How was your last day of the shooting season?

Jeremy

Jeremy

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A glorious Devon day to end three months of beating and shooting. Beaters day over the hills near Budleigh Salterton with good company, the occasional glass of sloe gin to help the swing and a bbq.

How was yours?

Regards

Jeremy
 

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Shifting wood, forecast was awful, so went to the pub last night. Woke up to beautiful sunshine. Sod it.
On a positive note, the venison burgers went down well at the pub so they are going to try them on the specials board. I think they will be a good seller.
 
4 consecutive days on the estate I go on. Should have been 5 but the foul weather on Tuesday saw that team postponed to next year.

#1 was the Keepers’ boundary and scrappy bits day. 12 of us - a bit of walked up, bit of driven (beat 1 / shoot 1). Tough going on rough moorland fringe mainly. Bag was 87 for about 500 shots.

#2 one of the pickers-up bought a boundary day. It should be the small and outlying woods with a modest bag, no hospitality and just a few beaters. Nope, keeper put a full bloody day on but still only a few beaters. So full on for me, and we did 5 drives - normally 4. Bag 175 I think. 1300 ish shots

#3 The estate day. Farmers, helpers, delivery drivers, keepers’ friends and other sundry people. About 30 of us. Morning is a huge walk-up lined from the moor down to the river. Very very cold, snowing first thing and windy. Mix of heather, through to rushy fields and small deep valleys down to improved fields & hedges. Us at the top get first crack at the birds who graciously seem to fly down the line so lots get a pop at them. Lots of Partridge, pheasant, woodcock, snipe. Afternoon is two of the mega-drives: pheasant & partridge driven off the moor to us guns 120+ metres below. The birds are dropping steeply and going very very fast = very difficult shooting even for experienced shots, with my little SBS and 28g 7s it’s even harder. But that light load still brought down a couple of dine-out on pheasants. I was very happy. Bag 189, 1500ish shots.

#4 The proper beaters day. All the beaters and pickers-up and a couple of others from the estate. 6 mega-drives, beat 1 stand 1. Awesome day. I eventually found my form (and quickly lost it), getting about 15birds for 31 shots on my second stand, including 2 left and rights. Bag 245 for 2100 shots.

Big party at the nearest pub to the shoot last night. I do a little speech obo the beaters to thank the keepers for making us all welcome and to thank the farmers and the estate for welcoming us all into their community. Hangover this morning and guns to clean a bit later.

Total of 38 shoot days on the estate. 56000+ shots for the season. Best day was over 300 birds, best shots day 2,700. It’s been a good season and a fitting end.

Day 1’s team. I’m 4th from right, gun on shoulder.
cb33d156-9477-41bb-9994-36922e034b1c.jpeg

The keepers at the end of the day.
f0261b1b-60ee-4dff-a72f-26d4fdc414f5.jpeg
 
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Cracking last week of the season, not just our wee shoots last day.
Thursday - beating on a walked up day
Friday - Keepers shoot :D
Saturday - Last shoot for our little syndicate (150 birds that spread themselves out over 2.5k acres - including a RSPB sanctuary in the middle)

Pitgaveny LastDay 2026.jpg
 
Should have added…one day 2 a gun blew up. Top barrel burst - splits about 3” long either side by the fore-end. The youngish Guy was incredibly lucky to get away with just some skin burned/sliced off the fleshy part of his thumb although he was in deep shock for quite a while and had to be helped off the drive. We are pretty sure he had a misfire leaving a wad in the barrel, leading to the inevitable. I heard the boom and thought someone was firing in my direction (it sounds very different to a gun being fired away from you) and was about to shout down to stop fecking firing in our direction when I saw him sat on the floor. It was in the middle of a big flush of birds so he was more focused on reloading than on his gun. Big lesson learned there for us all. Someone had a pic of the gun, I’ll get hold of it and put it up here.
 
Holy Feck :oops::oops::oops:

One very lucky chap! (slice thumb aside)

Early January a gun on a walked up day had a shot just go "Phut" at the end of the drive. Very fortunatly for him he didn't get chance to fire another shot as the wad was stuck in the barrel. All the beaters heard the shot and mentioned hoe "wrong" it sounded.
Once everyone had gathered before heading for the next drive, I asked the chap if he'd checked the barrel?
NO :rolleyes:
Got him to check and low & behold, there was the plaswad less than half way down the barrel. Pushed it out from the muzzel end with a cleaning rod that the keeper carries.
Moral of this and the tale told above - If in doubt, check it out.
 
SteveT said:
Holy Feck :oops::oops::oops:

One very lucky chap! (slice thumb aside)

Early January a gun on a walked up day had a shot just go "Phut" at the end of the drive. Very fortunatly for him he didn't get chance to fire another shot as the wad was stuck in the barrel. All the beaters heard the shot and mentioned hoe "wrong" it sounded.
Once everyone had gathered before heading for the next drive, I asked the chap if he'd checked the barrel?
NO :rolleyes:
Got him to check and low & behold, there was the plaswad less than half way down the barrel. Pushed it out from the muzzel end with a cleaning rod that the keeper carries.
Moral of this and the tale told above - If in doubt, check it out.
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Absolutely.

I’ve seen guns with damage like this before when my dad did a bit gun dealing & repairs. Nearly always stuck wads but also mud and debris in the barrels. The chap was very lucky, and he knows it. If it had been the Bottom barrel his hand would have been much worse, if indeed he still had a hand.
 
Damn that's a shame about the Beretta shotgun and the poor fellow who injured his thumb when it burst.

The last day of my target shooting was in early November when it turned cold and damp so I put the bullet trap and stand away until Spring. I was over there today, not shooting doing something else, and it's been like this for the last 10 days. :(

IMG_2889.jpeg
 
The guy apparently later said he thinks he had a misfire the previous shot but in the heat of a big flush of partridges flying over didn’t take the second or two to peer down his barrels. So yes, a stuck wad seems most
Iikely.
 
My pointer got his first bird in the last day and son was out with me

Also got a deer yesterday with nephew and father
 

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Beaters days (last Friday and Saturday) were great, we’ve got our end of season party tomorrow night so better get the glad rags out
 
Jeremy said:
A glorious Devon day to end three months of beating and shooting. Beaters day over the hills near Budleigh Salterton with good company, the occasional glass of sloe gin to help the swing and a bbq.

How was yours?

Regards

Jeremy
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AustinW said:
The pic…View attachment 477075
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If you're near Budleigh, is that at Bicton shoot? I used to beat when Rick was the keeper, early to mid 80s when I was at college and lived in East Budleigh, on Frogmore Road, the Otterton cut through from the Rolle Arms.


If that had been the bottom barrel it would have been a different story. Not so much of a flesh wound then.
 
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King Rat said:
If you're near Budleigh, is that at Bicton shoot? I used to beat when Rick was the keeper, early to mid 80s when I was at college and lived in East Budleigh, on Frogmore Road, the Otterton cut through from the Rolle Arms.


If that had been the bottom barrel it would have been a different story. Not so much of a flesh wound then.
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That picture was taken at the South Farm beaters day. It overlooks the cliffs above Otterton and out as far as Ladram Bay.

Small world. I also beat at the South Bicton Shoot which is known as Hayes Barton just outside East Budleigh.
 
Jeremy said:
Small world. I also beat at the South Bicton Shoot which is known as Hayes Barton just outside East Budleigh.
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Great area to enjoy

Loved my time there at Ag college in the mid 1980’s - I was there with KR (but he was the year above in 1984) and if I was to move back to Devon, it would probably be to E Devon - rather than my Newton Abbot homelands
 
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