Sillouetting woodies

[J Darcy 5,871]

Had an hour this evening with the FN12 again. My young lurcher has a cut on his pad but i took him for the walk. His retrieving training is coming along and he did a very good retrieve the other day. Tonight was a bit of a test for him.As unbelievale as it sounds the first major oak tree i got to i spotted the plump outline of a woodie. Then another, 3,5,7,12,........god, there were lots of them. First shot was a miss! Bas7ard! But i then dropped the next that fell into thick holly. My little dog ran in on command and after a minute or two brought the woodie back. I was the proudest man in the world at that moment.

Then managed another two stone dead out of the same tree before they all flew. Another five minutes later i found a loose roost of about a dozen woodies and managed to miss a couple due to branches but dropped one. I called it a night and just as i turned the corner to pick up the three woodies i had squat the lurcher pelts off and chased a fox that had pinched one of my pigeons! I found it on the path. Not being a tight sod though, i left old reynard the bird it had taken, it can't be easy finding food in such bad weather. Thanks for reading folks....JD

[davyt63 1,845]

Hi buddy

another good write up And pic.

And lets not forget the shooting

 

well done buddy

 

regards

 

Davy

[Buster321c 1,010]

Well done JD , good to get out with the air rifle aint it

[Fat-Ferret 857]

[jazmin 44]

What would be the best type of night for this as its something ive had a go at a few times but always struggle to spot them.Any tactics to help me along?Nice going by the way.Would be mainly woodys as i dont see many magpies on my hunting grounds.

[aaronpigeonplucker 32]

nice shooting mate!

[martin 332]

nice little rifle that 'JD' and some neat shooting too..........Martin

[J Darcy 5,871]

What would be the best type of night for this as its something ive had a go at a few times but always struggle to spot them.Any tactics to help me along?Nice going by the way.Would be mainly woodys as i dont see many magpies on my hunting grounds.

 

Hi Jazmin, I'm not an expert at the whole shooting thing, but i have been night shooting well over twenty years now, back in the day when i was covering the front sight (remember them?) with white chalk so i could see! The theory is better than the practice!

 

The best type of night i have found is when theres cloud in the sky. Forget the moon and all the romantic clap-trap, its cloud you need. IMO its best to go out earlier rather than later as the silhoettes are easier to spot.Before entering a wood look at the sky, you need the very best 'pink' to be in front of you. If its not then walk around the other side of the wood and enter from there.

 

The location is whats important. I can't tell you about your area, but, what i would say is for magpies look for the dense, spindly trees such as silver birches and willow. You do not want big trees for magpies, all the best magpie roosts of mine are in trees no taller than40 foot. It takes years to build up knowledge on the roosts, i am now in the fortunate position that i am now reaping the rewards of a mispent youth, spent walking around the woods in the dark looking upward with a cricked neck!!There is no longer much of a level of uncertainty as I'm shooting roosts that have held birds for decades, and will continue to do so.

 

this not being a sales pitch, but if anyone wants a more detailed description its all in the airgun book i wrote. Locations and tips on finding roosts others have never shot ......

 

Cheers..JD

[rossi_j 99]

Nice write up, good pics and top shooting, as for not being an expert you sound pretty clued up to me , 20yrs experiance and a book you can't be far away from expert status

'the modest mod' I shall call you

I quite fancy a go at roosting woodies myself, I just dont have any woods to shoot in ha ha

There is a lot of good advice here in this thread for roost shooting, thankyou for sharing

.great shooting. .atb. .ste.

Edited December 29, 2010 by rossi_j

[gurtwurz 792]

nice write up JD, and good shooting too. as to your book, i'll advertise it on your behalf cos its a cracker! really enjoyed the read and it inspired me to have a go at silohouete shooting too, and has put a couple in the bag, which was nice

 

all the very best, wurz

[rossi_j 99]

Come on then letts realy plug this book , where can copies be found and what is the name of said book, if wurz says its a 'cracker' then im good for a copy, always looking for a little inspiration/education

.atb. .ste.

[jazmin 44]

Cheers j darcy just been back to the wood ive got in mind and made a mental note of a few areas that were littered with droppings.Going to get up there when theres abit cloud.(tonight i hope)!Its a mix of silver birch and a few big oaks.

[J Darcy 5,871]

Woodies in the oaks, maggies in the birches. Let us all know how you go along.

[jazmin 44]

Had an hour out just back in i did get one at about twenty yards with the ir on number 3 setting.Its not what i went for but never mind then the fog set in near the river, anyhow if you get it right its amazing just how clear you can see into the trees.I will be back for the woodies on a better night.

[J Darcy 5,871]

Good do Jazmin. I don't use Ir at all, but they are easy to see once you get your eye in. I guess i have seen about 200 tonight, see on next thread for finer details.