My first driven shoot

[Nik_B 3,790]

I've had lessons on and off with a BASC coach and he organises a few shoot days but the last two seasons I couldn't book anything due to work, in between I've managed a fair bit of clay shooting and the odd day on pigeon or rabbit with a friend although never managed to hit much. This year I tried again for a driven day but again missed out because I left it a week too late so I was looking at another year of missed opportunities and only dreaming of what might have been Just when things were looking down my coach rang me and told me they'd had a cancellation and that while he wouldn't be available to stand with me he would arrange for one of his friends to do so and who would make sure I was shooting safely etc. I rang work and told them I needed Friday off and got myself booked on a 100 bird day

 

I spend a week panic shopping and ended up with enough cartridges to survive a zombie apocalypse, trousers, hat, a shooting coat, then back again to get a tie and back again after that for cords. I was getting pretty nervous on Thursday and kept myself busy even hoovering and mopping the floors. Then after work I drove down to Anglesey and met up with two of the guys in a Country Inn. We stayed over night and had a great meal and with the help of a few beers I managed to get some sleep though I kept waking up at random intervals in case I woak up late. At breakfast my coach mentioned I wasn't "looking too nervous"...I tried to be casual and replied "should I be?". He said yep because most people are scared of making a fool of themselves or doing something stupid...then I lost my appetite

 

When we got to the farm everyone was wearing plus 4s and waist coats...and having been told it was casual dress I'd not wanted to dress up for the occasion (end up looking like Rodney in that famous episode of Only Fools and Horses) so felt a bit daft in just shirt and tie with cords and a jumper...well I thought I was playing it safe It was chucking it down and I decided to wear my fishing water proofs so looked even more out of place! I got asked to take my ageing range rover because it was 4x4 and secretly I was pretty chuffed but had to keep reminding myself not to crash into the game keeper or run over any of the dogs as that wouldn't go down too well.

 

On the first drive we followed the under keeper and pickers up down to a pond for ducks desperately trying to be quiet. I had my new fangled electronic ear defenders (another panic buy) on and could literally hear rain drops hitting the puddles but strangely not my own voice...it was all pretty surreal. I got myself in some reeds and tried to calm myself down..I didn't want to be that guy who shot at unsporting birds or start blasting away at everything. We stood for a while and as I scanned the sky I found my electronic ear defenders were picking up ducks and that if I moved my head like a radar I could figure out which direction they were. I was pondering whether it would be 3 or four ducks or maybe a few more when the sky suddenly seemed to be full of them and I stared up in amazement. I waited to hear the first shot fired (even though the whistle had been blown), singled out my first duck and dropped it with my first shot. Another three ducks fell to my gun and I decided that was enough for this drive so put my gun down and watched some of the others shooting and especially the dogs retrieving. I found shooting the duck easier than I was expecting and I wondered if the strong winds made them an easier target. But the coach with me asked me..."Are you happy with the shots and birds you took?" I replied that I was very happy and also very pleased with the way I selected them, he said "there you go then, as long as you are happy". Fair enough I thought and we trudged back to the cars. I tried to have a cigarette and found my worst nightmare had come true....no one else smoked! So I had a few puffs on a soggy fag and gave up.

 

The next drive was Pheasant and the field was a complete quagmire. The game keeper pointed out to a few people and said "I told them not to go right across that way but do they listen?" We had a chuckle as we watched them struggling through the mud and I went on to my peg. 'The rain and wind wont make the birds fly well' I was told and nodded in return but wasn't really sure what he meant...'they have wings' I thought 'then they can fly?' This was the first time I saw the beaters working through the cover, I had my gun pointing 90 degrees up but I thought they were bloody brave! All it would take is one dumb mistake and someone would lose an eye. The birds started breaking cover and most tried to turn back in to the woods. The ones that did break away tended to go down the line to my left. I was happy to watch what was happening and as the beaters came up to our end of the line I was warned that we might get one or two turned out towards us. We did but they were very low and I didn't pay them any attention but then One turned right in front of me with a decent height and distance. I could hear the coach saying "good bird" and I took the shot. The bird went down and I watched the picker up send out his Labrador for it. I was happy with what I had, the drive came to an end and we waddled back through the mud trying not to lose our wellies. Being slightly labrador obsessive (See gundog section any month of the year for my very own 'Help me with my ***ing Labrador' posts) I accosted every Picker Up that was foolish enough not to have moved on and which chatting we turned around to see a brilliant sight...One of the guns had fallen over in the mud .

 

The third drive produced very low birds and I decided I wasn't going to even think about shooting unless I got lucky with a decent bird. Because of that they took us on to the forth drive instead of lunch. I had a nice spot and I could see the beaters at our end hitting the gates to move the birds back towards the beating line (I guess?) also plenty of dogs about so I was well happy. The drive started and I'd seen a couple of pheasants but then a flurry of ducks came out towards us. Expecting pheasants, I stood and watch them fly over my head and thinking what a nice sight it was when I heard a voice behind me saying "What are you waiting for!?" I guess we're shooting ducks again then....I took two ducks but the first of my shots was sloppy and the duck was flying away slightly quartering, I'd probably given it too much lead and pricked it. It fell down and landed pretty close still very much alive, I felt bad about that and looked round for the Picker Up hoping he'd send his dog for it before it got in to a hedge and I tried to make sure I only took the shots I was more confident of making. I wasn't going to shoot another but I was getting some decent birds so I took a second.

 

At lunch it was clear than my embarrassment over my attire was unfounded...one after another I watched the guns take off water filled wellies, removing wet socks and they all looked a fair bit wetter than me, I tried not to be to much of a smug git as I handed out several pairs of spare socks I'd thoughtfully packed although I couldn't stop myself telling someone I actually had 4 different coats in the back of my car either .

 

everyone thought we'd only shot 60-70 birds but it turned out we'd had 85. It was pretty late so we went out for the last drive which was on pheasant again. Lots of excited talk about who had the best pegs etc and I was the Stop...meant nothing to me but the few murmurings I heard suggested that I'd see nothing and for a minute I thought maybe I should have bagged a few more earlier on. We had a good walk to where we were positioned and I couldn't see anything. One of the picker ups shouted to me to move where I was so I trudged through the bog where I could see the corner of the wood. Up to this point I was getting more confident and felt I knew what I was doing but that started to drain away a little and I started asking questions to the coach. We had a few birds come over and I didn't raise my gun but one was a good bird and I'd let it past, the one after it I just took but it was dropping towards me and by the time my gun was up and I'd pulled the trigger I already knew it was a bit low. I cringed as I smacked it . This time birds were coming out the side and curling back towards us trying to get back in to the woods and I was getting lots going left to right, after I let a couple past I was assured they were good height and distance wise so I took another four...hey the game keeper actually said "go for it" So I did!

 

The whistle blew and we started our walk back to the cars, this picker up wasn't fast enough to escape me either and I grilled him on anything I could think of, interestingly this is the first person I've ever met who has a springador....I bet he wished he'd never told me after the further grilling he got . By the time we got to the cars most people had cleared off so with the demisters on full blast we managed to latch on to a Hilux and head back to the farm. Once we got there I had to suffer moving my car three times because someone in a range rover sport couldn't get through a gap big enough for a bus but this time I was going to have a dry cigarette and didn't care! The game keeper invited us in and his wife had made dinner for us. It was a brilliant end to an even more brilliant day. Unfortunately I was back at work this morning so I left around 7pm...next time I'd love to stay for a few beers.

 

As I drove back home I was almost in a trance and completely lost in thought over the events of the day. In honesty I'm not sure if any of it actually registered with me at the time I was too busy soaking up the atmosphere, watching what the beaters and pickers ups were doing and trying to absorb as much information as possible. I stopped at costa coffee on the m56 and caught a few odd looks from the motorway travellers... clearly they too weren't impressed with my baggy green jumper and cords nor my pheasant tie!

 

When I got home my 6 year old daughter had waited up for me because she wanted to stroke one of the pheasants....yes she is strange like that, my wife says I've brainwashed her! I wanted to have a few well deserved beers but they had to wait whilst I unpacked my gun (cleaning that in the morning honest) and hang the birds in the cellar. All the cartridge boxes even the big heavy duty outer one that holds 250 cartridges were completely soaked wet through and spilled cartridges everywhere.

 

Anyway if you got this far you probably need a cup of tea but thought it was high time I got to share a story on THL. It turns out my coach is no David Baily but here's a pic...you can just make out my head behind that smile

 

[Born Hunter 17,832]

Rare I have the patience for a big post like that, but enjoyed reading it. Well done fella and sounds like you did alright. It can be nerve wracking with shooting having such strong etiquette and all shoots differing quite passionately but the more familiar it becomes the more you will relax and enjoy the day.

 

You'll be after a gun on a local shoot now then eh?

[bigdaz 688]

Well done mate.

[Matley 9]

Good write , well done .

[WILF 48,152]

Cracking read that matey, and to be honest a very good advert for field sports with your attitude.....BASC and the CA should get that printed in national newspapers instead of the normal claptrap they spew in their own rags.

 

First of many hopefully, well done

[Lab 10,979]

I've had lessons on and off with a BASC coach and he organises a few shoot days but the last two seasons I couldn't book anything due to work, in between I've managed a fair bit of clay shooting and the odd day on pigeon or rabbit with a friend although never managed to hit much. This year I tried again for a driven day but again missed out because I left it a week too late so I was looking at another year of missed opportunities and only dreaming of what might have been Just when things were looking down my coach rang me and told me they'd had a cancellation and that while he wouldn't be available to stand with me he would arrange for one of his friends to do so and who would make sure I was shooting safely etc. I rang work and told them I needed Friday off and got myself booked on a 100 bird day

 

I spend a week panic shopping and ended up with enough cartridges to survive a zombie apocalypse, trousers, hat, a shooting coat, then back again to get a tie and back again after that for cords. I was getting pretty nervous on Thursday and kept myself busy even hoovering and mopping the floors. Then after work I drove down to Anglesey and met up with two of the guys in a Country Inn. We stayed over night and had a great meal and with the help of a few beers I managed to get some sleep though I kept waking up at random intervals in case I woak up late. At breakfast my coach mentioned I wasn't "looking too nervous"...I tried to be casual and replied "should I be?". He said yep because most people are scared of making a fool of themselves or doing something stupid...then I lost my appetite

 

When we got to the farm everyone was wearing plus 4s and waist coats...and having been told it was casual dress I'd not wanted to dress up for the occasion (end up looking like Rodney in that famous episode of Only Fools and Horses) so felt a bit daft in just shirt and tie with cords and a jumper...well I thought I was playing it safe It was chucking it down and I decided to wear my fishing water proofs so looked even more out of place! I got asked to take my ageing range rover because it was 4x4 and secretly I was pretty chuffed but had to keep reminding myself not to crash into the game keeper or run over any of the dogs as that wouldn't go down too well.

 

On the first drive we followed the under keeper and pickers up down to a pond for ducks desperately trying to be quiet. I had my new fangled electronic ear defenders (another panic buy) on and could literally hear rain drops hitting the puddles but strangely not my own voice...it was all pretty surreal. I got myself in some reeds and tried to calm myself down..I didn't want to be that guy who shot at unsporting birds or start blasting away at everything. We stood for a while and as I scanned the sky I found my electronic ear defenders were picking up ducks and that if I moved my head like a radar I could figure out which direction they were. I was pondering whether it would be 3 or four ducks or maybe a few more when the sky suddenly seemed to be full of them and I stared up in amazement. I waited to hear the first shot fired (even though the whistle had been blown), singled out my first duck and dropped it with my first shot. Another three ducks fell to my gun and I decided that was enough for this drive so put my gun down and watched some of the others shooting and especially the dogs retrieving. I found shooting the duck easier than I was expecting and I wondered if the strong winds made them an easier target. But the coach with me asked me..."Are you happy with the shots and birds you took?" I replied that I was very happy and also very pleased with the way I selected them, he said "there you go then, as long as you are happy". Fair enough I thought and we trudged back to the cars. I tried to have a cigarette and found my worst nightmare had come true....no one else smoked! So I had a few puffs on a soggy fag and gave up.

 

The next drive was Pheasant and the field was a complete quagmire. The game keeper pointed out to a few people and said "I told them not to go right across that way but do they listen?" We had a chuckle as we watched them struggling through the mud and I went on to my peg. 'The rain and wind wont make the birds fly well' I was told and nodded in return but wasn't really sure what he meant...'they have wings' I thought 'then they can fly?' This was the first time I saw the beaters working through the cover, I had my gun pointing 90 degrees up but I thought they were bloody brave! All it would take is one dumb mistake and someone would lose an eye. The birds started breaking cover and most tried to turn back in to the woods. The ones that did break away tended to go down the line to my left. I was happy to watch what was happening and as the beaters came up to our end of the line I was warned that we might get one or two turned out towards us. We did but they were very low and I didn't pay them any attention but then One turned right in front of me with a decent height and distance. I could hear the coach saying "good bird" and I took the shot. The bird went down and I watched the picker up send out his Labrador for it. I was happy with what I had, the drive came to an end and we waddled back through the mud trying not to lose our wellies. Being slightly labrador obsessive (See gundog section any month of the year for my very own 'Help me with my ***ing Labrador' posts) I accosted every Picker Up that was foolish enough not to have moved on and which chatting we turned around to see a brilliant sight...One of the guns had fallen over in the mud .

 

The third drive produced very low birds and I decided I wasn't going to even think about shooting unless I got lucky with a decent bird. Because of that they took us on to the forth drive instead of lunch. I had a nice spot and I could see the beaters at our end hitting the gates to move the birds back towards the beating line (I guess?) also plenty of dogs about so I was well happy. The drive started and I'd seen a couple of pheasants but then a flurry of ducks came out towards us. Expecting pheasants, I stood and watch them fly over my head and thinking what a nice sight it was when I heard a voice behind me saying "What are you waiting for!?" I guess we're shooting ducks again then....I took two ducks but the first of my shots was sloppy and the duck was flying away slightly quartering, I'd probably given it too much lead and pricked it. It fell down and landed pretty close still very much alive, I felt bad about that and looked round for the Picker Up hoping he'd send his dog for it before it got in to a hedge and I tried to make sure I only took the shots I was more confident of making. I wasn't going to shoot another but I was getting some decent birds so I took a second.

 

At lunch it was clear than my embarrassment over my attire was unfounded...one after another I watched the guns take off water filled wellies, removing wet socks and they all looked a fair bit wetter than me, I tried not to be to much of a smug git as I handed out several pairs of spare socks I'd thoughtfully packed although I couldn't stop myself telling someone I actually had 4 different coats in the back of my car either .

 

everyone thought we'd only shot 60-70 birds but it turned out we'd had 85. It was pretty late so we went out for the last drive which was on pheasant again. Lots of excited talk about who had the best pegs etc and I was the Stop...meant nothing to me but the few murmurings I heard suggested that I'd see nothing and for a minute I thought maybe I should have bagged a few more earlier on. We had a good walk to where we were positioned and I couldn't see anything. One of the picker ups shouted to me to move where I was so I trudged through the bog where I could see the corner of the wood. Up to this point I was getting more confident and felt I knew what I was doing but that started to drain away a little and I started asking questions to the coach. We had a few birds come over and I didn't raise my gun but one was a good bird and I'd let it past, the one after it I just took but it was dropping towards me and by the time my gun was up and I'd pulled the trigger I already knew it was a bit low. I cringed as I smacked it . This time birds were coming out the side and curling back towards us trying to get back in to the woods and I was getting lots going left to right, after I let a couple past I was assured they were good height and distance wise so I took another four...hey the game keeper actually said "go for it" So I did!

 

The whistle blew and we started our walk back to the cars, this picker up wasn't fast enough to escape me either and I grilled him on anything I could think of, interestingly this is the first person I've ever met who has a springador....I bet he wished he'd never told me after the further grilling he got . By the time we got to the cars most people had cleared off so with the demisters on full blast we managed to latch on to a Hilux and head back to the farm. Once we got there I had to suffer moving my car three times because someone in a range rover sport couldn't get through a gap big enough for a bus but this time I was going to have a dry cigarette and didn't care! The game keeper invited us in and his wife had made dinner for us. It was a brilliant end to an even more brilliant day. Unfortunately I was back at work this morning so I left around 7pm...next time I'd love to stay for a few beers.

 

As I drove back home I was almost in a trance and completely lost in thought over the events of the day. In honesty I'm not sure if any of it actually registered with me at the time I was too busy soaking up the atmosphere, watching what the beaters and pickers ups were doing and trying to absorb as much information as possible. I stopped at costa coffee on the m56 and caught a few odd looks from the motorway travellers... clearly they too weren't impressed with my baggy green jumper and cords nor my pheasant tie!

 

When I got home my 6 year old daughter had waited up for me because she wanted to stroke one of the pheasants....yes she is strange like that, my wife says I've brainwashed her! I wanted to have a few well deserved beers but they had to wait whilst I unpacked my gun (cleaning that in the morning honest) and hang the birds in the cellar. All the cartridge boxes even the big heavy duty outer one that holds 250 cartridges were completely soaked wet through and spilled cartridges everywhere.

 

Anyway if you got this far you probably need a cup of tea but thought it was high time I got to share a story on THL. It turns out my coach is no David Baily but here's a pic...you can just make out my head behind that smile

 

Good read mate.......Ive highlighted what we call the "Picker-ups magic pencil"...............

[tegater 789]

well done Nik

[bell 3,606]

Good write , well done .

 

Spot on Wilf, there is something refreshingly honest and appealing about NIks post. Well done old bean.

[Furittus 35]

I enjoyed that nearly as much as you did, well done mate, may you have many more such memorable days .

[The one 8,524]

Great read mate and it really sounds like you enjoyed your day

[Nik_B 3,790]

Rare I have the patience for a big post like that, but enjoyed reading it. Well done fella and sounds like you did alright. It can be nerve wracking with shooting having such strong etiquette and all shoots differing quite passionately but the more familiar it becomes the more you will relax and enjoy the day.

 

You'll be after a gun on a local shoot now then eh?

 

Cheers BH

 

I'm not sure, if I had a regular job I would definitely join a syndicate but I can only book 2 or 3 days off over winter so I'm not sure it would be worth it, I imagine a syndicate would want to know well in advance which days you can and cant make. I think for now I will just book my 2 or 3 shoot days like that one (expensive yes!) and then try and squeeze in more by looking for last minute stuff on gunsonpegs etc. It's at times like this I hate my job but that's life and it could be much worse, at least I can afford to get out shooting even if it isn't that often. Also I probably appreciate those days more than most as they are so rare

 

My next goal is to find a small shoot where I can bring my dog on and see if he is any good, I recon I'd enjoy picking up just as much as shooting although the little bugger will probably try my patience

 

I just counted my cartridges actually and I only fired 24 on the whole day which was interesting. I imagine in the pheseants fly higher and faster I'd go through a fair few more than that. The other thing I thought about was how effective the steel shot was...I was using 32g 4 shot on the duck and they really knocked them down nicely. The 30g 6 shot was much less impressive. I'm thinking of getting some slightly heavier 32g and 5 shot maybe for pheasants, I can't see any reason not to use something with a bit more stopping power??

 

I also saw something that I thought was a bit dangerous that day and it's always stuff like that that I want to remember so I am never the one that does something stupid.

 

@ Lab-tastic that made me laugh, yeh I bet they have a few spare birds tucked away when the weather is like that...I wouldn't blame them the weather was really diabolical. I was interested to see the distances the dogs were working at from their handlers (alot closer than I expected) and that they weren't any more better behaved than mine is. All these crazy long retrieves I've been doing seems way over the top now and I guess I've been paying too much attention to the trainer I know who does field trails.

 

 

Anyway cheers everyone for the comments I did have an amazing day and it will be one I never forget, even 3 days later I'm still day dreaming about it

[Born Hunter 17,832]

When I have read your lab training posts in the past I have often thought that getting out onto a shoot for real would help you 10 times more than any amount of further advice/reading. Seems like it's opened your eyes a bit and hopefully reinforced your confidence in your dog and yourself.

 

My cartridge preference for just about anything is 5s, from pigeon to pheasant. Just my opinion and tbh I don't shoot that much.

 

With regards the dangerous act, it won't be the last time you see something like that I'm sad to say. Just let it be a reminder to you not to be that twat in the future.