We don't normally get two registered shoots in the same weekend up here, let alone Saturday FITASC, Sunday sporting team qualifier and a cracking charity shoot at a stunning estate!!!
Saturday was a major rush, out the door at 5am to milk cows, as always happens when your in a hurry...everything fu@ks up!!! The sat nab said 2 hours, I was leaving at 8.30 for a 10am start, in the farm van!!! Almost totalled a motorbike who was rubber necking at a two car smash in pouring rain, one car on the hard shoulder, the other on its roof with weels still turning on the inside lane!!! The bike had almost stopped to look, my van was locked up skidding toward him at speed...by luck he must have seen/heard me coming and opened up the throttle, pulling away just in time...heart in mouth moment!!! Arrived at shoot all keyed up with excitement/adrenalin after a mad cross country dash,
"Grab your stuff, pay later, we're on NOW!!!"
Straight into action, a good layout with a stiff, long rabbit, mid range rabbit and some easily missable (can't remember what's)...shot all the long rabbits, missed 1 mid range rabbit, under lead a crosser untill the last peg, finished on 19...2 light of what I thought.
Made a dogs dinner of the next layout!!! Straight on the singles peg 1, called for the simo pair to start the doubles, big gust of wind pushed both clays down, rushed to shoot the first, missed, snatched at the second, missed...my head went down and I struggled on for a 15...5 light of what I wanted
Gave myself a good talking to and shot well on the 3rd layout, missed a horrible dropping, almost edge on battue in the first double and the low house skeet of the same double!!! Missed the same battue in the singles from peg two full face, shot it in the double, never missed the long, dropping crosser (that everyone seemed to struggle to find) from any peg, happy with 22, nobody shot higher than 22 there all day!!! Dam that missed low house skeet!!!
Last peg was the softest layout of the day, the only one straighted, I shot it sloppy, paid the price with 18!!! 4-5 light...finished on 74, would have been happy with 80, but lessons learned again!!!
Home, cows milked again, out to a 21st birthday party.
Sunday was a 5am start again, a friend who I let go deer stalking on the farm occasionally (i keep the venison) appeared at 6.30 with 2 roe bucks...ideal, those will pay for my shooting today, I drive past the game dealer in Perth en route to Auchterhouse in Dundee. At game dealer for 9am, in Auchterhouse with cup of tea at 9.30...got card at 10, shot round on my own to save time, dropped a few to rushing...79, 6 or so light, not to worry, away by 11am, home just after noon, gun/gear out of van, transfer to wife's Audi (goes faster) wife joins me for company and we are off to catch a ferry to Dunoon by 12.30...2.30 arrive at Glenstriven Estate's charity 50 sporting in aid of 'Help for Heros' WOW!!! What a place!!! What a view!!! Set in mutu re woodland, at the bottom of a mountain, at the edge of a sea loch, looking out over said loch to mountains at the other side...WOW!!! £25 entery including BBQ, £10 for non shooters...£15 re-entry...5 cracking stands that would match any registered shoot I've seen, only one dodgy trap, a mini from a hand trap, over head from the hill behind you, some timed the wind made it drop like a stone, others times it sailed on for miles!!! Dropped my last two minis, missed a tricky louper, and dropped the first pair on a low, fast orange crosser l-r and a long slower crosser r-l, missed the long one again, then shot straight for the rest of the shoot for a 44!!! Off to the pool shoot, 8 pegs, full use of gun at a looper high over mature trees in the back gargen of the big house, hit it, move to next peg, miss it, shoot again from same peg, the pegs zig zagged down the hill giving you a different bird every time!!! Great fun, 7 twice, 6 once...had to go home for a dinner date with the outlaws or I'd still be there shooting it now!!! Two guys straighted it!!! They let me have a shot from peg 8, got it 3rd attempt!!! Get in there!!! Home for 6.30 and a week late Father's Day dinner...I'm still knackered!!!
Thought I was joint 1st in B at Auchterhouse, but I've been placed 2nd because I wasn't there to shoot off at the end!?!?
...best of all, my 44 was good enough for 2nd place at Glenstriven, (46 won it) but £100 cash for 2nd and an engraved hip flask made my day!!!
Saturday was a major rush, out the door at 5am to milk cows, as always happens when your in a hurry...everything fu@ks up!!! The sat nab said 2 hours, I was leaving at 8.30 for a 10am start, in the farm van!!! Almost totalled a motorbike who was rubber necking at a two car smash in pouring rain, one car on the hard shoulder, the other on its roof with weels still turning on the inside lane!!! The bike had almost stopped to look, my van was locked up skidding toward him at speed...by luck he must have seen/heard me coming and opened up the throttle, pulling away just in time...heart in mouth moment!!! Arrived at shoot all keyed up with excitement/adrenalin after a mad cross country dash,
"Grab your stuff, pay later, we're on NOW!!!"
Straight into action, a good layout with a stiff, long rabbit, mid range rabbit and some easily missable (can't remember what's)...shot all the long rabbits, missed 1 mid range rabbit, under lead a crosser untill the last peg, finished on 19...2 light of what I thought.
Made a dogs dinner of the next layout!!! Straight on the singles peg 1, called for the simo pair to start the doubles, big gust of wind pushed both clays down, rushed to shoot the first, missed, snatched at the second, missed...my head went down and I struggled on for a 15...5 light of what I wanted
Gave myself a good talking to and shot well on the 3rd layout, missed a horrible dropping, almost edge on battue in the first double and the low house skeet of the same double!!! Missed the same battue in the singles from peg two full face, shot it in the double, never missed the long, dropping crosser (that everyone seemed to struggle to find) from any peg, happy with 22, nobody shot higher than 22 there all day!!! Dam that missed low house skeet!!!
Last peg was the softest layout of the day, the only one straighted, I shot it sloppy, paid the price with 18!!! 4-5 light...finished on 74, would have been happy with 80, but lessons learned again!!!
Home, cows milked again, out to a 21st birthday party.
Sunday was a 5am start again, a friend who I let go deer stalking on the farm occasionally (i keep the venison) appeared at 6.30 with 2 roe bucks...ideal, those will pay for my shooting today, I drive past the game dealer in Perth en route to Auchterhouse in Dundee. At game dealer for 9am, in Auchterhouse with cup of tea at 9.30...got card at 10, shot round on my own to save time, dropped a few to rushing...79, 6 or so light, not to worry, away by 11am, home just after noon, gun/gear out of van, transfer to wife's Audi (goes faster) wife joins me for company and we are off to catch a ferry to Dunoon by 12.30...2.30 arrive at Glenstriven Estate's charity 50 sporting in aid of 'Help for Heros' WOW!!! What a place!!! What a view!!! Set in mutu re woodland, at the bottom of a mountain, at the edge of a sea loch, looking out over said loch to mountains at the other side...WOW!!! £25 entery including BBQ, £10 for non shooters...£15 re-entry...5 cracking stands that would match any registered shoot I've seen, only one dodgy trap, a mini from a hand trap, over head from the hill behind you, some timed the wind made it drop like a stone, others times it sailed on for miles!!! Dropped my last two minis, missed a tricky louper, and dropped the first pair on a low, fast orange crosser l-r and a long slower crosser r-l, missed the long one again, then shot straight for the rest of the shoot for a 44!!! Off to the pool shoot, 8 pegs, full use of gun at a looper high over mature trees in the back gargen of the big house, hit it, move to next peg, miss it, shoot again from same peg, the pegs zig zagged down the hill giving you a different bird every time!!! Great fun, 7 twice, 6 once...had to go home for a dinner date with the outlaws or I'd still be there shooting it now!!! Two guys straighted it!!! They let me have a shot from peg 8, got it 3rd attempt!!! Get in there!!! Home for 6.30 and a week late Father's Day dinner...I'm still knackered!!!
Thought I was joint 1st in B at Auchterhouse, but I've been placed 2nd because I wasn't there to shoot off at the end!?!?
...best of all, my 44 was good enough for 2nd place at Glenstriven, (46 won it) but £100 cash for 2nd and an engraved hip flask made my day!!!
