An attempt at the Midlands MacNab and a collective experience of success.

_ What brings you to Loughborough on a Friday evening? asked the taxi driver.
_ We’ve come to visit friends, we answered truthfully, but without volunteering the nature of our luggage.
_ And after that, you’re going to do some shooting, right?

How on earth did he spot that, was it that obvious, despite all our precautions to be discrete on the train? No: it turned out it was the exact same taxi driver as last season, when we first travelled up at the generous invitation of Unicorn71 to join his DIY roughshoot. Clearly there aren’t that many cabs that do the run from Loughborough station on Friday nights.

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All good stories start in a station.

My friend R. and I arrived at the pub where we’d booked rooms to meet up with Unicorn71 and A. who had arrived earlier, later to be joined by G. to complete the set of four. Since the driven shoot that we attended once a year with G. and his family has folded this was our only shooting expedition together this season, so we’d been ridiculously excited in the previous weeks. As I’ve mentioned before, we used to be the most ineffective wildfowlers in the UK, but moved onto other opportunities in search of a collective experience of success last year, as I was worried that the years of fruitless trips to the Kent marshes would eventually lead to everyone dropping shooting altogether. So last year, we’d joined a driven pheasant day which was fine, but just not what we really like, and then had the revelation that was Unicorn71’s shoot, something I’ve already recounted in this thread.

After a surprisingly moderate evening in the pub, we retired, and I set my alarm for 6.15am as Uniciorn71 had once again offered to take me in search of a muntjac before the shoot. This gives me the opportunity to try for the Midlands MacNab, which is a muntjac in the morning and two of whatever I manage to hit during the rest of the day, in my case all with the same drilling. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours creeping around in the shadow of the local power station, it was clear that the blustery weather was keeping the deer under cover. We saw plenty of slots though, and had a standoff in the woods where the dog was pointing into the undergrowth, we were up on sticks scanning each leaf and twig for the tell-tale triangle of beady black eyes and nose, squeaking on the Buttolo for good measure, but it just didn’t happen. Nevertheless, this is my favourite way to miss breakfast! Slightly later than anticipated, we sped back to the pub to pick up the three others.

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Looking for muntjac in the shadow of the power station.

Loaded with kit, we crammed ourselves into the back of the truck, and went to meet the other members of the shoot near the local church. We were to start the day with a mini duck drive opposite the seventeenth century hall and were instructed in no uncertain terms not to drop a duck through the plate-glass windows that had only recently been repaired at great expense. I’m glad to say that we had no trouble avoiding that. We lined up as Unicorn71 went round the lake with his dogs, but most of the ducks escaped all the way down the stream before coming back over far too high for a shot. However R. opened the day with a shot at a single stray cock pheasant. I insisted that he had to wear a tail feather in his hat, but he refused, the spoilsport.

After that, it was back to lead cartridges for an intense day of tramping through dense woods and mud with the power station as a remarkable backdrop, but we were lucky with the weather. It was windy, but didn’t seriously rain until the evening. It was still very mild for the time of year though, which was probably one of the reasons for which many of the birds had strayed from the woods containing feeders. Unicorn71 seemed to give me more of the walking gun spots that the others, which is what I prefer, but I suspect that he just wanted to see me shoot something because last year, hampered by only having one functioning barrel in addition to being a bit rubbish, I hadn’t given him that pleasure. We saw half a dozen woodcock, but none offered a shot. Two turned back into the woods as they flew towards me, out of range, and one whizzed past at head height as they do, and I didn’t want to risk a low shot into dense bush.

Later on in the day, after a windy lunch of mince pies (first of the year!, thanks I.), pork pies and banana bread (thanks G.), I found myself on one side of a little wood from which Unicorn71 flushed a woodcock. “WOODCOCK FORWARD!” came the shout. I tensed up, scanning the tops of the trees, when it flew in from my left. I missed with the first barrel, but as it doubled back into the wood, I caught it with the second, it seemed to rear up in the air, and dropped into the wood. Unicorn71 came around and asked whether I’d hit it. “Yes, it’s about ten metres into the wood, that way”, and in went the dogs. But after a few minutes, there was no sign of it. I’d marked the specific tree the woodcock had fallen by, so I gave Unicorn71 my gun and went in under the muntjac-height browse line on all fours, so see if it was stuck in the branches. But again, no sign of it. Immensely frustrating, but it looked like it had managed to fly away. Perhaps it hadn’t been hit at all. Either way, there was to be no woodcock in my game bag this time.

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R. and M. not actually shooting any woodcock.

Before we knew it, it was time to head for the two flight ponds for the duck flight. Unicorn71 had been feeding the ponds and had seen large numbers of teal, wigeon and mallard coming in. This turned out to be the hoped-for highlight of the day, there was just enough wind and rain (and Gore-Tex) to make it all come together. The flight started earlier on the other pond from which we could hear a pretty serious barrage of fire coming. Then teal started dropping into our pond. R. shot his first ever teal and was delighted, and I hit one that landed in the corner of the field behind, near the hall lake, to be picked by the dogs later. I don’t think anyone will dispute that the standard of our shooting was pretty appalling, especially my own. However, throw enough bismuth and tungsten matrix up in the air and you will hit something eventually, so between four of us, we did manage to put six ducks in the bag. Of particular note, with my last two 16 bore bismuth cartridges, I shot a right-and-left at a wigeon cock and hen, only my third ever, and my first wigeon, and certainly the first ever with my drilling! After that, I announced that I was going home. Finished. End on a high.

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YPM examining my first ever pair of wigeon the next morning.

Back at the church, the other team had shot something like fourteen ducks, plus a few coots and moorhens. We lined the day’s bag up on the wall outside the church in a little tableau, and all the game was taken home by the participants. I took my pair of wigeon and a mallard in lieu of the teal that was yet to be picked. It turned up the next morning in the form of a pile of feathers and a smug-looking cat… After a chat and heartfelt thanks to our hosts, we were dropped off back at the pub, packed away all our sodden gear, and R. and I caught the train back to London.

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Not a very good picture of an excellent day's bag.

Huge thanks to Unicorn71 and friends for reinviting us, it’s thanks to you that we have found that experience of collective success that we so badly needed. And on the back of that, R. is also heading back off to the Kent marshes, so it looks like the flame of shooting continues to burn for our little unlikely group. Long may it continue!
 
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Good honest write up mate! Well done.
In my books that's what it's all about, a few freinds getting together, enjoying each other's company along with a bit of banter and a bit of sport!
 
Well looking at the power station I would say you were on the thrumpton estate, the duck flighting there is great.
Martyn
 
Good honest write up mate! Well done.

Thanks. In the continuing spirit of honesty, I counted my cartridges before throwing them away: twenty-four rounds of bismuth and eight standard for three birds. Even I'm not that useless usually. I need to pattern that drilling because it's not shooting where I think it is.

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I have just got to say that having Pine Martin and the boys up is one of the high lights of my season, they are great company and really get the idea and motivations of what we are trying to achieve, they are welcome back anytime.
 
Thanks. In the continuing spirit of honesty, I counted my cartridges before throwing them away: twenty-four rounds of bismuth and eight standard for three birds. Even I'm not that useless usually. I need to pattern that drilling because it's not shooting where I think it is.

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Are you sure that it isn't more a case of you not pointing it in the right direction?:doh: (Only joking mate!)
Mind you, I can't talk. We had a clay shoot in the wind and rain yesterday and all I managed was to hit 8 out of 25 birds.:oops:
 
Well I'm by no means a great shotgun shot, but with other shotguns, my cartridge to bird ratio is more like 4-6 to one. I had to finish off a wigeon that climbed out of the water on the far bank of the pond. It was stationary and I missed it with the first shot. When we picked it up at the end, it still wasn't dead. So I'm open to the idea of just having shot badly at birds on the wing, but it's the stationary miss that rings alarm bells.
 
Add into the fact that non-toxic shells are .....useless. We can still shoot ducks up here with lead shot provided its over dry land. Was shooting ducks coming into a small pond on Saturday evening - lined up with the wind and the pond behind us and shooting out over the stubble field so was taking them as they were coming in fast and hard. 28gms of lead and they were coming down feet in the air. Been using non toxic on the foreshore and have yet to shoot one stone dead.

Sounds like a fun weekend.
 
When I had a proper fowling piece, I used 3.5" Remington steel cartridges. They were far from useless. Kicked like a mule, but knocked ducks out of the sky very nicely. But it was a tool specifically for that job and a big beast of a gun. I sold it to buy the drilling. Still a good trade, but I do miss it.
 
I need to pattern that drilling because it's not shooting where I think it is.

Wise words. I am routinely surprised, oxymoronic though it may sound, by how much variation there is in where different shotguns, and even different loads, put their patterns.

It goes without saying that if the pattern isn't where you think it is the result will be more missed, and -even worse- more wounded birds.

By the same token, if you know where a gun shoots, you can make allowances, or get the fit adjusted to make it shoot where you want it to.
 
By the same token, if you know where a gun shoots, you can make allowances, or get the fit adjusted to make it shoot where you want it to.

I was missing a lot of left to right crossers, right in front of me. I think I was probably missing them above or below. The right and left was at a pair flying towards me and I was swinging up through them which may have minimised the problem. That said, the first had four pellets through its' chest and a broken wing, the other, as far as I could tell, had one single pellet through the heart, plus a big break in the skin on the chest. It may well have been hit by the wad. Which suggests I'm missing over the top I think.
 
I think I was probably missing them above or below [...] I'm missing over the top I think.

That sounds like a reasonable deduction.

A day out at a half-decent shooting school, and the services of a coach who can cast an expert eye on your gun mount, give you a go at the pattern plate, and offer some observations as you take a variety of shots on sporting clays, will be money well spent. As well as giving you some crucial information, it should build confidence, and be fun to boot.

I don't take coaching as often as I should -only about once a year- but every time I go I learn something, or practice something, that makes me a better shot (I guess it helps that there's so much room for improvement!), and that it turn helps me enjoy the rest of my shooting days more.

My last day out was at the Bisley Shooting Ground. Watching how I shot, and what I missed, the coach was able to diagnose some persistent errors, and give me some simple tips to take away with me. I've had just two driven days since then, but have shot considerably better on both, and have enjoyed them more too: not just because of the successes, but also because now when I miss I can usually understand why and correct myself with a gentle reminder, instead of chasing my tail in search of an explanation.
 
A day out at a half-decent shooting school, and the services of a coach who can cast an expert eye on your gun mount, give you a go at the pattern plate, and offer some observations as you take a variety of shots on sporting clays, will be money well spent. As well as giving you some crucial information, it should build confidence, and be fun to boot.

I think this is probably a good opportunity to have a word with Father Christmas...
 
I was missing a lot of left to right crossers, right in front of me. I think I was probably missing them above or below. The right and left was at a pair flying towards me and I was swinging up through them which may have minimised the problem. That said, the first had four pellets through its' chest and a broken wing, the other, as far as I could tell, had one single pellet through the heart, plus a big break in the skin on the chest. It may well have been hit by the wad. Which suggests I'm missing over the top I think.

Do you know if you have a strong master eye? I do and it makes a right to left crossing bird a bit of a barsteward.
 
Do you know if you have a strong master eye? I do and it makes a right to left crossing bird a bit of a barsteward.

No, I don't think so, it's more to do with the fact that the drilling has very short barrels (24"), so it handles weirdly. And of course it's stocked as a rifle, not really as a shotgun, so it needs some investigation.
 
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