How Do You Get Your Enjoyment From Shooting?

Les Brooks

Well-Known Member
I suppose like most when i was young I wanted to shoot as much as possible.
These days I get far more enjoyment from taking others out.
It can be frustrating at times cos wild things will always make you look a liar.
I do love getting someone their first kill though, the look on their faces beats all imo
 
Hi Les,

I fly a desk and have a young family so my shooting trips are precious times to relax, unwind, enjoy a spot of banter with like minded people and to enjoy our Green and Pleasant land at it's best and quite often at it's most wild! (West Coast of Scotland Weather)

I enjoy stalking Deer far more now day's then participating on my rough syndicate for Pheasant and whilst most of my shooting in hampshire is High seat due to land restrictions I enjoy every minute of it. Twice yearly trips to Scotland are hard work for a desk jockey but it keeps me going throughout the hard times.

Cheers

Robbo25
 
I suppose like most when i was young I wanted to shoot as much as possible.
These days I get far more enjoyment from taking others out.
It can be frustrating at times cos wild things will always make you look a liar.
I do love getting someone their first kill though, the look on their faces beats all imo

I could not agree more, I have shot enough don't feel the need any more, but getting a novice his first, ah thats a great feeling.
 
Whether it's waiting for the evening teal to flight in on the howling wind, to hear the first sea trout splosh, hear the slow whirr of the reel develop into a scream when salmon fishing, or even hear a doe cough just where you don't want her to be, it's being out there where life is real that brings me alive. The real me.............

ft
 
I suppose as the years have rolled on its more about the company than the shooting.
There are more aspects to deerstalking that I enjoy, its not all about putting deer on the deck.

regards
griff
 
I suppose as the years have rolled on its more about the company than the shooting.
There are more aspects to deerstalking that I enjoy, its not all about putting deer on the deck.

regards
griff
Couldn't agree more, I like to shoot them with the camera sometimes, just wish I wasn't such a crap shot :D
 
I don't actually like squeezing the trigger - but really get enjoyment out of being out amongst it, and occasionally taking a beast for the freezer / biltong. Couple of times in the last month have very special, one with my daughter calling in a Roe buck - we needed to get him as he had taken up residence in a newly planted orchard and causing lots of damage - he's now in the freezer and have just finished cleaning up the antlers which are now in her room, and the other up in the North West in Torridon with my nephews and Frax from this site up on the tops - after a long day we finally got into a switch for the table - the look on the boys face the follwoing day when they tasted the fillet which I cooked for a picnic lunch whilst fishing was a sight to behold. I have just finished the last bit of the first batch of biltong

In both instances the youngsters were just as if not more interested in the gralloch and how all the bits fitted together and then the butchery as the actual stalking.
 
Crystal clear water, ranunculas wafting in the flow. A large grayling doesnt see your stealthy approach. You watch and wait to see what its feeding on.
A size 16 adams goes on the 2lb tippet and the dt4 line is sent across the stream all your concentration on what will almost certainly be the one and only chance of contacting the leviathan below. As the fly drifts down on the flow you watch the fish begin to rise from the gravel on the bottom of the stream. The fish tips back now vertical underneath your offering and then theres that unmistakeable 'plop' as the fly is sucked into the fishes mouth.
You strike and the solid weight of fish shudders through the rod.
I could go on about the fight, the screaming reel, the acrobatics, the heart beating moment of netting the fish then the ultimate pride in releasing the fish unharmed but the real essence of fishing and deer stalking for me is that patient yet totally exciting spotting of the prey and then either the deception with the fly or the sending on its way of a well placed shot.
 
.....I fly a desk and have a young family so my shooting trips are precious times to relax, unwind, enjoy a spot of banter with like minded people and to enjoy our Green and Pleasant land at it's best and quite often at it's most wild!.....

This is pretty much my motivation also.

That, plus I have this whole "River Cottage" thing going on, I am really into producing my own food. Grow veg, keep chickens and pigs etc. Stalking and shooting puts a fair bit of fantastic meat in my freezer every year. I have never shot a beast for the game dealer, except on trips over to the UK.

Basically I am a peasant forced to live in the 21st Century. Proably better than being a peasant in the 19th century......
 
:rofl: Well I love almost everything about shooting. Be it hand loading, cleaning the guns themselves, restoring where needed like a damaged stock finish to fitting better scope mounts. Then testing said handloads. Of just handling and admiring the craftsamnship that goes into making a nice/fine rifle. I read about them research about them and yes even stalk with them on occasions.

The question was about shooting and no mention of stalking ;).

I have taken part in coaching and the Bisley open days and even displayed some of the collection at Bisley of several occasions with the HBSA and LERA. So yes the majority of my friends also shoot.
 
Just love being out in the countryside rooting around always have wether its shooting,fishing looking for wild fungi,nice to be on my own sometimes,nice to have company too,if i catch, shoot or find anything thats just a bonus.
Neil.
 
third (or thirtieth) generation hunter gatherer me.... I like the peace- the stillness and focus- the ones that I shoot and just as much, the ones I don't.....maybe even more so. But I always shoot for the pot (or freezer). So if its full- just watch, I'm sure most will know what I mean...
 
Spent yesterday on the banks of Loch Tay........

You know, for the life of me I cannot remember why I was there......
 
Spent yesterday on the banks of Loch Tay........

You know, for the life of me I cannot remember why I was there......

Must be something about the Tay, we used to fish Dalguise it was only place that 12 hours passed like 12 mins...



regards
griff
 
I suppose like most when i was young I wanted to shoot as much as possible.
These days I get far more enjoyment from taking others out.
It can be frustrating at times cos wild things will always make you look a liar.
I do love getting someone their first kill though, the look on their faces beats all imo

I'd have to say "same as Les" :thumb:
 
i must get the most out of my shooting when im waiting on a evenings flight for duck all quite and then you hear the whistling of there wings as they are over the top of you taking a look at your decoys........well that would be the case tonight if it wasnt for the f*****g cold i have, bet there down on the river by the bloody hundreds waving there lemsips (other lemon based drinks are also avalible) and laughing
 
Crystal clear water, ranunculas wafting in the flow. A large grayling doesnt see your stealthy approach. You watch and wait to see what its feeding on.
A size 16 adams goes on the 2lb tippet and the dt4 line is sent across the stream all your concentration on what will almost certainly be the one and only chance of contacting the leviathan below. As the fly drifts down on the flow you watch the fish begin to rise from the gravel on the bottom of the stream. The fish tips back now vertical underneath your offering and then theres that unmistakeable 'plop' as the fly is sucked into the fishes mouth.
You strike and the solid weight of fish shudders through the rod.
I could go on about the fight, the screaming reel, the acrobatics, the heart beating moment of netting the fish then the ultimate pride in releasing the fish unharmed but the real essence of fishing and deer stalking for me is that patient yet totally exciting spotting of the prey and then either the deception with the fly or the sending on its way of a well placed shot.

Poetry the way of a trout with a fly
 
Must be something about the Tay, we used to fish Dalguise it was only place that 12 hours passed like 12 mins...



regards
griff

Know Dalguise well, I realise this is off thread but who was the gillie at the time? Stan or even before that Bill?
 
It's what keeps me sane - work seems a million miles away, I am completely focussed on what I'm doing and it doesn't matter whether I shoot anything. I never fail to see something of interest, and no two days are the same. I used to do quite a bit of game shooting, but I find stalking to be more satisfying. The only things that come close are wildfowling & fly fishing in my opinion. Most parts of the UK are very overcrowded, and I need to escape on an increasingly regular basis!
 
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