marsh man Posted September 26, 2023 Report Share Posted September 26, 2023 4 hours ago, Old Boggy said: I couldn`t agree more. I too, have no interest whatsoever (or the stamina) to now shoot the larger bags that I once shot in my younger days. In saying that, I fully appreciate and admire the likes of PC and others who put in the hours and determination to achieve the bags that they do. Evening Chris ... You will always get exceptions to the rule and I also admire the enthusiasm P C still show towards vermin control even after he rushed to hospital with Blue lights a while back , even he will start doing things in moderation , if he isn't then in a nice way , he isn't normal I was still in my prime in my early 50s and shooting all day and the work it take to cart off a decent day didn't bother me that much , then one Saturday I was shooting over some Green laid Barley , the Pigeons had been going on in good numbers for 2 to 3 weeks but it was a fairly new farm I was going on and I had only asked the land owner if I could go on his Peas , as the farmer was away having a holiday before the harvest started I had to wait until he got home before I could give it a go , anyhow as soon as he got home he gave me the go ahead so I picked the coming Saturday , the conditions were very hot with a gentle breeze , I got down in a dry ditch and was in the shade so it should had been fairly comfortable, Pigeon came flopping in as soon as I took my gun out of the case , I was restricted by a large house to my left although I saw the owners to let them know I was shooting and they didn't mind at all , so most of the shooting was dead in front and they were not one of the hardest Pigeons to shoot but I was still in the killing mode and whatever came in was shot at with many paying the price . I remember using up the whole slab and the sweat was pouring off me when I walked back to my motor to get some more shells , as time was getting on and I liked to get home at a resonable time on a Saturday night for tea , so I limited myself to a single box , when they were gone then that was it , things had quieten down a bit by then and these took just under a hour to use up and then that was it . When I started to clear up I had dead Pigeons laying on top of each other and others scattered all over the place and I recon I had just over 200 , in those days I used to put around 35 in a sack which was heavy enough to cart off , after a while I had took six sack fulls back to my motor and then went and picked my gear up , I had been shooting in the week and my shed floor was already full so I thought I will take them up the farm where I worked and lay them out on the concrete floor in the toilet block . Driving into the farm I saw the farm manager in his motor so I went and asked him if it was alright leaving the Pigeons on the floor overnight as I was taking the lot to the dealers on the Sunday , yea no problem ,he then said , are you feeling alright John , yea apart from being a bit hot , well you look worn out and as White as a ghost , I was alright but with it being hot and all the work involved it was beginning to take it's toll , and even at that age I knew I had to start slowing down and that was when I found 30 was enough to carry off the field and found it better to have two smaller days rather than a big day and do yourself an injury , now even 30 would be to many and with having one Hernia operation I aint in no hurry to have another one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted September 27, 2023 Report Share Posted September 27, 2023 I’m currently building up my fitness just completed two walks today,6.5 miles . When I was in Greece I was swimming and walking . My Professor. Who is dealing with my condition is looking towards stem cell treatment but I’ve got to prove fitness, my bloodsa re getting better but at 75 I would not normally be considered. As you say I'm not normal!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrepin Posted September 27, 2023 Report Share Posted September 27, 2023 38 minutes ago, pigeon controller said: just completed two walks today,6.5 miles Goodness me! I'm younger and can barely cover 650 Metres. 10 years ago I was still running 7 miles home from work every day. Well done to you!😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted September 27, 2023 Report Share Posted September 27, 2023 1 hour ago, pigeon controller said: I’m currently building up my fitness just completed two walks today,6.5 miles . When I was in Greece I was swimming and walking . My Professor. Who is dealing with my condition is looking towards stem cell treatment but I’ve got to prove fitness, my bloodsa re getting better but at 75 I would not normally be considered. As you say I'm not normal!!!! yes mate, at 75 you are certainly bucking the trend with your never ending stamina, bet your wife still has a twinkle in her eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted September 27, 2023 Report Share Posted September 27, 2023 3 hours ago, old'un said: yes mate, at 75 you are certainly bucking the trend with your never ending stamina, bet your wife still has a twinkle in her eye. Yes, even after fifty years of marriage, especially in Greece in the sunshine!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted September 27, 2023 Report Share Posted September 27, 2023 5 hours ago, pigeon controller said: I’m currently building up my fitness just completed two walks today,6.5 miles . When I was in Greece I was swimming and walking . My Professor. Who is dealing with my condition is looking towards stem cell treatment but I’ve got to prove fitness, my bloodsa re getting better but at 75 I would not normally be considered. As you say I'm not normal!!!! It wouldn't surprise me seeing you in next years marathon running in full kit while carrying a sack of decoys over your shoulder I think walking is a great form of exercise and with me having a dog who like the countryside as much as I do I am out two or three times a day , now I get as much enjoyment going for a good walk without my gun as I do in taking it , my wife imformed me that I stopped smoking in 1981 and apart from a pint of Shandy at the Beaters meal or the clubs meeting I don't drink any alcohol , this is my choice and I don't comdem anyone who do smoke or drink but all my shooting mates who liked a fag or a pint are sadly now below ground level , no one know how long we have got but it will help to prolong the time by doing things in moderation , trouble is knowing what moderation is . Good luck with your treatment when you and the time is right . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalkedUp Posted September 28, 2023 Report Share Posted September 28, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, marsh man said: no one know how long we have got but it will help to prolong the time by doing things in moderation , trouble is knowing what moderation is Feels like a tip to scale back the post shoot pints of port? 🤔 Edited September 28, 2023 by WalkedUp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted September 28, 2023 Report Share Posted September 28, 2023 10 hours ago, marsh man said: It wouldn't surprise me seeing you in next years marathon running in full kit while carrying a sack of decoys over your shoulder I think walking is a great form of exercise and with me having a dog who like the countryside as much as I do I am out two or three times a day , now I get as much enjoyment going for a good walk without my gun as I do in taking it , my wife imformed me that I stopped smoking in 1981 and apart from a pint of Shandy at the Beaters meal or the clubs meeting I don't drink any alcohol , this is my choice and I don't comdem anyone who do smoke or drink but all my shooting mates who liked a fag or a pint are sadly now below ground level , no one know how long we have got but it will help to prolong the time by doing things in moderation , trouble is knowing what moderation is . Good luck with your treatment when you and the time is right . Funny you should say that, I’ve always admired the London Marathon runners but could not run to save my life. When I was sixty my son challenged me to walk a marathon. So we had a lift into the centre of Brum and started out on the Grand Union Canal and walked tilll it met the Stratford Canal and headed back to Brum It took 101/2 hours we stopped at three pubs with no training but we did it. When I was taken ill in December I could only walk 100 meters and then be out of breath which I put down to Old Age but was the anaemia not feeding oxygenated blood to my muscles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted September 28, 2023 Report Share Posted September 28, 2023 1 hour ago, WalkedUp said: Feels like a tip to scale back the post shoot pints of port? 🤔 Believe you me Walked Up , having been driving the guns around on a shoot day for a good number of years and looking after there needs, I can assure you that several didn't know the meaning of moderation , some of them had stayed in the hotel the night before and didn't look to good before the day had even started , the basket of drink is then put on board and no doubt one or two might have had the odd drop before 11s , once stopped at around 11 am the booze come into play , I then have to push them sometimes as we have got two more drives before dinner , we then carry on and stop again around 1pm , the meal is laid on with a few bottles of beer on the table , I am giving a time when the keeper want us to be on the pegs for the first drive after dinner and 9 times out of 10 I have to leave the shoot wagon as I stay on board at dinnertime to keep an eye on the guns in the rack and go and tell them we have got to get going in ten minutes , this is the time of day when you need to keep an eye on them for safety reasons , up to now we haven't had any accidents , but this might be down to more luck than judgement , and yes one or two have been taken to one side and had a word with , but nobody have ever been shown the Red card , Yellow yes but not the Red one . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted September 29, 2023 Report Share Posted September 29, 2023 Holy Thread Creep Batman! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOXHUNTER1 Posted September 29, 2023 Report Share Posted September 29, 2023 On 28/09/2023 at 10:01, marsh man said: Believe you me Walked Up , having been driving the guns around on a shoot day for a good number of years and looking after there needs, I can assure you that several didn't know the meaning of moderation , some of them had stayed in the hotel the night before and didn't look to good before the day had even started , the basket of drink is then put on board and no doubt one or two might have had the odd drop before 11s , once stopped at around 11 am the booze come into play , I then have to push them sometimes as we have got two more drives before dinner , we then carry on and stop again around 1pm , the meal is laid on with a few bottles of beer on the table , I am giving a time when the keeper want us to be on the pegs for the first drive after dinner and 9 times out of 10 I have to leave the shoot wagon as I stay on board at dinnertime to keep an eye on the guns in the rack and go and tell them we have got to get going in ten minutes , this is the time of day when you need to keep an eye on them for safety reasons , up to now we haven't had any accidents , but this might be down to more luck than judgement , and yes one or two have been taken to one side and had a word with , but nobody have ever been shown the Red card , Yellow yes but not the Red one . Totally disagree with mixing alcohol and shooting..recipe for disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted September 29, 2023 Report Share Posted September 29, 2023 11 minutes ago, FOXHUNTER1 said: Totally disagree with mixing alcohol and shooting..recipe for disaster. For three or four years we tried giving the guns a cup of soup at 11s with the pies and sausage rolls , this helped a bit and some teams were as good as gold , it tended to be the younger ones who had the girl friends tagging on who you needed to keep an eye on , we were given three large flasks before we set off , when we stopped for a snack I got the soup out and gave each gun and any guest a mug full if they wanted it , they would bring there own drink , time I went and asked them if they wanted a second cup hardly any of them wanted a second one , we didn't mind one bit as we normally had at least one full flask left over , I would then go and look after the picker uppers and the chap who ran the game cart with what was left over rather than take it back , if I had took any back then we might not had got as much on the next shoot day and on a cold day that would had been the last thing we wanted .😋 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted September 29, 2023 Report Share Posted September 29, 2023 Some of the worst offenders for over indulging are the local landowners when they get a days shooting courtesy of the estate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted September 30, 2023 Report Share Posted September 30, 2023 Think this has gone down another path which would warrant a different thread, and the OP's original point has been well answered, time to put this one to bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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