Bag:
59 Pheasants (29 Cock and 30 Hens)
1Teal
3 Pigeons
Report
Having endured the disappointment of potentially canceling the shoot we decided to proceed. The weather followed the forecast to the minute, starting with very light rain and by 1pm we were all soaked and looking very heavy.
In terms of the shooting, it was surprisingly successful considering. After two shoot days, the birds are beginning to learn their role and some are reaching fantastic hights. What is encouraging is that they are generally following the plan in terms of migrating to game crops or plantations and being allowed to be pushed back over the guns.
We started the same as the Thursday shoot by pushing from the weedy field to standing guns on the track road from Frank's. Teal and Mallard off the pond and pheasants tested the guns. The birds were already sitting very tight.
We next pushed the Roundals. Nothing flew from Old Roundal, but the birds were pushed from the game crop to the New Roundal where we had a burst of birds at the end of the drive. All good fun.
The thirds drive was the Beeches where the beating teams split: Franks and co pushing up the plantation to the game crop, while Derek, beaters and walking guns pushed through from behind and up through the game crop. Ducks took off and the pheasants flew straight over the guns along the track below to the wood behind. Perfect.
The fourth and final drive was the Arm, pushing in from the weedy field pond to the base of the arm and then letting the beaters go up and back down. The beating in worked well and another few birds were bagged.
It was without any argument that we ended the day here. The stove was lit and we ate and drank warmth.
The day worked well and I am sure a lot of that was due to the efforts of the beating team and the dogs of both beaters and shooters. We didn't have to wait for long at the end of drives and we certainly got some very wet birds in the air. Bobby and Dave(?) are working well with Derek in the beating line and Frank was back on duty marshaling the troops. The radios are playing a vital part linking the shooting teams and beaters. A great collective effort produced some good results.