A day’s pigeon shooting with some friends on a bean stubble turns into a surprise 150-birder over some barley stubble in a neighbouring field.
As these words are being pecked and hunted into a Word document in darkest Lincolnshire, the man and legend that is Andy Crowman Crow is warming his barrels in South America on a fabulous dove shooting adventure that you will be able to read all about in these pages next month.
Before he headed over, he invited his pals and sponsors from Jack Pyke, who had organised the Argentina trip, over for a bit of a warm-up on the woodies. After a morning of meetings, they all rendezvoused at a farm in Kent where one of Andy’s farming and shooting pals manages an arable outfit.
There had been a lot of birds hitting the remains of a bean stubble and reports from the landowner of several hundred in the area made this the prime location for them to set up for the day.
Andy set up the lads in a hide on a solid flightline and they were soon stretching their barrels on some sporting crossers and having plenty of fun.
Andy observed proceedings from the hide and soon noticed that the shooting was pushing the birds off the beans and on to a barley stubble a few hundred yards distant. Although he wasn’t originally planning on shooting, Andy realised he needed to disrupt the birds heading over to the other field or risk the flightline to the beans drying up altogether.
Barley takes a lot longer to germinate than other cereals so it is extremely popular with pigeons and also geese when the stubbles are left well into the autumn.
The land looked very yellow as it had been sprayed off with weedkiller ahead of cultivation, but there were lots of full ears still strewn all over the field and no shortage of food for the birds. The grains were beginning to sprout.
Denne historien er fra December 2017-utgaven av Sporting Shooter.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 2017-utgaven av Sporting Shooter.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
RSPB gives mixed message on shooting
Having recently attended the RSPB’s virtual AGM, Conor O’Gorman discusses the outcome of the charity’s year-long review of game bird shooting
Causeway for concern
Alan Jarrett’s renewed interest in reading takes him down memory lane to an offshore island duck flight that very nearly ended in disaster
Through a purple patch
The Garrows Estate is taking a conservation-focused approach to restoring the wildlife populations and biodiversity on the Scottish heather moorland.
When the wheels fall off
Losing form on a day’s shooting can be infuriating, especially if you’ve been shooting like a god up to that point. Simon O’Leary looks at some common causes and how to remedy them
Beaches, books & bad behaviour!
The annual Kay family vacation to Northumberland offers a chance to give the cockers a blast on the beach – although they don’t always shower themselves in glory, as Ryan Kay recalls...
Using the Stop whistle
Now you’ve instilled the basics, it’s time to up the ante with some more tricky distance work. Howard Kirby explains how to take the core Stop whistle command to the next level
The humble teal
They may be tiny, but as far as Rupert Butler is concerned, the appeal of this little duck is huge. He recalls some of his most memorable nights in pursuit of these aerial acrobats
Fab all-rounder
Mike is impressed with the Fabarm Elos B2 Field Notte, which offers great value for money, is suited to fieldwork or clays and is future-proofed for use with steel in all choke constrictions
CALL OF THE WILD
Dom Holtam reconnects with one of the purest forms of shotgun shooting as he walks-up woodcock over pointing dogs in the Scottish Highlands
A yen for the Fens
Tony Jackson recounts a memorable duck flight over an area of Fenland in Norfolk with his friend and author, the late Alan Savory
