Simply sublime!

[Scully]

Had a driven day today as a guest on some very high pheasants ( well over 50 yds, which is very high for me ) and am still buzzing! I’m replaying one drive in particular over and over in my head, which consisted of tall conifers with me stood in a gulley, and I accounted for 12 and picked up 21 cartridges when the whistle blew. Most were first barrel kills, and I’m sure one landed in Yorkshire ( was shooting in Cumbria 😀) but was still retrieved! 
The gun? A Renato Gamba Daytona, Teague choked at 3/8th and 1/2, and the cartridge was my go to game cartridge RC Sipe 32grm 5’s. 
The Daytona is often compared to the Perazzi, and I’ve heard that Gamba  are often nowadays a ‘finishing’ agent for Perazzi, but don’t know if there’s any truth in this. 
If you ever get the chance, I urge you to try one. I know they’re a relatively old gun now, ( quite a few on GT ) but the palm swell, full pistol grip, 32” barrels and the sheer swingability of these fabulous guns just has to be tried. 
Saying that, I also had a swing about with a Blaser F3 SuperSport. Wow! Like I said, I’m a gun nut. 
The owner was putting Hull High Pheasant Steel through it, and killed dead in the air some impressive birds. Very impressive.  

Edited December 4, 2021 by Scully

[mossy835]

well done a very good day for you and nice shooting.

[Scully]

5 minutes ago, mossy835 said:

well done a very good day for you and nice shooting.

Thankyou, it was a cracking day!

[mel b3]

Excellent day scully . Nothing better than getting home and feeling satisfied that you made the best of your day . You'll probably remember that special drive for years to come👍.

[BlaserF3]

I used to have a Renato Gamba Daytona, very nice gun to shoot until the stock cracked at the grip 😬

I had a very nice Kemen too which had the same thing happen as well.

My newest toy is a Rizzini BR 440 another drop out trigger gun, I do hope that this one does not crack, and before some one mentions it, I don't slam my guns shut 😀

[8 shot]

That is exactly why we all go shooting.👍

[oowee]

Its days like this that make lifes most memorable moments. Great stuff.

[JohnfromUK]

Glad you had a good day, one to remember. 

We also had a good day, and although in many ways a 'typical day' (56 birds), good company, nice weather, and a few 'good' birds a bit above the usual (being quite windy helped) made it into a memorable day as well.

[vmaxphil]

Don't know whether you keep a game book but might be interesting to write it up for later years and offspring to keep 

[ditchman]

9 hours ago, oowee said:

Its days like this that make lifes most memorable moments. Great stuff.

ive had a couple of days like that and the only birds i can really remember shooting and getting a wave of apreciation from the guns ...was the bloody pigeons i shot at distance...Baaahhhh

[JDog]

Put a full post up about your day Scully.

[Scully]

34 minutes ago, JDog said:

Put a full post up about your day Scully.

Ok, will do JDog, when I get back from doing the feeders. 👍

[marsh man]

That was certainly good shooting , both for your kill ratio and the presentation of the birds , 50 yd plus Pheasants would be a day to remember on our shoot , yes we have had the odd drive with a few 50 yarders but that would possibly be towards the end of the season with a good wind to push them up a bit . to get slightly over 50% on birds of that standard is very good shooting and to be honest we wouldn't see that many guns who could do that , some yes ,but not the average gun .

THANKS for posting and looking forward to a full report .

[Scully]

11 hours ago, marsh man said:

That was certainly good shooting , both for your kill ratio and the presentation of the birds , 50 yd plus Pheasants would be a day to remember on our shoot , yes we have had the odd drive with a few 50 yarders but that would possibly be towards the end of the season with a good wind to push them up a bit . to get slightly over 50% on birds of that standard is very good shooting and to be honest we wouldn't see that many guns who could do that , some yes ,but not the average gun .

THANKS for posting and looking forward to a full report .

Thankyou. And thanks all. 👍

[Scully]

21 hours ago, BlaserF3 said:

I used to have a Renato Gamba Daytona, very nice gun to shoot until the stock cracked at the grip 😬

I had a very nice Kemen too which had the same thing happen as well.

My newest toy is a Rizzini BR 440 another drop out trigger gun, I do hope that this one does not crack, and before some one mentions it, I don't slam my guns shut 😀

Mine did too! After the NFU refused to pay for repairs I gave it to Marcus ( formerly of Bradshaws Guns ) who gave it to his man, and it was returned to me with a flawless and solid repair. I’m not really that bothered about the break as it was always a keeper anyhow. It just handles so well and I shoot so well with it I’d have to be daft to part with it. 
I was told the break was more than likely down to highly figured ( G5) wood, and the fact that the drop-out trigger system can weaken such wood. 
My MX4C also has a drop-out trigger system, but the grain through the grip is very straight with very little figuring. 

[Krico woodcock]

On 04/12/2021 at 21:34, Scully said:

Had a driven day today as a guest on some very high pheasants ( well over 50 yds, which is very high for me ) and am still buzzing! I’m replaying one drive in particular over and over in my head, which consisted of tall conifers with me stood in a gulley, and I accounted for 12 and picked up 21 cartridges when the whistle blew. Most were first barrel kills, and I’m sure one landed in Yorkshire ( was shooting in Cumbria 😀) but was still retrieved! 
The gun? A Renato Gamba Daytona, Teague choked at 3/8th and 1/2, and the cartridge was my go to game cartridge RC Sipe 32grm 5’s. 
The Daytona is often compared to the Perazzi, and I’ve heard that Gamba  are often nowadays a ‘finishing’ agent for Perazzi, but don’t know if there’s any truth in this. 
If you ever get the chance, I urge you to try one. I know they’re a relatively old gun now, ( quite a few on GT ) but the palm swell, full pistol grip, 32” barrels and the sheer swingability of these fabulous guns just has to be tried. 
Saying that, I also had a swing about with a Blaser F3 SuperSport. Wow! Like I said, I’m a gun nut. 
The owner was putting Hull High Pheasant Steel through it, and killed dead in the air some impressive birds. Very impressive.  

That's serious shooting. Well done. 50 + yard pheasants take a bit of shooting, on a good day you can get line and sight picture of what's needed, the gun is instinctively out in front of bird. on a bad day it can be pure frustration. Especially more so if your not use to shooting driven pheasants, like me..Were the pheasants "floating " with wings set??. Hardest bird for me to hit😞

[Gerry78]

On 04/12/2021 at 21:34, Scully said:

Had a driven day today as a guest on some very high pheasants ( well over 50 yds, which is very high for me ) and am still buzzing! I’m replaying one drive in particular over and over in my head, which consisted of tall conifers with me stood in a gulley, and I accounted for 12 and picked up 21 cartridges when the whistle blew. Most were first barrel kills, and I’m sure one landed in Yorkshire ( was shooting in Cumbria 😀) but was still retrieved! 
The gun? A Renato Gamba Daytona, Teague choked at 3/8th and 1/2, and the cartridge was my go to game cartridge RC Sipe 32grm 5’s. 
The Daytona is often compared to the Perazzi, and I’ve heard that Gamba  are often nowadays a ‘finishing’ agent for Perazzi, but don’t know if there’s any truth in this. 
If you ever get the chance, I urge you to try one. I know they’re a relatively old gun now, ( quite a few on GT ) but the palm swell, full pistol grip, 32” barrels and the sheer swingability of these fabulous guns just has to be tried. 
Saying that, I also had a swing about with a Blaser F3 SuperSport. Wow! Like I said, I’m a gun nut. 
The owner was putting Hull High Pheasant Steel through it, and killed dead in the air some impressive birds. Very impressive.  

Fantastic Scully Just proves if the gun fits you that’s all you need Great days like that live long in the memories 👍👍

[udderlyoffroad]

Sounds like a cracking day!

Was definitely gusty down in the South West too, as someone put it on our little DIY syndicate, "The birds rose above the trees, caught the wind and just ***** off!" .  Challenging for sure.

Anyway, don't wish to drag this off topic, but...

On 04/12/2021 at 21:34, Scully said:

Saying that, I also had a swing about with a Blaser F3 SuperSport. Wow! Like I said, I’m a gun nut. 
The owner was putting Hull High Pheasant Steel through it, and killed dead in the air some impressive birds. Very impressive.  

Steel seems to work ok in the right hands then, in your opinion?

[mgsontour]

Scully

You told me some time about RC Sipe 32grm 5’s 

Tried them and love them for high birds

Thank you

[Scully]

23 hours ago, Krico woodcock said:

That's serious shooting. Well done. 50 + yard pheasants take a bit of shooting, on a good day you can get line and sight picture of what's needed, the gun is instinctively out in front of bird. on a bad day it can be pure frustration. Especially more so if your not use to shooting driven pheasants, like me..Were the pheasants "floating " with wings set??. Hardest bird for me to hit😞

Thankyou. Yes, by the time those driven directly overhead got to me they were gliding, and possibly not as high as they were under power so to speak. Saying that they were still at tree too height when I started shooting. 

17 hours ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Sounds like a cracking day!

Was definitely gusty down in the South West too, as someone put it on our little DIY syndicate, "The birds rose above the trees, caught the wind and just ***** off!" .  Challenging for sure.

Anyway, don't wish to drag this off topic, but...

Steel seems to work ok in the right hands then, in your opinion?

Yes. The lad next to me with the F3 was killing some very impressive birds with Hulls steel version of their High Bird Extreme cartridge. 

16 hours ago, mgsontour said:

Scully

You told me some time about RC Sipe 32grm 5’s 

Tried them and love them for high birds

Thank you

You’re welcome. Nephew and a mate keep trying to entice me to Black Gold, and although I haven’t tried them, why fix something that ain’t broke? The SIPE will do for me. As is the norm’ ( myself included ) people always ask ‘what cartridge are you using ?’ followed by ‘what choke?’ 🙂

[mgsontour]

2 hours ago, Scully said:

You’re welcome. Nephew and a mate keep trying to entice me to Black Gold, and although I haven’t tried them, why fix something that ain’t broke? The SIPE will do for me. As is the norm’ ( myself included ) people always ask ‘what cartridge are you using ?’ followed by ‘what choke?’ 🙂

Coincidence. . . . . On a beaters day last year, I was using the aforementioned carts and had the same questions after the 1st drive. I also use same size Eley HV Pigeon which I recon is on par with Black Gold but reckon yours are a touch of class

[Scully]

24 minutes ago, mgsontour said:

Coincidence. . . . . On a beaters day last year, I was using the aforementioned carts and had the same questions after the 1st drive. I also use same size Eley HV Pigeon which I recon is on par with Black Gold but reckon yours are a touch of class

That’s good to know regards the Eley HV Pigeon, as my local stockist is Eley. Handy to know if I ever run short of SIPE as they’re not as readily available. Cheers. 👍

[Wylye]

Gamba is a badly underrated gun. Classing it as another 'Perazzi knock-off' just doesn't do it justice. There are some bargains to be had out there for reasonable money.

[Scully]

1 hour ago, Wylye said:

Gamba is a badly underrated gun. Classing it as another 'Perazzi knock-off' just doesn't do it justice. There are some bargains to be had out there for reasonable money.

I agree. The workmanship on the high end models is second to none. I can’t figure out why they aren’t more popular. 🤷‍♂️

[JohnfromUK]

40 minutes ago, Scully said:

The workmanship on the high end models is second to none. I can’t figure out why they aren’t more popular.

Gamba did (1950s?) a very smart looking true sidelock O/U reminiscent of a Merkel 303.  I have never handled one, but they look as you say, exceptionally well done.  Model name may have been Pigeon Grand Prix?  One on GT at present.