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hillmouse · Site Admin Joined: 17 Jan 2009 Posts: 1780

On a big estate such as ours it is not always possible to do all the good bits on 'keepers day.
So we had another one.

Saturday 29th January dawned bright and frosty after a dusting of snow on Friday night. Very crisp.
The small team of Guns arrived in a leisurely fashion and had a hot drink before we made a plan. With 6 Guns it was going to be hard work but with so many other shoots having their 'keepers days today as well we had to go with what we could get. I know some of the team were thinking they might have been better off coming here but loyalty to a shoot is important and we have had our big day.
First plan was for 2 Guns to go forward with the vehicles and stand one of the main drives we didn't get to on Thursday while the other 4 walked in about 200 acres.
It worked well and first item in the bag was an ermine stoat which was thick enough to squeak up to 3 men and 5 dogs. Next we walked in and added a couple of redlegs and a cock bird to the bag before driving the main wood. A lot of birds, several dodging the scant beating team but enough went over the two guns.
We saw where the escapees went and tried to get around them with a small degree of success but picking a couple of touched birds as well so it was worth the effort.
Swapping the standing team now we drove another main wood with a chaotic outcome, birds breaking all ways but a few more in the bag and the next planned drive nicely topped up. One walking Gun went back to pick a couple of birds and then meet us for the next walk while the standers (both of them) walked more ground in. There were cock birds everywhere and most made away in to the drive.
If the last drive was chaos this one was mayhem doubled. Dozens broke back usually waiting until you were unable to get at them and coming out of the sun along withswarms of hens. Anyway enough got put in the bag to make it a good drive.
One final piece before lunch and it was blank as everything bar 3 hens had run out, however it was to where we were going after lunch.
It pays to think like a pheasant on days like this.
A relaxed lunch then an impromtue partridge drive added to the programme as we spotted some little coveys heading in to a cover as we passed. A bit of a failure as the standing team were none too stealthy going in to position, however we added anther 3 redlegs to the bag.
We scouted the duck pond on the way to the next drive but frozen solid and nobody home.
3 standing Guns and 3 walkers this time but it proved to be not enough.
Unbelievable numbers of birds flushed wild as soon as we set off, most running straight to the front and weighing up the Gun placings before breaking clear safely. Very frustrating as about half were cocks.
A very quick plan was formulated with 3 Guns to stand. 2 walking a hardwood strip up from the river and one to walk a double hedge down to them then all turned west to walk the flushed birds down to the duck pond and surrounding wood and marsh.
The three beating Guns walked the roadside along and after half a mile met up with substantial numbers of birds as we split up to push an old lane and some hedges in to the rescue drive. Many saw the trick and flew up to the main woods or a few strips where we didn't have time to go after them.
We went with what we could manage and drove the now well stocked marsh and wood. Result!!!! Some of us, mainly me, were getting very low on cartridges and game bag capacity by the time we were done.
A quick pick up with only one bird lost over the river and we added a final little wood to the plan. Only two cocks came forward, one at face height exactly halfway between too Guns and one which went in the bag tried to curl around the corner of the wood.
Young Kurt shot the bird of the day with a mallard at maximum range which he folded up cleanly and also managed to drop it right on the beating team making for a good retrieve.
With everyone having had some good shooting, some driven, some walked up and a lot of real hunting and thinking to outwit these wiley late season cock birds the last shot at a stupendously good bird seemed a good time to call a halt to what had been a thoroughly enjoyable day.

I don' think we do enough of these days in the modern shooting world.

Final bag

37 cocks
1 hen picked dead
8 red-legged partridges
1 mallard
1 ermine stoat

What a cracking day.
_________________
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CPSA Qualified Level 2 Coach-ESP

cuff · Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Posts: 20

good day then for a walk about

Stuart G · Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Posts: 183

Sounds like cracking day. I always used to look forward to our armed walks on boxing days - the planning and miltary precision required for a mini driven day like that really adds to the occassion.

I had a lovely day in August in NZ's Hawkes Bay - 4 guns plus the keeper and misc family members. Lots of hugely complicated pincer movements, frantic running to cover off leaking birds (unloaded of course!),arguments about the best way to stage the ambush and best of all ability to mix shooting and dog work in the way god intended.

As you say, we should do more of this.

S