ips does beating season three

[ips]

SEASON 3 SHOOT 2 SYNDICATE

1st drive

shooting this one. Eze adopted a sat position two yards in front and slightly too my right without any prompt from me. She adopted this exact position on all drives and never ever so much as lifted her backside even when either my birds or other guns birds fell.

had a really good **** pheasant presented quite early in the drive. A good driven bird but to my left. I took first shot and it folded so I didn't bother with the second barrell. I and eze both marked it as being in some long tufted grass / reeds thirty yards to my left and ten yards behind , eze was totally steady I gave a "leave that" just to be sure but she never looked like breaking her sit. A similarly presented hen pheasant soon after but I missed with both barrells. Whistle goes to end the drive so I slip my gun and lined her up for the retrieve "get out" but she stopped short some handling got her back to the area that the very dead bird had landed however she pulls downwind to the right. I blow stop and handle her upwind to were I know the very dead bird fell. Again she pulls right. I blow stop and handle her upwind to the area marked whilst muttering on the lines of "you thicko you marked it as well as I did and your now standing over it" again she pulls downwind to the right, I am now getting pissed with it so let her do whatever while I decide how to handle the situation of a thicko dog not doing as she is told....then she appears out of some thick reads at the side of the stream with a **** pheasant and brings it to me tail wagging. This very dead with one shot bird was not dead after all or if it was it was doing a very good impression of being very un-dead.

Really annoyed with myself because I had head cam on and got all the footage however it wasn't actually on, I have no idea what happened.

2nd drive

nothing much to report other than she hunted some cover crop well and stayed close in the wood hunting some bramble type cover, I noticed a little blood on her tongue at one point but on inspection after the drive there was no sign of an injury so no idea what she had done, and no, she hadn't pegged a bird.

3rd drive

she adopted same position. I missed a hen, but shortly after connected both barrells with a ****, this time it was definitely dead as a very dead thing. Ten minutes later a connected with a **** pheasant which not totally dead came down heavy but over a road into a wooded ravine with no chance of picking it. After the drive sent her out to retrieve the dead one fifty yards away. See vid.

4th drive

again not much to report hunted well very compliant no issues, how I wish she was this reliable on the estate.

5th drive

drew peg 3 which never shoots well and is in a paddock that usually has horses in so its very churned up and calf high mud. I didn't see the point of having eze sat up in there with little chance of a retrieve so left her in the car. One bird over me, well it was thirty - fourty yards to my left not especially high but a challenging shot as I had to leave it and take it as a crosser due to the background. Two barrells dropped it into adjoining field, another gun picked it for me with his young cocker that he is currently bringing on.

TOTAL BAG

44 pheasant

2 pigeon

1 woodcock

I SHOT

1 for 3

2 for 6 however only 1 picked

1 for 2

 

[westley]

THAT lesson was for YOU............................always TRUST the dog  !   

 

[ips]

THAT lesson was for YOU............................always TRUST the dog  !   

indeed ?

 

[ips]

SEASON 3 SHOOT 4 ESTATE

she is getting much calmer when we stop mid beat, she is also getting calmer at the flush point. Still don't have as reliable a loose heel that I would like, as in staying within a few yards of me when we are tapping birds in but I am working on it. This week on occasions i put a three metre training line on her and let her trail it, it was much less stressful for me, negotiating obstacles was easier without a slip lead in your hand and less stressful because I felt like I had an emergency brake. If she started drifting from loose heel or ignored a stop I just stood on the line. This is a short term training aid and although it feels like a cop out (to a degree) and although I may look less than professional to the other beaters I don't really care as it wont be my dog that runs in at the flush point, pegs a bird or loses its head mid drive putting birds up just as the keeper comes over the radio saying "everybody stand" ?

on the occasions that I slipped her lead and hunted her in cover (bramble mainly) she was much better, more compliant to recall and did not push through and pull out looking for more birds like she has in the past.

we or rather she had two retrieves whilst sweeping up after a couple of drives. One dead one delivered to hand and released on "dead" command one a pricked bird delivered but not released without making her, it seems that she doesn't like to release her grip on an undead bird, not sure what to do about this.

anyway a nice day, we stayed dry and a good wind had the birds flying very well presenting very sporting birds to the guns who shot a bumper day ?

 

[balltrap]

learn the dog to shoot !

 

[westley]

Good retrieve,  nice to see that you er..............................take em well in front   !      :angel:  

 

[ips]

it flew on a bit but was well dead when it came down, it was taken at eleven o'clock and a good fourty yard's, I don't shoot em behind, if they get passed twelve o'clock they have beaten me and I doff my cap to them.

if that's what you were referring too.

 

[ips]

SEASON 3 SHOOT 5 ESTATE

loading

 

[westley]

it flew on a bit but was well dead when it came down, it was taken at eleven o'clock and a good fourty yard's, I don't shoot em behind, if they get passed twelve o'clock they have beaten me and I doff my cap to them.

So, what did you do after lunch then,   ???

 

[ips]

SEASON 3 SHOOT 3 SYNDICATE

1st drive

beating this drive, all went well nothing to report.

2nd drive

shooting this one, had two birds over that weren't gimmies , missed both. Then two of us with dogs looked for two birds down in a field of long grass over a stream, both found by eze and delivered to hand. (1st vid below)

3rd drive

beating, nothing to report apart from she did go deaf half way through the drive so we "had words" other than that hunted well enough.

4th drive

shooting this one had a high dead straight pheasant, hit with first barrell, a good shot I thought as it folded and tumbled to the ground landing ten yards behind me. Eze broke rank and ran in for the first time ever, she was on the bird as it landed. Too my surprise it was far from dead (did she know ?) she chased it for five yards along a dry stone wall then after she had a good hold delivered it to hand in a state of deadness. Another bird between me and gun to my left, I made the call that it was more mine than his and two barrells dropped it behind the wall. (2nd vid below) She stayed steady, sat hup despite other dogs running about. Ten minutes passed then I sent her out, it was a long retrieve for her and it showed at the last twenty yards (3rd vid below)

5th drive

beating, she hunted well no real issues.

 

[ips]

SEASON 3 SHOOT 4 SYNDICATE
 no dog eze in season ? but my good friend from welsh land mr shortlegs was my guest and we had a good days sport.

 SEASON 3 SHOOT 8 & 9 ESTATE

 loading

 SEASON 3 SHOOT 5 SYNDICATE
 Eze seems to have finished her season its been just under four weeks so we risked it with the game plan of popping her back in car if any dogs were attracted to her and keeping her on a lead between drives.
 As it happened either she is now definitely not in season at all or all the syndicate dogs are gay ?
 She worked very well on first two drives but got rather birdie (I love that word ?) on last drive and pulled out a bit further than I wanted and ignored recall so we had a little word and all was well from then on. ?

 Very poor day for game bag was 22 over five drives I shot two drives, no birds over me on first one and only one bird on second which was really next guns bird but he was reloading so I had a go but missed both barrels, in my defence it was a good way off and presented as a crosser.

 Ended with nice meal at local hostelry and a bath for eze when we got home as she stunk of mud and cow doo doo

 

[ips]

SEASON 3 NEW SHOOT

Got the chance to work on a syndicate shoot with full time keeper just 25 miles from home. Keeper was short of beaters (to say the least) three beaters without dogs incl Mrs ips and two of us with dogs. It was a lot of ground to cover with only two dogs and she worked her little socks off all day and is now spark out on sofa cuddled up to me.

First two drives were cover crop, maize to be exact. This was ideal opportunity for me to work her in crop as to date on estate I haven't had the bottle. Anyway she did well quartered in front close and never lost her head however she did get disorientated at one point and couldn't find me. Second drive went very well as the crop was sparse.

Third drive was a very long wood with a sort of gorge dropping to a stream and very very dense cover in parts with some heather and rhodedendrum she was generally compliant and hunted well.

Fourth drive quite open woodland with tufts of cover so this was easy stuff in which to quarter her, we eventually had lots of birds in front of us and three of us had to stand at this point in order to let the other beaters push there bit in from the side. During this time I was very impressed with her steadiness sat at heel with all these birds milling about in front. Ten minutes or so of waiting we hunted what birds were left in there after a Guns dog appeared from nowhere and emptied the cover that was holding the birds.

Fifth drive, we got seperated whilst crossing over a stream through the middle of the wood she ended up on one side in thick cover and I was on tuther trying to get through horrible spikey Thorney stuff. By the time I realised she wasn't behind me she was nowhere to be seen and I am confident that she didn't run off per se but was genuinly lost, we eventually met up again with no harm done.

Sixth drive a very wide very long wood with very dense cover mainly rhodedendrum. Way to big for two dogs to cover but cover it they did however a few times she ignored recall and went to far so we had to have words. At the end a stop shouted me over and asked if I wanted to pick four birds for a gun. Off we trot into the field the gun had marked his birds very well, all were about fourth yards one in the wood two in the open field and one in a shallow pond, well a flooded bit of field. I sent her out, she stopped short I told her "get out' she then winded the bird in the edge of the wood and turned ninety degrees went in the wood and retrieved to hand what was actually a runner. Sent her out for the other three incl the one in the water, all perfectly picked up and delivered to hand in full view of a couple more guns and some beaters, I was very chuffed with her she is imo a brilliant picking up dog so I must have got at least a few things trained correctly.

Enjoyable day, really nice guns all real gentlemen. All thanked Lynn and I for attending which was nice and invited back whenever we can make it.

 

[ips]

this is her steady with lots of birds in the cover in front, just before the Guns dog ran in. This degree of steadines in this scenario is a real breakthrough for us.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sDJ3CRNWXb8

this is hunting what's left in the cover after the earlier vid

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PdG64o6kqTY

 

[Garwood]

Most annoying that all your good work is spoilt by a muppet on  a peg who hasn`t the sense to tether their unsteady dog !

Happens with predictable regularity tho`.

Sounds like you`re having a great time !!

 

[ips]

thanks Garwood

yep, unbelievable. Three of us stood there for ten mins eze was steady as you like, waiting for three others to bring there line in, at which point the plan was to slowly get the birds out of cover. Then the Guns dog appears and empties it...grrrr

 

[shortlegs]

Well done ips,mrs ips and eze sounds like your doing well and making more contacts for your  beating/retrieving with eze  :thumbsup:

 

[ips]

one of mrs ips yesterday

 

[ips]

SEASON 3 SHOOT 10 ESTATE

nothing much to report really.
Used a short trailing line on a few occasions that I was worried about her losing her head, still LOTS of birds down which is good news for the two keapers days at end of the month  anyway its a lot easier being able to step on the line rather than have her on a lead. She seemed a little steadier than she was when at the flush point I was standing on the line but she was either sat hup or stood and steady and that is with hundreds of birds milling about in front some of which were only four yards away. On the occasions I hunted her in cover she seemed a little more compliant / faster to recall and stop.

I remain surprised at how different she is on the estate, huge numbers of birds have a considerable impact on her general steadiness. It's like having a different dog to the syndicate dog.

This is probably the last time beating on estate this season apart from two keepers days as I know that I will be loading/minding on the next two. Two more syndicate days to go though. And two formal days elsewhere booked. ? 
 

 

[shortlegs]

 two formal days elsewhere booked. ? 

TWO days booked      Lucky you 

Looking forward to the 23rd  :thumbsup:

 

[ips]

yep I have a day booked on the 20th as well ?

also looking fwd to 23rd mate ?