Lloyd90 Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Just driving back from our first trip on geese in Scotland. 6 of us went up Monday and stayed in Edzell in Montrose. We stayed in a lovely little family run hotel, home cooked meals and a bar for the lads who drink. We started off Tuesday morning out for the geese, dropping behind a river bank we were able to decoy a few birds in and saw lots of birds flighting over, our shooting on day one was atrocious, missing plenty of birds. We were using the 42g 4’s (Lyalvale Express) but I’ve got to be honest, I don’t rate them. You could see some of the geese take full body hits and still fly off. I know we should be going for the head, and several birds were stone dead with a good head shot, but If going again I would definitely take a cartridge with more punch. Day one we ended up with 6 geese picked and were glad when the flight ended at a brisk -3c, we heading back to the hotel for the full Scottish breakfast! A break that day and the snow started coming down hard 🥶 it was cold but quite beautiful and a great experience. We headed out that night to shoot a duck pond where our shooting was better than on the geese (not that it could not been much worse). We managed 15 teal which were proper sporting birds, as the snow made us stick out a bit and they weren’t dropping in low, plenty of long crossers taken and everyone got some good shooting. Day one down and back to the hotel for dinner and a few proper Scottish drinks before an early night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Well it's a start........................................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 Day two and we heading out to some fields further outside town. We hit a swirling wind and half way through setting up packed down and moved the location as the wind changed. This day was proper snow and -5c, the guide had to wangle a bit white sheet to use as a hide and we had to tuck in behind as our green camo stood out. One of the lads had bought a white over suit which actually worked really well, he was able to sit outside the hide and watch them coming in as we all hid under the sheet 🤣. This day was a lot better, with geese trickling on steadily in groups of 2-3’s. A few missed but we managed to drop 14 geese with some good shooting and we really pleased. Some of the lads who hadn’t shot much before also pulled off some cracking shots and were over the moon. Another good day, and back to the hotel for the breakfast! It was cold and snowy that day, and after discussion with the guide we decided to leave the ducks alone that night. Many of the ponds were frozen and they were not having it easy so evening duck flight cancelled. I think the lads were happy to stay in the warm bar and watch the football myself 🤣. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Fancy getting snow in Scotland in the winter.................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 3 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Fancy getting snow in Scotland in the winter.................... Lucky I took my coat 😝😭 That night we hit the posh hotel up the road for a Scottish dinner, all sourced from local producers and estates etc. Also checked out the award winning whisky 🥃 bar with the mind blowing selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 That night we hit the posh hotel up the road for a Scottish dinner, all sourced from local producers and estates etc. Also checked out the award winning whisky 🥃 bar with the mind blowing selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Looks and sounds great! Is the Beretta Pro Comp yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 13 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Fancy getting snow in Scotland in the winter.................... Where they had been drinking outside it could have produced a Yellow Snow Warning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 Day three, we hit the road early and headed down towards Dundee, hitting some fields where the snow had thankfully melted. We saw incredibly numbers of geese, skeins of several hundred birds filling the sky. We setup along an old stone wall and had some great birds come in to us. They come in in big groups instead of tricking in so we didn’t get as many foes shooting at them but the sheer number of geese was immense and a sight to behold and be appreciated. Very glad I was able to witness it first person. I took out a box of gamebore 3 1/2 BB steel carts I had with me, and saw a noticeable difference, dropped several birds on the first shot and one shot dropped two birds for one shot, brilliant! We managed to take 11 more geese, taking out total up to 41 geese and 15 duck. 3 of the lads hadn’t ever shot any ducks / geese before (one in fact only having shot clays before) and everyone was over the moon! Next time however I will be taking up 42g 1’s or bigger as the BB steel knocked them down hard even with body shots. 5 minutes ago, Scully said: Looks and sounds great! Is the Beretta Pro Comp yours? No one of the lads who’s new to shooting picked it up SH before the trip. I shot my MAXUS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 5 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said: Day three, we hit the road early and headed down towards Dundee, hitting some fields where the snow had thankfully melted. We saw incredibly numbers of geese, skeins of several hundred birds filling the sky. We setup along an old stone wall and had some great birds come in to us. They come in in big groups instead of tricking in so we didn’t get as many foes shooting at them but the sheer number of geese was immense and a sight to behold and be appreciated. Very glad I was able to witness it first person. I took out a box of gamebore 3 1/2 BB steel carts I had with me, and saw a noticeable difference, dropped several birds on the first shot and one shot dropped two birds for one shot, brilliant! We managed to take 11 more geese, taking out total up to 41 geese and 15 duck. 3 of the lads hadn’t ever shot any ducks / geese before (one in fact only having shot clays before) and everyone was over the moon! Next time however I will be taking up 42g 1’s or bigger as the BB steel knocked them down hard even with body shots. No one of the lads who’s new to shooting picked it up SH before the trip. I shot my MAXUS Both good choices. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Great read, glad you enjoyed yourself. Do the birds stay with the guide or do you keep a few. Also did you give a tip, re your original post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Great sport, well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 2 minutes ago, islandgun said: Great read, glad you enjoyed yourself. Do the birds stay with the guide or do you keep a few. Also did you give a tip, re your original post Yes we kept all the birds 👍🏻 and yes we all put £20 tip each into a separate envelope as we felt the guide and his mate really did try to get up onto some sport 👍🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave at kelton Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Glad you had a great time. It is certainly a fantastic experience if you haven’t done it. Just the sound of them coming in gives you goose bumps, pun intended! As for cartridges you have learned yourself how good steel 3.5” can be. I suspect your first flight was really a case of not knowing how to shoot them. Thanks for writing up, great to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Look like a grand trip up North , at times seeing big numbers of geese is just exciting as shooting a few , I see them most days of the week and I never tire of watching them . Were all the geese decoyed or did you flight any ? MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 6 minutes ago, marsh man said: Look like a grand trip up North , at times seeing big numbers of geese is just exciting as shooting a few , I see them most days of the week and I never tire of watching them . Were all the geese decoyed or did you flight any ? MM All decoyed 👍🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 22 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said: All decoyed 👍🏻 Brilliant ..... A mate of mine went up there many years ago and things might be different now , the first two or three days they went with a guide and then went round various farms like you do when looking for Pigeon shooting , once they found the geese they easily got permission for a bottle of amber nectar , this they done for the five or six days they were up in Scotland , the whole group shot 60 odd in a week and a local butcher down this way processed them all out , my mate gave me one and even after eating many more geese since , that one was still possibly the best one I have ever eaten . MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbob Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Thats two hours up the road from me i go up there ferreting and often the farm next door is black with geese and loads of pigeons i never asked about shooting as the old dear just has horses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambam1962 Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Glad you had fruitful few days in Scotland, and those memories will stay with you forever. My mate and I travelled every November for 5 years up to the Montrose area, and we too stayed in the village of Edzel, in a bungalow just opposite The Glenesk Country House Hotel. where you had the posh food and sampled the whisky. Did you stay in the Panmure Arms Hotel as this is very popular with the shooters ? We always had a great time shooting geese and would travel a good distance from Edzel with Ian Gill of Montrose Shooting Breaks to various locations, and the last day I shot geese was between Dundee and Forfar. I was surprised by the size of some of the fields we shot over, as you could have landed planes on them. The hardest days shooting we had, was over a potato field, and the mud stuck to your boots, but this was the most memorable day we had shooting geese . Our goose guide was brilliant and we always tipped him after the 4 days, and would book the same week for the next year. I was lucky enough to film some of the goose shooting on my GoPro, and often sit by the computer watching the footage. Are you booking again for next year ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 20 minutes ago, Shambam1962 said: Glad you had fruitful few days in Scotland, and those memories will stay with you forever. My mate and I travelled every November for 5 years up to the Montrose area, and we too stayed in the village of Edzel, in a bungalow just opposite The Glenesk Country House Hotel. where you had the posh food and sampled the whisky. Did you stay in the Panmure Arms Hotel as this is very popular with the shooters ? We always had a great time shooting geese and would travel a good distance from Edzel with Ian Gill of Montrose Shooting Breaks to various locations, and the last day I shot geese was between Dundee and Forfar. I was surprised by the size of some of the fields we shot over, as you could have landed planes on them. The hardest days shooting we had, was over a potato field, and the mud stuck to your boots, but this was the most memorable day we had shooting geese . Our goose guide was brilliant and we always tipped him after the 4 days, and would book the same week for the next year. I was lucky enough to film some of the goose shooting on my GoPro, and often sit by the computer watching the footage. Are you booking again for next year ? He’s that’s it, we stayed in the Panmure, the food was good there and they were great hosts, we are there 2 nights just fancied a chance on the final night. We also shot with Ian, he was good crack and we thought he worked to get us onto birds. We shot that potato field day 1, it was frozen solid. We ducked down under the river bank and watched as loads of mallard flew up and down the river behind us as we waited for geese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambam1962 Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Lloyd, I always found Ian to be a genuine guy, and always worked hard to call the birds into the decoys. This was a wheat field we shot over in Brechin in 2010. I only stopped going as my wife on my arrival home after long journey, informed me she had found a lump in her breast and this lead to surgery and 7 months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which luckily she has made a full recovery. She still asks if, if I would like to go again, but my answer is always the same, been there done it, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Maybe one day I’ll go again ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 Sounds like a good trip to me i was up in perth last week of November and had a couple of goose and duck flights last time I shot geese in Scotland was over 30 years i wished i had gone more in that time I'll be back next season without a doubt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratter 1 Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 Great read sounds like you had a good time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted April 12 Author Report Share Posted April 12 On 18/01/2024 at 18:42, Scully said: Looks and sounds great! Is the Beretta Pro Comp yours? I checked with one of the lads Scully and it’s actually an A400 xtreme plus 👍🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fse10 Posted April 20 Report Share Posted April 20 (edited) Have shoot with Ian Gill for four years , and stayed at the hotel in Edzell. All ways a good few days up there, up again in October with Ian. I take RC50'S no1s which do the job nicely. Edited April 20 by fse10 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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