Back up at the shoot

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Weather looks good Stav, have a blast.

[BenBhoy 4,706]

Yeah crisp & frosty here this morning. Have a good 'un stav. 

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Fireworks are good! Sent this large vixen right in my path!

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

Well done Mr Sausage I'm hoping to get 1 or 2 tomorrow night

[Stavross 13,708]

Nice work Bernard, she looks a big bitch

[BenBhoy 4,706]

41 minutes ago, Sausagedog said:

Fireworks are good! Sent this large vixen right in my path!

Hmr? 

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Just now, BenBhoy said:

Hmr? 

Yes sir, about 80yds.

[Stavross 13,708]

We’ll I’m all sorted, birds fed, radios charged, shirt ironed and boots waxed, feet up now for an early start

[BenBhoy 4,706]

31 minutes ago, Sausagedog said:

Yes sir, about 80yds.

Well done Sir. I took two more magpies & a carrion crow with mine today. 

Need to get out foxing asap

First pic yesterday 

2nd one today

Edited November 5, 2021 by BenBhoy

[David.evans 5,323]

That’s really not good Ben 

go get the ginger git

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Never saw my chicken killer last night but I asked the chap if he had seen any pheasant up the top end. Just a couple he said in the pit. It was bloody full of them!

[Baldcoot 2,352]

Better day on our little shoot ,16 pheasants, 2x pigeon and a Jay. 

5 guns 5 beaters and 5 dogs ,good nosh dry till the last drive and something for the pot .

[sparky the hunter 69]

Well a right good day up in Northumberland. Had some new beaters and a 103 bird day, new beaters have asked if they can come again so great start to the season.

[Stavross 13,708]

First day over and although a very small day, with us only doing 2 main drives and not pushing one of them all the way and making up the rest of the day with small areas and a few bits of other drives it was a good day

1st drive we pushed what I know as the tip through, setting off from from the bottom of the field it wasn’t until we reached the tip that we started to see birds, they were doing what was expected and running towards the end of the drive, a few birds were dropped before we got to the last part of the drive, where we change direction a push it down, this is where the action started, having to stop the beaters on numerous occasions as the birds flushed in three’s and four’s at a good height over the guns. At the end of the drive one of the old boys came over to me and said “ thanks for that, I’ve been coming here about 20 years and I’ve never seen birds come out of a drive like that” that meant a lot to me

back to the yard for a sloe gin, bit of homemade sausage roll and a chunk of lemon drizzle 

drive number two, oak wood, now although we got a few out of here there was not the birds I was expecting, I later found out the bloody dog walkers had been through it, we finished that drive with the small block of wood next to the farm, now there was a lot of birds came out of this but many of them low, this is not a good one to beat as it’s so thick with brambles 

drive number 3, Gordon’s pen, now we didn’t push this all the way through as there was just to many birds in it, the guns that were stud down by the badger sets had some amazing birds over them, there’s no shame in missing these, there was still birds coming out of this drive when we finished

lunch time now

after lunch drive number 4, we now got a bit of the wet stuff but that wasn’t going to stop us having a go at next doors birds along the rape field, there was a good number along the trees but the shoot captain decided to push the rape through first, only pushing half a dozen or so towards the guns, once we started pushing the woods through some very nice birds came out, the guns that were standing on the forestry track the other side of the wood didn’t get much time for a shot as the cross between the trees 

Drive number 5, the final one of the day and my god, what a belter, this was the roadside drive, from the minute the drive started there was a few shots and as I explained to the beaters we’ll have to stop this drive as we go along because once we reach the trees it will go mental and mental it did go, the amount of birds that were coming from the bracken in all directions was amazing, as we finished and I met up with the shoot captain his first words to me were “ that’s what a woodland pheasant shoot drive should be like, people would pay a lot of money on a big estate for birds like that “

so everyone got some good shooting, as I’ve said before we have a very mixed bag of shooting abilities on this shoot and the good shots never shoot the first few days so the bird to shot ratio was never going to be good, birds picked was 38 with maybe half a dozen not picked, shots were well over 300 anywhere else this would be frowned upon but for me it’s the type of place where it just doesn’t matter as long as everyone enjoys themselves

[Stavross 13,708]

Spot the longshanx