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I've done a search, and had a look through the memberlist, and for those of you who have specified a location there doesn't seem to be anyone from my part of the world... so I though I'd start a post about the shooting over here, and continue it if it gets any interest

(if it doesn't, my apologies..)

Most of the (legal) live shooting with shotguns over here throughout the year will be for species that have no closed season, such as feral pigeon and rabbit. A game license is required, but costs a few pounds from a Post Office.

The shooting really starts with the "Glorious Twelfth", the start of the Grouse shooting season on August 12th, strangely enough.

Taking place on Scottish moors, most commonly birds are driven by beaters over grouse 'butts', which are shooting hides sometimes sunk into the ground a bit, and partially hidden by a turf or stone wall. A strict etiquette and code of conduct is followed, not least for safety, but also becuase of the romantics amongst us trying to keep the traditions alive.

Early reports for this season are not good. The grouse are all wild rather than bred birds, and as last year, a mild winter failed to kill off some of the parasites that affect the birds. A late breeding season has also meant a lot of keepers are delaying the shoots to allow the birds to fully mature. And over the last decade there have been claims of the grouse moors suffering from inadequate management, along with being affected by global warming.

The twelfth is also the start of the Snipe shooting season, which unlike the grouse season that ends by December 10th, runs through until January 31st. However, whilst the grouse prefer open moorland and make for good eating (although avoid any posh London restaurants advertising grouse on or not long after the 12th,as it will be underhung or a poached immature bird), the snipe is a woodland bird and there's barely enough on the carcass to eat. They do however, make for extremely good sport,and would still contribute to a decent mixed game pie.

As for myself, it's a trek from the South Coast up to Scotland, it's damn expensive, and I'll have to content myself with practice on clays until my own booked days come up.

Welcome, Smokey. Interesting to hear about hunting, etc., from "over there". I, for one, hope you continue to give us reports!

Fin

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

Is reloading legal/popular and if so what are the average cost for components Question

I'm pretty sure the sugar beet trucks get reloaded on a regular basis in a perfectly legal way...why the Q?

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2006 Posts: 602 Location: western pa

Welcome Smokey, Curiosity is killing me; tell us about your 16 bores. Question

onefunzr2

The most prolific species of wild pheasant found over here I think are all descendants from orignal stock imported from China. They are found all over the country now, and are mixed in with several other species.

The vast majority of pheasant shooting over here is the formal driven shoot as above, the most popular quarry being pheasants reared, sometimes from eggs rather than bought in young chicks, by the gamekeeper. They're fed, watered and looked after throughout the year until the season starts.

The formal driven shoot I think is much more common than 'walked up' shooting, which was the primary sport that lead to the development of the English side by side as we know it.

To elaborate, on double trigger side by side guns, most commonly the first trigger fires the right barrel with a more open choke, and the second with a tighter choke.

This suits a walked up quarry fying away from the shooter, rather than a driven bird flying towards the shooter. Strangely, even new double trigger guns are still built in this configuration unless specified otherwise by the customer.

Reloading for shotguns isn't very popular over here although it is legal, but the availability of 16ga ammunition means it's probably not worth it.

I think it's only used for the really rare sizes, like 10ga, 8ga, and I recently saw at this years game show a side by side 4ga Shocked

fred lauer

what with the 'slightly' different approach to licensing and ownership over here, I only have 2 shotguns, only one of which is a 16

I started shooting English Sporting clays with a Beretta o/u, and went through a number of different Beretta and Browning o/u's and a Beretta semi-auto, both being probably the most popular makes over here.

My wife, bless 'er, bought me for my 30th birthday through her father (an ex-gamekeeper) an antique 12ga, still in proof and I used it for the season last year (with the Browning for clays throuhout the year). More info on that if you want it... let me know

The old gun, referred as the Blunderbuss by my shooting friends, set me off on the traditional route. I was looking for a single gun for everything, preferably side by side, and came across a second hand little used AYA number 4 in 16ga. Barrels are in as new condition, retains virtually all of the original colout hardening, fits me perfectly and for bargain price of £400, about $750 with the current exchange rate. Probably morelike $600 at the time of purchase

I'm currently refinishing the stock, as orignally the gun was owned by the Forestry Commision and had a nasty polyurethene varnish finish, hard wearing but ugly in my eyes.

So for all the reasons we know of as to why the 16 is the perfect size, I have a traditional side by side that doesn't kick me about too much when shooting clays, and satisfies my desire for a more traditional gun for game shooting (whilst wearing the tweeds of course, long live the tradition!)

Member Joined: 26 Apr 2005 Posts: 743

Smokey, I had the pleasure of taking part in a driven shoot on the Black Isle, shortly after 9/11. Having been a "rough shooter" all my life, I didn't know what I'd think about driven shooting. It's a grand sport, and the people over there were very gracious to their American guests, immediately following our national tragedy.

I also made several trips over to RAF Molesworth's Joint Analysis Center, while serving as an Army officer. Quite a bit of World War II history there!

Nice to hear from someone on the other side of the pond Smokey. I'm a history fanatic. I read everything I could find about the now extinct English pheasant said to have been introduced by the Romans and killed off by the end of the 17th century. are there any strains left of these birds in Europe?

I'm very interested in the developement of English double guns--both pre and post muzzle loading guns. I've had the pleasure of actually shooting a nicely refurbished 1840's 14 bore (modern 12 bore equivilent) percussion double. What an eye opener that was. With properly regulated, nonchoked bores, this gun could drop birds out to almost 40 yards with a 1 ounce load of shot over a volume for volume matched charge of black powder. The gun weighed a tad over 6-3/4 pounds with 32" barrels and swung as smoothly as a well oiled door hinge. It felt and shot very much like a modern 16 bore. Lock time seemed just about as fast as a cartridge gun. It is a fine fowler. It's owner will not part with it at any price either. If this gun is typical of English percussion doubles, these guns had to be the best in the world.

We also have native and migratory snipe here in New England. They are indeed sporty little game birds. We typically hunt them over dogs or walk them up if the wisps are coming down thick from the Canadian Maritimes and from Maine. They love wet meadows and inundated pasture land with drier hummocks interspersed where they can rest after feeding on snails, slugs, waterbugs etc.. They are more common to areas just inland of the coast and less so in the interior regions.

Ours look like a stream lined American woodcock only a tad smaller. They have a long bill for probing wet ground, with roundish black eyes, long greenish gray legs for wading the shallows, and with simitar shaped wings typical of most shore birds. They are mottled and striped with shades of grey to black with a short tail having a small brownish orange tuft of feathers at the base. They are considerably faster in flight than a Woodcock and a lot harder to hit.

Early morning and late afternoon just before sundown are the best times to hunt them. They seem to hold better then, especially in the mornings when they have a full belly but before they flit or wade to drier cover. However, I've had some great mid day hunts later in the year before the first hard freeze sets in. They leave for warmer climes then.

I use either a .410 O/U or a 28 bore. However, a 3/4 ounce 16 ga handload of #8 shot will drop them well too if they are skittish and tend to get up out further. The little gauges are effective to 25 yards and don't ruin the little birds for the table. It's also great sport.

Have you ever eaten the breasts split, pan braised, then stewed in an onion and garlic flavered light brown sauce made from a rue, a bit of white wine, and the drippings and then served on toast? They are very good this way. The sauce makes them very palletable. Its also a good recipe for woodcock which taste very similar. both need some soaking in cool, lightly salted water to remove the slightly muddy taste they both seem to have.

By the way, is it legal to hunt English Corn Craiks (spelling?). They seem very similar to the American Sora Rail only bigger. the Sora Rail is also a semi-wet lands wading bird. Its related to the Clapper, Virginia, and King Rails which are usually found closer to salt water wetlands.

Please keep posting. Many of us love to here from other folks from other lands. Thanks. 16GG.

Nice to read your posts Smokeybuck. You didn't mention grey partridge. We have good numbers of them here in Western Canada, a European immigrant that has become naturalized like your Asian pheasant have there. We can walk them up with or without a dog, but never use organized drives. Our season lasts from Sept 15 to Dec 31 with a break in Novermber for deer season. They are a nice compliment to our native prairie grouse and provincial emblem, the sharp tail.

Joined: 05 Feb 2005 Posts: 29 Location: Philadelphia, PA

Hello Smokey. Even though I've lived in England and bought and sold guns there I never did any shooting there. I would love to go wildfowling on the East coast, somewhere on the Wash or the Blackwater. As it is I hunt woodcock, snipe and ducks every Winter in Ireland where I have a tiny cottage. Still, for the person who likes to shoot or collect guns the good ole USA is the place to be. I have a 16 gauge CS.Rosson easy opener, a really superb little gun. Someone should write an article about these easy opening boxlock actions. Hope you have a great season.
Nialmac