What to do when you are missing a woodcock?

[enfieldspares]

In 1989 I had a woodcock I shot stuffed and cased. In later years the top got broken the thing got put in my late mother's loft and a squirrel ate the woodcock. Thus I had for the last ten years, in my loft, a case with the foliage and all the rest still in place but an empty patch where the woodcock was. Now taxidermy today isn't cheap and, anyway, not to everybody's taste. So last week I obtained a box of old 16 bore Eley RTO paper case cartridges and managed to get five to fire out of eighteen! I then permanently mounted the five in the case and will re-glaze it side by side over the next day and get a new top pane. To look like ejected spent cases from being in a "hot corner". So this is a work in progress the rear pane and left pane are in place. But I think it is a good use of what elsewise is a junk empty case. I will title it "Last drive - the osier beds - chance of woodcock".

 

[long_range_rob]

“The one that got away!”

 

[enfieldspares]

Thank you. And cheap enough to do. The box of cartridges cost me £10 (the cost of a box, today of 16 bore). Those that didn't fire I have drawn the powder and shot, fully inerted the struck primers and redone with standard 16 bore wads I have then reclosed with a fresh roll turnover. It was by chance 16 bore as I was on the way home from Wedgnock to Thurlaston Shooting Ground my own 16 bore and passed the Broughton Astley Guns and asked what old cartridges he had. And these 16 bore were produced. So I was able to fire them off an half hour later and boil out the barrels when I got home. Interestingly the original wads were the pneumatic type.

 

[enfieldspares]

To fix the cartridges drive two moulding pin type nails into the wood about one inch apart. Leave about 1/8" exposed. Press the fired case onto the nails enough, just, to leave a mark on the case from each nail. With a pointed knife make a small "X" incision where each mark is. Then put a blob or Araldite on the head of each moulding pin and press the case down so that the glued up head goes through that "X" incision. Gravity then will see the Araldite flow down the nail and set to secure the inside of the case to the head of the moulding pin. If you position the nails right you won't be able to see them when looking into the case mouth.

 

[Smellydog]

Shoot the bloody squirrel!

 

[sikamalc]

Shoot the bloody squirrel!

And put it in the case.

 

[enfieldspares]

Ah now the squirrels. My late mother after a certain time had this thing about the squirrels that whilst she was alive they were never to be shot. And no were the wood pigeons. I think when people get to an age, she was ninety-four, that you maybe have a "live and let live" change of mind? Anyway the words from her were by then "If you ever shoot one while I am alive I will cut you off without a penny." So they never got shot. In April 2014 she died and some days later I was sat in her house and saw one crossing the back lawn. Out came the air rifle (which kept there as that is where I did my rifle practice) and the words were uttered "She's dead now..." and bang one shot squirrel with the rest of its clan to follow over the next few weeks.

 

[ofbiro]

Well done! Was it an european squirrel or the american invader?

 

[AlexD]

Well done! Was it an european squirrel or the american invader?

We would never shoot a Red squirrel in the UK, as 1) we love them, 2) it would be highly illegal.
We blitz the invading Greys.