up near where the other shooter had been. When I got there I was amazed, the area was a mess. Lager cans thrown in the hedge (I picked up 4 lager cans and 3 coke cans) crisp and cigarette packets and ends, cartridge cases all over the place and plastic bags that had been used for sandwiches. I cleared up the cans, spent cartridges and packets and set up and shot for the day. My question is this. There is no doubt all this rubbish came from the chap mentioned as I was there the day before and there was nothing. Do I mention it to the farmer (I'm new and don't want to be perceived (by the farmer) as a teller of tales), or do I just mark it down to experience and say nothing? I just find it very annoying that anyone who'd been given permission to shoot in such a beautiful expanse of countryside would treat it in such a way. My other thought is did he even have permission? I noticed that when I mentioned the farmer by name he didn't really know what I was talking about. Any thoughts? Edited August 21, 2017 by JD140 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted August 21, 2017 Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 Yes tell your farmer about the rubbish and show pictures if needed. If you don't you could cop the blame for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted August 21, 2017 Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 Yes take photographs on your phone or take the collected rubbish round to the farmer. Tell him, as the new guy, you do not wish to be mistaken for the person leaving all the rubbish on his land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD140 Posted August 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 Yes take photographs on your phone or take the collected rubbish round to the farmer. Tell him, as the new guy, you do not wish to be mistaken for the person leaving all the rubbish on his land. Unfortunately It's too late for pictures as I cleared the area and never thought to take any. I think you are right about telling the farmer, I'll make a point of it when I'm next up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good shot? Posted August 21, 2017 Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) Let the farmer know and also that you are not trying to get anyone in trouble but you do not want to get the blame for any litter which is left in future. Edited August 21, 2017 by Good shot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD140 Posted August 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 Yes tell your farmer about the rubbish and show pictures if needed. If you don't you could cop the blame for it. My thoughts exactly. Would be a good excuse for him to tell the farmer that the new guy (me) is leaving a right mess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longstrider Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 Not only would I have no qualms about 'dobbing him in' to the landowner in case I was to be blamed for such a mess, I'd also be questioning if the man should be shooting at all unless those empty cans previously contained alcohol free lager .... Booze and guns isn't a good mix. I'm assuming the guy drove home afterwards as well ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 i rekon the worst thing you can do is tell the farmer..............some of the landowners i know...will get shirty and ban everyone..( lot of farmers have a very short fuse and a lot of problems to deal with...they see pigeons shooters getting enjoyment out of their land when they are in debt up to the eyeballs)..............approach the bloke who did it and just politly tell him to take his rubbish home with as you dont like to go around clearing up after him........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Shredder. Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 Glad everyone isn't 100% tidy, found a fiver in the middle of a hundred acre field as l walked over to set up one morning, told the farmer as l was leaving and exchanging a bag of pigeons with him, he said to put it to a pack of beers on the way home. Top man and one of the friendliest about, always exchanging pigeons for fresh home grown produce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD140 Posted August 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 i rekon the worst thing you can do is tell the farmer..............some of the landowners i know...will get shirty and ban everyone..( lot of farmers have a very short fuse and a lot of problems to deal with...they see pigeons shooters getting enjoyment out of their land when they are in debt up to the eyeballs)..............approach the bloke who did it and just politly tell him to take his rubbish home with as you dont like to go around clearing up after him........... A good suggestion. I have my doubts as to whether this guy actually had permission to be there. As I said in my original post, he didn't seem to recognise the farmer's name when I mentioned his christian name only. I deliberately didn't elaborate as to who I was talking about. Also, would anyone (with permission) be so stupid as to treat a permission in this way? That being said he certainly wasn't the brightest spark in the box by any means!! If I do see him again I will definitely have a word, but as mentioned any idiot who's out shooting and drinking four cans of lager may not be the most sensible person to approach! I also think that as I'm so new to the land I'd better not bother the farmer with it at the moment, it's a busy time of year for him and we don't really know each other as yet. The rubbish is cleared so there's nothing to upset him, unless the guy returns and does it again!!! Not only would I have no qualms about 'dobbing him in' to the landowner in case I was to be blamed for such a mess, I'd also be questioning if the man should be shooting at all unless those empty cans previously contained alcohol free lager .... Booze and guns isn't a good mix. I'm assuming the guy drove home afterwards as well ? I'm sure he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooooper1 Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 i rekon the worst thing you can do is tell the farmer..............some of the landowners i know...will get shirty and ban everyone..( lot of farmers have a very short fuse and a lot of problems to deal with...they see pigeons shooters getting enjoyment out of their land when they are in debt up to the eyeballs)..............approach the bloke who did it and just politly tell him to take his rubbish home with as you dont like to go around clearing up after him........... this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 Tread very carefull,till you know farmer better and have the measure of who is who its you that may suffer from either or both the shooter and farmer. I do nothing wrong on my perm,others moan about me and others to the frmer and each other,they think i am a townie,little do they know i have known farmer for 30 years and am often round his and his relations and they hold me in high regard, he knows what they are like. Dont add to his worries and you wont go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feltwad Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 I have witnessed most incidents that have been said but always remember that a shooters worst enemy is his fellow shooter . Feltwad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbushwhacker Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 How anyone can have such a blatant disregard for the land is beyond me! That said, I do agree with the guys suggesting you wait until your feet are further in the door before you go and say anything, for all you know the guy could be a good friend of the farmer! The fact he didn't react to his name could just be down to the beer he carelessly drank while out shooting!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 i rekon the worst thing you can do is tell the farmer..............some of the landowners i know...will get shirty and ban everyone..( lot of farmers have a very short fuse and a lot of problems to deal with...they see pigeons shooters getting enjoyment out of their land when they are in debt up to the eyeballs)..............approach the bloke who did it and just politly tell him to take his rubbish home with as you dont like to go around clearing up after him........... We take this approach because of people taking the ****, any mess left, all of the shooters are gone. They all know each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshMike Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 We take this approach because of people taking the ****, any mess left, all of the shooters are gone. They all know each other. Harsh but I bet it works well. I gave up shooting on one piece of land as other shooters were leaving a mess and the farmer did nothing about it. I didnt want to get tarred with the same brush. I have the same feeling when you go past a remote spot and see food packaging..lazy idiots manage to take the food there so why they cant take the packets home is beyond me....idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 I have posted on here before about a chap I saw shooting on land where I had permission. He too had permission but what he left behind, a pile of fresh pigeons and all of his empty cartridge cases soon got him thrown off for good. In another case I took a relatively new friend out decoying. We had separate hides and if I recall we shot forty odd pigeons. A few days later when I returned to the field I saw coke cans, cartridge cases and sandwich wrappers which he had obviously left behind. I spoke to him on the phone and told him how disappointed I was and he promised to return to clear up the mess. He never did go back and I sorted the mess out myself. Our relationship was somewhat frosty when I came across him in the pub or at the races. His loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloydi73 Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 I have posted on here before about a chap I saw shooting on land where I had permission. He too had permission but what he left behind, a pile of fresh pigeons and all of his empty cartridge cases soon got him thrown off for good. In another case I took a relatively new friend out decoying. We had separate hides and if I recall we shot forty odd pigeons. A few days later when I returned to the field I saw coke cans, cartridge cases and sandwich wrappers which he had obviously left behind. I spoke to him on the phone and told him how disappointed I was and he promised to return to clear up the mess. He never did go back and I sorted the mess out myself. Our relationship was somewhat frosty when I came across him in the pub or at the races. His loss. His loss in deed JDog as you truly do have tremendous shooting and are more than generous at taking people out.....Just sorry you were the one who had to go back and clear up after them...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 We take this approach because of people taking the ****, any mess left, all of the shooters are gone. They all know each other. Your land and your rules but a bit harsh on the other shooters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD140 Posted August 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 We take this approach because of people taking the ****, any mess left, all of the shooters are gone. They all know each other. I can understand your feelings but I'm on a couple of shoots where I don't know (or see) any of the other shooters. One is a club in South Derbyshire, you pay your monies and go whenever you want, it has 130 members and I haven't met any of them. Also the land I was talking about initially is somewhere that I knocked on the farmer's door and asked permission, I've no idea who the other people who shoot there are. Annoyingly it's the few idiots that spoil it for all, as usual!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 Don't say anything to the farmer, get to know who the other shooters are and who is leaving rubbish, once you know who it is go and have a friendly chat about pigeon shooting and mention that you had found a lot of rubbish and empty cases in the hedgerow and you hope the farmer does not think its you and kicks you off, It might just sink in and make them think. I also know a couple of farmers that let anyone shoot and don't give a tinkers cuss about the rubbish some shooters leave behind, he might just be one of these farmers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 (edited) Your land and your rules but a bit harsh on the other shooters.It may seem so, but the group is small, they signed up to it when they took on the shooting. It started with just me shooting when we moved in, my best mate was offered the farm to shoot. We decided on a no mess policy, so whoever 'joins' the very small, very close shooting group is made well aware of the consequences over a pint with the other shooters. We're proud of our farm, we spend vast amounts of our time in conservation schemes, bee keepers, advanced stewardships, welfare standards. They all know the score. If someone leaves **** behind they'll have their shooting mates to answer to. I'm not talking about the few empties left behind or the odd bird missed, it's not an aggressive policy, it's just the rules, it doesn't cause any dystopia. Edited August 24, 2017 by kyska Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mightymariner Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 I would send the farmer a quick text, with a picture if you can, so he is aware. Sure they are busy, but it won't take him 30 seconds to look at it and if you phrase it correctly you will be covering your back for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko53 Posted August 31, 2017 Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 (edited) I fully support reporting this guy for dumping rubbish as it is these types that cause farmers to halt us shooters from using their land. The other question I have is this if this guy was truly ex-military and a marksman, I do not think he would not be bragging at first contact, so I am doubtful if that were true, Yet another wannabe. Edited August 31, 2017 by jacko53 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted September 12, 2017 Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) I'm in a similar position, been shooting on this guys land since 2004 and all on my own for the past 5 or more years. It's always been a big nono to leave empties and he's made it very clear (not that I ever have). Never had any issues and done a lot of good with regard to the vermin. At the start of the summer he was snowed under with pigeons and I was nowhere to be seen as I was flat out with work and diy so he let two other guys shoot there. I've not met either yet as I've been staying away at weekends but had a wander around today and found a load of empty cartridges sat in plain sight. I'd love to go tell the farmer but I hate back stabbers so I'm very reluctant to do it to someone else - really think whoever it is deserves to be kicked off, if they can't treat it with respect so early on but I just can't bring myself to do it Edited September 12, 2017 by fieldwanderer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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