Was lucky enough to be invited by a friend, I met through work, for a days driven shooting in Wiltshire. The day started with me getting dressed up in my various bits of shooting attire I had been collecting over the past weeks. It was an early start as it was a long drive down. Started the day meeting the other guns and tucking into some bacon sarnies, hot coffee and pink champagne and port (mixed to make a great morning drink). A steady stream of beaters, pickers and dogs arrived to join the guns. It seemed that the guys shoot together lots with tales of great shooting and missed birds (many from the day before!!!)
We selected pegs with a glass of port and headed to the first drive.
First drive was on a lane. The birds were flying fast, in fact they were way faster than I imagined they could be. I managed to shoot at 6 birds but hit nothing. This was pointed out to me by my picker and her dog (Golly).....she seemed very surprised. My excuse is that the window of opportunity to shoot at the birds was small to say the least!!! I took a photo to prove my point!
The second drive was a similar affair despite me moving up two pegs and being assured by Mick the game keeper that I was in the hot spot!! This is harder than I thought!!
The third drive saw me move up to the end of the line. I was placed in the field to shoot birds who did not want to get up over the top of the trees! Mick was beating down the edge of the field which was great as he was around to see me take a hen bird well as it flew over the top of me.
After stopping to refuel on a mountain of roast sausage and some more port we headed for the the next drive. This saw a little bit more action with a few birds flying high, and still as fast as before. This adds a whole new dimension to lead!!!
Need to load some shot.....serious stuff!!
Keep calm..............pick up the line and swing the gun.......
Bum......beak.......bang.......miss!!!!
Look skyward and wonder if you are going to get another chance to shoot into thin air.
It was a great day and a fantastic introduction to the driven pheasant shooting. the guns, beaters and pickers were all very hospitable as was my host Mark Hempleman-Adams. I learned a huge amount about the way a day like this works and the etiquette which is needed. Had 18 shots for two pheasants which is really bad statistics but who cares when you have such a great day.
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