Howletts Shoot – 7th January 2012
Guest day, so all hands to the pump …
As someone had pulled out I was able to invite Terry along and repay him for the two days on his shoot last year. He got to shoot eight drives, whilst I slogged my guts out legging it (literally) from one drive to another. Shouldn’t have as the cheeky bugger shot more on the day than my best day so far this season by putting 14 in the game bag (bad form to out shoot your host Terry ‘don’t cha know’). He made up for it by letting me get pissed in The L.B. afterwards, good lad.
His highlight of the day was “the retrieval of the last Pheasant, which had gone deep underground. The Black lab that pulled it out was lost from sight by all but its tail; great bit of retrieving.” He also mentioned the youngsters being “great lads and a credit to their parents, a really good advert for our passion of shooting.”
Another good day.
133 birds for 364.
Howletts Shoot – 31st December 2011
Both Paul and I were shooting on this re-scheduled Partridge Day shoot. Six drives, straight through. During the day, everyone was a walking gun at some point and so we shot four out of the six drives.
Whilst the guys pushed through College Wood from behind the farmhouse we lined up in the field just down from the Home Pen pegs. Â Spotted a really nice woodcock too late as it flew down the wood edge at the start of the drive. Things picked up and ended up with four Pheasant (from peg 1), but had I moved in closer to the trees I may have had a few more as the birds were flying along the edge, rather than out of the wood.
One for one from peg 3 in College Wood as they walked it through from the east side.
Walking gun on Nelsons – not a shot.
Woodcock Pen drive(?) last and I should have had at least three partridge from a good peg; but I blew it.
Paul eneded the day with 7 for 22 and Joseph won the ‘total shots’ pot of £79, being closest to the 322 shots which resulted in 88 birds.
Bag for the day (5 birds for 14 shots)
Pheasant 5
Howletts Shoot – 26th December 2011
Paul was up again (2 for 15). Shoot totals 73 for 312.
Is that bacon and eggs I can smell?
Howletts Shoot – 10th December 2011
Yet more shenanigans half way through the first drive (Home Pen) but I still managed 5 for 6 on peg 2, including a left and right. Moving up three on Mapletree Lane put me on the same renumbered spot as last time, resulting again in 3 birds with one behind.
After lunch came Nelson’s - 3 for 3 (I AM A SHOOTING GOD)
Ducks – Nil for 4 (OMNIPOTENCE doesn’t last long, does it)
Red Gate (Fryerning Wood) put the last bird in the bag. Shame the two woodcock that flew past Dave and I were out of range. The Shoot bag was 104 for 363 shots and Paul won the pot. We’re such a close shoot, even the birds love a cuddle.
Bag for the day (12 birds for 19 shots)
Pheasant 12
Howletts Shoot – 26th November 2011
Paul drew better pegs this time, putting 7 birds in the bag for 25 cartridges. The whole gang had smiles on faces, as demonstrated by Team Captain Dave.
Mind you, with flushes like the one below he couldn’t miss, could he?
Another good Shoot total, with 121 birds on the day for 354.
Howletts Shoot – 12th November 2011
As they have re-jigged the pegs on most drives, drawing number 6 meant I was back on the same (hot) spot as last time for the first drive. Slightly shaky start, but after being reminded by Skunk that I have a second barrel I started to hit them and finished with 6 birds.
Moving up 2 took me to the end peg and I must have walked half a mile moving around trying to second guess where an odd bird might fly as the guys walked the wood through to load up the cover strip. Got it right and I dropped the only loose bird, incoming right to left (loverly bird). Two big flushes at the end and I had my first left and right (with an O/U), deciding late to take the second behind so pleased with that. Makes up for missing two on the second big flush.
The change around on the drives meant both teams shot the duck pond drive, with our team on the ducks. Definitely missed 2, which Dave got immediately after I’d missed. I MAY have got the third, but Dave shot at the same time, so not sure. Few birds flew over whilst I faffed around with cartridges as we walked up the outside of the cover strip.
Peg 2 on Split Cover drive put another 3 in the bag and helped us break the hundred for the first time this Season with 116 for 323 shots.
Saw my first Woodcock of this year while beating Quarry for Laurie’s Team.
Knacked, but content.
Bag for the day (12 birds for 29 shots)
Pheasant 9
Partridge 3
Howletts Shoot – 29th October 2011
It was Paul’s turn but he drew some bad pegs and didn’t get much shooting, ending the day with 1 bird for 10 shots.
Fortunately for Steve, he was having more luck.
Total for the shoot was 91 for 334.
Howletts Shoot – 15th October 2011
The first scheduled shoot day has finally come around. A little ice on my windscreen from the clear sky last night and a sunny day ahead widely forecast. I drew peg 8 and we were shooting first.  Although the birds were flying very low, especially the quail I watched glide by early on, I managed to put four pheasant in the bag.
Walking gun on B team’s drive and another pheasant and 2 partridge added, which Laurie’s dog picked for me.
Not a shot fired by me on our second drive, followed by a field lunch in the sun. Two (less than composed) shots on the last drive for no return.
Doom Bar and a bite at the L.B. after to finish a nice day for the Shoot with 45 birds for 168 shots. Let’s see how Paul gets on in a couple of weeks.
Bag for the day (7 birds for 22 shots)
Pheasant 5
Partridge 2
The man with by far the biggest hand in making it all happen; looking rightly proud with some of the fruits…
Howletts Partridge Day – 1st October 2011
As far as the Shoot’s first day of the season went, the less said the better with just 3 birds for 5 shots. However, the Partridge pasties turned out nicely.
Pasty recipe:-
Sealed the diced partridge breasts in a frying pan quickly and then left to cool. Sealed a skinned old spot sausage (with sage) and minced legs. Gently fried a chopped onion. Put the meat, diced par boiled sweet potato and potato, a few peas and the onion in a bowl with some beaten egg. Added salt, pepper and a drop of gravy. Rolled out pastry and cut into saucer sized circles. Egg wash the outside to ensure the pastry didn’t stick, added the meat to each pastry circle and fold over into a pasty shape. After egg washing them again put them in the oven for 15 mins at 190 degrees.
Bag for the day (1 bird for 2 shots)
Partridge 1
Bag for the Season (2010-11)
Driven
2 Pheasant (1 Cock, 1 Hen)
1 Woodcock
1 Mallard (Drake)
1 Partridge (French)
Wildfowling
1 Mallard (Hen)
1 Shoveler (Drake)
Rough
1 Pheasant (Cock)
1 Woodcock
1 Rabbit
Creaseys Walk One/Stand One – 31st January 2011
So, last shoot of the Season and last chance to bag a few. Not as many people there as I expected and a few there just to Beat/Pickup. We split into two teams and drew pegs with me on the Keeper’s (Steve) team. I was to shoot with Steve K, John D, Dave H, Colin F, Peter W and Curtis.
First drive was to be thistle field, with the Shoot Captain’s (Kieth H) team shooting. Before the drive even started Pete managed two ducks for a left and right from the neighbours field. The only bird flushed was a hen and Arthur (Beaters leader) got that as it turned away from the guns. What a start, three birds and not one by the guns.
The day then basically mutated into a rough shoot, ending up with both teams walking through the woods/drives.
As usual, we shot the lake just before lunch. I managed to drop a Mallard for the only shot of the drive. Hooray, my first Duck. Last Saturday morning at Fennes was obviously time well spent.
After lunch we tried thistle field again, pushed through Hall Wood and then lined up in the sewage works.  It was a lovely clear day and with the sun over our shoulders onto the trees, the scene was a picture.  Colin hit a Pheasant that dropped straight down one of the inspection pits and he jumped in to retrieve it.
Thank goodness the works have been closed down for several years. As the Beaters drove from the pens I managed to bag a Hen Pheasant on what turned out to be the last drive of the day.
A swift half (or two) at the Old Dog was the perfect way to end a very enjoyable day and the driven season; my first.
Bag for the day
1 Mallard (Drake)
1 Pheasant (Hen)
Creaseys Beater’s Day – 22nd January 2011
Dropped a straight driven Pheasant with my first shot on first drive (Thistle Field). My shooting went rapidly downhill from there on and I felt a bit out of salts all day long.
Bag for the Day
1 Pheasant (Cock)
Wrentham Shoot – 15th January 2011
I’ll tell you up front, the total bag for everyone was only 10, so this will not read as a sequence of successes, but again I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
The early start and long drive was made worthwhile with a fine full english at the local Cafe, meeting up with some of the other guns.
As Terry predicted, our team shot first so for the first drive we began with the river to our backs. I’d drawn peg 3. Things didn’t start well as the only 2 shots fired were by Terry’s other stand in, Stuart, as a walking gun on the other team; alas without success.Â
The next drive was the Pond. Alan and I stood on pegs 6 and 7. As they were short on guns today, on each drive 2 guns from the non shooting team made up pegs 6 and 7, so we all had extra shooting. The down side was that, as they were short on beaters as well, the beating may not have gone as well as it could. Clive was a walking gun, but had finished his bit and had moved on to beating, so he had to watch as a Pheasant flew close by to be shot by a peg gun.Â
Then came a little wood. Clive and I were in a field on our own, shooting over a road towards the wood. A flush of 5 Partridge flew by me quite high (flying into the strong wind) and I got one with my second barrel (my first ever Partridge). A better man than me could have had a left and a right for two birds. Clive had a pop at the same flush from further away without success and then I watched a Pheasant fly past him about 4 feet off the ground. He could have had a go as it was on his vacant side, but he was reloading.Â
Next was a large wood where I was a walking gun. A Woodcock flew just within range, but only at head height so I had to just watch it go by.Â
Over the road and across a field to another wood (apparently a good Partridge drive). Alan kicked shooting off early with an optimistic shot at a Pigeon and that was it; we didn’t see any of the Partridge that were on the other side of the wood.  The field was so muddy Alan got his feet well and truly stuck, fell backwards on his ****. He was absolutely covered.Â
Lunch at Red House
Clive and I had our backs to the anti shooting guy’s house for the next one. Not much to speak of for us but a couple of speculative punts at Pigeons at the end of the drive.Â
The wood at the top of the shallow hill put 3 birds past Alan (he got one), but nought for us.
Wood by the Church next. Clive was a walking gun and had his best chances of the day; 2 woodcock missed and the dreaded ‘safety left on’ click as he lined up on a Partridge. I suggested to Colin we beat it back through the other way and I missed an easy Pheasant that went from zero to 100 mph in the blink of a eye, right over me (wind behind him).  Jimmy tried to help me out after I’d let off both barrels, but it was way past him by then. A bird I should have hit, but the speed from flush to past me really caught me by surprise.Â
Thanks again Terry for your generosity; I had great fun.
Bag for the day
1 Partridge (French)
Wrentham Shoot – 4th December 2010
Had a call at work from Terry on Friday; “There is a place going spare on the shoot tomorrow, do you fancy coming?” Humm, let me think, first day back after few days off sick and still feelling a bit dicky, nearly two weeks of snow/ice on the ground, 170 mile round trip with an 8:00am meetup; oh yes, I’ll have some of that.
Overnight thaw meant I arrived at 7:30, Terry had beaten me there in his L200. Full english at the Cafe and off to the farm. No hanging about and next thing I know I’m standing on the Peg of my first drive, of my first ever driven shoot. Two jet propelled partridge whizz past me, one either side, the gun next to me drops a Pheasant just as I line up on it, and before you know it, it’s all over.
To Be Continued
Bag for the day
1 Woodcock