Wind!

[Scully]

Have been itching to get on local farmers newly sown spring barley which the corvids have been showing an interest in, and finished work at lunchtime Friday with the intention of setting up, but there was a bitterly cold wind roaring off the Fells, so that was a no go. 
Saturday found me in Ambleside with family trying to seek the shade owing to a scorching sun and no wind as we ambled about, and Sunday morning was much the same so off I went! 
It’s less than a mile away but I couldn’t get there fast enough!

Put out three plastic crows and was sat in my chair by 0820, with my old Perazzi and a plentiful supply of Eley Pigeon Select in red cases of course, and my Primos caller and clicker. Sorted! 
First within minutes was an unbelievable miss with both barrels at an almost static crow, and then a first barrel kill at a fast departing jackdaw. 
A driven crow was killed directly overhead and landed with an abrupt thud a couple of yards behind me, which meant me having to climb the fence to retrieve it as I just knew it would be in its back….and it was. 
There were quite a few frustrating misses but a highlight was killing a high crow which folded and came down like a dart just as the landowner was passing, who gave me a pip and a wave. Needless to say I missed the next. 
These three fields are surrounded by single lane tarmac roads, popular with dog walkers, joggers and cyclists, so am aware of where birds are in relation to those roads, so when I noticed the heads and backs of a couple of ponies above the hedgerow and up a slight rise 100 yds at 9 oclock , I knew it was ok to shoot the corvid about 10 oclock high. As it was it flew on,  although I was pretty sure I’d hit it, and as it veered towards that lane I didn’t bother with a follow up. 
Anyhow, I was just getting into a bit of a flow when the sun disappeared and the wind started gusting. Really annoying. I had numerous attempts to strengthen my hide but it got to the stage where birds were going un shot because either my foresight or the eyelets on my boots became entangled, and reluctantly had to call it a day. It was simply impossible to carry on, so after an hour and half that was it. 
I’d enjoyed it however, especially the left at a jackdaw and right at a feral. I had a head count of 12 birds ( or so I thought ) for 30 cartridges, which isn’t great but isn’t embarrassing either. 
That night walking the dog past the pub, a bloke I know sat outside having a pint in the now glorious sunshine, asked if I was shooting this morning, and when I said yes, he smiled and said ‘You nearly killed me! Did you not hear me shouting?’ 
‘No’ says I. ‘I wear ear plugs when I’m shooting’. He laughed and told me that he was walking a couple of his horses along the top road ( I had a fairly good idea whose they were when I saw them while decoying ) when he heard a shot and this crow landed on the tarmac in front of his horses, startling them, followed by a smattering of spent shot. So that was 13….knew I’d hit it! 😀

I sat down with him and we had the craic over a couple of pints. 
Just had a look at the crop this evening and the rain followed by the heat has produced well defined lines now…in a day! Taking Friday off if the weather is decent. 🙂

[Ultrastu]

Cheers

Scully I enjoyed that ..I dont often read the long reports but yours I did .makes me wanna get out .I've not had my shottys out since October. 

[Scully]

Thankyou.
October?! That’s a shame, you need to make the time if possible. 
I know most of us need to work, but don’t let it get in the way of living. 👍

[7daysinaweek]

A great report Scully

I can never hit them when they just 'hang in the air' almost motionless. I find corvids the most difficult to shoot, I think it is the size of them that causes me to falsely perceive that they are travelling slowly due to their size, when in fact they are not.

It is amazing isn't it how such a flimsy net can catch so much wind and bellow against you. Quite annoying at times. 

Good man for getting out. 👍

[WalkedUp]

Good report Scully.

[Scully]

9 hours ago, 7daysinaweek said:

A great report Scully

I can never hit them when they just 'hang in the air' almost motionless. I find corvids the most difficult to shoot, I think it is the size of them that causes me to falsely perceive that they are travelling slowly due to their size, when in fact they are not.

It is amazing isn't it how such a flimsy net can catch so much wind and bellow against you. Quite annoying at times. 

Good man for getting out. 👍

Thankyou.
 

Yeah, hanging crows are really deceiving; they’re obviously moving but it’s not always certain in which direction!  
The net was a nightmare! It really was like a living thing with a mind of its own! When I bent down to untangle it from my boots it looped round the button on the top of my cap, then the foresight was tangled, by the time I’d got one free it had snagged something else including the hedge! 

34 minutes ago, WalkedUp said:

Good report Scully.

Thankyou. 👍

[7daysinaweek]

3 hours ago, Scully said:

Thankyou.
 

Yeah, hanging crows are really deceiving; they’re obviously moving but it’s not always certain in which direction!  
The net was a nightmare! It really was like a living thing with a mind of its own! When I bent down to untangle it from my boots it looped round the button on the top of my cap, then the foresight was tangled, by the time I’d got one free it had snagged something else including the hedge! 

Thankyou. 👍

I think I have the very same breed of netting. 👍

[Scully]

9 minutes ago, 7daysinaweek said:

I think I have the very same breed of netting. 👍

😂😂👍

[30-6]

My nets like to tangle me on the buttons on my cuffs and shoulders, are those shoulder straps to keep caps in ?, When you go in and out of hide.

I fix guide ropes around the hide poles and pull them taught with tent pegs pulling the poles outwards. Gives you a little bit of extra space.

My satisfying shot is a departing quartering bird, where you don't swing through but just a static aim snap shot in front and down it goes.

 

[marsh man]

Great report Scully and a nice short(ish) session , you might not have the same sort of hedgerows high up in the fells like we have around our way to give you the maximum protection in windy conditions  , my pet hate is having the wind blowing in my face when in a hide and I don't think enough people take the wind direction in consideration , maybe I am lucky where I can wait for the right wind or move on to another field if the wind direction is wrong , when I first started to get various perms I would make a plan of every Pea field I could on and mark the sides for wind direction , this might be a bit extreme but on a Friday night I would watch the weather on the box and the wind direction would determine where I would be going the following day , I wonder who else do the same ? 

[Scully]

2 hours ago, 30-6 said:

My nets like to tangle me on the buttons on my cuffs and shoulders, are those shoulder straps to keep caps in ?, When you go in and out of hide.

I fix guide ropes around the hide poles and pull them taught with tent pegs pulling the poles outwards. Gives you a little bit of extra space.

My satisfying shot is a departing quartering bird, where you don't swing through but just a static aim snap shot in front and down it goes.

 

Good idea, I may invest in some guide ropes. 👍

 

9 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Great report Scully and a nice short(ish) session , you might not have the same sort of hedgerows high up in the fells like we have around our way to give you the maximum protection in windy conditions  , my pet hate is having the wind blowing in my face when in a hide and I don't think enough people take the wind direction in consideration , maybe I am lucky where I can wait for the right wind or move on to another field if the wind direction is wrong , when I first started to get various perms I would make a plan of every Pea field I could on and mark the sides for wind direction , this might be a bit extreme but on a Friday night I would watch the weather on the box and the wind direction would determine where I would be going the following day , I wonder who else do the same ? 

Thanks MM. I don’t have a lot of choice of where to pitch in this particular field, as all the other hedges are within a couple of metres of the road. In reality I can pitch anywhere I want, I just prefer not to pitch too close to the road. That and the fact there was no wind at all when I set up, and usually it comes from the west and not the south east. 
Helm wind, give it a Google. 🙂

[30-6]

Scully

Forgot to say, after you have tripped over them a couple of times you remember that they are there.

[Scully]

12 hours ago, 30-6 said:

Scully

Forgot to say, after you have tripped over them a couple of times you remember that they are there.

😀 Indeed. I have fond memories of my D of E!