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An out loud moan


getthegat
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Great I thought! The missus is going away for a few days next weekend, so extra pigeon shooting action is very much on the cards😀 Then she announces I'm taking her to the airport first thing Saturday morning😥

I had already planned in my head to be at a good rape field at first light, now I think it will be about half ten or 11.00 before I'm in position. Really hoping it won't be too late, but fairly certain it will be.

As a consolation, I thought I could make a proper day of it on the Sunday, though I don't like shooting on a Sunday and the field is a bit close to houses, so I'm thinking I could be out  there at first light and use my single barrel moderated 20 with Hushpower shells. Not ideal being a single shot, plus I'm pretty rubbish with it, but maybe better than nothing.

It's still a week away, but I can already feel my excitement building, even bought myself a new flapper, which will be here mid week.

Business has been busy of late and to be honest I need to make money, so time out at the weekend will be a rare bonus.

I know it may seem I'm a little under the thumb, but we've only been a couple for about 8 years😁and still like spending our non work time, doing things together and she doesn't shoot.

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Heh!! Get 'em trained from day one.  I took my new wife on honeymoon on a fishing holiday to the Arundel Arms, that was almost 56 years ago and this afternoon she said, i suppose your not going foxing tonight because of the weather, so we can have supper a bit latter.

I agree with TC, even lash out on a Limmo, that would ipress her no end.:good:

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 03/03/2019 at 22:04, getthegat said:

Sorted. My taxi driver mate is doing the airport run for me in exchange for some mechanical work on a project car. Hoping for favourable weather conditions for Saturday, and a few birds to come to my part of the field.

Hope it went well - but suspect you were subjected to 50mph winds - same for me too on Foulness Island 😳

Edited by Guerini Guy
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I got to my chosen field just before 6.00, couldn't drive as close as I'd hoped, but with my newly modified two wheel cart/wheel barrow, I got loaded and trundled the 1/3 of a mile or so down the side of the now thigh high rape, to the bottom of the field where it was still short and had been hit the hardest. I started with 12 shells and six Fuds. The one dead bird from the freezer was not good enough, so no flapper at first and guess who had left his Silosocks back on the truck😵 First bird came and was dispatched so then I had a flapper. The birds arrived in either a huge flock or not at all for sometimes over half an hour. The wind made my kill rate inconsistent to say the least, but two more were eventually dropped (I was using #7.5 in my Franchi semi auto 12) and set up on floaters, working well in the high wind. During a lull, I walked back to the truck and got the Silosocks so then had my rotary out as well. Some decoyed well and others were not interested. I went out with Sophie nearly every time to collect the fallen birds so as to use them as more deeks ( she still tends to remove a lot of feathers before bringing them to me) which meant that pretty soon I had a fairly large pattern, something that seemed to help whilst out the week before with a friend. We stuck it out until nearly mid-day, though in truth the action had dried up much earlier. The tally was eventually 15, a nice little number and as always, it could have should have been more. The converted garden cart, now with integral seat and hide pole mounts, worked well on the rough slightly muddy terrain, even with the weight of the dead birds. Previously with rucksack, I would not have had room or strength for all the deeks, two batteries, rotary and flapper unit, floaters, poles and net, food and drink, cartridges, let alone be able to return with a heavy bundle of my quarry, so a few hours with grinder and welder and odd bits of pipe etc, paid off. I reckon the rape is over for now, far too tall and not near enough bad weather, so what will draw the grey hoards next? My farmer landlord was going to plant beans in the fields around my workshop, but this spate of bad weather has meant he's missed his window of opportunity, so is now planting barley. When newly sewn, it may give me some action but at least it's something to get excited about for summer.

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On 03/03/2019 at 17:20, getthegat said:

Great I thought! The missus is going away for a few days next weekend, so extra pigeon shooting action is very much on the cards😀 Then she announces I'm taking her to the airport first thing Saturday morning😥

I had already planned in my head to be at a good rape field at first light, now I think it will be about half ten or 11.00 before I'm in position. Really hoping it won't be too late, but fairly certain it will be.

As a consolation, I thought I could make a proper day of it on the Sunday, though I don't like shooting on a Sunday and the field is a bit close to houses, so I'm thinking I could be out  there at first light and use my single barrel moderated 20 with Hushpower shells. Not ideal being a single shot, plus I'm pretty rubbish with it, but maybe better than nothing.

It's still a week away, but I can already feel my excitement building, even bought myself a new flapper, which will be here mid week.

Business has been busy of late and to be honest I need to make money, so time out at the weekend will be a rare bonus.

I know it may seem I'm a little under the thumb, but we've only been a couple for about 8 years😁and still like spending our non work time, doing things together and she doesn't shoot.

After 53 years it does NOT get any easier  !  🙄

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I went out to retrieve the shot birds to use as more decoys, Soph gets a little over exuberant and still has trouble with clean pick ups, "snuffling" a good few feathers off, leaving them a bit bald. She doesn't chew or bite or tear the birds and after a few minutes, will deliver it to my hand. I've tried putting them in tights or a sock, she retrieves a bird dummy perfectly every time, is good with blind retrievals, it just the real thing where she is not clean and quick to bring them in. If I leave her a few minutes before sending her out, she is better, having calmed down a bit. 

As for beans; my farmer said his agronomist told him that for his fields, it was not good to plant beans as planned, barley would be a better option. I'm no agronomist, so barley it is.

Bad weather for rape? again just what I've heard. As with beans last year, this was my first year with rape on any of my perms. I'm only the messenger; don't shoot 😵

Always learning 👍

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