teepee1234
Well-known member
Turned up early for tea and pig, and met Robo, Tiptop and young Tom.
Nice mixture of targets again, a few battues and chondelles mixed in with fast crossers, a few dollys and rabbits - had a good time, although I dropped far too many silly ones, as usual! Funny how you always tell yourself to concentrate on EVERY target, only to forget that when you're in the cage! Doh!
Biggest problem today - and it was exactly the same the last time I shot it a month ago, was stand 7, in the top corner behind the little wood. Two traps, this time sending a driven midi and a slightly left-quartering midi on report (the traps were sat side by side on hay bales, and moved around a bit...!). There was a queue to start with, just like last time, and we watched no-bird after no-bird from the first trap. The trapper was trying to contact someone on his mobile but couldn't, and confusion reigned. Finally, someone fixed it... and bugger me if the second stopped working! (it transpires that they forgot to turn it back on when they filled it...!). Took another age to get someone to sort that one, too. An hour to get through that stand...yup, one hour! On to stand 6, and another half hour to get through.
Breakdowns are an accepted part of sporting, sh*t happens, but the good guys get it back on track quickly. My gripe is that the trappers couldn't contact anyone when they happened! I know the ground has radios that they use for game days, so why not use them for clay days?? Rocket science it ain't!
Far too many 5 pair stands too, adding to the hold-ups and queues. It took our squad of four well over 3 hours to complete. We were planning on hopping over to Wylye to shoot the 75 bird charity shoot, but time ran out on us.
I used to love this place, beautiful setting, Sean Ponting targets, good grub... but I won't be rushing to go back until they've sorted out what are obviously maintenance issues, and their communications.
After all that, I was happy to get a 7 at the beginning of my score after some shabby performances in recent months.
Great to shoot with the boys as always, had a chance for a quick chin-wag with Gnasher in the clubhouse, saw Sleepy and Jason at a distance, and Radrac was leading C class when we left - good shooting matey!. All in all, a good day spoilt by crap maintenance.
*sigh*
Nice mixture of targets again, a few battues and chondelles mixed in with fast crossers, a few dollys and rabbits - had a good time, although I dropped far too many silly ones, as usual! Funny how you always tell yourself to concentrate on EVERY target, only to forget that when you're in the cage! Doh!
Biggest problem today - and it was exactly the same the last time I shot it a month ago, was stand 7, in the top corner behind the little wood. Two traps, this time sending a driven midi and a slightly left-quartering midi on report (the traps were sat side by side on hay bales, and moved around a bit...!). There was a queue to start with, just like last time, and we watched no-bird after no-bird from the first trap. The trapper was trying to contact someone on his mobile but couldn't, and confusion reigned. Finally, someone fixed it... and bugger me if the second stopped working! (it transpires that they forgot to turn it back on when they filled it...!). Took another age to get someone to sort that one, too. An hour to get through that stand...yup, one hour! On to stand 6, and another half hour to get through.
Breakdowns are an accepted part of sporting, sh*t happens, but the good guys get it back on track quickly. My gripe is that the trappers couldn't contact anyone when they happened! I know the ground has radios that they use for game days, so why not use them for clay days?? Rocket science it ain't!
Far too many 5 pair stands too, adding to the hold-ups and queues. It took our squad of four well over 3 hours to complete. We were planning on hopping over to Wylye to shoot the 75 bird charity shoot, but time ran out on us.
I used to love this place, beautiful setting, Sean Ponting targets, good grub... but I won't be rushing to go back until they've sorted out what are obviously maintenance issues, and their communications.
After all that, I was happy to get a 7 at the beginning of my score after some shabby performances in recent months.
Great to shoot with the boys as always, had a chance for a quick chin-wag with Gnasher in the clubhouse, saw Sleepy and Jason at a distance, and Radrac was leading C class when we left - good shooting matey!. All in all, a good day spoilt by crap maintenance.
*sigh*
