Went For A Walk On Friday

[air gun ant 1,666]

Finished work early Friday so went for a walk about on some local permission with my young cocker and my gun. It's 5mins down the Canal from my house and nice and handy, only a few fields and a bit of wood and a nice snipe bog, but it does hold a few pheasants aswell. As I walked up the path to the first gate I saw a cock pheasant legging it across the field towards the wood and thought "see you in 10" lol, so I hopped over the gate and unslipped the gun. As I placed my slip behind the hedge I stood up and noticed 5 hens run to hedge and slip back in to wood (which to be honest is probably only about an acre) so I decided to just walk up the hedge and see what happened. So as I walk up this hedge I get 30 yards up the slight slope an notice a roe doe not 50 yards from me! Everything was in my favour but I was armed with a shotgun, not a rifle so me and the dog just stood there in plain view until it finally spotted us and bounded of on to the neighbouring land (which I don't have permission on (bunny hugger)). Anyway I went back on myself and crossed a field to get on to a farm track that runs the other side of the wood and towards a nice soft marshy bit that, on a nice sunny day usually has a few pheasants in and (nearly) always holds snipe. So I got up there and snuck up to the wet corner, In with dog and.........nothing! I was as surprised as the dog, but it wasn't to be. So in to the wood we went, and for a change I decided to to go right, and down an old track instead of my usual left and through the marsh. At the bottom of the track it opens up in to a clearing, spotted with bramble patches and tufts of grass. I cast the dog in to the first patch and straight away a woodcock took flight, low and fast, side to side it reaches the trees at the end of the wood and up it goes. It must have been 50yrds when I actually had a shot and bang! It dropped head first in to a patch of brambles around 60yrds away. Dog staring intently I sent him on, full sprint to the bird, head first and mouth open in to the cover, and a few seconds later I had a pricked woodcock in my hand and quickly dispatched (the value of a dog!) I was just about to set of again on my round when I notice bloody huge carrion crow flying by around 70yrds away and I thought "I'll have go" and to my amazement, it fell, I hit it! It fell in the field next to the wood but I could see it flapping. So I ran too the wood edge a sent another barrel it's way so the dog could pick it, under a hedge and over a fence he was soon back with a very dead crow. Walked the rest of the permission and only managed to put one cock pheasant up an I missed with both barrels from around 20 yrds lol the dog just shook his head at me. Dropped the gun of and went for a pint nice day

Edited November 24, 2013 by air gun ant

[Born Hunter 17,832]

Nice little write up mate. We organise a couple of informal walk up days for a select few beaters/guns on the shoot and I very much look forward to them. Good variety of quarry usually. Squeeze another in around X-mas/NY if the keeper okays it.

[Nik_B 3,790]

Sounds like a nice day out

 

I love the image of one man and his dog mooching

 

One day I hope that will be me